Four more pops came from his chest in the next twenty seconds and the pain faded away as if it had never existed.

Good.

Thu’lain rose, glancing at his blood as it dripped from his arm down onto the branch beneath him.

Can’t stay here.

He ran his fingers over his arm where the arrow had pierced and was satisfied to find that there was only a slight divot - the flesh was regenerating quickly. Thu’lain leapt from his hidden location to another branch and sped off to catch up to the others.

“I see it!” A centaur below let loose another arrow. The shot was well-placed, but Thu’lain snapped his hand out and snatched the arrow out of the air, then whipped it back at the centaur with startling speed, impaling its leg. Thu’lain was dashing away even before the centaur cried out in pain.

Hobble a few of them as I escape, slow the group as a whole.

Thu’lain was easily outpacing even the fastest of the centaur and only the most accurate of them were able to threaten him with their arrows as he evaded through the canopy. In just a minute or so, he would completely leave them behind.

A loud, high-pitched roar came from his side and Thu’lain adjusted his course away from it, the centaur still stubbornly pursuing him.

Another apex.

Thu’lain leapt up into a relatively clear position and analyzed the apex as it barreled through the forest, madly following the scent of his blood.

Multiple prehensile tails complete with stingers, cleaving mandibles, six multi jointed legs, covered in an exoskeletal plate. Smaller than the last one, but not by much. Six eyes, close to panoramic vision.

The black-haired centaur quickly commanded those around him and mobilized them against the larger threat. They spread out in groups of two and three, alternating which group drew the beast’s attention.

No more attention on me, at least.

Four arm-length arrows embedded into the apex’s face as the centaur flanked and loosed their bows in guerilla tactics. The creature’s tails lashed forward with surprising speed and range, attempting to catch the fleeing centaur.

Tails extend. Good to know.

It roared furiously as it focused on the harrying centaur around it. Black blood flowed from its wounds where the arrows managed to pierce its dense chitin plates.

Thu’lain dashed across the branches connecting the trees and watched as the apex and centaur clashed. The centaur were well-coordinated and stayed far out of the range of the apex’s deadly tails. Although the centaur slowed as they ran through the forest, being forced to trade speed for the cover of the trees around them, the apex’s insectoid legs had a wide stance that made it difficult to travel quickly between some of the trees.

It’s like a scorpion.

Thu’lain waited for this apex to show something different, just in case it had a hidden weapon.

Each one is vastly different. Otherwise they’d never be enough of a challenge.

He smiled and dropped down forty feet to the next branch, landing with the grace of an ambush predator. He drew his dagger and twisted the gem, preparing its effects.

Centaur, show me that you can hunt.

His eyes took in the scene with practiced precision as he waited for the best opening.

I need to make the apex over-extend to create an opportunity.

Thu’lain repositioned among the trees whenever the fighting moved too far away until he was only thirty feet above them. The centaur were flanking from the apex’s side and just entering its vision when Thu’lain drew a thin bone knife from his side and whipped the knife into the haunch of a centaur, who collapsed with a wailing cry that drew the apex’s attention.

Good, now take the bait.

As he’d hoped, the apex caught sight of the fallen centaur and took the opportunity to snuff out one of the pests troubling it. Thu’lain dashed along the branch and dropped down, remaining hidden by the trunk of a tree.

The centaur’s eyes were wide as the apex surged toward him. The apex got dangerously close to finishing off the centaur, however, Marcel, the black-mained centaur, strode out in front of the apex and pierced one of its eyes with a well-placed arrow.

“Chief! I’ll be fine, go!” The injured centaur cried out, terrified that his chief would be dealt a mortal injury.

“Get him up! Go!” Marcel ordered. Two centaur rushed to obey as others got into a too-close-for-comfort range and peppered the apex with arrows, trying to confuse it with numbers.

They’re fighting harder now. If I downed another, would they fight to the last to save their injured?

Thu’lain considered as he watched their arrows piercing the chitinous plates, digging deeply into its flesh. The damage was significant, but Thu’lain wanted to speed things along.

His dagger projected an illusory clone of Thu’lain dashing across the ground in an intercept path with the apex while he prepared to strike from behind. The two Thu’lains were sprinting across the forest floor straight at the apex from their two angles. The first Thu’lain passed near the front of the apex, surprising both it and Marcel. Where the centaur hesitated, the apex reacted: five stinging tails came down with harrowing accuracy, tearing into Thu’lain and piercing through to the ground. Mist dispersed from the false Thu’lain’s broken form.

The second Thu’lain slashed at the apex’s rear, severing three pairs of its tails until only one pair remained, then sprinting and lunging back to tree cover, his dagger’s gem gleaming red. He didn’t look back until he had cleared the first tree and ascended into the canopy. The apex roared and thrashed, panicked and confused.

Wait for it.

The apex rushed forward to sting Marcel, who leapt over the first stinger, dodging it only narrowly before galloping away. The second stinger caught a trailing centaur square in the chest and, with a resounding crack, slammed him into the ground before tearing free.

Instant death.

The apex, confused by the discovery that only two stingers had come forward, glanced behind it and, to its horror, saw many of its tails twitching upon the ground. As it absorbed this new information, one of its eyes was struck by yet another arrow, forcing its attention back to the battle to face the offending centaur.

Watching as he leapt over one stinger before putting another arrow through the apex’s eye, Thu’lain was impressed with how nimble the black-maned centaur was. The centaur put some distance between himself and the apex and his fellows took over where he had left off.

The apex charged them, becoming more frustrated and enraged as the battle waged on. It was stabbing with both stingers simultaneously and impaled two centaur with its strike, going much faster now and forcing its black blood to flood out of its wounds. Its tails now struck in sweeping arcs as much as direct stings, proving difficult for the centaur to dodge. Once hit, the other tail would swing around and finish an incapacitated opponent.

The apex scooped up the body of a centaur in its jaws and started eating even as it pursued the others. Thu’lain had to look twice as he saw several wounds seal shut within moments, noticeably reducing how much blood it was losing.

It regenerates extremely quickly when it eats. No battle of attrition then.

Thu’lain noticed the centaur hunting packs were rapidly destabilizing with the deaths, even though they were attempting to regroup.

I may have overestimated them. I need to buy them a little time or they’ll scatter.

Thu’lain dashed over the branches while deactivating his dagger’s pain-blocking effect on the apex. Soon, a satisfying high-pitch screaming erupted from the apex as agony rushed back to its mind all at once. It was then that Thu’lain pounced onto the back of its head and started to savage it with rapid, brutal slashes with his dagger, peeling away armor and flesh in chunks.

The apex’s scrambled brain eventually caught up to the fresh pain enveloping its back and one of the amber eyes caught sight of the elf carving away the armor and flesh. It noticed with a brief flash of horror exactly how much flesh had been flayed away, the gaping hole into its innards sending it into panic. It responded by trying to stab the elf with its tails, only for the elf to suddenly roll out of the way, causing the stingers to impact with the already mangled flesh and cause a fresh burst of flashing agony.

Thu’lain rebalanced in the moments before he hit the ground and was already making a mad sprint to get away from the apex when he saw the centaur rallying. The creature moved uncertainly between the elf and the bodies around it as if trying to decide if it should pursue him or feed upon the dead. Several arrows flew from the centaur, pin-cushioning the apex and forcing it to try and block its face from the incoming arrows. He smiled as he fled, knowing the apex wouldn’t last much longer.

They are opportunists, after all.

He looked up to a nearby branch and leapt into the canopy to make his escape and, in that moment, he felt liquid fire pouring through his leg and the snapping of bone reverberate through his body. He looked down in time to see the stinger rip out of his leg, leaving a gaping hole as he was sent spiralling uncontrollably through the air. Thu’lain could only tuck his head and body as he hit the ground, rolling until he made hard contact with a tree.

I knew its tails extended, stupid mistake.

Thu’lain clenched his teeth hard and pulled himself further away and toward another tree. Even walking on his hands, he was surprisingly fast, though the grinding pain he felt as soil brushed against and into his wound sent shocks of white bolts through his vision.

Eventually, he made it far enough away that the fight was hardly more than small specks. To keep from leaving any more of a trail of blood, he took a moment to stab his dagger into his leg, allowing it to drink deeply of his blood and activating its pain nullification effect. He pulled himself further, taking care to leave as small a trail as possible, until he lay against another tree. He slowly began to camouflage and took stock of the damage: his left leg was totally broken, and the hole in it was torn ragged.

Could have been worse. Should have been much better.

Thu’lain watched from his grounded position as the apex roared out its final cry, the gaping pit in its back overflowing with blood and arrows. The creature collapsed onto the ground, unmoving. He paid close attention to the centaur after that - they spread out in pairs to collect their wounded, find their dead, and search for him.

One of them must have seen me get stung.

He let out a small breath, counting in his head and listening for information. After twenty seconds, Thu’lain deactivated the dagger’s effect, allowing the pain to return and sheathing it. He couldn’t quite tell through the camouflage, but it appeared that the wound was starting to seal. He’d have to wait until it closed before he attempted to flee.

Almost a whole minute later, Thu’lain was concerned because the pain was completely gone, which would lead him to believe the leg was whole, but there was one problem:

I can’t feel my leg. That apex must have had venom. Special trait theory; it can’t be purged by regeneration, causing numbness and loss of function. Especially deadly. Seems to not be spreading beyond the site of the wound or having any other adverse effects.

Thu’lain was silently annoyed, remaining hidden as the centaur combed the area searching for him. He resolved to wait for the venom to run its course before fleeing once more.

It can’t take long, I’m sure.