"So at the end, I was caught in my schemes?", says Michael staring at Andrew as if he was questioning everything he just said to him.

Andrew sighs, his eyes narrowing dangerously before saying, "Am tired of your questions. Although am trying my best to explain things to you which I shouldn't normally be doing since you tried killing me and had that look of someone who thinks he is above everyone and no one should ever aspire to be above them. But since you trained me generously and I also spent some of your money, there should be payments of some kind, and that's why am bothering my head with all these explanations".

Andrew relaxes his eyes before continuing, "So please just keep your mouth shut and listen to all my explanations. I know you are looking for a way out to escape this fight or predicament you are in right now but I wouldn't advise you to do that. I stayed at this path purposely to block the only safe route out. You can follow that other path but you did be dead without doubt as it seems like the beasts seem to be flooded in that area, but you might not believe me so you can try although it did be a loss for me since I didn't get to feed you to the herb, after all, you would have been enough to get it to its optimum best", he pauses for a while once again since he had been talking for long and he was getting thirsty so he took a swig from his wine before talking once again, "So I did advice you once again to sit down, relax and enjoy my little story, after all, it's the only way I can repay you for all you did".

Michael realizes that his mind has been read and he didn't doubt Andrew one bit and just sits quietly on the branch he was standing on.

Andrew smiles before saying, "That's good. You did believe me after all". Michael raises his hands in defeat while saying, "I don't see any reason for you to lie to me and you tried your best to quickly get back to that same position after killing my brother. And even while you were carrying him towards the plant, you always made sure that you kept your eyes on that position. Although subtle, it was still noticeable".

"Yeah yeah. You can keep shut now, your voice irritates me", Andrew cuts Michael short as he cleans his ear with his finger.

"So where was I?", Andrew acts as if he was thinking. "Oh well. I am going to skip some unnecessary parts as much as I can, so listen and try to understand how you were played around by the one you thought you were playing with", Andrew then starts narrating the ordeal and how it all went down.

He also thought just like Michael that he was useless after the doctor's diagnosis and there was no hope for him hence he started drinking and trying to waste his remaining life. But he soon found out that at a point his power stopped decreasing and it started accumulating once again and that was when he started hunting once again and started having those injuries. He planned to tell Michael about it but on second thought hid it and planned to confirm if Michael was really as he seemed to be and as a cover-up story had to engage random people in fights and since he was after all stronger than an average man, he didn't have to lose. Since he had great endurance, he allowed some hits to land, although they didn't cause anything more than an itch.

But since Michael did not notice that his body would be difficult to be hurt by normal people no matter how strong they were, he was able to go through all that with great success and he had to continue his act of drinking but had stopped being drunk a long time ago and just poured alcohol all over his body most times while coming home in order to make it all seem believable.

He also revealed a bigger secret which was he had broken through to the next realm during the wolf's episode but was seriously injured before being able to kill the second one. But it was at that moment that he noticed someone watching him immediately he broke through, hence he had to gamble but didn't know that he would be hit by a rebound of his injuries and stress, and then fall unconscious almost immediately.

He almost lost due to that injury but seem like the mysterious person who ended to be George saved him at the last moment while speaking those words to him, but he still didn't feel anything while killing him, after all, he gave up on him immediately as he heard of his injuries and was formerly intending to use him to fight against Michael.

No one would after all like being played around and plotted with, everyone likes being free if possible. Through Andrew's trailing of Michael during that period was how he came to discover that he usually visits Annie and has sex with her in numerous situations and since he was able to hide his aura, he was able to overhear some of their conversations and hence found out about his trick of getting Jerry killed.

Andrew had also led those hunters who had mocked him to their deaths, he wasn't a saint after all that he could just let go. He had saved most of them countless times only for them to mock him when he was down, hence he had to make them pay for their actions.

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He was also the one who was on the roof on the day of their meeting and could have almost been caught but seems like his luck hasn't yet run out as a bird came in his place and if Michael had just searched his surrounding a bit, he could have been found out. Since he knew that he and Annie had a relationship, he didn't plan to save her formerly and would have just left her for Michael to come to help her. Andrew hated the fact that she could not come forthright to tell Jerry of her external affair, he had a rule which he had always believed in, "Since you were bold in doing something, you should be bold to come out to say it and shouldn't hide it and end up hurting innocent people who know nothing about your deed just as a cover-up". But he saw Michael coming from afar and decided to use this as a way to get himself into their plan. If Michael had not saved him at that time, there was a knife hidden in his sleeves that he would have used to kill Zed, but his bet that Michael would save him in order to keep his face paid off.

As he knew that if he had to show his power back then, Michael would start suspecting him and find a way to keep him at bay no matter what kind of excuse he thought of and said, and he was not restored enough to fight with Michael. He was thankful that Michael accepted his proposal to follow them and that they pushed the date until he was almost fully restored.

But as the doctor said, seems like there was still something clogging his body like they were this shackle holding him from accumulating any more power so it was difficult for him to pass the threshold he was after breaking through and thus, he just stayed in that same realm for a while so he thought of using this herb to breakthrough and to remove the shackle.

Although it would be harmful in a way due to the fact that he wanted to use external means, he didn't mind it at all as he wanted to try unclogging his body and get through that shackle. He made a backup plan of gathering all of his money in the house which he hasn't spent although not much, was still something, exchanging it all to gold coins and the remaining into silver and sealing it in the gourd around his waist which was the major reason why he came late and just used the wine buying as an excuse in case he had to result to stealing the herb and running out of the village, but seems like that plan was no longer needed as there were two of the herbs and he could take one while delivering the other to the village head.

When he was pulled back by Joshua, he saw this as a chance and after he saw them far ahead he ran from the mosquitoes and since he had coated his cutlass with poison, it did paralyze those whom he was able to kill in a single strike and so he was able to get out of the encampment but they were still hot on his trail, he just took them roundabout for a bit until he heard a roar from afar and the mosquitoes gave up on pursuing him any further and just turned towards the direction of the roar and no matter what he did, he couldn't attract their attention back to himself, it seems to him as if they were mindless zombies and thus he was saved by the mysterious roar.

After escaping, he went down the path they were running through at first and since they weren't trying to cover their tracks, it was easier for him to track them and happened to chance in on them when they were just killing Joshua and saw the reaction of the herb towards the corpse of Joshua.

He then waited for a bit, although he could have just come behind George and killed him silently then, he didn't rush it and just waited, after all, he didn't know if he would be noticed by both of them and would then be surrounded. He waited until one of the herbs was harvested and was about to attack before the second one was harvested but had to watch the whole scene unfold and just waited until one died or until he had the chance to kill one freely without being counterattacked and so such a situation happened.

Michael was dumbfounded at all that was being revealed by Andrew to him and couldn't speak for a long time after the talk. Andrew didn't rush him and just waited for him to take in everything for him to say anything else.

"Hahaha....hahahaha....hahahahahahahaha", Michael could be heard laughing at this moment. It all started slowly, before growing into a burst of maniac laughter. All of a sudden, Michael becomes serious before saying, "Although you have all that planned out, it doesn't mean anything. Greater power overrules even the most perfect plan".

"Yeah, you are right about that. I forgot", Andrew says still not taking Michael seriously.

This new attitude of Andrew towards him annoys Michael so much that he wished to just get in front of Andrew and cut him down, but he still had sound reasoning and knew that being provoked before a fight was very dangerous and would prove fatal against someone of equal skill, so he forcefully calms himself down and keeps himself mentally fit.

"Tch, you are Michael alright. The strongest warrior in the village, you didn't fall for that little trick of mine", Andrew sighs while saying. He continues further while standing up with his cutlass in his hands before saying, "Well, it seems you have rested enough all through my storytelling. It's time to get right down to business then".

"Yeah it is, we have delayed too long for it after all", replies Michael with a smile on his face while also standing up. They both land on the ground, the absorption power from just one of the herbs is not as powerful as that of both herbs so it was bearable for a bit since that was the only clear opening in the forest which was available to them at this time and they couldn't afford to steer too far from the herb in case any stray beast comes here to eat it, it did be both of their losses.

Well, it's about time for the showdown which we have been waiting for as both Andrew and Michael grip their cutlass, Andrew has a smile on while Michael was fully focused on the fight as his face was dead serious. We did continue in the next chapter. See y'all.