Chapter 68. Sentient
Five beginner rank 3 chaotic beast.
" Shit... These guys are the horde commanders of the beast tide. I need to leave this place," Aiden was just about to leave.
However he saw several streaks of light flash across the distance.
They materialised into several figures in different battlesuits.
Angela Creed. Wilson Creed - Heads of Creed Guild.
Ishbar Hor - Mayor.
Dio Vando - Warriors Association Head in the City, and several other beginner rank 3 warriors in the city.
" I should leave this area. But I could gain some combat experience by observing this battle. I should use my enhanced eyesight to observe it from a distance," Aiden thought. He left the skyscraper. He flapped his crimson wings and moved away from the area. Eventually, when he was at a safe distance, he passed through the broken window of a corporate office and sat in the office. He wanted to observe the battle between the horde commanders and the beginner rank 3 warriors.
The broadcast across the city also switched to towards the skies.
Five beginner rank 3 chaotic beasts floated before a group of beginner rank 3 warriors.
Everyone was watching.
Desmonda saw her parents among the beginner rank 3 warriors as she sat on the corpse of an intermediate rank 1 chaotic beast which looked like a colossal ostrich. She was worried for their safety.
Everyone else was praying that the strongest powerhouses currently present in the city managed to either push back these horde commanders or kill them. If the horde commanders retreated, the other chaotic beasts still alive would retreat.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, the beginner rank 3 warriors and the five horde commanders floated away from each other.
Wilson Creed, in his battlesuit, had streaks of lightning dancing beneath his feet, supporting his flight.
Angela Creed, in her battlesuit, had a whirlwind dancing beneath her feet.
Ishbar Hor had flames around and beneath his figure.
The other beginner rank 3 warriors also used their affinities to maneuver the air.
The beginner rank 3 chaotic beasts looked the same.
They were colossal falcons. They were all clad in lightning streaks and had thick scales. Their eyes gleamed with wild and primal ferocity.
For as long as they, and the beasts could remember, the natural cycle of conflict between their kind and humans had existed since time immemorial and could never be resolved. This was the natural order of life. They deemed humans prey to be devoured for nourishment. Human meat was just too delicious. Especially the ones with special powers. Consuming their meat could naturally help beasts grow more stronger.
Humans deemed beasts too as threats to be eliminated because they harmed humans. It was a conflict based on how the ecosystem naturally worked. Something like that could never be resolved. It would continue forever. It was simply how the world worked.
" Just as we discussed. The aim is to push them back even if we can’t kill them. Beginner rank 3 chaotic beasts and above are very sentient, so let’s handle them like we’d handle a battle with warriors," Ishbar said.
Everyone nodded.
Rank 1 and rank 2 beasts were instinct-driven creatures. Like dangerous animals.
Rank 3 and rank 4 beasts were sentient beasts.
They had thoughts, personalities, memories, preferences, grudges, and basic reasoning.
They could understand the world but could not communicate directly with humans. Even in pocket worlds, this was how it was with chaotic beasts.
Humans came to understand this accurately by studying the behavior of chaotic beasts in danger zones and pocket worlds extensively.
Also, humans also studied chaotic beasts in pocket worlds and the real world and also realised that chaotic beasts could naturally grow stronger by feeding on humans. It was simply how their biology naturally worked. This made them the natural ecological enemies of humans since time immemorial.
Humans and sentient chaotic beasts on Endra did not know that this primal natural conflict between humans and chaotic beasts in danger zones and pocket worlds did not only apply to them, but across the whole universe.
How could they know? As far as Endra was concerned, there could be other life somewhere in the sea of stars beyond their reach, somewhere in the universe, apart from pocket worlds. But Endra’s technology was not at a level where humanity could explore the stars to a level where they could find out about that.
Even legendary rank 4 warriors could not travel the sea of stars. Several legendary rank 4 warriors tried to do that in the past. They died the moment they left Endra’s atmosphere. The energy in outer space was too much for their bodies to handle and turned their bodies into ashes.
Also, Endra had yet to come across rank 5 chaotic beasts and more. It was obvious Endra had not existed long enough to nurture chaotic beasts at that level. Also, they had not come across pocket worlds with rank 5 chaotic beasts and more. They did not even know if such creatures existed, neither had the thought ever occurred to them. One could say that Endra was a very fortunate world because if they ever encountered a rank 5 threat or above, the whole Civilisation would be destroyed.
So as far as Endra knew, legendary rank 4 was the peak of power because that was their current reality.
Anyway, the beginner rank 3 falcons shot lightning balls and arcs towards the beginner rank 3 powerhouses.
Ishbar Hor conjured a hammer made of flames and brought it down. It met several lightning balls and incinerated them. He shot towards the creatures, flame hammer in hand.
Wilson Creed waved his hand. A sword appeared in his hand. Lightning danced across it.
He took a step forward and slashed. A diagonal arc of lighting trailed ahead of slash. It crushed into a lightning arc from the falcons.
Angela Creed waved her hand. A staff appeared in her hand. She pointed it forward. Gales of wind swept out and condensed into wind bells.
The wind bells spun and shot forward.
Ishbar Hor and everyone else launched various attacks towards the falcons.
A battle of cataclysmic proportions ensued between the two sides. Rings of shockwaves rippled outwards and blanketed the skies.
The figures of the beginner rank 3 warriors and the beginner rank 3 chaotic beasts, the horde commanders, had turned into trails of light, clashing over and over again.
" So this is how powerful rank 3’s are," Aiden thought as he observed the battle from the abandoned cooperate office he was in.
He still had a long way to go. Also, he was learning a lot from the battle. Especially concerning the versatility of using his blood. For instance, he saw some warriors conjure lightning bells, fire wheels, among other affinity attacks, during their battle with the beginner rank 3 chaotic beasts. This enriched his battle experience.
Everyone across the city was watching this battle.
What power.
Shock. Awe. Reverence.
Eventually, the two sides separated.
The battlesuits of the beginner rank 3 warriors were torn in several places. Some even coughed mouthfuls of blood.
As for the horde commanders, they were in worse shape.
Glints flashed through their eyes.
They screeched. The battles across the city ceased. Chaotic beasts attacking warriors stopped and fled out of the city.
The falcons turned around and shot towards the horizon, leaving the city. The beginner rank 3 warriors did not pursue. They had achieved their objective. They were also personally injured. Engaging anymore with the beasts would have been detrimental.
" Let’s kindly make preparations to identify the corpses of dead warriors," The mayor said politely to Dio Vando, the Warriors Association Head. "Their families should be heavily compensated for their act of heroism. Also let’s give them a proper burial. The dead civilians should also be properly identified and buried decently."
" Certainly sir," The Warriors Association Head in the city said.
" Thank you everyone," Ishbar said.
Everyone nodded politely and shot towards different directions.
Desmonda’s parents were on their way to see their daughter.
The Mayor also returned to his house to see his wife and children. He wanted to ensure they were safe.
The warriors fighting battles across the city didn’t pursue the retreating chaotic beasts. They were all in bad shape.
Healers went around, healing other warriors. Some also consumed healing elixirs to hasten their recovery.
Warriors sent the corpses of chaotic beasts into their storage bags to later sell and gain money. Not even a single corpse of a chaotic beast was left.
Everyone eventually relaxed. Even the normal humans in the underground shelters relaxed.
However the losses could not be denied. Some lost friends and families. Heavy sighs and silent tears spread across the place.
The chaotic beast tide was over.
But many did not feel like it was a victory.
As for Aiden, he had already returned to his villa on campus. When he returned to campus, several buildings had been destroyed due to the beast tide and were being rebuilt at frightening speed.
Fortunately , his building was not affected.
He entered his villa, took a shower, then fell fast asleep on the couch.
He needed to rest his mind because he was planning on heading to the rank 1 region of the danger zone tomorrow to hunt chaotic beasts.