The beasts were cautiously watching Cain and Rugo, the beasts around the Clastival Wolf had also tightened their formation to protect their leader.

“I’ll handle the biggest ones, you have no problem, right?” asked Rugo.

“I think it’s better for me to handle the biggest ones, and you have smaller weapons,” said Cain.

“The biggest ones are too many for you,” responded Rugo.

“No problem, I can handle them!” exclaimed Cain.

“I’m taller than you, so it’s just the right logic for me to fight them,” said Rugo.

“To test your father’s sword, I need them for easy targets.”

While they bickering, a Stone-shouldered Ogre pulled out a big tree from the ground and threw it at them.

Cain reacted with a slash, cut the tree in two, from the gap between the slashed tree, Rugo shot a yellow bolt from his crossbow, blasted the ogre’s head. The ogre headlessly tumbled on the ground.

“Oh, the blade is sharp,” Cain looked at Varestaz, “well, I think we’ll just rumble it on,” said he.

“Sounds good,” Rugo replied.

Cain and Rugo dashed towards the horde. With a howl, the beasts also charged towards them.

Rugo pulled the crossbow trigger, rapid-firing at the horde from right to left, some of the beasts took the bolts head on, when the crossbow barrel stopped rolling, dozens became corpses already.

Cain slashed the beasts here and there, but his movement was clunky, due to Varestaz’s specialty.

“What a weird dance you have there, human! Hahah!” shouted Rugo.

“This is a dance before a perfection!” exclaimed Cain.

Rugo tapped the lower part of his crossbow, the bolt barrel jumped out from the crossbow with the tap. The empty barrel was pulled to Rugo’s belt. Then he took another barrel and reload the crossbow.

“What was that!?” Cain glanced at Rugo while ‘dancing’.

“The barrel? It’s using magnetic metal field when it’s out of my crossbow!”

“Interesting! Moasrahn’s tech?” shouted Cain.

“Lost moasrahn’s tech!” said Rugo.

More beasts came to them, even though Cain still had not used to Varestaz, he handled the beast with ease.

Rugo put back his crossbow on his back and took his another knife. With a curved knife in each hand, he dashed with incredible speed, slashing the beasts with no mercy. He threw one of the knives straight into Giantclaw Bear’s head, then when he flicked his wrist, the knife flew back to his hand.

“(I’ve never seen such a fighting style! And those knives!)” thought Cain. “What are those knives?” he asked.

“These? These are called khukris!” shouted Rugo.

“Come to think of it, you don't want your father’s sword like your brother?” Cain ducked an attack from a Ringtail Lizard.

“I prefer khukris, bows and alike, not a fan of generic sword-wielding warrior!” Rugo stabbed a Steelnose Baboon in the chest and tore it apart.

“You don't like your father?”

“It’s not like that, just looking at my father swinging his sword was boring compared to my mother’s khukri style!”

“Heh, I see!”

After Cain parried and countered a charge from a Hazelshell Hercules Beetle, he took a low stance. With an arc swing, he used Wind Guillotine. Not just once but after the first swing, he connected the swing with other two Wind Guillotines.

Three Wind Guillotines cut not just the beast horde, but also the trees.

“Oh, crap!” said Cain as he watched the shredded trees fell down with splattering blood all over the area. Then he looked at Varestaz. It was still in good shape even though Cain just used Gomara’s techniques simultaneously, no sign of cracking at the blade.

Seeing Cain’s technique that easily cut through the trees and the beasts, Rugo smiled excitedly. “Not bad! But leave the trees alone!” he shouted.

“Sorry!” responded Cain.

Rugo blitzing through the horde by bouncing from a tree trunk to another, he slashed the beasts on his path with exceptional agility and precision. His technique was less messy but the corpses he left behind proved Rugo’s ability was not to be trifled with.

“You’re not bad either!” said Cain.

Just within a few minutes, they reduced the horde’s number to half.

Rugo climbed to a tree branch and looked at the horde. The remaining beasts hesitated to attack. But a growl from the Clastival Wolf put them back on aggressive stance. Another wave was coming at Cain.

“Let’s see…” Cain held Varestaz up high with both hands, then he pointed at the charging beasts. With a single breath, he thrust straight forward with a sonic boom on his back. He obliterated the beasts on his path with Gomara’s technique called Magnum Glint. It produced a flash when used, and the user moved forward just within a split second with the energy around him as a sharp touch to the blockers of Cain’s path. Dozens beasts fell down when Cain stopped.

“Your techniques are interesting! So this is how human fight, huh?” said Rugo, “oops, here comes more!”

The beasts that did not get caught by Magnum Glint began to swarm Cain. Cain spun while slashing the ground, five circling layers of earth thorn erupted around Cain, it became bigger at each outer layer, instantly skewered the beasts around Cain. It was an earth magic called Circlearth, from the Book.

Cain looked at Varestaz, it survived five Gomara’s techniques with no problem, it was the most durable weapon Cain ever held.

“Moasrahn’s smithy is no joke, eh? Finally!” Cain felt excited, he finally found the weapon he could use repeatedly with Gomara’s technique.

The earth thorn crumbled shortly, burying half of the corpses. A giant Horned Bull Frog stood not far in front of him, Cain could see the tightening muscles on its hind legs.

“Gonna leap, huh? Bring it!” said Cain as he took a stance. He held the Horizon Breaker horizontally with two hands.

The frog croaking three times, then with a powerful leap, he reached Cain with its big horn on its head.

“I can read you!” Cain swung Varestaz horizontally, he used Tigra Fang.

But he slashed nothing, he felt nothing when the sword cut through the frog. Then he soon realized he only swung the sword hilt.

“(What? Where’s the blade!?)” thought Cain when he was about to get hit by the frog.

He was thrown by the frog, but he managed to parry the horn with the sword hilt in time and landed safely on the ground. The sword hilt gained another scratch.

Cain held what’s left of Varestaz in front of him, then he looked the area beside the frog, the blade shards of Varestaz scattered there.

“Ah…” Cain scratched his head.

Rugo was jaw-dropped. “Va-Varestaaaazz!?”

Cain looked at Rugo with an apologetic smile and shrugged.

“H-how!?” asked Rugo.

“Complicated! We should deal with this first!” exclaimed Cain. He sheathed the hilt, thankfully the rain-guard was still intact, so the sword sheath still could hold it in place.

With a growl, Rugo leaped to where the rest of the horde was. He began to kill the beasts again.

Cain also leaped towards the frog. He spun vertically in the air and dived down with a kick, hitting the frog’s body, but that was not enough to kill it. Then, Cain kneeled on its body and punched it, right punch, left punch, and finished with a double axe handle strike. Killing the frog with cracks spreading on the ground under it each time the punch landed.

Far ahead, Rugo just took down the Redtusk Warthogs, the last layer of the Clastival Wolf’s beast horde, only the leader left. Cain made his way to Rugo.

“What are you gonna do to it?” asked Cain.

“... Yesterday, My job was to protect this beautiful creature, and now, I’m going to do the opposite,” said Rugo, “such life, eh.”

Rugo sheathed his khukris, and took out the crossbow. He held the crossbow with right hand, aiming at the lone wolf.

“Must you kill it? It’s a super rare beast,” said Cain.

“I don't know… can’t you tell from its eyes?”

The wolf stood in front of them fearlessly, with the eyes of frenzied beast, quite different from Hoarts’s gentle eyes. This Clastival Wolf’s eyes reflected its life, being tossed out of the forest when it was still a cub, It miraculously survived the thin odds it faced, such harsh life molded its way of life; aggressive, unstable and unpredictable.

Cain looked at the wolf sympathetically. “Can you talk to it?” he asked.

“I did, it refused to stand down, and will struggle ‘till the very end.”

“I’ll let you do what you have to do, then,” said Cain. But when Cain stepped aside, the wolf released a heavy pressure with an intimidating aura.

“Whoaah! What is this!?” Cain covered his eyes as the dust flew over him.

The wolf growled, its eyes became red, even the red swallowed the pupils. Its body grew bigger, twice its early size. The claws on its legs grew out of control, some grew crooked and varied in size. The fangs grew in number, to the point it couldn't even close its mouth properly because the unnatural number of its teeth and fangs. And some of the fur fell off, revealing some parts of its skin.

The beautiful three-tailed wolf had transformed into an unrecognizable beast.

“Yoo! What is that!?” said Cain, he sensed a tremendous power emanated from the beast.

Rugo growled, he looked at the beast sharply.

Suddenly, the claws of the beast reached Rugo. Rugo managed to avoid the claws, he side-rolled to the side. The wave created from the claw swing obliterated the trees behind Rugo.

“Hey! Isn’t Clastival Wolf supposed to be weak!?” gasped Cain. “(And look at that damage! It rivals Wind Guillotine’s force!)”

Rugo stood up. “I only heard from the elders, while Kralv Clastival Wolf is weak, the non-Kralv Clastival Wolf is the opposite, because it doesn’t share its power to the forest as its heart, it holds unpredictable ability and power, and what makes it worse, it just lost its mind! I can't even speak to it!” said Rugo.

“It’s time to get serious then!” exclaimed Cain.

“No,” responded Rugo, he put back the crossbow, “I’ll handle it alone, please don’t interfere, Cain,” he added.

“... Are you sure?”

“I am,” said Rugo confidently.

“‘Kay, just don't die, you haven't even out from the forest yet,” Cain smirked.

“Exactly,” responded Rugo.

Rugo clasped his hands in front of his chest, bowed his head and closed his eyes.

“Thoars ha Jugrav,” said Rugo softly. Then, he took a stance, Rugo’s claws finally made an appearance.