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The Jolup was still focused on the screaming Tributes behind me, its vision perhaps unable to see the man-sized figure flying straight between its eyes. I used the opportunity for a surprise attack, putting every ounce of Frenzy I could muster into the preemptive strike.

“[Lightning Splits the Towering Oak]!”

White hot lightning crackled from the sky and hit the tip of my Phalanx Glaive just as it cleaved into the top of the Jolup’s gaping maw. An explosion thundered across the desert, my hair blown back by the detonation of my Frenzy. A horrid roar of pain ripped from the creature’s throat as its head was pummeled into the sand as if hit by an invisible giant. Its enormous body heaved upward into the air behind it as its momentum drove its head further into the sand and brought it dead to a stop.

The Jolup seemed stunned as I landed on its head, and I used the opportunity to follow up with a [One Chop Cleave] aimed directly for one of its eyes. The world spun as my blade connected and I was rewarded with another roar of pain as I cut deep into the creature’s eye socket with a spray of blood.

The world went spinning again as the best flung me from its head with a whip of its neck. I hit the ground at what felt like 100 miles an hour, skidding across the dunes. When I finally found my feet, I was over a half a football field’s length away.

Blood oozed from its wounded eye as well as a massive laceration to the tip of its snout. It turned its massive head towards me seeking retribution. I could sense the anger and hatred coming from within it, pulsating violently as it sought me out with a flick of its enormous, forked tongue.

I quickly cultivated the sea of Frenzy flooding my system, topping up my Dantian and pressing in even more to increase its size. This was what I had been craving. I had to take advantage of every second to increase the density of my Dantian while expending enough to stay alive.

And expend I would, to face this thing.

The Jolup took a few ground trembling steps in my direction and then licked the air again.

“Foul Demon,” it spoke without use of its mouth or tongue. “I seethe…!!”

At first, I wondered if it had somehow spoken to me directly inside my own head.

But then the Tributes on the ledge started freaking out as well.

“It spoke!”

“An Awakened beast!”

“It must be ancient!”

“We must flee!”

“Damn you, beast,” I muttered as readied my Glaive again. “Need to put you down quick before you spill all my secrets.”

The Jolup didn’t react however and instead shifted its head towards the Tributes screaming atop the cliff.

Shit!

One flick of that tongue and half of them would be dead.

“Hell Spawn of the Cursed Stars!” I screamed with [Fear the Flame] to draw its attention. “I’m your prey now! The demon you seek!”

That got its attention immediately, and it shifted from the Tributes on the ledge to glare back at me with its one good eye.

“Blasphemer!” it hissed with a shriek. “Traitor!”

It then barreled towards me at top speed, fast as hell.

No way could I move in time.

Not without help.

Channeling [Mark of the Beast], I transformed and shifted to the side at ten times my normal speed. Being this far away from the platoon, no way could they see the finer details of my beastly form. I used it to my advantage as the Jolup’s jaws crashed into the sand where I had stood just milliseconds ago.

I flew back at it with a viscous chop to its head with my Glaive, burning Frenzy to put as much strength behind it as possible. I got in three hits in the space of just a few seconds, going to town on the beast. I went for two more but realized my mistake too late.

I had gotten too greedy.

The monster jerked its head to the side and clamped me within its fang-filled maw.

Foot long teeth made short work of my [Steel Skin] and [Steel Core], punching me through in a violent snap! of its jaws. Blinding pain set my nervous system on fire and I screamed as its teeth severed muscle, sinew and bone. [Death’s Door] took over immediately, pumping Frenzy through my impaled body to remain consciousness despite the mortal wounds. I was burning Frenzy like crazy now just to stay alive, but as quickly as I spent it my Flame produced more.

A satisfied rumble came from deep within the Julop’s throat.

“A quick meal is all thou art.”

Images of Kou Ren flashed through my mind as it prepared to swallow me whole.

No way was I going out like that!

As it jerked its head upwards to toss me in the air, I channeled [Steel Lightning]. The ablative technique shattered the teeth impaling me, freeing me for a moment. I then spun in mid-air and thrust the tip of my Phalanx Glaive straight through its tongue and into the bottom of its mouth wedging the ten-foot-long weapon between its closing jaws.

I hung onto the handle-grip for dear life as the beast went into convulsive throes of agony and infuriation, trying to free the blade from its mouth. I gripped my axe in my free hand and went to town on the rest of its teeth, spewing [Frenzied Lightning] with each blow.

Fangs and gums shattered under my relentless assault.

The anger within it surged, combining with pain and then slowly something else.

Fear…

“That’s right you overgrown bitch!” I shouted with fury and [Fear the Flame] “I’m going to be the end of you!”

In what seemed like desperation, the Jolup thrust its wedged mouth into the sand. It shook its head from side to side and finally the combined force of the motion and the sand pushed against the flat of the blade and forced it free.

I went tumbling across the dunes again, pain shooting through me with each bump and roll. I still had my weapons though and I fought against death itself to stand to my feet. I was bleeding and covered in sand, my body a living pin cushion of torturous pain.

The Jolup didn’t look much better.

The monster was heaving deep hissing breaths, blood gushing from its busted-up mouth as its tongue dangled by a thread.

“Vermin… that art indeed a bastard spawn of the Cursed Flame.”

“Glad you finally recognized that, asshole.”

The Jolup huffed out a sickly, guttural laugh. “Fool, thou are already dead. Mine venom will finish thee.”

It was probably right.

I was dead already from my wounds and whatever poison was in those teeth was simple there to finish me off.

Only my Frenzy was keeping me alive now.

But that didn’t matter.

“I’ll die when I’m good and ready,” I said as I prepared to charge at it again. “Right after I send you to hell!”

I rushed forward and quick as a blink it swiped at me with its foreleg. Despite my every intention to dodge the attack, my body just didn’t respond quickly enough.

Shit!

Its claws knocked me off my feet, taking huge chunks of my flesh with it.

I hit the ground in a daze.

[Death’s Door] was keeping me alive, but I was nowhere near as battle ready as I was before. I was literally a zombie now. Dead, slow, bleeding and weak. The Jolup must have sensed it too and pounced on me with a roar. A hundred tons of pissed off lizard came crashing down on top of me, burying me under one of its claws.

Sunlight faded from view as the sinking sand became my tome.

“Thou are but a scrapling. Thou art no Flame.”

No Flame…?

The insult burned the core of my Dao with ire.

This son of a bitch had no clue what I was!

Rage and fury pulsated through me, producing fresh Frenzy from my Flame.

The [Odds Against Me] were immense.

But I couldn’t quit now.

Too many people were depending on me.

I let loose I primal yell as I pushed back against the beast’s claw, the laws of physics breaking as I bench pressed the 100 ton lizard back into the air.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Look! He’s still alive!” a nearby voice cried out.

And then I heard one I recognized immediately.

“I told you!” Blue Rose shouted. “Attack its flank now! He’s wounded it badly! We can kill it!”

I heard the beast roar and hiss and the pressure of its claw left me as it redirected towards wherever Blue Rose was. I fought against the pain coursing through my body as I literally pulled myself from my own grave.

When I emerged, I saw the Jolup was facing away from me now, whipping its head back and forth as it tried to snatch the three or four cultivators flying in circles above it. The team of mid-tiers cultivators were doing their best to hack into its tail and hind legs, Tu’lok leading the charge. They surged back and forth as the creature stomped about. The thing was so huge that one false move and they’d easily be trampled, but they pressed on fearlessly, causing huge gaping wounds to its side.

I looked for Jei Su Long and saw the bastard still perched on the cliff.

I scanned for Blue Rose next but didn’t see her.

I was hanging on by a thread.

The fact that I was still running [Mark of the Giant] and [Mark of the Beast] didn’t even matter anymore. I was barely recognizable now, my busted-up body covered in blood caked sand. I dared not drop them though, for fear that they were also what was keeping me alive.

But this couldn’t go on forever.

Blue Rose had brought the calvary, but I still needed to finish my part.

I shrugged off the pain and made a mad sprint for the beast.

With a howl, I leap onto its hind leg and began clawing my way upwards. I kept hold with my clawed fingertips, digging into the flesh of its thick, scaley hide as it bucked and roared. Scrambling forward, I made my way down its length to reach the base of its neck and saw blue Rose there, stabbing at the creature’s skull with her daggers.

She turned about just as I arrived, and her jaw dropped when she saw me.

“Saints in hell!” she said. “You look like shit, Bull Man!”

“Yeah, well I feel even worse,” I said, clinging onto the Jolup’s back with one hand as it bucked and roared.

Amazingly, Blue Rose kept her footing as if her boots were glued to it.

“How did you even hurt this thing?” she said and looking down I saw a small wound that she had made now weeping blood at the base of the Jolup’s skull. “I can barely make a dent.”

“Strong weapons, I guess,” I said and prepared to put them to the test.

The fly boys were sending down blasts of elemental Qi, but they seemed to be pissing it off more than hurting it. Still their distraction was enough for it to not notice us on its back.

I had to bring this monster to its end now.

“Let me finish what you started there, Blue,” I said and then timing my leap forward, I slammed my Phalanx Glaive in at a 45 degree angle into the small wound Blue Rose had made. It only got in a foot but that was okay.

“Get ready,” I said. “It probably won’t like this.”

I summoned my Frenzy and spun with a [Lightning One Chop Cleave]!

The flat of my axe blade slammed into the hilt of my sword and sent Glaive shooting into the base of the Jolup’s skull like nail. Both Blue Rose and I were thrown into the air as the monster bucked upward and then stiffened. I rolled clear as it fell onto its back with a massive kathoom! sending a blast of wind and sand into the air.

Its legs spasm for a few seconds and then hissing out a final breath it grew still.

A moment of deadly silent passed and then shock gave way to elation as the air filled with the yells of ecstatic cheers.

My [Bloodlust] triggered and I quickly cultivated the Frenzy before is disappeared.

I was still burning Frenzy like no tomorrow and with the creature now dead, once my [Bloodlust] subsided there’d be no new Frenzy to replenish my pool to keep me alive.

Once [Death’s Door] ended…so would I.

I needed to get help quickly.

Staggering to my feet, I hurried to find Blue Rose.

I ran into Tu’lok first and the rest of the Mid-Tier cultivators now celebrating in victory. When they saw me, each one gave me expressions of awe and more importantly, fresh lemonade. I cultivated it quickly to stay on my feet.

“What in the hells are you?” Tu’lok said staring at me incredulously but with a smile. “You’ve got to be Sacred Soul Realm! What are you doing in a white robe?”

“What is he doing still standing?” someone else quipped.

“They should make him a Black Robe just for this.”

“I’ve got to get back,” I said weakly. “Need the infirmary. Healing elixirs or something. That thing poisoned me.”

If I could, I would have tried to use a [Mark] to heal, but I couldn’t risk another shift in my state. And besides, if I did that, I’d be giving up all of my hard-earned gains. The Path of a Berserk was a brutal one, and in all honesty, I hadn’t had a workout like this in ages.

I’d be a fool to cheat myself out of the progression from healing naturally.

But I needed to survive first.

“I’ve got you,” Blue Rose said, appearing miraculously by my side. “We’ll get you back quickly.”

“No one’s going anywhere!”

I looked to see Jei Su Long touching down on dune above us.

Son of a bitch, I thought. Thebastard could fly all this time?

“You’re quite something,” Jei Su Long said as he studied me. “Lucky perhaps.”

He then looked to the rest of the platoon.

“What are you waiting for?” he shouted. “Harvest that beast’s core!”

If Jei Su Long wanted a shot at killing me, now would be the optimal time.

Thankfully he seemed more fearful when he looked at me now more than anything else.

“What were you speaking to it?” he said. “And why did it speak to you?”

He was on the right track if he was looking for reasons to be suspicious.

“They always talk to me,” I said with bravado and [Struggler’s Resolve]. “What? First time you’ve actually fought an Awakened Spirit Beast? They’re not just monsters, you know? Plus, they say the weirdest shit sometimes. I just echo it to piss them off.”

“What?”

“There’s a soul in there that created that core you want. You can check with Master Eiji if you want the details on how is done. Of course, if you’d have ever served as a White Robe, you would have gotten that lesson already.”

A few chuckles went through the ranks and inside Jei Su Long’s anger boiled.

“Just get me that core,” he snapped.

He grimaced and then finally left and I finally fell to the ground.

Tu’lok and Blue Rose rushed to aid me as a new pain coursed through my body.

The poison taking its toll.

“Hey, hang in there,” Tu’lok said. “We’ll get you bandaged up as best we can.”

I nodded weakly as I began to ration the Frenzy reserves within my Dantian.

I was half full now.

And still burning quickly to maintain [Death’s Door].

I allowed myself to feel the pain and used [Indifference] to stop from crying out as I cycled the minute increase in Frenzy the pain provided. At this stage every bit would help.

“Move fast,” Tu’lok shouted to the Tributes now hacking into the Jolup corpse. “We need to get the Iron Bull back to the academy quickly!”

“It won’t be fast enough,” Blue Rose said staring at me like I was already a dead man. “I’ll run back to summon a skiff.”

“No, you will not!” Jei Su Long shouted from atop the corpse of the Jolup, apparently spying on us the entire time since he’d left. “I ordered everyone to stay until the work is done. We return as a platoon.” He then leered down at me. “No exceptions.”

Blue Rose grimaced.

“He’s waiting for the poison to kill you, I think,” she whispered. “You’ve caused him to lose too much face today.”

I huffed out a choking laugh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Her eyes then set as she seemed to make a decision. “Just hang on. I’ll be right back.”

Blue Rose stood and slowly paced behind the giant corpse, out of sight of Jei Su Long.

Then, with a martial flexing of her hands, she disappeared.

* * *

An agonizing half an hour went by as the rest of the platoon began chopping into the giant lizard to harvest its core. Jei Su Long looked on with glee while I suffered, micromanaging the operation and getting them to take way longer than needed to dive into its guts and extract the core.

“Harvest the heart as well,” he shouted. “And the venom glands. They will fetch high prices on the off-world markets and earn the academy prestige and wealth. Take care you do not damage them. Work with diligent and care. Do not rush.”

That son of a bitch…

Tu’lok and a few other Tributes managed to bandage me some, as well as retrieve my sword, but the worried looks on their faces told me that even they didn’t expect me to live very long. Jei Su Long was counting on it no doubt, smirking at me as he barked his orders to work slowly.

Luckly, he seemed too obsessed with the process to realize Blue Rose had even gone.

She had to hurry back soon though.

I was down to less than a quarter of a tank now.

By the time the Tributes finally produced the Julop’s monster core, another twenty minutes had passed. The entire platoon gathered around it then, like it was a newborn babe or something and when I finally got to see it for myself, I understood why.

The thing was the size of a basketball, literally the largest core I’d ever seen. It was rough around the edges and slightly oblong, like a giant walnut. It was ruddy brown, signifying it as an earth aspect core.

“Secure it and we’ll get underway,” Jei Su Long said as he examined it. “I will undoubtedly win the top-ranking platoon leader with a prize like this.”

“Nice,” I said. “Be even nicer if you helped earn it.”

He glared at me with contempt. “Mind your tongue. It is the work of White Robes to harvest Cores. Not Black Robes. My job was to lead. And as you can see, I did do splendidly.”

Delusional prick, I thought.

I wanted to say that part out loud, but I needed to pick my battles.

I was dangerously close to running dry now.

“Let’s move,” Jei Su Long said.

Tu’lok helped me up and was about to sling me over his shoulder when Jei Su Long stopped him.

“What are you doing?” he said.

“Helping him, Commander. He’s gravely wounded.”

Jei Su Long smirked at me as if to say a ‘checkmate’. “If he isn’t strong enough to make it back on his own strength like the rest of us, then he isn’t worthy to return. Leave him.”

“He won’t make it on his own like this,” Tu’lok said.

“Then so be it!” Jei Su Long shouted and then turned about. “Let’s move!”

Sheepishly several of the tributes began slinking away, following after the commander.

I grinned with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “Don’t worry about me fellas. I’m coming.”

“This is madness!” Tu’lok shouted. “Commander, the Iron Bull earned us this trophy nearly on his own. He has already proven his strength a hundred times over. We must help him!”

“Do that and it will be your head!” Jei Su Long shouted. “I have given an order!”

I could sense the defiance growing within Tu’lok as he grimaced. “The Chief Instructor would surely not approve of this.”

“Chief Instructor?” Jei Su Long quickly turned about to get in Tu’lok’s face, or as much as he could, being two heads shorted than him. “Do you see her here? In the heat of battle the Platoon Commander makes the decisions on his own accord. And my decision has been made!”

“Is that so?”

Everyone paused at the powerful voice that called out.

We all turned to see a skiff cresting over the top of the Jolup corpse, Chief Instructor Yora herself riding upon it, along was Master Eiji and Blue Rose.

“And what is this decision you have made on your own accord, Jei Su Long?”

Jei Su Long’s eyes nearly fell out of his head.

He quickly fell to one knee. “Chief Instructor! This One is honored that you would seek out my humble platoon for a visit.”

“A visit?” she said coolly. “Master Eiji, see to him quickly.”

“Yes, Chief Instructor.”

Jumping from the skiff, Blue Rose led Master Eiji to me and he quickly produced a vial of purple liquid from his robes.

“Drink all of it,” he said, putting it to my lips. “It will deal with the venom. There is a strong healing elixir mixed in with it also. You will become drowsy soon. Don’t fight it. It will allow you to heal.”

The concoction went down like fiery liquor, but as it hit my insides, I could already feel it making a change. My need for Frenzy lessened slightly as my body finally began to mend of its own accord.

“Thank you, Master Eiji.”

I then looked past him to Blue Rose who was hovering over his shoulder. “I owe you one.”

She simply nodded, but I could see the relief on her face.

Chief Instructor Yora then dismounted and slowly approached Jei Su Long. “I didn’t want to believe the report at first, but to see it with my own eyes…remarkable. An Awakened Jolup taken down by a platoon of White Robes.” She then paused and narrowed her eyes at Jei Su Long. “What did you mean just now by ‘visit’? Did you not send your tribute to summon help?”

Blue Rose suddenly spoke up. “Yes, Chief Instructor. Commander Jei Su Long was very wise to have sent me. As you can see, we arrived just in time to save the Iron Bull.”

Jei Su Long didn’t say anything for a moment, clearly caught off guard.

“Y-yes,” he said finally. “I sent her.”

Yora frowned clearly not believing a word of it. “Get your men back to the academy. I’ll debrief you upon my return.”

Jei Su Long insides filled with anger and resentment as he glared at blue Rose. “Yes, Chief Instructor.”

Yora then approached me.

“I hear that you were primarily responsible for this,” she said. “Is this true?”

“You can ask these guys, Chief Instructor,” I said with a weak smile. “I was too busy getting my ass eaten alive to really tell.”

She chuckled with a bit of Lemonade. “Get him aboard the skiff. When you recover, Iron Bull, I would very much like a debrief from you as well.”

Ah shit, I thought. Maybe I’d gone too far killing something so big.

But screw it.

I needed to advance somehow.

As Tu’lok helped me aboard the skiff the effects of Master Eiji’s elixir began to take hold. Blue Rose then clambered aboard next to me and looked down at me from above.

“Thanks again, Blue,’ I said as my eyes grew heavy. “It’s true what you said. You are loyal.”

She smirked. “Don’t take that to mean that I love you.”

I huffed out a painful laugh.

As the skiff took off, I was oddly reminded of the last time I was running on [Deaths Door] in the belly of a skiff. Now here I was, repeating history on an alien world. Hopefully like before, a new breakthrough would come with it as well.

My last thoughts were of Fia as the hue of the setting sun began to fill the sky.

One step closer to coming home to you, babe.

And with that I finally gave in to sleep.