In the trees of a small forest on the mountain a monkey sat on a branch observing its other brothers and sisters below.
It was a silver rank Golden Hunchback Orangutang. This creature was known to be territorial and protective of its kind.
It was on alert since more and more humans had been coming to the mountains. Especially since not long ago a couple of its family had been killed by some of those humans.
It didn't want to lose anymore of its people so it was watching them like a hawk. It's eyes never left the group because a bad feeling was filling its belly.
It could sense something bad might happen but it couldn't tell where the danger was coming from. Not to far away a group of 4 had been sneaking up on the Golden ape.
All of them had either a weapon drawn or preparing to attack with spirit arts. They didn't make a sound since one of the leading guys in the group held a floating rune that had silenced all noises they made while allowing all others to still go through the dome of silence.
"Jacob and Kaylee, I'll trust you two too keep the small fry busy as me and Daki take on the big guy. Daki, just back me up with your arrows. Jacob if you see an opening and you aren't to pressured by the group let's attack the Orangutang together if it's not already dead"
In Jacob's heart it felt wrong to let others take the lead. He was a proud noble! A leader for the people! Yet he was now taking orders from one of the people he was supposed to lead.
When those thoughts filled his mind he started to think about the fight between him and Ryder. This calmed him down a lot, he wasn't against taking some orders from Ryder then. Since Ryder was at an equal level as him he didn't feel to against the idea especially with Kaylee supporting him!
'… At least it isn't someone weaker then me that Kaylee is so obsessed with'
He could only sigh as they get into positions, when everything was ready Ryder rushed forward leaping from branch to branch with his metal claws digging into the tree making his own footholds by cutting parts of the tree.
The beast had yet to notice them due to the silence spell. The moment Ryder got close enough to lunge on the creature it finally turned to look before getting startled by the boy that had just launched himself at the ape!
He had tackled its body to the ground as fire and light flew past both of them to blow up in the center of the group of apes!
The Orangutang was furious! However it couldn't protect its people at the moment with Ryder on top of it clawing at its chest when he couldn't attack the head due to the apes guard.
ROAR!
The ape let out a loud roar before attacking Ryder! It's large arms like massive logs being swung at the boy as he uses his environment to dodge the beasts blows!
Jumping from one tree to another he pulled the beast away from Kaylee and Jacob while giving Daki an open area making it almost impossible to miss.
"Daki! Focus on its legs and arms! We will take away its mobility slowly as we fight!"
His body was coated in a gold energy, it was almost like a peaceful flowing golden river had completely enveloped his body enhancing himself more while dodging the beasts berserk attacks.
Of course he wasn't going to let Daki do everything! It had already been hit by a couple arrows by now as he dove under the beast avoiding a wide swing as he cut into the apes legs!
Quickly getting up he flung himself towards the closest tree avoiding the creature releasing more of its power! The beast was not weak, it was one of the strongest silver rank beasts in this area.
Unfortunately, it couldn't keep up with Ryder's quick movements. Especially with arrows attacking its joints and the wolf boy constantly pouncing on it when he dodged the slow attacks.
It was getting more and more infuriated as time went on, however it showed clear signs that it's stamina was running out quickly.
Due to its weakened state it began to focus on deflecting the arrows while fighting off Ryder!
It no longer used large swings instead using its superior size to attack quickly making it hard for Ryder to advance especially since Daki's arrows weren't hitting their target anymore.
'Spirit grade? Looks like I'll be able to see what a demon spirit tastes like soon!'
Ryder drew his sword, his mental power soon followed his will! Within a couple seconds the blade looked like it was shining a little. With a faint white light the mental power had sharpened the blade before condensing some of that power into a temporary rune placed at the base of the blade saying "Durable" before he got closer.
The beast screamed at Ryder warning him to not get closer as it prepares to launch a quick strike if the boy gets within its range.
The boy leaped at the ape countering its fast strike with a side step and a slash along its arm while running towards its main body.
"Daki! Aim for the eyes!"
He yelled out for the boy only to get nothing in response. No arrows had been shot after the beast countered him. Ryder didn't understand why but he couldn't care at the moment, he instantly jumped up using his left hand to claw into the beast pulling himself up as he swings the blade down towards its head before being interrupted by an angry yell.
"Who are you two! Release her at once!"
Before a massive wave of fire burst out revealing two cloaked figures carrying an unconscious Kaylee in their arms!
'What!?'
He didn't have any time to get away as the beast gave him a powerful bear hug the moment he was distracted!
His body wasn't weaker then the beasts! He pushed hard against its strength but could feel the pain as he used mental power to keep track of Kaylee and the two mysterious figures!
When he saw that Daki had been knocked unconscious and Jacob had been injured but still fighting his heart sank. Especially when they were able to avoid Jacob's flames while running away from the scene with Kaylee!
At that moment he snapped, his consciousness was slowly fading from the crushing force the ape was using on him! It didn't help he wasn't focusing on the ape before his blue eyes opened wide looking at the beast!
"GET OFF ME!"
He screamed with all his might as he funneled more Soul Force into his body fighting off the beasts strength! At this moment all Ryder could see was red as he dropped his sword pulled up his knees to dig into the beast before opening its embrace just a enough to pull his head back slamming it into the monkeys face!
He didn't care about the pain at all! Instead he focused purely on killing this beast as fast as possible! With another push the beast released him just to open its eyes wide one last time as Ryder used his middle and ring fingers claws to stab into the creatures eyes before grabbing its skull and tearing it open killing it immediately!
A small white flame appeared on its forehead before it was forcibly pulled into Ryder's body! He didn't care for this however because in the next moment he released his Avatar before merging with it just like with his Pseudo Avatar!
He used the falling body as a springboard passing Jacob who was running after Kaylee with Daki over his shoulder!
'What the hell!? What is that form!'
He didn't look like a normal human anymore, instead it was like a caveman wearing animal skin clothes instead of the normal clothes they usually wear!
He was a golden blur running through the forest on all fours at incredible speeds! The moment he merged with Cain his powers was on another level!
Ryder's Soul Realm is special, with Cain being his Soul Form he would be released upon activating Ryder's Avatar. This wasn't a permanent release but the special thing about their situation is that Cain also cultivates!
His Soul Force merged with Ryder's at that moment making them as strong as a 1 star gold rank expert just like Cain!
Both figures had been dashing through the woods towards the center of the star light mountains.
"We got her! Hurry and pick us up!"
A women in a cloak spoke into a crystal only to be shocked the next moment as a speeding golden blur lunged at her using its claw to completely tear off her arm!
This shocked both figures greatly! They both were peak gold rank martial artists and yet they couldn't withstand an attack from just a 1 star gold rank.
"Go! Get the girl out of here!"
The injured women spoke pulling out a dagger with her remaining hand intending to stop Ryder at all costs only to find him gone from his original position.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!"
He snapped a tree in half with a powerful kick! This kick didn't stop however as it slammed into the side of the other cloaked figures body as Ryder rushed up catching Kaylee's unconscious body from hitting the floor as he jumped back immediately running towards Jacob!
Even though his mind and body was filled with rage he still focused solely on protecting Kaylee with everything he has! Upon the realization that the kid wasn't consumed by anger both of them panicked!
'This brat!? Who does he think he is! Thinking that he can just disregard us like that!'
The man who was kicked earlier soon shot up before running after the boy. The women came soon after, she had stopped the bleeding after taking a small red pill.
"Oh~ Ryder this big sister is starting to like you more and more now~ even though you knew they were stronger you didn't hesitate and instead shocked them with sneak attacks just to get Kaylee and run away! I approve little genius!"
Anna still sat in her floating lotus flower watching the fight as Ryder tries his hardest to get away from his pursuers!
"Show me more of your talents, this big sister wants to see what my potential future brother-in-law can do~"
She giggled a little before her communication crystal began to react indicating she was being contacted.