"So, this is the place..." Clovis squinted his eyes, scanning the area. There would be no more assistance from this point on. He had to take down the Tier 6 beast along with all the beasts in the surrounding area and get its essence.
He had been riding Reolf to this point, but with so many beasts in this area, even Reolf might get surrounded.
"Reolf. Weâll proceed according to the plan. If an unexpected situation occurs, you know how to handle it. You donât have to worry about me."
Reolf nodded.
"This is your chance. Show your strength to them."
Reolf looked excited. Before, he fought for Clovisâ sake, but this time, he, too, wanted to test his own strength, especially since he had formed a new beast soul.
"Letâs go!"
Reolf stood up and ran forward. The forest wasnât too dense, so Reolf could move around easily with its current size. But it would also mean that the beasts could chase after them much easier. If they were not careful, they would be surrounded completely.
There was a group of beasts in front. From what Clovis and Reolf could sense, two of them were Tier 4, and the rest were Tier 3 or lower.
Even beasts on the outskirts of the forest were already this strong, showing how terrifying the forest was.
But it didnât matter. Reolf charged straight in.
The beasts noticed his presence and immediately rushed at him.
There was no need to use his beast soul right away due to how exhausting it was. Instead, Reolf pounced on the first beast and ripped apart its neck with a single bite. Three more beasts surrounded them from two directions.
Clovis struck one of them while Reolf slapped another with his paw. When the last beast was about to reach Reolf, Clovis threw his short sword, impaling its head before pulling the sword back.
The rest of the beasts had finally caught up, including the two Tier 4 beasts.
Clovis leaped to the right side while saying, "I will take care of them. You go for the ones on our left."
Reolf turned around and pounced on the Tier 4 beast. Meanwhile, Clovis headed straight to the other Tier 4 beast.
He exchanged several blows with the beast, feeling something weird.
"Hmm..." Clovis couldnât help but squint his eyes. Even though he had become a Tier 5 human and the opponent was Tier 4, this beast wasnât something to be underestimated.
It was just that he got the feeling that he could kill this beast in a swing. The beastâs movement was quick, but in Clovisâ eyes, it lacked intensity.
He felt the beast was so lacking.
Since other beasts were closing in, Clovis tried to trust his instinct this time and waved his sword sharply to the right.
His sword cut two beasts at first, but the Tier 4 beast then stopped the blade. Normally, he would just launch another attack, but his instinct was telling him to move like Jay.
Clovisâ eyes turned bloodshot as his foot pressed the ground even harder, gaining a surge of strength.
Then, the battle ended in an instant. With more force, the blade cut through the hard paw along with the beastâs neck before reaching the beast all the way to his right.
"!!!" Clovis widened his eyes in shock. "This is..."
Clovis looked around, never thinking that he could actually take down all the beasts on one side with just a single swing.
He thought he was lucky since these beasts were close to him, but he didnât think this was the case.
"Whatâs actually happening?" Clovis widened his eyes in surprise.
Mara, who was observing him from a distance, took a big bite while thinking, âHe must have realized something weird.
âAbyss Time might allow us to utilize killing intent, but this killing intent doesnât disappear so suddenly. The more we use the Abyss Time and the more we utilize the killing intent, the more that killing intent is ingrained in our existence.
âAnd within that killing intent is the beastâs instinct. When a beast fights, it doesnât necessarily fight with reason. Their instincts have been honed to perfection, calculating the enemyâs strength, their trajectory, and even the best move.
âHowever, humans are different from beasts. We fight with reasons. Still, sometimes, our brains canât keep up with the process.
âEven with the Blood Affinity, there will be times we canât outpace our opponent. Thatâs why we follow instinct instead of rationality sometimes.
âAs long as heâs able to achieve the harmony between rationality and instinct, his fighting style will become perfect.
âThough... the opponent this time has so many beasts under it. Its strength is not low either. Even with the harmony between rationality and instinct, itâs going to be impossible to achieve it.â
Mara fell silent. She knew this was a task for Nathan. She had gone through this so many times.
Among all Tier 9 humans, she was probably the only one who never fought together with teammates.
And Clovis was expected to grow strong enough to achieve it. At the same time, she felt a bit conflicted about Reolf.
Reolf was something Clovis got through his unique ability. So, he could be considered a part of his power, but Reolf was an intellectual being as well. Could this be considered a pair?
Mara had never experienced this before. That was why she sent him here.
âAnyway, it will still be tough even if they combine their strength. The quantity is still too high.â
Mara fell silent. She eventually closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do other than observe Clovisâ performance.
Clovis, on the other hand, felt a bit excited. "I donât know whatâs going on, but... I feel like I understand everything while not understanding everything at the same time.
"I donât know whatâs going on, but for some reason, my body knows how to move." Clovis glanced at Reolf. It looked like he had defeated his opponents as well. "It looks like Reolf also noticed something different.
"This might be more doable than I originally thought..."