The four orcs shot satisfied looks towards me.
"My name is Andreas and he is Stephen," one of the beast said.
Their appearance was similar to Xavier, therefore, I guessed that they were about as strong as him. After some chatter, we got acquainted and learnt of their combat strategies. Even though they could take on most creatures by themselves, fighting in groups made the job much easier; however, it was deemed necessary for me to fight on my own as improvements could be made to my strategies and I could also get more experience. They would be in close proximity in case things turned sour.
"Let's set out boys," Hunter said.
Swishing sounds reverberated throughout the forest as shadows streaked across, slaloming through the majestic hickory trunks. The fact that they did not have to slow down too much brought me great satisfaction; I was not a burden to them. I ran through streams of air with minimal wind to move faster while saving energy. Andreas and Stephen seemed to have caught on. They were now aware that I possessed the way of the wind.
"Incredible! For a human to have it. That's unheard of," Stephen said.
"It shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, we do not even know how this power works and why only certain beings have it," Xavier said.
"That's certainly true. You know we'll keep quiet about this, so don't worry," Andreas replied.
Loud barks made my ears buzz. A huge horde was on its way and at a fast pace! The rustling leaves and the creaking branches signaled their imminent arrival. The beasts that appeared before us were nightmare fuel. From their bodies alone, they looked like regular dogs; however, from the neck up, it was a different story. Three heads were attached to each body. These were also known as cerberus dogs. Their mouths were full of drool which then dripped onto the grass while their bloodthirsty eyes were fixated on us. Their group size was also concerning; they numbered fifty.
"Jett, fight as many as you can. We'll cover you if necessary," Jasper said.
The dogs pounced at us as we got into our unique stances. With my hand firmly gripping the hilt of my dagger, I pulled the weapon out. At the exact moment that the cerberus was at the highest point of its jump, I sprang towards it. The three jaws opened as wide as possible, teeth baring. The heads moved towards me aiming to bite my head down. I had to wait for the best opportunity to counterattack; patience was key. The putrid odors emanating from the mouths struck my nose. As soon as I was a hair's breadth away from the beast, I swung my dagger upwards, piercing though one of its heads. Even though losing one of the three was not fatal to them, their strength was still greatly reduced.
Blood spewed onto my face as my opponent and I fell back to the ground. I shot a quick glance at my comrades and they seemed to be doing much better than me. Hunter was a real monster; I almost pitied the dogs! He was just ripping through them with his sword. His blade slashed through all three heads at once.
Even though I would have loved to admire Hunter's fighting abilities more, I had bigger fish to fry. I lunged towards the enemy with my dagger leading the way; I thrusted my blade into one of its eyes and twisted the weapon around while it squirmed, begging for mercy. A sinister smile crept on my lips; I was thoroughly enjoying this. The cerberus fell to the ground, unable to move. The remaining head was not enough to maintain its normal movement.
"Let me put you out of your misery," I said.
I drove my dagger into its heart and pulled it out. My entire body was covered in vital fluids; the smell was as rancid as Jasper's clothes. Its body ceased to struggle and laid lifeless on the ground. My face turned even more sadistic as I watched the life drain out of my victim.
'Let's do this again but let's spice things up.'
I released my grasp on the hilt and the weapon fell to the ground, piercing the dirt. It was time to fight barehanded; I had to test my skills in hand-to-hand combat, well in this case, hand-to-paw. Noticing the death of its companion, another dog decided to aim for me. I charged towards it and before it even had the time to react, my fist landed flush against the side of its middle head; the beast was sent flying back.
Giving it breathing room was not in my plan, therefore, I lunged towards it once again. My fist began moving once again, aiming for the same target. The animal was cautious enough to dodge the punch, but little did it know that it had just fallen into the palm of my hand. My initial strike was merely a feint. As soon as it reacted to it, I retracted my arm; my shin sliced through the air and landed against the side of its body. The sound of bone breaking was like music to my ears. Blood oozed out of its orifices as it staggered back to safety. Its eyes frantically looked around in an attempt to find me.
Its vision had suddenly been covered by a red veil before falling to the ground. While the animal was still dazed from my kick, I jumped over it and pierced through two of its eyeballs with my fingers. While the dog was lying down, it was subject to a barrage of punches until its remaining eyes rolled back. My attacks did not end there; I continued the onslaught until a hand grabbed my shoulder.
I looked back and found Jasper and the rest standing behind me. Around us were a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. In the time it took me to kill two, each of them battled ten. I pulled my fists out of the mushy insides of its head and shook them off.
"Good job kid," Jasper said.
"Now onto the real hunt!"