AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

Chapter 106: Clash of beasts

Year 3, Spring, Second Month, First Week.

Samia rehearsed the plan in her head again while she gathered the courage to execute it. Going against a MT beast wasnt easy, the magic equipment would give her a chance, but ultimately, death was a possible outcome. The hunter estimated at least three hours before the first group came within range of the beast. Of course, if she failed to attract it out of their path, they would stop and look for another solution.

The proximity from the pilgrimage group made Samia uncomfortable, imagine if the beast got out of control and ran towards them. However, they couldnt be far because as soon as the path was clear, they would have to cross it or they would risk meeting the beast when it decided to return to its territory. So, aside from luring the beast, she also had to keep track of it, if not distract it until the group passed its territory. Something that they didnt consider was the possibility of the beast being unwilling to leave its territory, which just occurred to Samia when she saw intelligence in the actions of the wood monkey.

Thats why she formulated a risky but high-rewarding plan to attract the beast not too far and keep it occupied for long enough. She had already notified the others with the communicator, so all that was left to do was executing the plan.

From a good distance, Samia started to throw stones at the beasts lair, some passed the tree but most crashed against the tree trunk near the lair. In a few minutes, the entrance started to stretch again and a furious monkey jumped outside looking for the offender.

Samia threw a stone at the raging beast to erase any doubt of her participation in the attack before jumping up on a close tree and starting her escape. As planned, the monkey screamed and hanged through the branches towards her. This time, the hunter only activated the lightness effect and allowed the beast to lock on her presence. She focused all her attention on fleeing, but the sound of the monkeys screams was getting closer. Unfortunately, the beast had a natural ability to swing through the trees, probably fruit of its wood affinity.

The fact that Samia was trying to jump in an irregular pattern to avoid spike attacks also seemed to contribute to the beasts advantage. When a spiked branch scratched her right leg, she realized she would soon be caught and quickly activated the concealment. The pause in the monkeys screams told her the beast was confused. She glanced back and saw the beast was stopping, so she dropped the concealment and yelled at it to capture its attention again.

The persecution continued and she had to activate the concealment two other times, once when the screams were too close and another when she was cut near the wrist. Fortunately, by her accounts, they were nearing the location for the next stage of her plan.

The monkey started to reduce its speed again, which told her they were in the right place. However, she couldnt allow the beast to escape back, so she jumped down and started launching stones at the monkey. Two spikes flew towards her, confirming her success in attracting its ire. The Arrays on her boots shined and she jumped back to a branch before the spikes got her. They resumed the chase again, but now Samia paid special attention to her surroundings, ready to activate the concealment at any time.

Even paying close attention, what happened next took both the hunter and her pursuer by surprise. A snake-like creature appeared from the underground flying towards the monkey, probably because it regarded the other beast as a bigger threat. Even though she wasnt attacked, Samia ended up losing her footing and falling. Fortunately, the lightening effect gave her enough time to correct her landing.

Without wasting any more time, the girl activated her concealment and hid behind a tree to observe. The earth snake was trying to whip the monkey with its stony-scaled giant body while the scared beast swayed through the branches to escape the attack. Samia felt a few bruises and superficial wounds over her body but was utterly relieved, her plan to pin the two MT beasts against each other worked.

In fact, they had been lucky to identify the earth snake in the first place since its body usually stayed underground where the wind waves wouldnt reach. Fortunately, the beast left a small part of its tail outside to sense prey and danger. However, when it was eating, moving long distances or resting, the beast would be completely underground.

Although the snake had the upper hand, the monkey wasnt defenseless, it masterfully dodged the attacks and swung freely through the branches. In the beginning, the wooden beast launched a few spikes at the earth snake but the attacks barely scratched the beasts hide. Another question appeared in Samias mind, what would be the outcome of this battle? The monkey clearly couldnt kill the other beast, but once it got tired, wouldnt it just flee?

Samias relieved expression turned serious again, she needed a contra-measure to prevent the monkey from returning. Maybe she should help one of the beasts at a crucial moment to either balance the fight or help the earth snake to finish the monkey. But what could she do against them? The earth beast had a tough body and it was dangerous to get close to the monkey.

Without dropping her concealment, Samia jumped to a branch and moved closer to the fighting beasts. She took out two throwing knives and positioned them on top of the enhancing Array in the side of her coat. Then she waited, ready to press the activator at any time.

When the beasts got near enough, she didnt hesitate to activate the effect, the Arrays on the throwing knives shined as the wind energy started to coat them. With a swift movement, she launched the knives at the swinging monkey.

The beast reacted but the knives whistled through the air, enhanced by the wind coating. One knife scratched its leg but the other went through it, making the monkey scream with pain. The snake was already en route to attack the wood beast and the sudden attack threw it off balance. In an instant, the monkey was bitten and dragged by the snack to the ground.

However, when the beasts landed a wooden pillar grew from the ground and pushed the snake away. The wounded monkey started to move towards a tree, practically dragging its tattered body. The snake had been tossed meters away, but the attack wasnt enough to wound it, so it moved back as soon as the prey was located.

The monkey barely climbed the tree before the other beast was already on it. It tried to flee but it wasnt in a good condition anymore. The monkey took a few more hits and struggled to escape before it was finally killed by the earth snake. The victorious beast was about to collect the dead body from the ground to eat it on its burrow when a strong sudden wind current pushed it away.

The panting Samia was also shocked by her own move, but now it was late to regret it. She considered taking the body, but it could drag her down, so she used the dagger to make a rushed cut in the beasts chest and yanked its crystal before fleeing the scene. She wanted to retrieve her throwing knives but the blood on her hands would help the beast see through the concealment. It would be better to come back later, with clean hands and when the beast was feasting.