Alright, first and foremost I am very sorry for the overdue chapter.
Today was busy as hell, i had a wedding to attend, the bridesmaids were lonesome :)
I also got my new computer in and have only just finished setting it up. This will allow for longer, and quicker updates to the story I hope. Also, a big milestone for me as this story has reached 25 followers, and 4 favorites. It may seem small, but all things have a beginning. ^.^ Thank you, the followers, and the four favorites as well as each and every one of the readers even if you don't follow, comment, or favorite. -sad face- Lol. But without further a due, I treat you to a minor time skip, and some interesting changes in the Nine cubs and there weapons.
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Rage
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A week had passed, a week of glorious, and ever increasingly difficult combat with slaves. By the end of our training week, all twenty-nine of us had managed to successfully slaughter one thousand, and six hundred slaves without losing a single person. A near miracle.
Had it not been for the added strength of the twenty new comers to my pride it never would have happened. I hated to admit this weakness, but it was the truth.
I had also learned within the first day that I despised leading so many on my word alone, and had without thought allowed each of the original eight that had survived with me to pick a number of the twenty as there personal squad, with them as the captains, and myself the general. It was a simplistic system but kept my duties to a minimum. I was a fighter, after all, not a true leader. Strength is my only virtue.
In the week that followed the acquisition of the twenty cubs into my pride, we had all grown a bit. each gaining an inch or two in height, and muscle mass. The most notable change was within Forge for that, he'd grown damn near six inches, and was a monster of size and muscle. he looked like a baby giant.
Our weapons had evolved a great deal as well. Each of the twenty received minor changes, it was almost as if the weapons grew with potential, and they had little beyond fodder. It was interesting to note.
My own gauntlets had changes a great deal. Growing to cover more of my arm, reaching all the way to my shoulder, yet not fully covering it. They clung to my arms like a second skin, yet allowing me to retain full range of movement and flexibility with each arm. The sickle extensions had also changed, they were now a dark red in color, and had straightened to look more like short swords, or daggers; all along the outermost length small curving spikes had begun to form as well. It was fun to use these as crippling and rending tools to play with my prey. The gauntlets appearance had changed little beyond there size. They retained the dragon scale pattern, though the scales seemed thicker. The gauntlets were also a deep solid black, yet they had intricate swirling knots the color of blood all up and down the length of them. My clawed fingers had also grown slightly, and hardened. Each claw was almost like a piercing javelin when I used them properly.
Forge's shield had the second largest change. It had grown to match his size, becoming a kite shield, covering his entire body from shoulder to toe. It retained it's leaf like shape, but had grown black and curved slightly. It almost resembled a bugs carapace; all down the center of it, it had grown spikes as well. The blades it had once shot out were now two long curving slopes rather than a multitude of sword like extensions. It was truly an interesting evolution.
Anvil's maces had increased in length. They were the size of katana's for the most part from handle to mace. All along the shaft curved hooks had grown that curved down toward the handles. I had noticed him use this more than once to trap a foe, and then smash his skull in with his other mace. The head of the maces had gone from a blunt steal ball with blades growing on it, to being several blade extensions that circled the circumference of the steal ball, and curved up to have each point meat at the center forming a single spike.
Hate's longsword had grown wider, rather than longer as she had not grown much in height. The sword now was almost two feet wide; every three inches along the length it had also gained indentations that curved and sloped slightly like crescent moons, and were perfect for her style of strong swing combat that left dozens decapitated.
Envy's axes had become more like tomahawks, growing a second blade along the top of her handle; the blades also growing in length by about two inches and sloping to meet at a point just above the shaft. She had taken to throwing them periodically, so I can only assume the weapon had taken on this change to adjust to her growing fighting style. They had also begun to resemble wings, if I looked closely at them I could see faint feather markings beginning to show.
Curse had gained the most interesting change in my mind however. His short sword, once plain and simple, had grown thinner while retaining it's strength and elongating a great deal. the damn thing had become a katana. He also seems to have adapted a defensive style of attack that focused mostly on counters, or one hit slashing kills before retreating behind one of the cubs under his command before stepping forward with another devastating slash.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Hydra's whip blade had oddly enough grown to fit his name sake. The cross guard and handle ends had taken on the shape of serpents; each head facing a different direction. Also, when he happened to use his sword as a whip, the blade split into three separate serrated whips that shredded anyone they touched. It was truly beautiful in it's design, the serrated blade looking like snake scales.
Cruelty's dagger had grown in length slightly. It fit with her assassin like attacks. The thing had also grown more twisted, as if reveling in the torture she dealt as much as she did. It was somewhat frightening to behold her using this three sided dagger in battle to only cripple her enemies, then go back and devour them while they still lay alive. The cubs under her command had even begun to show signs of adapting to her cruelty.
Bitter, she had grown confident and even begun showing strength where once only weakness lay. It was a very fun thing for me to watch. her scimitar had not changed as much. It remained the same size, and overall shape; aside from being the only other weapon aside from my own, and Forges to change color that is. Her's had changed to gain a bluish-white tent. It was actually rather pretty when mixed with the blood of her kills.
These changes, I had no doubt, would allow them to continue there training over the next five years, and keep them alive.
Currently we were all lined up; we had taken to having me in the front, directly at our groups center, while the original eight were behind me, followed by there respective underlings in line. Each was in there place by power rating, and hierarchy. Simple, yet effective system really.
We had been lined up for over an hour, yet we have yet to see anything beyond our instructor who seemed to fear my own weapons growth and changes. It made it difficult to hide a grim smile; soon I would be able to kill him.
After an hour had fully gone by, the doors at the far end of the pit opened, revealing the Blood Father. As he stepped into the pit, and false light, it was revealed he held a large chain in his hand. He was also easily carrying it and leading out a single being that sent waves of killing intent, and pure malice outward from it's very being.
It was literally the most hideous thing I had ever seen. It had to be almost eight feet tall, it's skin mottled with black and green; slobber dribbling down it's chin to hit the sand with a slight his, acid? Along it's crown it had a set of four horns on each side, and blood red eyes, it also slopped as it walked almost like a gorilla.
When the Blood Father had reached the center area of the pit, roughly fifty feet from us, he explained what was to occur. "You lot, have proven yourselves worthy of being among the weakest of your brethren. Today, we see if you can grow." He paused a moment, before turning toward the creature and then he blurred for a moment. When he was done, the creature was on the ground panting, but it seemed more fear than pain. It was also missing it's left arm.
Holding the arm easily in his left hand, I could only watch as it began to regenerate on the creature, while the arm was apparently growing another body, slowly.
"This, is a Grummel. The lowest cast of the Froknir Demon tribe. It also happens to be a Berserkers worst enemy. This is due to it's odd regenerative ability to create more of itself when it loses limbs." He paused a moment before having the Instructor take the crying Grummel away. "The saving grace is that each spawn is roughly half the strength of the original, and so on and so forth in increments. This is a half spawn, the original will be what you kill at the end of this year, should you survive." He said the last in a cold, calculating manner before continuing.
"Enjoy learning to kill these as you grow in power to actually take on the original. Until then, you will kill one or more of these spawn every day until the end of the year. None of you are allowed to die." He smiled, it made each of us sweat fear. "You know the cost if even one of you dies in these trials."
With that he dropped the nearly fully formed half Grummel to the ground, and walked out of the Pit.
I smiled, baring my fangs at the wriggling mass of flesh. We would get to kill something that looked to be bred simply to combat the Berserkers. A good day, if we lived. I could hardly contain my excitement at the possibility.
We had to succeed, I would die to ensure it. I wanted to leave this pit, and recently my brothers and sisters had begun to share that sentiment above there growing strength. We all wanted freedom; for we knew we were no better than the slaves we had slaughtered, or this creature. We were captives in here, and we would not be free until we survived out training and reached our adulthood.
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Dick move time, cliff hanger, I could attempt to finish it but as I said. busy week. I'll have a double chapter release later,...yes later today however to make up for this chapter. It will begin moving toward the other eight cubs perspectives, and flip flopping regularly during important events such as this. I will also likely time skip the year to the end of the Grammel phase simply because there is little beyond killing in these chapters and I want to move the story itself along to the next phase that actually begins to get interesting and in depth into there species. Hope you enjoy this chapter however, and forgive me! haha.