The Sound Of Despair

It took only a few hours for Licht to tire and calm down. When his mind finally cleared up, the tiger could not believe the tantrum he had thrown. Yes, being clean had always been important to him, but losing control like that was simply a shameful display.

Neither Sturm nor Schatten berated him for it, albeit due to different reasons. Unlike the brumawolves, most raitigers lived a sheltered life, and that was especially so for a future leader like Licht. Being powerful and deadly in combat did not mean one could automatically endure and brush off hardships like they were nothing. 

After going through two years of intensive training in isolation, only to directly start fighting against physically superior opponents without rest, it was only a matter of time before the stress and pressure would get to him. Even though Schatten was a lot more used to living a harsh life, the wolf deserved some rest as well.

<<A few hours will have to be enough for now. They will get proper rest after we have dealt with Arcanus Attalus.>>

"Okay, enough playing around. There is still a lot of work to be done. So you two relax inside the lightning space until I reach the sasquatch territory again."

Defeating two sasquatch warriors at the sixth tier was a pretty good achievement, but it could simply not be compared to a noble mage. Getting back to the sasquatch territory was easy enough, but when Sturm reached the primitive fence once again, the scouts that were supposed to be there were absent.

<<Strange, shouldn't they have replaced the dead scouts with new ones?>>

What was even more unsettling was the absence of scouts even inside the territory. The last time they had fought their way through the sasquatch forest, they had met several scout troops on their way. Now there was nothing, and no matter how much Sturm concentrated his senses, there was no sign of life.

{I am fine now. You can let us out, Sturm. Something is obviously wrong here, and it is best if we help you scout the surroundings,} Licht said.

The raitiger felt like he did not deserve any rest after what he had done. Sturm had once told them to demonstrate their superiority during the hunt, and that was what he desperately needed now. Not only did Schatten show much more composure, but he had also successfully evaded all of his attacks over a span of multiple hours. 

Yes, he had not been in control, but just his innately superior agility should have been enough to beat up a clumsy puppy like Schatten. That was especially the case if the surrounding area had been limited. 

To Licht's surprise, Schatten did not openly mock him, but the few glances the wolf threw at him showed... pity. Nothing could be more humiliating than being pitied by his rival. He had endured the hellish training just as much, had he not?

I<< will show him that he had been simply lucky that I had snapped. Today, we will see who kills more sasquatches.>>

The previous day, they had worked on one simple tactic devised to fell superior foes. Not only did sticking to that one tactic allow them to practice it a lot, but it had been a safe approach on top of it. As something devised to defeat beasts and humans that they would have no hope against in a direct confrontation, the maneuver resulted in even sasquatch warriors being unable to retaliate.

Now that they knew more about their enemies and their own strength, they could reduce their schemes and engage in more direct confrontations. As Sun Tzu once said, 'If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory you gain you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.'

If one wanted to significantly improve at something, then one had to challenge himself. Even killing thousands of sasquatch scouts and warriors with the bait and stun tactic would not considerably increase their fighting strength.

"Alright. The original plan was to let lose today and stop playing it too safe. But, as something appears to be wrong, we will keep prioritizing safety until we have investigated the circumstances," Sturm explained.

Schatten responded with a simple nod and merged into the shadows. On the other hand, Licht seemed a little more reluctant, as this went against his original plan to prove himself superior.

<<Well, let's not be stupid. I can't let him beat me in discipline as well.>> Licht thought as he jumped into the trees.

Between Sturm's senses and the two beast's scouting, nothing could evade them. That made it all the more worrisome, as they had already reached the spot Sturm had insta-killed the two sasquatch warriors. Last time, they had concluded that a sasquatch village had to be near, but if that was the case, why were there no other patrols anywhere?

Sturm sat down and let the [Black Room] expand over the surrounding area, but unlike the last few times, he did not search for life but for any signs of a fight. Sensory inputs kept flooding his brain, delivering new information each second. Yet, even then, nothing seemed out of place. 

The usual forest smell filled his nostrils, and the sound of leaves rattling created an atmosphere of tranquility and peace. A few earthworms crawled through the ground, but otherwise, there were no tremors whatsoever.

<<No birds, no animals, no sasquatches. It is like life suddenly vanished from this part of the forest.>>

Sturm thought about turning around. It was evident that right now, they definitely did not know about the enemy, but just when he wanted to give the order, Schatten contacted him with news.

{I found the village, and also the reason why everyone, or rather everything, left the area. Come take a look}

Information was exactly what they needed right now. 

{Good job, Schatten!} Sturm complimented.

{Yes, very good, but I also have some information. I have found tracks, and it seems the sasquatches fled southwest, along with all the animals. Additionally, there were some giant footprints, and if I am not mistaken, our ape friend paid the sasquatch territory a visit,} Licht added.

The same footprints were in the sasquatch village, and Schatten had come to the same conclusion. Before he could show them to Sturm, though, Licht had already revealed the culprit. Schatten was not the smartest brumawolf, but even he knew exactly what that tiger was trying to do. 

<<Ha, bring it on. You think I enjoyed being chased around by you? I did not say anything to allow you to step back and accept I am the superior beast, but if that is how you want to repay my kindness, then prepare.,>> Schatten thought.

Sasquatches did not create treehouses up in the trees like Sturm had expected due to their familiar appearance. Instead, they tensed magic beast hides between trees, creating spacious tents. Everywhere Sturm looked, there were signs of complete destruction. Not only had most of the hide been cut apart, but even the trees they were attached to had collapsed.

Giant footprints Sturm remembered quite well were everywhere, but to their surprise, there was no blood. They searched through the rubble, lifted the fallen trees, and even dug a meter deep at some spots, but no matter how hard they looked, no casualties could be found.

{They must have fled before the maclawco overlord arrived. There is no other explanation. The beast is probably taking advantage of the fact that the other two overlords died, and tried to get rid of their offspring. Maybe he has noticed our absence? If that primitive ape thinks we are gone, then that would be the chance for him to take over the whole forest. Once he manages to accomplish that, only the humans would stand in his way of ruling the island,} Licht deduced.

The smart tiger's reasoning made sense, which meant that if the sasquatches successfully fled, then the maclawco overlord still had to be in this territory. It was not yet time to confront the beast, as the trio still lacked team-combat experience.

Even Schatten, who was eager to fight the beast, wanted to avoid it for now. This was not a small group of tier 7 sasquatches but a full-grown and experienced tier 10 bronze beast. It outranked them by seven tiers, and there was no way their little bit of lightning could stun it long enough for them to kill it. 

Sturm had proved to them that it was not impossible, but a lot of preparation would be necessary.

{Let us fall back,} Schatten said.

{Yes, we can take advantage of the situation and be the oriole, but getting more information takes priority. For example, do the sasquatch tribe leaders have the strength to injure the white ape? Or are there other factions participating in this conflict? What about the third overlord's remaining forces?}

"I can see you two are not trying to avoid a fight because you are scared of the tier difference, but because you want to come up with a proper plan to defeat him. That is the mindset I want to see. The question is not if, but how! If we survive this, then you both get a pat on the shoulder."

Licht and Schatten wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but then they themselves felt it. The ground started trembling, which could only mean a certain predator was coming back.