He was right. As we headed toward a forest further away from the cave, we quickly managed to find two beasts in less than two hours. Thinking that things were going well and wanting to compensate for the distance we had travelled as well as the previous failed hunts, he decided to maximize the amount of prey. I was now tall enough to carry one, meaning our group could potentially carry four in total.
We continued our way further into the forest when one of the warriors suddenly shouted.
“Raktuf! On the left!”
He barely had the time to say this when the beast was on us, lunging toward him, who was the closest to it at the time. The raktuf was a small beast, about one and a half meters tall, standing on two feet, with large and long muscular arms, red fur, and a reptilian head. It looked like a mix between a gorilla and a lizard, which made it weirdly threatening-looking. It had used the cover of the trees to approach as close to us as possible before attacking.
As it threw its massive arms forward to attack our member, we noticed the large rock it held in its right hand.
“Blessed beast!”
Warrior Aldrui immediately called out, dampening our morale even further. Using tools was a characteristic of blessed beasts. To put it simply, blessed beasts were an enhanced version of their species, from all points of view. They were smarter, stronger, faster, and could even use magical energy. Some used it the way warriors did, to reinforce themselves, like the raktuf in front of us, while others manipulated it like shamans, sending spells toward their targets as naturally as breathing.
Our warrior put his spear in the way of the attack, trying to block it. It was all in vain, however. The blessed beast had imbued the rock with magical energy, and his was stronger than the one the warrior possessed. The spear instantly broke, and the attack made its way toward our comrade's head, uninterrupted. Faced with such a violent shock, his head exploded, killing the warrior on the spot.
“No!”
“Damn it!”
It was all too quick, and no one was able to react in time. Normal warriors only had a chance against blessed beasts in a group, and when they had the initiative. This was how dangerous these reinforced beings were.
From the five of us that were left, three decided to throw a spear, while the two others, including warrior Aldrui, went for close combat. The raktuf’s reaction speed was incredible. It managed to avoid two of the spears, the third one only wounding it lightly on the side. Our two warriors were now on him, keeping it busy with spear attacks, while we took out more spears to throw at it.
Or at least, this was what the two other warriors did. My spear was part of the ones that missed, and seeing how quick it was to react and how little damage it took from a successful hit, I switched to my other form of attack.
Plants! Bind the raktuf!
In the short amount of time that passed, the second attack of the raktuf had already eliminated one of the warriors in close combat. Its attacks were fast, precise, and possessed enormous power. They were incredibly deadly, especially toward normal warriors who weren’t used to fighting such powerful enemies at close range.
For a moment, my mind wavered. The fight had only started a few seconds ago, and two of our people were already dead. The dread of a blessed beast was incomparable to anything I could have imagined. Did my time come to die for a second time already? Even though I hadn’t yet completed my harem?
I shook my head, getting hold of myself. I had to try everything I could before giving up.
The plants had stopped for a split second when I lost my focus, but resumed crawling toward the beast at full speed after that. The raktuf noticed them coming, as if having a sixth sense, even though it was already fighting with warrior Aldrui and evading the spears thrown at it. However, it seemed it wasn’t perfect either.
To avoid the vines, lianas, and branches, it jumped high in the sky, avoiding another row of spears at the same time. I immediately made good use of the mistake, the plants attacking it in the air, where it couldn’t dodge anymore.
Soon enough, they were all around it, trying to bind it, as it struggled to get rid of them. They were too numerous, though, and by the time it fell on the ground, they were all over it, trying to replace its red fur color with green and brown.
Warrior Aldrui cautiously approached it, aiming to deliver the last blow. Just as he lifted his arms while imbuing a large amount of magical energy in his spear, the beast let out an incredible roar.
“Groaaaaaaarrrrhh!”
The plants, which I believed were completely detaining it, suddenly broke, and it somehow managed to go free.
“No way!”
Right as I shouted in shock, unbelieving that my tentacle porn attack was defeated for the first time, the raktuf used all its power to assault warrior Aldrui. It took our leader’s attack with its body, while also violently counterattacking. Unfortunately for warrior Aldrui, the difference was too large. He managed to critically wound the beast on the head, but was also killed by the rock, just like the other two members.
“Shit!”
I cursed as despair took hold over the remaining members of our group. What sort of monster was this? It didn’t make any sense!
“Grrrr…”
It now turned its attention toward us, aiming to finish the job. Of course, it wasn’t in a good state either. Half of its face was destroyed, while the rest of its body was wounded in several spots. It had lost a lot of vigor, panting hard and walking slowly in our direction. Only its eyes remained the same as before, full of murderous intent.