There Taf waited patiently for any of the twenty surrounding him to make a move as he took the time to plan his own movement. Though he had successfully defeated all foes thus far these were twenty highly trained ninth stage qi condensation cultivators. Of which twelve were at the peak of the ninth stage. With his strength being restricted and him not being able to use his top a.r.s.enal things definitely will not be easy.
What has been one of his saving grace so far is his previous qi training. With the bare minimum force, he can now exert twenty percent of his previous strength.
Being that these squads were hurriedly formed they certainly would lack cohesion. Hence he will exploit it to the fullest of his ability. a.s.sessing his options the surest means to guarantee a swift victory is to follow the rules outlined by Old Man Ming.
He has already instilled fear with his previous actions so his next best move is to shatter their so-called chain of command. This can only be accomplished by taking out the four captains.
In particle the strongest two individuals who still had a bit of composure. Based on what he heard these were the previous year"s rank #53rd Austin and #55th August.
Swiftly Taf formulated a plan in his mind having glance above at a sun that was out in all its splendor. Without waiting for another second Taf then put his plan into action summoning his two old worn-out hammers to his hands.
They might be at the end of their days but there was still some value to them. If he were fighting a lord, without a doubt they would shatter in this first attack. But in this scenario perhaps they could last to the end of the battle.
?Elemental Art -[Fire] - Embodiment?
His Warhammers became seething red hot at their ends while his muscles bulged.
Boom!
Taf didn"t bother to utter a word before he shoved himself in the midst of the battle. Seeing Taf"s movements his foes used the greatest tool they had to their advantage- strength in numbers. Sure from what they witnessed, he was strong but even the steadiest tree succ.u.mbs to the mercy of an ax.
They wielded their weapons some were engulfed in flames while others shrouded in ice and amplified by the wind elements. Not to be left out those blessed with the element of earth equip themselves with varying earth-like a.r.s.enals.
Yet still, Taf was undaunted sidestepping through attacks as though his enemies were all moving in slow motion.
Bam!
Taf kicked one of the four-star ranked members in their chest as he fended off three brazen attacks from others wield an ax and two maces.
Cling! Cling! Cling!
Taf smashed with his Warhammer fending of the three successive attacks before eying a rock and viciously stamping on the ground. He then volleyed the rock onto one of his attacker"s upper chest who skidded on the ground as a rippling effect of Taf"s previous counter.
Wack!
It was now two down and eighteen to go.
The others continuously bombarded him with attacks as Taf constantly dodged. One time he even found himself having to slide on the ground before splitting his legs in order to avoid flaming spears and a thrown ax aimed for his head.
Obviously, Taf would not let this go unpunished therefore he retaliated while holding nothing back, breaking numerous of his opponent"s limbs in the process.
As he attacked Taf noticed a troubling pattern which bore a hole in his plans. Instead of providing their strength to the attack, the two highly ranked captains distanced themselves from the battle. Perhaps they intended for him to expend all his strength before coming in and provided the vital blow.
He smirked as this was perhaps, though unbeknownst to them, the best counter to his initial plans in taking them out first. Yet would he give them the satisfaction? Not a chance.
Taf then smashed his hammer to the ground below him before calling out in his mind-
?Elemental Art -[Earth]- Trans.m.u.tation?
Boom!
The ground below transformed into dust clouds shrouding all within a thousand-foot radius. Taf knew he needed to act hastily before those with the element of earth and wind could counter.
By his estimation, he had only about twenty seconds before his technique being worthless. Yet he will exploit these meager seconds without any reservation.
With his enemies blinded it provided the perfect chance to use a technique he had not used for the longest time.
?Elemental Art -[Darkness] - Quintessence of the Shadows?
Poof!
He vanished in a puff of black smoke, and with every second that went by one by one, his targets screamed in horror before being brutally smashed by the ends of a bulky smelting hot hammer.
"There you are,"
Taf uttered in delight as he exchanged blows with the #55th ranked August who had been blinded. August did everything to try and counter but Taf was never one to give up an advantage. Especially one as crucial is this...
Wack!
August was sent flying across the reach as a hammer broke through his defenses clattering against his chest. He perhaps would curse his luck as finally the huge dust cloud was countered yet for him it was too.
Plop!
He smashed against the ground becoming instantly unconscious. When all the dust settled of the previous twenty only four now remained.
They were seriously shaken up by what they just witnessed. The battle had only been ongoing for a meager six minutes and two fourth rank squad were totally decimated.
This guy was a mixture of decisive and brutal. Like a true veteran he seemingly never second-guessed his decisions. This was the thought of the four consisting of the #53rd Austin. Without even touching him Taf right there and then crushed his will to continue the battle.
Taf however, did not focus on the four as in his arms his hammers had finally done their time.
He sighed when seeing in broken and crumbling before discarding the last remaining piece in his s.p.a.ce stone. Now he faced the three this time however there was no smile on his face,
"Now tell me. Will we do this the easy way or my personal favorite - the ways of the broken limbs? Choose wisely.."
In his words, there was seemingly no means in which the four could content. Honestly, after witnessing what unfolded what man would dare try to stand in the wake of this youth. They were glad he even gave them an option.
Like this, there has been a happier time in the last two days were persons stated,
"I relinquish my marker."
???????
Outside the forest, there wasn"t a disciple that was not looking at the board in dismay. Those within the top ten who were previously aloof had hurriedly made their way to the forest entrance. When they saw the board they were flabbergasted.
This was not going according to plan. They would have waited until the afternoon before proclaiming their dominance over the forest. Yet these two were running riot within spoiling the whole show.
Even the ever-elusive Jason found that for the first time ever, his presence became a formality. Ten minutes ago he had made his way over.
In his head, he became annoyed at the endless fawning which he would have to undergo. Yet now though he received a few exclamations here and there in comparison to the board he was but another face.
He didn"t understand the reason until looking up at the board where he saw the unthinking.
Rank #3- [ Marker points - 9500]- Niesha Oregi - Squad Malgrey - Active
Rank #2- [ Marker points - 17300]- May Grace - Squad Malgrey - Active
Rank #1- [ Marker points - 20100] - Tafari (No last name given) - Squad Malgrey - Active
Who were these three to dominate his board in such a manner? Then he remembered why the number one ranked seemed so familiar.
It"s the child who peaked too early, the self-proclaimed Mouse. Now it all made sense his grand father"s words a few nights earlier. He recalled his grandfather visiting on that night asking him his thoughts about this youth.
At the time it was puzzling for two distinctive reasons. The first, his grandfather being the lofty head of the Zora clan has never once visited his manor. If he previously wanted Jason"s presence a summons would be issued. Jason was so shocked at the time he didn"t know what was the proper procedure.
The second reason was what his grandfather wanted to discuss. He had traveled all that way to ask him about his thoughts on this youth. The head of his Zaro clan had lowered himself to talk about some insignificant trouble-making disciple. Jason even noticed that in the clan head"s words there was admiration for this youth.
He had responded to the question saying,
"Shows promise but has rushed his cultivation which will be harmful to his future prospects."
Yet all his grandfather did was wryly smile before responding,
" I have done you a great injustice these past decades. Sheltered you and created an image in your mind that no one is your equal. The Fu province and Chu country in general are very small in comparison to the grander world.
The heavens are just and have given me the means to correct this wrong. So I will tell you this that in this entire world the hardest thing possible is to find talent as blessed as this child. Even I am not worthy of being his master."
When hearing his grandfather"s words Jason was taken aback. In the entire world, there isn"t a genius as gifted as this child? Wasn"t this a bit too much of an exaggeration? Not even he was ever spoken of so highly.
At the time he even felt his grandfather"s sincerity and regret as though he was truly s.h.i.+elding him. He thought how could this child be so gifted that even his usually distant grandfather cared enough to make such statements.
Jason once more glanced on the board at it seems there was some truth to the words spoken. Yet the old buzzard was at the end of his years and obviously becoming more senile by the day. What did he know of talent? He was always under the heels of that other old bird the grand elder.
Has he ever been at the apex of geniuses? Even his ascension to the clan head was due to a genetic alignment that plagued the other side of the family.
What would his accomplishment be without luck? Just worthless trash like all the rest not blessed to soar among the stars.
He looked on board at May and Niesha there was no mentioning of the other two by his grandfather.
These pill pushers, elixir drinkers aim to dim his light. In retaliation, he would simply make it burn so brightly that even the stars weep at their own inferiority.[1]
Unedited Version
To be continued...
[1] Basically this give an insight into Jason"s mind. Noone could be better than him. They simply had to be taking some substance,