Chapter 66 — Reinforcements II
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This was different from the first fight, where Socrates was without a weapon. This time, he was with a sword—and that alone changed everything...
He wasn't just waiting for the mobs to come at him but going after them...
All his body, from head to toe, was drenched with enemy blood as he wasn't just cutting them down but also inflicting wounds and injuries that could kill some in the process...
There was no pity in his eyes... Only resolve...
Right from the start of his journey, even before his meridian was broken... Socrates wasn't an innocent teenager... He was a boy groomed to be the Heir of the Trueblood clan... A boy that was shown the cruelty of the world right from when he was little...
The world of dog eat dog...
The world where you've to kill or you'll be killed...
And so Socrates killed... Those that were unlucky—and those that were lucky received grievous wounds from him...
"Overwhelm him... There's only so much stamina he can burn..." The members cried out as they jumped on Socrates from all directions—when the Son of Trueblood broke out of their encirclement and sped towards Malena, who was still seated calmly on her human horse...
She didn't even bother that Socrates was coming for her—when mid-range, he got intercepted by the muscular man...
"I'll be your opponent..." The man said to him, which caused him to stop his charge as he analyzed this new opponent... Unlike the others, he wasn't wearing any armor nor coat... His chest was bare, showing all his abs and finely toned muscles, while his pants were loose and seemed to be made of silk cotton... He wasn't wearing any boots either and was wielding a fat club...
"Aren't you feeling cold, brother?" Socrates asked...
"I'm not your brother... I'm Ephram, and no—this weather can't do anything to me..." The muscular man boasted as he charged at Socrates...
He only moved, but it seemed as if the earth could feel someone leave it—as it felt lighter—and when he got closer to Socrates, he struck out with his club...
Socrates didn't dodge nor sidestep but simply chose to counterattack as he blocked the club with the sword he was holding...
It wasn't even an equal exchange as the club broke the blade of the weapon, leaving just the hilt in Socrates' grip... But that wasn't all—as Ephram had already propelled himself sideways, his body bound to follow, which he used to set up a kick that cut through the air, heading straight for Socrates' face...
Although the latter wasn't expecting a follow-up attack, his reflexes were sharp enough, and he was able to dodge it without much hesitation...
And at that moment, four members of the Brownhounds guild descended on the now seemingly unarmed Socrates with great precision...
Stab! Slash! Cut! Thrust!
But what they didn't know was that the Son of Trueblood had already noticed them—as he threw a backflip over their coordinated attack and landed behind them...
With a kick, he sent one of them flying forward, and then another quickly turned towards him with a slash, which he narrowly dodged by stepping back just enough—close enough that he was able to grab the wrist of the attacker...
At that moment, Ephram was rushing at him with full speed—when he lifted the attacker up and flung him towards the incoming Ephram...
The muscular man frowned as he raised his club and hit the member of the Brownhounds guild away like a fly before continuing like nothing happened...
The rest saw this and simply stepped backward... It turned out those that they were hoping would protect them didn't even care about their survival...
That's the grim reality of life... Only strength that matters...
Kamira watched the exchange between Socrates and Ephram unfold live and direct, with great focus and intensity...
She watched how Ephram thrashed around like a berserker—but Socrates weaved through every one of his attacks without even one touching him...
This went on for minutes as they ran across the whole scene, thrashing around in the snowy field—but Ephram's attacks didn't even touch or scratch Socrates...
"You coward... Fight back..." Ephram cried out in frustration, and Socrates simply chuckled...
"No..." He shook his head—and this infuriated the muscular man as he tightened every part of his body, spread out his arms, and let out a loud scream...
Yellow energy burst out of his body as it became visible, spreading across his veins, eyes, muscles, and even his nose, as it seemed to breathe out cold yellow energy...
"You shall meet your demise by my hands..." Ephram declared as he charged at Socrates...
Socrates was expecting an upgrade—but not this kind of upgrade... He was expecting Ephram's speed to amplify—not to double—and by the time he realized, it was too late as Ephram's club landed on his stomach, propelling him backward, tearing through the air as he crashed into the wall of the arena, leaving a huge dent before falling to the floor...
Socrates rose up instantly, wiping the blood at the corner of his lips, when he raised his gaze to see Ephram descending on him with a heavy smash aimed at his face...
Every part of his body screamed as adrenaline pumped through his veins, and he rolled away from that position without hesitation...
The club smashed into the wall behind him, creating a huge hole—but at that moment Ephram noticed Socrates had dodged, he turned toward his location with a wide swing...
Socrates tried to grab the club as he exerted all his strength to push it away—his left palm facing skyward while his right palm faced downward as he caught the swinging club mid-motion...
Ring...
The sound tore through the air as Socrates was forced backward while giving it his all—but the force of the swing overwhelmed him as he was sent flying away toward the direction of Malena...
He crashed on the ground, skidded across the snow, and then rose up again like nothing happened...
"Boy... Don't you love this view?" Malena called out to Socrates, who was now before her, her voice sweet as she placed a hand on her chest...
"I can remove the armor if you want to..." That alone captivated Socrates' attention as he found himself looking toward the lady, who chuckled softly...
Before he could recall that he was in the middle of a fight, a club had already found its way through the air and landed cleanly on his chin—the force sending his body flying skyward before crashing into an old structure, which he broke through from the impact as the structure collapsed over him...
"Yes..." Brawyn giggled happily, while Kamira scoffed...
"All men are the same..." She said after witnessing what just happened...
Her voice caused Brawyn to turn to her—and as she noticed the gaze, she turned to him too...
"You..."
"You!"
It turned out they were both hiding in the same place, watching as the fight unfolded...