'Thank you Noemie.'
Alderic leaped into the hair, two Medusae daggers in hand as he dove for the speeding monster. The moment he held the blades, he felt a subtle difference and there was a strange confidence surging within him that made him know that this blade can cut through his foe.
Shrieeeeeeek~
The monster bellowed, twisting its body mid-motion and snapping its head up in hopes of swallowing this tiny prey that dared charge at it in one go.
But that small moment of it lagging was all Alderic needed.
Even with the difference in physicals between him and Vaku, Alderic was by far the better fighter and the reason was simple, Humans have developed in a way that made them perfect in combating those stronger than them.
There were many alien races, albeit less weird, that were strong enough to crush steel and chew ores, yet, they all fell beneath humanity's reign and this was because humans have been trained from birth to use everything possible to their advantage.
From the smallest thing like a minor lag window, to the faintest thing like a slight distraction. Soldiers like Alderic and his team were trained to take advantage of these opportunities, and if there isn't to take advantage of, then they just had to create their own.
And after Alderic became a commander, he was able to learn to take that skill to a higher level. Instead of just looking for and creating such opportunities, he can predict them by making certain moves in advance, so that when the opportunity comes, no matter how small it was, it would seem big to him, because to him, it has always been there.
And that slight lag in response was within Alderic's calculation, it was after all the equivalent opposite reaction for his own sudden action of charging at a creature that was approaching the speed of a freight train.
Bang~
Alderic landed right on top of the creature's head, a few inches from the gaping mouth of the beast. He didn't even bother taking a step forward, instead, he immediately brought down both of his hands.
Spuchu~
Green liquid splattered into the air, staining Alderic's pristine face and earning another shriek from the monster, one that was so much louder than all the previous ones together.
'Pain clouds the mind of intelligent creatures…'
Just like how Alderic could tell that the Medusae were intelligent, the moment he saw the monster, he knew it possessed intelligence. There was a macabre gleam in its eyes that made it obvious that the reason it was chasing slowly at first was to enjoy the hunt.
Now the hunter was beginning to realise that it might just possibly become the hunted.
For a non trained combatant, it was hard to endure pain in the middle of battle. Pain was a reaction that overwhelmed the nervous system depending on its intensity and when a shoulder isn't trained to ignore pain, it clouds their mind.
And once pain made you irrational, feelings that shouldn't have existed in the first place would begin to surface.
Feelings like fear.
And for a monster that only had slight intelligence, and one that had probably never experienced such, this process happened faster than it normally would.
'I wonder how many strikes it would take to weaken you mentally….'
Alderic didn't even realise that there was a strange glint in his eyes as he pulled out the two daggers. He twisted on his heels and suddenly took a large stride, bursting into a short dash and quickly arriving at the monster's left eye.
Right about this moment, the monster began shaking its body in hopes of throwing the opponent off of its body. It couldn't believe that such a tiny prey could cause so much pain and it wanted to get it off as quick as possible before pouncing.
But once again, Alderic had predicted just as much. The moment he felt the turbulence, he used the momentum to lift himself in the air just a bit before slamming both daggers into the creature's eye.
The beast only saw a shadow appear close to its eyes before it lost its vision and barely a moment after, the pain sunk in. It had never felt such pain before and it bellowed loudly.
By this point, Faris and Nerissa had caught up to the Medusaes who were now watching the spectacle.
'It's just like I guessed, he's dangerous…. But also very skilled.'
Vaku had a serious expression on his face, his eyes narrowed as he watched the fight while paying full attention. He would have joined the battle, but in Xythris, if someone entered battle alone, it meant they were confident in fighting alone and no one should step in.
Noemie on the other hand stared at the battle with a strange gleam in his eyes, it was one that bothered in awe and slight infatuation.
'He's… he's really strong!'
Such was the thought of not just Noemie but the whole smaller Medusae. But none of them knew that most of what Alderic was going for was more of a mental fest than a physical feat.
But before they could get too involved, Faris reached for one of the Medusae, taking advantage of their distraction just like he had been taught by Alderic and grabbing the latters weapons.
Nerissa did the same but her aim was for Vaku. It was just an instant of delay and only two Medusae held their weapons, the rest had been disarmed.
At least that was what they thought,
"We'll return them." Nerissa said quickly as she dashed into the distance, heading for the creature with Faris following behind her.
Vaku's eyes widened as he seemed to realise that his thoughts had been wrong, only then did he remember that Alderic and his team weren't from around here.
But it was too late, he couldn't join the battle anymore without his weapon.
Alderic didn't even pay any attention to what was happening around him, instead his hands were gripping the dagger tightly as the creature slammed itself around the forest, trying to throw Alderic off its body.
"Commander!!"
Alderic suddenly became aware of his surroundings, his gaze sharpened and he moved, pulling himself up and using the momentum of an upward movement of the creature to throw himself into the air.
Nerissa's body bent and she suddenly exploded with strength, controlling the force saw she threw the spear into the sky, straight for Alderic.
The spear moved through the air, aiming to pierce through Alderic when a shadow suddenly appeared beside it, slamming into its side and shifting it off course in such a way that it passed directly before Alderic.
And with some of its momentum reduced from the stroke, the spear was within catching speed for a commander of the SADF.
Alderic's hand clamped on the shaft of the weapon, raising it up and grabbing right with both hands before plunging down, spear tip first, unto the creature's body.
There was another splash of blood and the creatures curdling screech reverberated through the luminous forest, this time, heavily laced with fear.