Chapter 301 (1/2)

Chapter 301

I strengthened my vision and peered down into the dell

The huts looked sirass and packed round in the thick branches of the trees, with no obvious stairs, ropes, or bridges to allow the aether beasts to get around

Watching the Four Fists, though, it was easy to see why they had no need for the around under the treesEach one had a broad, rab and climb with, and fourall six lih above I could see that their bodies were entirely littered with scars

The Four Fists were covered with fur, mostly brown or black, but had pale fleshTheir faces were less ape-like, reThey had wide jaws, large, flat noses, and heavy browsBoar-like tusks protruded from their lower jaws, and their small eyes shone like purple fire under the shadows of the trees

An enraged roar shattered the mountain silence, and an instant later the source became visibleA truly massive Four Fists, draped in an ornate cowl decorated hat I could only assume were Spear Beak feathers and talons, hurled a smaller representative of its tribe from the open doorway of one of the raised huts

The victi out and grabbing so to the closest tree branchThe aggressor ju toward its prey like a comet

The sain seerab a hold of the very air like soap between two trees as it sought to put some distance between itself and its attacker

Around the or roaring in agitation, but they didn’t er of the two Four Fists chased the smaller one froe Four Fists wearing the feathered cowl cocked back one ar at its preyA sh the air in a blur, bursting through the fleeing Four Fists’ calf and causing it to sturay aether beast was on top of the s down on the injured aether beastIt wasn’t much of a contest, and in less than a ed its opponent’s corpse back toward the treetop village while about three dozen Four Fists ca their kin nervouslyWith a stone-rattling bellow, the large Four Fists lifted the corpse froround and hurled it at the feet of the others

As it beat its chest like a drum, however, another noise just besidehis beak nervously, a noise that carried into the mountains and echoed down into the dell

Every bestial face turned sieI ducked down to hideSwiftsure by his beak with h the Four Fists tribe and I could hear the haan their charge

Wriggling his sharp beak froht!”

“da behind me as I contemplated retreat

No, it made no sense to turn and runThe apeish beasts had the portal piece we needed and they appeared just as wild and monstrous as old Broke Beak had promised

“Prepare for battle,” I said to Caera, as already atht below: over thirty of the four-ar with fury, were stais, come out eto land right in the middle of the aether beasts and hold their attention

I projectiles of aether at me

With my asuran instincts at full force and e of aether orbs, I calculated their projection as they approached h the air, I oriented e as many of the aether projectiles as possible as they huh the air

Two struckpastfrom the two points of injury told h to completely protectbattle

RegisGauntlet Forht hand to draw aether there and allow it to build upAs I neared the ground, a hurricane of aether raged aroundto be releasedManiacal howls of fear and panic echoed below as soet away

Just as I was about to land, however, the large Four Fists wearing the decorative cowl hurled itself betweenexplosion resounded across the mountainside as the torrent of aether released froe Four Fists’ aether-clad arh its protective shroud and shatter its bones before it was sent tu away in a cloud of snow and debrisStill, because of its sacrifice,its brethren dazed but unhareffects of the aether technique

‘Don’t die, princess,’ rowled as he leapt fro Four Fists, his teeth going for the throat

Fueled by rage over their injured brethren, the Four Fists howled ard for their own safety

Letting out a sharp breath, I focused on the aether clinging tightly overmeMy mind slipped into a trance as I recalled the years of hand-to-hand training I received froered screa ht her way toward h over our heads, but I tuned them all out until all I could hear was the sound ofa pair of smaller Four Fists that pounced onit to collide with its partner before spinning on my heels to intercept a darker Four Fists’ aether bullet

Cladding another layer of aether over my palm, I redirected it to hit the pair that I had just knocked down before driving nored the choked gasps the aether beast let out as it collapsedI ignored the look of pain and fear on the other Four FistsI just focused on the sound of my own breath as beast after beast was felled by my handsThis wasn’t the time to show doubt or compassion

This wasn’t the tily face of yet another Four Fists pressed down fro at the air as it tried to gore rabbed the beast by those tusks and slao immediately li the battlefield

Nearly a third of the Four Fists clan had already fallenOut of the corner ofit nearly i, apeish creatures to physically attack herIn the rough circle of enemies around her, I could see several with destroyed hands and ar sword continued to carve red arcs around her

Regis, on the other hand, darted between outstretched ar at whatever exposed flesh he couldI felt his exhilaration every tis closed down on an enemy throat

The frozen battlefield soon became colored in red as we continued to slay the aether beasts that seee than elder Broke Beak had describedEven as their bones were broken and bodies bloody, the apes just beca their ability to hurl aether bullets at us, they continued to charge in, flailing their fists and gnashi+ng their teeth like rabid animals until a baleful roar thundered across the snowy landscape

The Four Fists all around us instantly stiffened, then another series of growls echoed in the distance

‘What now?’ Regis groaned as atched all of the Four Fists—those still alive—leap back and distance theis, Caera, and I were standing in a large ring of snarling four-armed aether beasts

I could hear Caera’s heavy breaths behind runt drew ray Four Fists that had interceptedof its brethren

I had watched this creature beat another of its kind to death, so I kneas bigger and stronger than the rest, but it looked even more formidable up closeThe beast stood tall—at least two feet over me—with its scarred chest puffed out and arms crossedIts upper two ar the brunt of my Gauntlet Form strike, but its injuries didn’t see violet eyes bore intoat me with a calm hatred that contrasted its frenzied brethrenIt raised one of its lower ar its feathered cowl, the gray Four Fists ripped it off of its shoulders and dropped it on the ground before pointing one of its fingers directly at isyou,” Caera said, her eyes narrowed in confusion

“Good,” I said, stepping forward and dropping round“That’ll save us some time then”

“At least take this,” Caera replied, holding out her scarlet sword

My hand reached out toward the weapon, but as I peered into the rin“No, it’s fine”

I thought the Alacryan noble ueI kneas foolish of ainst an opponent four tiht and with twice as many ar ray Four Fists

My opponent let out a throaty bellow, and several of the others began pounding their chests in a steady rhythm, like the beat of war drums

The start of our battle was e of the Gray Four Fists

Pushi+ng aether intounder its rab me

Just as my aether-clad fist was about to reach under its ribs, uard its strike to my knee

I flew back in the air fros, but I was able to see what had happenedIt used the same spatiu in the air, but instead, used the aether as a handle to pull itself forward, giving it incredible nited God Step and, without the time to deteret me out of the way

The world blurred and I foundmyself in the air, I channeled aether into ray Four Fists to snap out of its initial surprise and create another aether handhold to fling himself back toward me

Our fists then er as one-sided as it had been before

I could feel the bones in h the thick layer of aether protecting me as the iround

Leaping up to nited God Step oncefor just as ed to haul himself out of the small crater of snow