Chương 14: Into The Forest
Like a walk in the park, Cyrus' movements were nimble and calm on the battlefield. The previous inexperience was ground away, and his movements were much more refined. One step for each attack and a quick maneuver to counter or evade. Simple and direct was a suitable description.
Left, right, back, wolves were continuing to fly in from multiple directions as Cyrus threw calculated punches here and there to disrupt their flow. Victor was slightly shocked, but had expected a similar outcome. All the more reason for why he placed a few extra surprises for his favorite student. Others, however, were dumbfounded by the fluid sequence and utilization of the techniques they all learned.
To the average onlooker, it seemed like a completely different set of skills was taught to Cyrus. One of the stronger looking kids in the crowd said, "Ho....How is this possible?!?!"
"I know we could barely see him fighting that night due to the glare from the fire, but this is way too crazy!" his nearby friend responded.
A timid girl farther away blushed a bit while watching him intently. "Oh my god.....doesn't he look super handsome?"
Her close friend nearby also nodded in agreement. Cyrus, unquestionably, was a head turner. That handsome light wheat skin tone, golden eyes and hair, sword like brows, plus the small pointed nose resulted in an elgant visage rarely found amongst the slaves. Also, his compact and lithe body frame, standing around 4ft and a couple inches, was more comparable to a sprouting youngster then a child, not looking young anymore.
Besides the dreamy appearence, the extra size helped immensely in the current fight. At the pace he was fighting at, Cyrus figured he would barely finish off the wovles in the stipulated time frame.
"Keeping up this pace and I should be able to finish soon, but knowing that pain in the butt Victor, he certainly has something planned! I just need to keep an eye out and I'll be ready for it!" Cyrus was feeling pretty confident by this point as the flow of battle was entirely under his control.
It was like playing a game of chess in his mind and each step made was planning for the next 3 or 4 afterwords. Calculating and recalculating enemy movements, speed, stamina reserves, literally everything was proccessed by his mind and opperated by the body. Subconciously his fighting style would continuosly evolve during every fight at inconcievable rates.
Cyrus never noticed the change though. All he knew was that the answer arrived in his mind and he 'instictually' executed it.
Time dwindled, 7 were already dead, and the remaining wolves quickly tired out. Only 2 minutes left and Don was started causing a ruckus in the stands cheering loudly "Cyrus is the best, Cyrus passed the test, Cyrus has a big pair of underpants!" (Sorry I'm tired I'll change it another time -\- zzZZ)
Counting the time down, Cyrus kicked it into high gear as he scanned his peripheral vision on full alert. He knew that something was going to happen soon and released a multitude of killing blows to gain some repreive. Fighting tooth and nail now, injury for injury if needed, Cyrus started to feel something was off.
Moments later he noticed a black object jutting out of the ground and his body urgently warned him of the danger. As the fight was constantly changing he found himself getting closer with no other option to avoid it. Surrounded and not wanting to near this lurking risk, Cyrus ran foward and rolled beneath the ferocious wolf bite coming at his face.
Just as he popped up, a swiping paw came over his head in an aggressive manner. Cyrus pivoted his right foot backward while leaning back immediately after noticing the incoming threat. Following the quick step, his palm clamped down on the passing strike before dragging the wolf foward to intercept the attack from behind.
Easy and simply, he avoided the incessant onslaught of the wolves as he escaped from the black object. Not far enough though, "THUMP!" Soaring into the air that black sphereical object launched off the ground shooting pitch black needles in various directions.
Perfectly timed, the few wolves placed between him and that black metal sphere were riddled with holes. "What the heck is that!!!! Isn't that cheating! If it wasn't me here I'm postive every other person would have died." Cyrus was truly indignant with this 'little gift' from Victor, but sadly their was nothing the current him could do about it.
Although hard to deal with, it saved plenty of time clearing out the rest. These contrapitions, similar to fireworks, continued to release exceptionaly sharp needles, culling the survivng wolves. 27, 19, 10, ending a few stragglers here and there Cyrus concentrated on dodging the endless barrage.
Satisfied with the current results, he continued on dodging here and their. Even though he could not figure out the activation mechanism, his body warned him in a timely manner. Like that he was able to make an escape seconds beforehand, as if he could predict the future.
Victor in the stands furrowed his brows while inwarldy fear clouded his mind watching this child's talent grew. Although he tortured Cyrus a bit, it was nothing too serious that could not be reconcilled. But that whisper of a voice in the back of his head, constantly asked for murder, fear, pain, sorrow to satiate its endless hunger. Cyrus was the perfect target he had not seen in a long time.
While Victor was still contemplating what to do, the last wolf dropped to the floor dead. Checking the sand timer up top, he estimated the time left was about 37 seconds, this kid really new how to cut it close.
Eyes sparkling a bit in clarity, he slightly smiled speaking outloud "Not bad kid! Alright let's get the show on a roll, we don't have all day everyone." Deep down he considered discarding his future plans for Cyrus in the forest survival test. Although humans were treated as worthless live stock in the Blood Fiend Mine, their was still premium livestock amongst them with better treatment.
Especially with the rising number of conflicts recently, his presence would be noted down and he might get rewarded as well for nurturing a budding talent. The Barong maybe callous but they were definitely not idiots that did not know how to prioritize. However he could think about this later, for the time being he would let him off. Victor cleared his head before commanding some particpants to step up.
Next up, unsurprisingly, was Don who choose to fight 4 wolves head on. Trainning so hard for the past two days definitely had some results, boosting his confidence immensely. The requirements were much more lax than Cyrus's, granting 20 minutes to slay all the wolves.
As soon as the fight started, Don's moves were slightly reminiscent of Cyrus's simple and elegant fighting style. Clearly he had a few understandings from sparring with Cyrus as he fought in a relaxed manner. Lucklily he did not have that same ridiculous contraption interfereing and everything proceeded smoothly.
After finishing up, like the poser he his, Don gazed towards the sky with an arrogant look and one foot on a dead wolf posturing. Truthfully he looked a bit stupid, but nobody said much as people here were not that close. Realizing that nobody was awed by his presence or cheering in admiration, he was a little dissapointed.
Looking towards Cyurs, Don thought "Come on man, you can't even cheer on your brother that shamelessly cheered for you. *sigh* This was my time to shine! The girls, and more girls, even the future girls, CYRUS you'll pay for this!"
Clenching his fist he walked back in slight embarresment before thickening his face. Then the test proceed in a quick manner. People were in and out of the rock arena fighting wolves with varying degrees of difficulty.
As expected, the injuries and deaths started to pile up leaving the crowd tense with anxiety. Who knew whether they would be the next one to die or not. However, they were slightly relieved thinking about how Cyrus and the others killed a bunch of wolves in the individual trials. Knowing that the situation could have been worse provided them a bit of solace. Others had helped them and they could not ask for more only draw out their full potential and survive.
Before going in a few would even look at Cyrus and nod in a form of acknowledgement. To Cyrus this was like a sign from above, his plans might really work!
By the end of the day, 47 died, 126 were injured, while the rest passed, leaving the survivors tired and slightly distressed. Today had beeen stressful beyond belief with everyone ready to sleep and recuperate for tomorrow.
Thankfully Victor did not keep the group around and dissmissed them while telling them to rest. Tomorrow they would definitely need it.
Similing, Don chatted with Cyrus on the walk back. "Little bro, did you see my awesome fighting skills. I probably looked just as majestic as you out there, flitting around like the most beautiful bird and dominating my enemies like the murderous Barong!"
Cyrus just shook his head but Don continued, "Speaking about serious things. I don't think they care about teaming up in the forest so we should really stick together tomorrow. Also the plan... I know a few people that are trustworthy and can follow along." The last part was said in a whisper that only Cyrus could hear.
This time he perked up a bit before nodding his head in acknowledgement. Not bothering to talk further, everyone rushed back, ate their left over rations, washed up in the river nearby, and fell asleep just as the sun began to set behind the horizon.
A good night sleep later and the day arrived as they planned to set off. Once the group gathered, Victor did not say much and just directed them to enter the forest. A nervous tension permeated the atmosphere while people organized into their small factions. After the first night here people had already started to gather and the increasing death toll only reinforced that.
Now with the final test upon them, everyone was ready to set out and looked towards other groups with hostility. This journey would absolutely not be a safe one.
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