"That dammed fool..."
Ashe muttered under her breath as she observed her pseudo-companion deciding to fight the mutated Sequence 7 Bugbear in single combat. This was probably the worst decision that that idiot could make.
Even from the distance, she could see that the Bugbear was powerful as heck, and even though she was standing at the Sequence 6 of the Ranger Pathway, she wouldn't really dare to fight the mutated Bugbear in a single combat head-on.
It was clear that the monster had some really powerful abilities, and its physical strength was strong enough to crush all the Bugbears into absolute submission. She didn't know what was going on in the head of Valkorion, but nevertheless, it wasn't her problem.
In the worst scenario, he would get killed by the Sequence 7 Bugbear during the duel, and she could use the opportunity to slip by and escape from the place.
Still, it was a rather interesting event to watch because while Sequence 7 goblinoid wasn't particularly rare in the Painted Mountains, the ones that underwent some kind of mutation were, indeed, very, very rare.
Ashe encountered only a few such monsters during her journey, and she confronted only one of them, a mutated Sequence 6 Gnoll. Even that was only out of absolute necessity when she didn't have any other option and was forced to fight the Gnoll to death.
In the end, she was rather lucky in that aspect, as she managed to take the Sequence 6 mutated gnoll with a combination of traps and her Beyonder powers, or else, the monster would have for sure killed her.
Right now, she put another arrow into the bow, pulled the bowstring, and took aim at the head of one of the Bugbears that were running to her position. She knew that these Bugbears wouldn't dare to interrupt the duel between Valkorion and their leader, as that would spell their doom.
If their leader decided to fight the human in a single combat, it was his sacred right, and any kind of interruption was punishable by death. This was some sort of tradition and also a needed thing in the goblinoid societies and also the societies of similar monster species.
Mostly because it served as a way to showcase the strength of the leader to their subjects, through various duels and combat against powerful foes, the leaders would show their power to the entire group to affirm their position as the leader.
'Ts, always creating trouble... If he gets at a disadvantage, I will try to help him...'
Ashe thought as she observed the Bugbears rushing towards her position, though most probably, they would just start looking for her, as she was currently hiding on the very high tree that was one of the few in the entire area.
Trees were a rarity within the Painted Mountains, as most of the Painted Moutnaisn was without much flora. And what plans and trees were growing in the Painted Mountains were as dangerous as the animals, beasts, and monsters living within the Mountain Range.
'Time to lay down some traps...'
Ashe then climbed down from the tree where she was hiding; she started laying down various traps as she predicted the paths that the Bugbears would take. As she was already Sequence 6 Slayer, she was rather apt at laying traps.
Slayer needed enemies to slay, it was rather wide definition of the word, as the sole thing that she needed was to slay her enemies in any way possible. Since she started as Sequence 7 Ranger, she learned everything about living in the forest, hunting, tracking, trapping, and so on.
It also helped a lot that she was from a place where her people's main source of food and income was hunting for dangerous animals, beasts, monsters, and other Extraordinary Creatures during the harsh winters, as the climate wasn't really the best.
Ashe was very fast in preparing some makeshift traps that she had already pre-prepared during the time when she was still in the Catharys. It was not like she wasn't apt to fight her foes in close combat; she preferred to dispose of them in other ways.
As hunter foremost, she would rather lower their number or cause them as many injuries as possible, afterward, picking them one by one. They would fall either by her bow or by her daggers, as they were eager for the blood of some Bugbears.
She was rather fast, faster than the wind, as she finished all the traps and placed them in the way of the Bugbears before she chose to hide from the sight of any enemies. Her daggers were sharp, and with her superior eyesight, she could clearly see the Bugbears approaching the place.
One of the abilities that she obtained by becoming Slayer, with each enemy that she slayed personally, she was able to give more power to the next attack. If the enemy was slain by her by using cold weapons, she could use their blood to heal herself and recover part of her stamina and endurance.
If she mastered this ability, she could even speed up her healing rate a bit.
"ROOOAAAR!"
By the roars of the Bugbear she was hearing even here, it was clear that the fight between the Sequence 7 Bugbear and Valkorion had started.
During that time...
It was time for her to do her part as well.
***
On the plateau, one could see a silver-haired human with golden eyes clad in leather armor with metal pieces dodging the attacks from the enormous hulking mass of muscles and power in the form of a huge Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear.
This was a vastly different fight from the previous ones because this one was more skilled and more powerful than other goblinoids. It reminded him of the time when he encountered a few lone Orcs in the Painted Mountains and fought against them.
Valkorion was somewhat surprised by the outcome, as the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear was stronger and more skilled than he anticipated. He could handle the enormous metal cub very well and even combined it with the shield.
Even when Valkorion was using the Juyo to its limits, it was rather complicated to fight against the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear effectively. Still, he was enjoying himself a lot; the fight against truly powerful foes was something that he desperately needed.
It allowed him to let loose, use everything that he had in his arsenal, and also make another advance in his mastery over the sword, and speed up the digestion of the Beyonder Potion due to the progress of the Acting Method of Warrior.
Still, for him right now, the most valuable thing was the mental ease and pleasure that this fight brought to him. Since the death of the last guards of the mansion of the House Tenebraenys, he didn't have any Beyonder opponent to spar against.
And because he refused outright to participate in the Gladiatoral Arenas and Fighting Pits, as such things were too dangerous for him right now, he lacked powerful opponents that could use their heads and push him to new heights.
This was something that the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear certainly achieved, as Valkorion almost crashed into a rock because there was no place to dodge, as he was almost in the corner due to the series of ferocious attacks of his opponent.