The bear-shaped Kred tried to growl and launch a warning cry, but Khan's foot slammed on its throat before any noise could come out of its mouth. A snapping sound echoed from its neck, but it didn't manage to get past his mental barrier.

The alien began to fall, but Khan promptly grabbed it and put it on the ground while limiting the noises in the process. The Kred exhaled its last breath in his embrace, but he suppressed everything and turned to look at the passage.

The cave descended again, but Khan could see the shadows of tall figures created by the glowing plants. None of them seemed aware of the intruders, but taking eventual opponents by surprise would still be tricky since there was only one way.

The other recruits quickly reached Khan and ignored the corpse next to him. Their eyes tried to fall on the dead Kred, but they forced them to remain on their leader.

"There are others down there," Khan whispered before turning when he saw that his companion nodded.

They had prepared for that situation. They didn't need to add other words.

Rescuing the starved and weak recruits inside the cells was pointless since they wouldn't be able to help in the battle. Khan decided to shoot ahead and enter the second hall at full speed to take care of every threat before dealing with the prisoners.

A hall identical to the first unfolded in his eyes, and Khan only had the time to notice the lack of other tunnels before focusing on the four bear-shaped Kred in the area.

His vision was blurry, but he managed to stop in front of the first Kred and deliver a roundhouse kick with his right leg that slammed the alien's face to the wall.

The wall caved in and released a noise that alerted the other aliens. Growls began to resound through the hall, but Khan was already on the move again by then.

Khan quickly approached the second Kred while it was busy turning toward the invaders. A kick landed on its side, but the attack only managed to push it into the wall.

Khan had failed to deploy mana correctly, but that realization didn't slow down his movements. He promptly left the second alien in its place and shot deeper into the hall to approach the third.

The Kred had begun to move toward the invaders by then, but the third alien suddenly saw a shadow materializing in the air. Its eyes soon managed to identify Khan's rotating figure, but a descending heel filled its vision before it could raise its arms to block the attack.

The heel hit the Kred at the center of its forehead and made it fall on its back. Khan had executed the technique correctly at that time, but the third alien seemed more resilient than its companions since no cracking noise followed the impact.

However, Khan didn't stop for even an instant. It didn't matter if his opponents survived or not. He had to press forward and deal with every alien on his path. His companions would deal with the Kred who managed to remain awake after his blows.

Khan reached the last Kred in an instant. The fourth alien had to spend some time to stand up, but its guard was in place by the time its opponent arrived. Its arms were ready to stop the incoming kick aimed at its head, but Khan's leg became blurry right before the impact.

Khan's heel suddenly hit the Kred's right foot. He had decided to perform a feint since the alien was ready to block his attack, but he flowed into a second technique after his blow hit his target.

Khan's figure rotated and went airborne as he jumped on the Kred's foot to deliver a circular kick aimed at its head. His leg was barely visible while it cut the air to reach its target, but a clawed hand suddenly appeared on its path.

"You are too cocky," The Kred growled in a deep male voice while showing a cold smile.

The alien had managed to grab Khan's right leg and stop the attack. Khan couldn't avoid that from his airborne position, and his body quickly tensed in a desperate attempt to use the Kred's hand as a foothold to deliver a second kick.

The Kred blocked the second kick too. His grasp on Khan's ankles tightened, and his claws even stabbed his skin. Red trails started to flow out of the injuries, but Khan didn't give up.

Khan tensed his abdomen and crouched toward the Kred while pointing his fingers toward the animal eyes. He couldn't deploy proper punches without the help of his legs, but he knew that he could do a lot of damage if his attack hit.

The Kred snorted and turned to slam Khan on the wall. Tremors ran through his body after the impact, but the alien didn't let him go and continued to wave his arms to make him crash on every surface.

Blood accumulated in Khan's mouth as the alien continued to play with him. He was nothing more than a child in the Kred's grasp, and his consciousness even threatened to fade as he continued to slam on the wall and ground.

'The thumbs!' Khan shouted in his mind before crouching toward the alien again.

His target wasn't the alien's head at that time. His hands went for the clawed thumbs holding his ankles.

The Kred slammed Khan on the wall again, but he endured the pain as his hands reached the furry thumbs. Khan mustered all the strength that his body was capable of at that point and lifted the fingers to create an opening in the alien's grasp.

Khan pushed from the alien's thumbs, and his legs slid over the sharp claws as they existed that firm grasp. Four deep cuts opened on Khan's ankles and feet in the process, but he finally freed himself.

Khan jumped backward as soon as his feet touched the ground. He didn't manage to control his movements due to the panic that was trying to fill his mind, so he ended up slamming on one of the cells behind him.

The impact destroyed the wooden bars and made Khan fall inside the cell. His mental barrier quickly fended off the emotions that were trying to take control of his movements. Even the pain radiated by his injured legs remained outside and didn't affect his thoughts.

The Kred didn't immediately jump on him. He remained near the wall at the end of the hall and wore a cruel smile.

Khan tried to straighten his position, but his hand suddenly touched soft fur. He turned, and a familiar figure unfolded in his eyes.

"You shouldn't have come," Lieutenant Sehlolo sighed while looking at Khan.

The wolf-shaped Kred didn't feature any injury, but her military uniform had broken in many spots. Khan couldn't see her stars anymore, but he also noticed that she didn't have roots restraining her legs and arms.

"Did you think you could rescue your friends?" The male Kred sneered. "Even your Lieutenants turned their backs on you!"

Khan moved his eyes back on his opponent at that point. He noticed that the Kred's foot was almost completely fine. His previous attack didn't manage to break its bones.

"How strong is he?" Khan asked without turning toward Lieutenant Sehlolo.

The answer scared Khan. Lieutenant Sehlolo was a second-level warrior and first-level mage, but she was in prison. In theory, her warden had to be stronger than her.

Yet, Khan had learnt how scary warriors could be after training with Lieutenant Dyester. His Master was so strong that a single attack could make him faint, but the alien didn't even come close to him.

"I'm what you earthlings call a first-level warrior," The Kred laughed while pointing his clawed forefinger toward Lieutenant Sehlolo. "She had to be in charge of this prison camp, but her determination crumbled at the last second. She is nothing more of a coward who chose to seal herself behind bars."

"Why don't you help us instead of remaining here?" Khan asked while turning toward the Lieutenant.

"Kids have died because of me," Lieutenant Sehlolo said while dodging Khan's gaze. "I didn't know. How can innocent blood wash our grudge clean? I don't want to have anything to do with this rebellion anymore."

"Your decision will only make more of us die," Khan coldly added.

"I've made up my mind," Lieutenant Sehlolo replied while turning her head to face the back of the cell. "I can't spill blood anymore."

'She is useless,' Khan cursed in his mind before taking a deep breath and exiting the cell.

His feet hurt when he straightened his position, but he ignored the pain to focus on his opponent and surroundings. His companions were fighting the two weaker Kred, and they appeared close to defeating them. It wouldn't take much before they could come to Khan's aid.

Instead, the strong Kred didn't move. He was waiting for Khan to make his move while wearing his cruel smile.

****

Author's notes: Just to avoid confusion, I've started using "he" instead of "it" for the alien after making his sex clear.

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