"No touching the ship!" Ayse yelled out, not caring who heard or understood him.
While LaRee drilled a second arrow into the injured tiger, Ayse slid to a halt. Ayse's back faced the ship as he leered at the stampeding mammoth.
Yet, Ayse wasn't holding a single knife.
During his mad dash, Ayse had snatched one of LaRee's arrows from the wayside. He firmly held it while preparing to leap up at the charging beast.
In comparison, LaRee was having a much easier time at that moment.
The sabertooth tiger was now heavily injured. Already, it had fought against the mammoth. And now its right front leg was practically unusable thanks to LaRee's two arrows. The tiger had grown hesitant, questioning whether the unconscious wolves were worth further injuries. Especially with LaRee confidently swapping to his dual tomahawks, daring the tiger to step closer.
It was the tiger's hesitation that allowed LaRee to keep an eye on Ayse. And LaRee almost twitched in shock as he yelled again, "What are you doing? You want to die?!"
But Ayse was committed to his decision.
And the mammoth was committed to his charge, trumpeting in alarm while swinging its tusks down on the tiny human, as if swatting at an insignificant fly.
Wh-whiff… Snap!
Neither tusk caught register against Ayse. Outside of all expectations from the mammoth, the human easily evaded the attack.
But Ayse was actually leaping toward the left side of the mammoth's head, further confusing the massive beast.
Performing half of a side flip, Ayse kept his body open and let his feet dangle straight up in the air. As the swinging tusks rushed by, Ayse held the arrow tightly with one hand while gripping the fast-moving, left tusk with the other.
Then, Ayse let the tusk's horizontal momentum complete the flip. He was whipped around the ivory bar at a phenomenal speed like a professional gymnast.
But before Ayse finished a full rotation around the tusk, Ayse's other hand used all of that momentum to jam the arrow straight through the side of the mammoth's skull.
Still, Ayse didn't let go. He let another half-revolution go by while placing his second hand on the tusk.
And, as Ayse forcefully tucked his body into the tusk of the suddenly-stalled mammoth, his swinging inertia jerked the behemoth beast's head to the side. With that, the running, faltering beast's body lost all ability to support itself.
THUD! Thud, thud…
The six-meter, wooly monster collapsed!
Its legs gave out, unable to hold the mammoth's weight even a second more. All of its forward momentum was channeled into the dirt as its furry, heavy body skidded through the ground.
Ayse rolled off to the side after bouncing off the ground. But he was back on his feet the next second, uninjured. Though there were some tears in his thin, patchwork coat.
And, with the ship untouched, the mammoth's tusks ground to a halt only a couple of meters away.
Meanwhile, both LaRee and the hesitant tiger stood in total shock… Eyeing the formerly monstrous, unmoving mammoth. Occasionally glancing at the young man who had killed it.
Kr-rip!
LaRee didn't waste that opening. He hurled one tomahawk while lunging at the tiger with his other axe in hand.
The tiger's last good shoulder cracked from the blow as the tomahawk was wedged between its flesh and bone. No longer did the tiger have enough speed to evade or escape.
But the beast struggled to survive all the same, thrashing about with its fangs and claws aimed at its human opponent.
LaRee's movements and reaction speed were on point. He weaved past the tiger's first claw and ducked the weak, second swipe of the tiger's crippled leg. With a swift motion, LaRee lodged his second tomahawk into the side tiger's neck. The crack of the spine was clear. And the cascade of blood was even more evidence of the tiger's lost life.
However… It was only after the tiger and mammoth were out of the picture that LaRee felt his body truly tense up.
"Nice… kill!"
That statement from the magic wristband forced LaRee's brain back into battle mode. LaRee hurriedly removed his tomahawks from the sabertoothed corpse. Out of impulse and battle instinct, LaRee turned and readied his stance against the approaching Ayse.
On the other hand, Ayse chuckled when he saw LaRee's reaction. So, Ayse promptly resumed their conversation, "I'm Ayse. What's your name?"
For the first time, the watch made a perfect translation.
In response, LaRee lowered his tomahawks. Slightly. "... LaRee. I'm the chief's son."
Ayse's eyes widened. "Right. And your chief was hit by my ship. Right?"
That whole statement was translated properly, aside from a single word. So LaRee asked for clarification, "What is that? A boat that flies? Why did it fall on my father?"
"That's my…" Ayse paused. He took a moment to think of an elementary explanation. "Yes. It's like a flying boat. But it goes between worlds. Not across waters."
"Worlds? Different worlds? … Is that why you dress strangely?" LaRee asked.
Laughing, Ayse nodded, "That's right. But I can't control where my… boat appears. Not fully. I don't choose where I appear on a new world."
When LaRee squinted in confusion, Ayse sighed. He instantly understood that the watch failed to make a good translation.
"When I enter a world. My boat appears, at random," Ayse rephrased. "Can't control where. Just somewhere above the ground… I didn't want to hit your father."
Gradually, LaRee's weapons were being lowered. In contrast, LaRee's curiosity was spiking to lifetime highs.
Yet, LaRee held his tongue.
There wasn't much time till the other hunters returned. And LaRee's personal intrigue wasn't enough to warrant forgetting his duties to the tribe. That was particularly important at that moment with his father's current condition.
Ayse noticed how LaRee's eyes lingered on the mammoth carcass. "You can have that. I don't need it. After all, it was your arrow that made the killing blow."
Even without a perfect translation, LaRee understood what Ayse was getting at. And LaRee replied with a question, "... You want to help?"
"Yes," Ayse boldly said.
"Your crash let an enemy escape. That enemy saw Chief get hit too," LaRee stated, pointing one tomahawk at Ayse's chest. "If you want to help, then help protect. Protect the tribe. Until my father awakens."
Nodding, Ayse raised an eyebrow in interest. "Protection? Is your tribe in danger?"
"No… But it might be," LaRee answered.
"I accept!" Ayse replied, startling the hesitant LaRee with his confident, immediate statement. "But I have terms–"
"We have chief!"
"What happened to wolves?!"
Two voices cried out from the tree line as the hunters rushed back. Together, the veteran hunters carried the pack leader's corpse. The chief was laid across the back of LaRee's wolf, offering the best support possible during transport.
"The mammoth?!" both hunters blurted in absolute astonishment.
LaRee wanted to reply but was still mentally stuck while facing Ayse. "Right now, we focus on Chief. We don't need a mammoth–"
"You killed the mammoth?!" the first hunter screamed in delight and shock.
The second hunter followed with his own shout, "Your arrow killed it? Just like Chief!"
Even the wolf was impressed, offering a light howl to his partner.
"No!" LaRee turned to his fellow tribesmen while shaking his head. "I did not–"
"There it is! The falling boat!"
More voices rang out from afar. The veteran hunters whistled to draw the attention of those new arrivals.
LaRee, however, felt conflicted. With more hunters and wolves, the easier it would be to get his injured father to the village, along with the unconscious wolves. But it also added another layer of complexity to the second important matter at hand…
"Intruder!" Four wolf riders, two young and two old, yelled as they rushed toward Ayse with bows drawn.
"Stop!" LaRee yelled. He leaped to place himself between the incoming tribesmen and Ayse. "Don't shoot! Rush Chief back! He's injured!"
All four arriving hunters slumped back, stunned to hear such a thing from LaRee.
Adding to LaRee's statement, one veteran yelled, "Chief is alive. But needs the shaman! Urgent!"
"Escort Chief back! Now!" LaRee shouted, hoping to get left alone with Ayse to reduce complications.
Without question, one of the young hunters nodded. He complied with LaRee's order right away.
But as that young hunter rushed away with LaRee's wolf, the other three arrivals hopped off their wolves. Their eyes were sharp as they began to piece together the situation based on the damaged environment.
"The intruder did this?!" the oldest hunter, with a serpent fang pierced through his septum, shouted in rage. A vein bulged on his bald head, alongside the serpent tattoo on his scalp.
"Elder, we must hurry–"
"Did he cause this!?" the elder cut LaRee off. His voice got louder. And his bow was drawn once more. "Was it the intruder?"
LaRee wasn't sure what to say in such a hot-blooded scenario. But the last thing LaRee wanted was to antagonize Ayse any further. Considering how easily Ayse brought down the mammoth, LaRee could easily imagine what sort of casualties would occur in a fight against Ayse.
At the same time, the other two new hunters loaded the unconscious wolves onto their own mounts. That way they could return to the village as quickly as possible. And the veteran hunters under LaRee hurried to the elder's wolf, laying the pack leader on that wolf's back.
Then, to everyone's surprise, the intruder and his magic wristband boldly replied, "I did it. By accident–"
"Then die!"
Thwang! Crack…