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Chapter 254
🕑 Added 2024-11-08 03:54:41 +0000 UTCThe winds whistled over the plains on the day I evolved my [Fathomless Sonilphon]. Following the river upstream, we had stayed within a reasonable distance of the herd of the huge grazing beasts. The swarm had pursued them especially since they were large and a single one would be able to feed at least a dozen of us. While the large beasts were dangerously strong and heavy, they were prey through and through. These things had their large, sharp horns that had gored a couple of the slower keelish, but never fatally since the beasts didn’t seek to use them except as a warding blow, and that only when it was too late.
The beasts stood on all four cloven hooves, reminiscent of one of the nearly legendary “cows” domesticated occasionally within the Veushten people. An idle part of me wondered how the Veratocracy had changed the way that they raised animals, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. As far as I could remember, though, these monstrosities were only barely reminiscent of the slow, fat beast I’d seen once before. These “feral cows” were much larger than the single bull I’d ever seen, with longer, thicker fur and more threatening horns. Along their spines and each joint they had hardened, hairless, thick skin that, according to the few keelish who’d managed to get close, was nearly impossible to bite through. To make the hunt even more difficult and rewarding, when the creatures were threatened, they usually lowered their heads and tried to use their horns and armored skin to batter through whatever was before them. With their obvious strength, the “feral cows” were the best candidate for me to continue progressing in the evolution of my [Adversary] [Skill]. To make sure I could progress, I took a full day to evaluate where an “Alpha” or most impressive specimen of the herd could be.
After my day’s investigation, with Foire and Trai’s help, I selected the individual that would best serve my purposes. The bull I chose stood shoulder above the rest of its herd. The individual members of the herd all had the same horns, but this one’s horns were twice as large as the rest. His shoulders’ muscles obviously flexed and rippled with every step, and his armor-like skin spread down further from his spine, over his shoulders, ribs, and haunches. If he were a different creature, it might have been balding and comedic, but on this goliath of a beast, the hairlessness only accentuated its muscular frame.
As I took a glance at my [Skill’s] evolutionary requirement–[Defeat a foe with a greater Stat total than yourself, without substantial support from any other creature]. There was a chance this cow wouldn’t count, if it had no magical stats, but I was reasonably sure that, even so, its mass would still give it the edge in stats. Thus, I focused on how best to ensure I could easily slaughter it. Usually the enemy Alpha, as I began to think of him, would range around the edges of his herd, keeping an eye out and trying to dissuade any assault. Thus, I, Foire, Took, and one of her packs laid in wait in a deeper patch of grass, waiting for the herd to pass by and for the Alpha to come close enough for me to begin the slaughter, if my secondary plan didn’t go according to hopes.
This hunt was similar to the nearly forgotten hunt of the crocodiles, but more than anything ever before as a keelish, the hunt was like those I’d taken up as a human. I took the time to acquaint myself with my prey’s habits, setting traps, laying in wait, all punctuated by the anxiety and jittery energy that came with the heightened expectations exacerbated by the wait. Of course, the feeling reminded me of my last hunt with Viilor, the extermination we were going to bring about on a small keelish swarm…
He’d apologized right at the end, but I thought he’d sneered down at me. Did I remember that correctly? At this point, I was so far away from that time both physically and emotionally, did I even care about him? I shook the memories from my head, reminding myself that he was sure to be dead by now, at least 200 years later. With a conscious effort, I rolled my shoulders back, the weight of revenge slipping from my conscience as I rallied myself to go into battle. The Alpha was coming close, the herd of prey continuing on their path towards the river and, by extension, us.
With a creak my fingers and claws flexed, the scales around my hands flared, and I activated [Combatant’s Bloodlust]. I could see a persistent weak spot on the prey as a whole in a spot just behind their shoulders, a place to stab into their hearts. The Alpha didn’t have that, the weakness covered with the thickened defensive skin and corded muscle. Instead, at the base of his skull there was an occasional flash of a fatal weakness, but it was frequently covered by his horns and head movement. Then there was the belly, ripe and wide open for evisceration. Finally, the throat, which was a wide open fatal weak point, the only problem being the massive horns that were attached to the head. With a sigh, I put my spear to the side, not wanting to snap the haft against such a massive foe, and began to plan my attack.
Finally, twenty meters… fifteen meters… ten… The Alpha’s nose flared, and he raised his head high, looking out for me. That was my cue. I pushed my magic to both my hands as I activated [Quaking Claw] and my throat and grinned. Combat once again.
The Alpha, no, the prey lowered its head and began thundering forward, on towards me. Once I was within striking distance it lashed out with its horns while I stepped back and dodged well away, getting a read of its reach. It spun its head in a circle, rearing onto its back legs and lashing out with its front hooves. On its back feet, the thing must have been 13 feet tall, just like the Nanuk, but trying to compare the two was laughable. I darted forward and swept my claws into its lower ribcage, the bone easily giving way before my vibrating claws. At the belly, I drilled my hand deeper until my fist impacted with unforgiving muscle. The prey screamed in terror, agony, and rage as I stepped back and avoided its heavy slam against the ground.
The earth trembled beneath me as I reevaluated the so-called Alpha before me. It didn’t know combat, only the panicked efforts of a cornered posturer. With a roaring [Crippling Cry], I continued the assault. The concussive blast of sound set my prey to stumbling, blood leaking from its nostrils and ears. Under the influence of my thundering magic, I finally understood the instructions for evolution of [Quaking Claw] and sent an additional surge of magic to my claws, leaving my sonilphon at half full. My fingers trembled and vibrated with excitement as I rallied my strength in my left arm as the shuddering magic fought to tear all control from my body. I shouted out my challenge to the bull as it rallied itself and began a full charge at me.
It lowered its head, ears pinned back and eyes wild as it lowed a challenge back at me. I stood strong, ready to accept the charge head on as all four of its legs spun wildly and sent grass flying back. Then, I stepped to the side at the last moment and finally swung my left arm and released all the potential energy stored within. My [Quaking Claw’s] shockwave smashed into the base of the bull’s skull and knocked it prone, where it convulsed wildly. My [Skill] still active, I cut through its spine and put it out of its suffering before beginning the next step of our plan.
I strode forward, staring into the eyes of over 100 of the cows. I drew deep on the second half of my magical reserves and shouted to [Debilitating Diatribe]:
“Surrender! Bow to us and you will survive!”
Though I knew they didn’t understand anything, Sybil, Shemira, and Farahlia sprang up all around the herd and began flaring their magic. The herd took only a spare moment to panic before, almost as one, they fell to the ground, trembling. I grinned widely as I consulted the newly flashing [System] notifications.
[Skills evolved. Organ evolution unlocked. Status updated.]
