章 19: Lioness
The tip of Tom's sword pierced the elk's neck with precision, and the impact was so powerful that the sword sliced through the entire head of the elk. A resounding thud echoed as the head hit the ground.
BOOOM
The force of the sword striking the ground caused a massive cloud of dust to billow, visible from a kilometer away. Amidst this, Tom continued his descent towards the ground. Lacking the strength to control his landing, he managed to shield his head during the fall. A few seconds later, he collided with the earth.
"Arg..."
Though the impact brought him discomfort, he could bear the pain. After all, he had emerged victorious from such a harrowing battle.
Lying still for a few more minutes, he finally rose to his feet and approached the lifeless body of the elk. As he got closer, a soft chuckle escaped him. "I guess I should thank Leon for forcing me into baseball all those years ago."
Standing before the fallen elk, he took in the extent of the damage he had caused. "I didn't imagine the attack would be this powerful," he muttered to himself.
If he had known he wouldn't need to expend nearly all his Etherium to bring down the elk, he might have chosen a different approach. Furthermore, the noise from the attack had the potential to attract unwanted attention.
He turned his gaze to the elk's decapitated head a few meters away from the corpse, chuckled and asked "So, not launching those teeth anymore, are you?" he quipped, though he knew the elk wouldn't respond. This remark showcased Tom's retaliatory nature.
One of his core principles was treating others in kind, and in this case, since the elk tried to kill him, it was the elk that ended up dead instead. Although he had initially intended to flee, that thought was long gone from Tom's mind.
"I hope this thing is edible," he thought, approaching his sword to retrieve it. The blade was stained with the elk's blood, so he wiped it clean on the elk's body. Just as he was about to use the sword to carve into the animal's body – or creature's, whatever it was – he noticed a few cracks on the blade upon closer inspection.
These cracks seemed to be more than just superficial damage, indicating that the sword wouldn't hold up for much longer. 'This isn't good news,' he sighed inwardly.
However, Tom didn't dwell on the state of his sword. After all, what could he do about it? He wasn't a blacksmith and knew little about weapon crafting. Plus, the explosion caused by his attack might draw other forest creatures, so he needed to hurry. Despite his lack of experience and knowledge, Tom managed to extract a sizable piece of meat from the elk. The meat appeared surprisingly appetizing, despite being raw.
After cutting off the meat, Tom wasted no time and left the scene.
Tom had made the right decision, as right after leaving the clearing, a roar reached his ears. The roar was close enough for him to hear, yet far enough for him to be certain it wasn't directed at him. Despite this, every hair on his body stood on end. Hurriedly, he hid behind a tree, casting a cautious glance in the direction from which the roar emanated.
He spotted a lioness emerging from the opposite side of the forest, venturing into the clearing. Observing discreetly, he watched as the lioness approached the elk he had killed. The lioness appeared like an ordinary earth lioness, except for being entirely white.
Despite the distance between him and the lioness, Tom was almost certain that its eyes gleamed with a sky-blue hue. The lioness drew near the elk's body and began to feast.
Tom thought, 'The smell of the meat must have attracted her. If that's the case, I should make my exit before she finishes.' He wanted to retreat too, clutching the meat he had carved from the elk in his arms due to the lack of something to carry it in.
However, just as he was about to turn and flee, something happened that piqued his curiosity and urged him to stay put.
From the other side of the forest – the same direction the lioness had emerged from – more animals were emerging. These animals closely resembled hyenas. There were four of them, emitting irritating sounds as they approached the lioness engrossed in her meal.
Alerted by their noise, the lioness ceased eating and turned her head towards the newcomers. The hyenas, however, continued their approach while emitting their grating cries.
When the hyenas drew nearer, the lioness turned fully to face them. The hyenas, on the other hand, paid no attention to the lioness; their focus remained solely on the elk. They were practically drooling, their villainous expressions revealing their intense desire.
Undeterred by the lioness's warning roars, one of the hyenas, with saliva dripping from its mouth, tried to pass the lioness without concern for her and pounce on her food. Just as the hyena passed by the lioness and lunged for the meat, she swiftly turned and delivered a precise, powerful strike to the back of the hyena's head. The impact sent the hyena flying into the air before crashing to the ground... lifeless.
Observing all of this from a distance, Tom gulped, the sheer force of that blow sending shivers down his spine. Meanwhile, the lioness shifted her attention back to the three remaining hyenas.
This time, having witnessed their comrade's fate, the hyenas took the lioness more seriously. However, that didn't mean they were willing to give up on such an easy meal. They began growling at the lioness, who responded with another warning roar. But even after witnessing the fate of their comrades who had ignored the warning, the hyenas remained determined to fill their bellies, and the lioness wasn't going to stop them.
The hyenas then escalated the volume of their cries. As time passed, their cries grew louder and louder, reaching a point where even Tom, who was some distance away from the combat area, had to cover his ears. The problem wasn't just the volume, but the grating quality of their voices. Even the lioness seemed a bit disoriented.
However, this confusion didn't last long. In just a few seconds, she had already adapted to their attacks. The hyenas stopped their cries, but the sound they had emitted still lingered in the air. Seeing this, Tom wondered, 'What kind of power is this?'
Meanwhile, the hyenas pounced on the lioness to attack her all at once. This time, it seemed the lioness had had enough of these pesky creatures disrupting her feast. She struck the ground forcefully with her paw, leaving Tom and the hyenas in awe. Where her paw had struck, the ground began to freeze.
Before Tom and the hyenas could comprehend what was happening, the ice spread, engulfing the three hyenas attacking the lioness. In an instant, they were frozen solid, their bodies encased in ice.
The hyenas had become ice statues. Once the hyenas were frozen, the lioness approached each of them one by one and destroyed the ice statues they had become. After destroying their statues, the lioness returned to her spot and continued to eat peacefully, while in the meantime,
"What just happened?"
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