Chapter 293: Cornered
RUN!
Jacks mind worked on overdrive. He scanned the people arriving from every direction, locating the one where the enemies were sparsest. Follow me! he shouted, zooming into the distance.
His three companions followed immediately.
Whats the plan? Dordok asked.
We escape the encirclement for sure, Jack replied. Then, we try to outrun them until the sphere charges back up. How much time do we need, Sage?
A couple hours.
Shit. That was too long. Using the bromobile was also impossible here, as the time it took to charge up a teleport was easily enough for the enemies to reach themand, if they didnt use it to teleport, it was faster to fly by themselves.
How did they find us? Shol asked.
No idea, the Sage replied quickly. But they must have had a way. I sensed no patrol passing over our location. Maybe they got someone to divine it.
Was that possible!?
I didnt think it was! But how else?
Shol narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
By now, the enemies before them were within reach. Two dozen animal people, with another few hundreds closing in from every direction. They could have teleported behind the enemies, but Dordok didnt know how to teleport.
Leave me! he begged them.
Not a chance! Jack shouted, pulling back his arm. Were punching through! Meteor Punch!
Sunshine!
Wide Confusion!
Dordok gritted his teeth. Moisture came to his eyes, but he pushed it down and roared with all his strength, Devastating Strike!
Each of the four used their strongest move. Some, like Shols Sunshine, took time to charge but were perfect for this kind of scenario.
A purple meteor flew alongside a miniature sun. A steel greatclub crashed down from above, while the enemies also unleashed their own strikes. A dozen full-power attacks from late immortals and deacons filled the sky. At the last moment, some of the enemies faltered, their strikes dissipating or weakening greatly.
The sky erupted with colors. A tremendous blast seared the clouds and scorched the earth, pushing the sea below them hundreds of feet downward. Jack and the others pierced through the shockwave like arrows, crashing straight into the enemy immortals. Punches cracked down. Explosions resounded. People roared and screamed.
Jack was lost in a sea of incredible power, punching through with every fiber of his being. The strength hed cultivated for three months in isolation now burst forth all at once. The opposing immortals were strawmen before his attacks, blown away at the lightest touch. They were completely unable to stop himto stop them.
With a massive final explosion, they pushed through.
The sky was clear again. Several immortal bodies fell behind them, most broken by blunt strikes.
Of the four of them, only Dordok was injured, sporting a bleeding wound on his chest close to where his heart was.
Are you okay? Jack shouted as they ran.
Ill be fine! Dordok responded. Just a canine that got touchy!
Good! Keep running!
Dordok was the slowest of the four, but the Sage said, Let me help, and pointed a finger in his direction. Suddenly, Dordoks body erupted with power, letting him accelerate steeply.
They turned into light beams and dashed away. An entire army of immortals was hot on their heels, closing the distance even as the slowest of them fell behind. Leading the charge were three people: Maximus Lonihor, Sapasun the canine deacon, and, surprisingly, Li Qian of the Exploding Sun.
Shol drew a sharp breath. Thats how they found us! he exclaimed, rage and disbelief building up in his voice. Monsoon used his position to get my lifeblood, a requirement of the faction for all deacons. They used it locate me. This is my fault. Damn it all!
Its okay Jack tried to say something, but Shol wasnt listening.
Li Qian! he roared in rage. What the fuck are you doing here!?
Our faction has a responsibility to punish traitors! the other immortal responded, gradually closing the distance.
Shols eyes widened. Your dog master can fuck off! he roared back. Traitors! Cowards! You would harm the faction for your own interests!?
Mind your tongue, Shol, or I will cut it off, Li Qian declared, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, his serene aura turned sharp like a sword unsheathed.
Hmph! An honorless dog like you has no business challenging me! I spit on the grave of every ancestor who helped bring an embarrassment like you to life!
True to his word, Shol spat, sending a fat mass of phlegm towards the ground. The entire chasing army, though fierce, couldnt help but glance at Li Qian. Those were heavy insults, and they had been spoken very much in public.
Jack and Dordok laughed out loud, adding oil to the fire. Well spoken, brother Shol! they said. We should have expected a dog to side with the Animal Kingdom!
Li Qian himself was steaming. His brows were creased to the limit, and his hand twitched around the handle of his sword. He was like a dark, violent, brooding storm.
One of us will die today, Shol! he declared. I refuse to live another day under the same Dao as you!
I couldnt give a shit what you do, you honorless, pathetic dog! Shol laughed out loud, as did his friends. They accelerated further.
Li Qian did not speak again, sinking into a deadly silence. Maximus clicked his tongue. Even in the face of certain death, they still have the courage to mock us Its a shame we can only kill them once.
Oh, Ill find a way, Li Qian responded darkly.
The chase went on. Unfortunately, no matter how the Sage sped up Dordok, both of them were too slow to actually escape.
Leave us! Dordok pleaded. Im begging you. Dont let me hold you back!
Dont lose hope, Jack told him. Keep running. We have to earn as much time as possible and make them split up as much as possible, so they come at us in waves. When they do catch up His eyes narrowed. Well just have to kill them all.
Do you mean that, Jack? Shol asked. Even I havent seen the ends of your power. Can you match Maximus Lonihor?
Jack nodded sharply. I think I can, he said. But even if I cantI have a secret ace up my sleeve. Keep running. Today, either a C-Grade steps over his dignity to save his subordinates, or they all die.
He meant that.
Name: Jack Rust
Species: Human, Earth-387
Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (D)
Grade: D
Class: Cosmic Fist (King)
Level: 230
Strength: 1570
Dexterity: 1570
Constitution: 1565
Mental: 200
Will: 200
Dao Skills: Meteor Punch III, Iron Fist Style III, Space Walk III, Neutron Star Body II, Brutalizing Aura II
Daos: Dao Tree of the Fist, Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Life (fused), Dao Root of Power (fused), Dao Root of Weakness (fused)
Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Ninth Ring Conqueror, Planetary Leader (1)
After his training in isolation and the immortals hed hunted, hed grown by leaps and bounds. Not only did he reach Level 230, increasing all his stats and the Dao he could store by around 50%, but he also raised Space Walk to the third tier, which was why he could now teleport nine miles away instead of three. He had even gotten the stamina cost of the skill to scale with distance traveled, which made his teleportation much more handy for combat.
Space Walk III: Space is a constraint you have learned to escape. By spending an amount of energy depending on the distance traveled, take a step through the fabric of space to reappear anywhere within anine-mile radius.
He still couldnt use it freely, as even the shortest teleportation was exhausting, but he could do it much more frequently than before. It was now a tool for actual battle instead of just engaging, escaping, or repositioning.
However, the largest benefits of his training came from consolidation.
Jacks Dao was extremely potent. Where other cultivators wielded a tiny dagger, he had a greatsword. However, there was a large difference between someone who wielded a greatsword effectively and someone who did not.
After training intensively for three months, Jack had become proficient with all uses of his Dao. There were no numbers to describe the change, but he knew that he was far, far stronger than he used to be.
Even he wasnt sure where his current strength lay, but he knew he was significantly stronger than most deacons, and he remembered the strength of Maximus Lonihor from when theyd clashed. If he went all-out, he should be able to at least match him. Then, if he used the Life Drop
Using the Drop is suicide, he thought, but so be it. If were going to die anyway, might as well take them with us.
He harbored very little hope of escaping. It wasnt a matter of Shol or the Sage slowing them down, and everyone knew it. The C-Grades were absent on purposeif the Battle Brothers were taken down by people of the same Grade, it would somewhat repair the lost reputation of the Animal Kingdom. If their strongest immortals failed and they were forced to send C-Grades after D-Grades, it would be another huge hit to their reputationbut that didnt mean C-Grades wouldnt appear if they had to.
At this point, Jack Rust and the Battle Brothers were a terrible thorn to the Animal Kingdoms side. There was no way they were letting him off, and Life Drop or not, he couldnt fight the late C-Grade Warden.
The only trick up their sleeve was the Sages black sphere, and the fact that the Animal Kingdom didnt know how long it would take to recharge. If they managed to last long enough, they could use it to teleport across the planet, then board Jacks bromobile and hope it could teleport away before the C-Grades caught up. Then, given a very generous amount of luck, they could maybe evade the Kingdoms patrols and ride their starship away.
Of course, that plan shouldnt succeed. There were too many things that could go wrong. However, when the enemys foolishness was your only chance at survival, you had to bet on it.
The terrain flowed under their feet. Jack crossed the sky like a meteor, watching all sorts of biomes scroll past. He had no idea what direction he was heading in, nor did he care. The entire planet seemed to awaken at their passage, with the animals freezing in terror of their auras and lower-ranked immortals flying up to see what was going on. They even saw a city atop a mountain, clad in opulence and gold.
Nobody came after them from that town, mostly because every strong D-Grade on the planet was already behind them.
Of the hundreds of immortals, more and more fell off as time passed. They were still chasing, but they had been left so far behind that they would need some time to catch up. Just as Jack had predicted, their enemies had been split into waves according to their speed.
Of course, the very first wave of made up of just three people:
Maximus Lonihor, the strongest D-Grade of the Animal Kingdom.
Li Qian, the strongest D-Grade of the Exploding Sun, and Shols sworn enemy.
Sapasun, the canine deacon who served as the Wardens head disciple and who had once broken all of Jacks limbs while mocking him.
All three were extremely strong, and all three had a bone to pick with the Battle Brothers. Things would get ballistic the moment they caught up.
And that moment wasnt too far away. The three of them were fast. Though they had started the chase from miles away, they had now almost caught up. Jack could even clearly make out their fierce expressions, along with the faint spark of lightning on Maximuss fur and the foam dripping out of Sapasuns mouth.
Any time now, they would enter teleportation range. Jack didnt know how far they could go, but they were already approaching the nine mile point, which was his limit, so they couldnt be far off.
Suddenly, Maximus disappeared. Jack was ready. His awareness of the Dao of Space was sharp enough to detect the ripple a second before it was visible, and he instantly shot a punch into it. A large, furred fist came out to meet his. The sky split apart at their point of impact. A strong shockwave sent the Sage and Dordok flying, while Shol held his ground and turned to fight.
Only a second later, Li Qian stepped out of space too, his unsheathed sword already descending. Shol met it with his burning palm, and after an explosion, both were equally pushed away.
Li Qian furrowed his brows. Did you get stronger? he asked.
Shol raised his chin and snorted. Hmph. While you were scheming in the shadows, I was sharpening my skills on the enemy soldiers. If I lose to a coward like you, I will have betrayed everything I stand for.
Li Qians eyes narrowed further. He brought his sword horizontally, gripping it with both hands. You will regret your big mouth, he warned.
Make me, dog.
Did someone say dog? Sapasun shouted, tearing through space to shoot at Shol from behind. His eyes were wide and red, his lips were drawn back, and foam filled his mouth so completely that it dripped out from between his sharp teeth. He displayed an insanity similar to Gan Salins, but much less controlled, and much more repulsive.
His five fingers formed into claws and aimed at Shol. A steel greatclub intercepted one of them. The other suddenly veered off-course and snapped to the side, almost breaking his own wrist. Sapasun came to a stop, then snorted. Who are you two clowns?
My name is Dordok, said Dordok, hoisting his greatclub. Despite his wound, he was smiling. But you can call me captain.
Who, me? the Sage replied, pointing at himself. Im just a sage.
Sapasun blinked in confusion for a moment, then laughed. Fine by me! he declared. Those two dont need any help. Ill have my fun with you. He reached inside his clothes and removed a projection stone, activating it and tossing it far away so it could record the entire battle. He then turned to Dordok and grinned with insanity.
Bring it on, crazy, Dordok replied, laughing of his own, then charged.
Meanwhile, higher up in the sky than the other two clashes, Jacks fist was still pushing against Maximuss. The leonine had fully emerged from the crack in space, pouring the entirety of his strength into the strike, but Jack was not budging. The puzzled expression on his face slowly turned into disbelief.
Yellow and purple sparks came from where their fists ground against each other. The crack of lightning matched the booming of a meteor, and a controlled explosion pushed them both back with enough strength to shatter mountains. They each moved around twenty feet.
How is this possible? Maximus asked carefully.
Jack grinned, raising his fists. Come and find out, kitty. Im just getting started.
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