"Yup, you were right, they look like an inexperienced bunch" said Tom, looking at the two hundreds wisemonkies descending toward their settlement.
"What make you think so ?" Asked mooglie standing near him.
"Just look at them, there's no scout, no vanguard or rearguard, plus, the archers, spear men, swordsmen etc., are crammed together, there is no formation at all, it's literally a mess, you could see for miles around that they are inexperienced"
"That's true, or the one leading them think that he would be enough to cover up their inadequacies" retorted mooglie.
"That would be arrogant of him to think so"
Hearing him, mooglie face became somber, and he said" I know that I already warned you, but you should really be on your guards while fighting hi-"
"Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time" said Tom, jumping down.
The instant he jumped down, he felt the ground beneath him tremble as the footsteps of the approaching wisemonkies reverberated, sending slight vibrations through the earth.
The sound of their march creates an eerie, approaching thunder, filling the air with a sense of foreboding.
Tom grinned as a rush of adrenaline coursed through his body.
"Let's go welcome our guests" said Tom to his subordinates behind him.
With Tom at the head of the formation and his eighty subordinates behind, the group made their way toward the approaching group of wisemonkies.
This time he decided that they would engage head-on, it would be a hassle to try and hide eighty people's in the trees anyway.
In a few minutes, the two armies came face to face.
As the two armies confronted each other, a tense hush fell over the battlefield. On one side stood the two hundreds wisemonkies, descending from the mountain's summit, adorned in rugged, albeit respectable, armor forged from robust steel.
Leading them was a commanding wisemonkey, towering at an imposing 190 centimeters (6 feet and 2.8 inches). Much like the others, this wisemonkey was adorned in unadorned steel armor, yet there was an unmistakable aura of power radiating from him.
On the other side, however stood Tom with dark bags under his eyes, clad in his torn training clothes, behind him, eighty wisemonkies stood with traces of previous battle on their bodies, adorned by makeshift armor made of wood.
At one glance, one could tell that Tom and his subordinates were shabby and, more than anything, tired, some of them even looked on the verge of collapsing.
However, it was the faces of Tom and his subordinates that were riddled with smiles, as if they couldn't see the danger ahead.
The leader of the wisemonkies, descending from the mountain peak, bellowed a command, prompting those behind him to ready their weapons.
With another authoritative shout, they surged forward, charging toward Tom and his group.
Tom cast a swift glance at his subordinates who were still waiting for his command, and said with a grin on his face "What are you waiting for, folks? Go bash their heads in!"'
Hearing him, mooglie and the others also surged forth.
The two armies thundered towards each other, the ground quaked beneath their resolute charge, the air trembled with the cacophony of war cries. It was a moment of primal chaos.
The cacophony of war cries and the clash of steel filled the air as they merged into a chaotic, violent maelstrom, where spear met shield, swords clashed and arrows flashed through the wind.
However, despite all of this happening, the two leaders of those armies stood completely still, staring at each other.
Similar to reaching a consensus, the two of them synchronized their movements, distancing themselves from the zone of clashes, understanding that their battle could affect the safety of their respective subordinates.
They kept running till they finally reached a spot where their fight wouldn't be disturbed by someone or something.
"Well, I guess that's it, come, let's start the fight" said Tom, sending his etherium surging toward his legs to enhance his speed.
Despite the way he casually spoke about this fight, he actually took the confrontation quite seriously as he could sense that, just like him, this wisemonkey stood at the pinnacle of level 1.
When he felt that he was ready, Tom charged at full speed toward the wisemonkey that was still strangely standing still.
'I don't know why he isn't moving, but I surely don't mind" thought Tom.
The moment he got near the wisemonkey he sent his etherium in his arm this time, enhancing his strength.
Thanks to his long hours of training, the transfer of etherium from his legs to his arm was seamless and fluid, taking just a split second to execute all of that.
Tom thrust his arm at the wisemonkey, he could almost see this fight end like that, however just as his fist was mere inches from his opponent, the latter disappeared, not figuratively, but quite literally.
'Invisibility ? No, that's not it, even-' before he even finished his strain of thought, Tom felt a presence disturbance in the Etherium flow behind him and immediately transferred his etherium from his fist to his back.
A second later, Tom was sent hurtling toward a nearby tree trunk.
Upon impact, his collision with the trunk produced a resounding crack as he demolished a section of the trunk, sending several splinters flying into the air around the tree.
Fortunately for Tom that he had used his ehterium to protect his back, resulting in him having merely a few bruises around his body.
Tom swiftly slid off the tree trunk and landed on the ground with a soft thud.
He looked at where he was standing just seconds ago and found his opponent there looking at him with a hint of disdain in his gaze.
The wisemonkies lifted one of his hand and with a mocking grin motioned for Tom to come at him.
However, Tom wasn't a fool, after what happened to him just now, there no f*ucking way that he was going to charge at his opponent.
Seeing that Tom had no intention to come at him, the wisemonkey dropped his hand, and then charged at tom, it seemed that he was thinking that if his opponent refused to come at him, he would gladly do it instead.
'Yes, that's it, come at me' thought Tom, spreading his etherium to his arms, ready to make his arrogant opponent see hell.
In mere seconds, the wisemonkey was upon Tom, it contracted his hands into a fist and punched out toward Tom.
Seeing the incoming punch, Tom reciprocated with a punch on his own.
Just as their fists were going to make contact, the wisemonkey disappeared again.
'Where did he go this time ?' Asked himself Tom, as his punch landed on empty air.
As he pondered the whereabouts of his opponent, he suddenly sensed a presence to his left through the etherium and swiftly turned around.
Yet, this time, he reacted too slowly, and in the next instant, Tom experienced searing pain spreading throughout his body.