The top nine were collectively known as The Cream. But even then, there was a major difference between them. The numbers 1-5 were known for their serious nature in following the rules and procedures led by One and were known as the upper cream. The numbers 6-9 were led by Eight and were completely the opposite. They were referred to as the lower cream. The lower cream ran fight clubs, industries in human settlements and were very wealthy. This made them popular among the vampires because they were considered 'exciting'. Thus they had a lot more subordinates willing to serve under them. This created conflict with the upper cream who considered themselves to be superior. Thus the battle between the two ran deep and for a very long time. This was what Eight had told me on the first day of my match after I asked about the higher numbers. In essence, it was possible that Eight was the highest authority in the Vampire species after the Blood Origin's family. For the predicament I was facing now, five of the top Vampires in ranking were trying to face off Eight and his group. This was a really dumb move because this was his tuff that was filled with his subordinates. "Eight, you have gone too far this time." A sharp looking gentleman said. "This was always your problem One. Taking life too seriously." Eight answered. One had a mana capacity of 2.6 million. The highest in the group. "Eight. This is my final warning. If you don't get out of the way I will destroy you." One said. The matches had stopped and now there was a commotion. "The creams are fighting." "Finally some excitement for me." This was getting tense so I acted quickly. "Do you believe any of you will have a chance when I join up with Eight?" I said waking up from my seat. "Ha! Do not make me laugh. You are still a fledgling in my eyes." One said with a sneer. "Why don't we take this outside then? Surely that is more preferable to you as well." Eight said. The others agreed and within a second we were at an open expansive field. I must learn this teleportation technique from eight. He was the only one who had mastered it. The Upper Cream had five members led by One while the Lower cream had four members including me led by Eight. "There is no turning back from here you know?" One asked. I was going to go all out from the beginning.
I held the disks on my hands. "I see. You are also going all out. It will be a shame for me to hold anything back." Seven said as she looked at me. Everyone got in their fighting positions. Eight started assigning roles. I was given Five as my target. Suddenly Eight disappeared and reappeared next to One. One dodged the kick. This was the signal that the battle had begun. I lounged forward and threw my Chakrams at Five who expertly dodged them. Five was a tall guy who used a gigantic sickle to fight. He was very skilled and strong. My group apart from me was getting overwhelmed. Do they want to kill each other for real? Eight was already having difficulties standing up, Seven was facing two competitors and was badly injured and Nine had already lost an arm. This was the first thirty seconds of the fight. If it continued like this, I shuddered to think what would happen. I liked this guys because they were laid back. I did not really want to see them die. At this point, I had already collected enough information about the strength of their fighting force. I was not worried about exposing my true strength. It was time to repay the kindness of this guys. I was thinking about the future that if the war ended, we would not be enemies. "You must have a lot of confidence looking around when fighting me." Five asked. "For the first time in a long while I will use all my strength. WAAAA" I shouted at the top of my voice. I released my aura and blood lust at the same time. The ground and the air shook violently. The birds fled from their trees. I covered my body with the Orin Membrane and began going at full strength. I imbued my attacks with magic and used all my strength to attack Five. In ten seconds, I had sliced his body through the waist. That was not enough to kill him however but it immobilized him. I turned my attention to one of the fighters facing Seven. I quickly moved towards her and sliced her diagonally from the shoulder to the waist. The other tried to back off but I quickly caught up to him and sliced both his legs. "What is this?" Seven shouted. I guess she was referring to my membrane. "100% effort." I said as I left the scene. Eight was in a worse shape than Nine so I moved to his direction first. One saw me coming and shot blood projectiles from his arm which I did not bother blocking. They all bounced off me not leaving a single scratch. I imbued my chakrams with fire magic and tossed them to him. They acted like homing missiles and were following him until they hit their targets. He must have been a pro in acrobatics because he expertly dodged all the attacks. Not bad at all. The others were not even half as skilled as him. "You maggot. You think you can come to our leader's domain and hurt his people." One shouted. He is not particularly strong just very skilled. My chakrams will not hit him soon with that low speed. I should increase the speed and use lightning magic instead of fire. "In a few hours they will be fine. I left them alive didn't I?" I answered. I then modified my attack while the chakrams were still homing. "Argh. Damn you dragon. You will pay for this." One said. I had just scratched his left arm. I was now just standing and controlling the weapons path. "I was aiming to cut it off but you are more skilled than I thought. I will not make the same mistake again." I said while getting into a combat position. I was going to attack him bare handed while my weapons were targeting him. Before I could do that however, the ground shook and a loud sound was heard. What is that? It sounds like it is getting closer. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction the noise was coming from. "Haha. The master's pet has come to aid us." One said. "Pet? Master has no pets." Eight said. "This was long before you existed. At that time master only had me as his servant." One answered. What kind of pet is this gut talking about? "Not even the Dragons have a chance against it. It ruled over everything on the continent long ago. The true King of all land animals. The Hydra." One declared. A hydra?
[Approximate mana reserves, Hydra 400 million Vs 25 million]
400 million? That is insane I have to check it out. I crouched and leaped to the air. I then flew to the direction of the sound. Various birds and animals were running away from the sound. And then I saw it. It looked like it came from the nearby lake. The trail and destruction it left behind was evident. The legendary beast with four heads. It was definitely the largest animal I had ever seen. Its length and height were unbelievable. If I was in dragon form, I would look like a new born chick next to its mother. That was not even the most impressive part. Its mana reserves readings were at 630 million. I was flying well above it to prevent confrontations. What the hell do I do? I can't win against that. I was now behind it looking at it heading to where we were fighting. If this was going to be a threat, I was going to eliminate it here and now. I started preparing for my special attack, The Angel's Tear. The same one I used on the three tortoises. The Hydra noticed me and looked in my direction. Why is it not attacking me?
[I will not be sufficient to protect you from its attack.]
Not even the Orin membrane was enough? I must kill it here and now. The Hydra simply observed me using its four heads without moving. I completed my spell and promptly unleashed it. The attack hit the area. The fallout was as expected, dust vegetation and everything around the point of impact was blown away. "That was useless. You cannot harm it Sir Chrono." A voice was heard. I looked around and saw a man dressed in all black. "Who are you?" I asked in shock. "You are in my domain without knowing how I look like? That is rather bold don't you agree." The man said with a stoic face. His domain? Could he be the… His mana reserves read 8 million. This is definitely him. The dust calmed down a few minutes later and the hydra stood there unharmed and unfazed. "Master. I see you are awake. Forgive me, I have failed to look after your lands." The Blood Origin shouted while prostrating himself before it. Master? I thought this was his pet. Did One get it wrong. The Hydra ignored him and continued looking at me. I was not going to wait for its turn to attack me. I tried to run but could not move. A force pulled me closer and closer to The Hydra until I was in front of it. Is this how I am going to die? I never asked Jenga how I died on Earth because I was afraid of knowing about it. Now here I am not even ten years old about to die. The piercing gaze of four heads looking at you while you levitated was intense. The Hydra then opened its mouths. Here it comes, this is where I meet my end.