‘A truce? Should I trust this guy, he always seem to pull out unexpected cards in his pocket every time. For now we really don’t have a choice, I’ll just see how this tuns out’

Paulo looked at his friend, now more sober than before but a bit of drunkenness can still be seen by the pink glow in his cheeks, and looked at him straight in the eye and carefully nodded his head down.

Seeing this, Jose replicated the gesture with a tacit understanding of this subtle nod. A common occurrence in hunting where stealth and coordination could be the difference between life and death.

‘I just need to support him, like always’ thought Jose as he readied himself even more as he felt a little bit tipsy.

Paulo looked back at Sabik and wordlessly nodded his head signaling an agreement being made in this battlefield, then he started to walk towards Sabik.

All three groups looked at each other warily, fearing any sudden movement. The two hunters moved closer while looking at the direction that they were going, in Sabik’s direction.

‘At least with the four of us, we might have a chance’ thought Paulo with a bit of optimism.

But before this flimsy treaty, formed from forced unity through a common enemy, could even start to progress, the sharp faced man rushed in their direction with speed contradictory to his heavy muscles. The veteran muscle heads followed his lead without in a second, which made you think they could communicate telepathically.

The sharp faced man and another muscle head faced Sabik and Ligi, who their leader deemed to be the more dangerous of the two because of his survivability.

‘I need to keep an eye on this guy. He’s unpredictable and I can’t read his movements.’ Thought the sharp faced muscle head.

The other two faced against the hunters making a barrier with their muscles alone. They stretched their hands out making their biceps and deltoids flex and intimidate their prey. There was no way for the other two groups to team up and try to outmaneuver their disadvantage of being outnumbered. This was like a metaphorical choke hold that they used on most of their prey, a direct and physical way of overpowering their opponent and force a submission.

The two hunters tried to rush by pushing their legs with force as fast as the wind. The hunters prided themselves in their speed especially in the forest where the terrain is familiar but seeing that they would get a direct collision with the muscle heads if they continued, they skidded their legs in the dirt and stopped themselves.

‘Fxxx now our only hope is closed off. With Jose not in the best condition to fight, and those two with no powers who looked beaten up, there was no way to win this. Surviving would be the next best thing.’ Paulo thought as he calculated the best course of action.

In this isolated place, anything that happens here stays here. With the prospect of owning a coveted treasure, the steel muscle group would do everything they can to make sure no one would spread this information to other powers. Even within their group, the sharp faced man would surely keep this treasure all to himself.

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Ligi looked at this gloomy circumstance that he was now in and reluctantly looked at Sabik with a bit of anticipation. He had been the one to always come up with things to get out of situations or even start them. Surely he can get them out. He didn’t trust the guy but his instinct told him to follow whatever this guy would do.

“Okay okay you caught us” said Sabik with a smile on his face as he held up his hands as if showing submission to the stronger party.

“Those muscles really are as strong as steel wow! I can only imagine what happens if you get your hands on this essence.”

“You mean when I get that essence” retorted the sharp faced man. He smiled to Sabik as if playing with the whims of a children. It was only a matter of time till he gets his hands on that essence. Only a bit more pressure and Sabik will crack.

“Oh yes, yes, sorry slip of the tongue.....” then with a smirk on his face, he continued his speech

“What about I give you this essence in exchange for my freedom? I’ll even throw in a teen from the slums and two veterans from the hunter’s guild as a bonus for my life? How about it?”

This immediately startled the victims of this one-sided exchange but they both showed different reactions. The hunters immediately showed a face of anger in the face of this blatant betrayal. They wanted to throw knives and tools at him, but that would lead them to a huge disadvantage when they inevitably fight for their life. They just held in their anger and showed it through their piercing glare in the direction of Sabik.

Ligi on the other hand took another step away from Sabik with a guarded stare. Another betrayal in the false light that gave him hope. His heart skipped a beat and he felt very vulnerable, like a glass shattered and his weak facade now became the horrible and disfigured sense of self that he call his own. He felt chills all over his body and his first instinct told him of incoming danger creeping up on his back. He wanted to turn back and run away from all this chaos but the muscle head prevented him from taking another step away.

On one side is a manipulative and calculating psychopath who will not bat an eye sacrificing his crew for his own tail and another side will lead to a suffocating mess of muscles that at best will kill him softly or at worst, sell him to slave traders.

The tension once again filled the entirety of the forest. The birds and leaves creating a harmony of peace and tranquility now became silent in this pressure chamber. It felt like even the forest held its breath in anticipation for the buildup in tension ultimately ending up in bodies left in the ground.

“Hahahaha very bold of you to say that. Do you even have the authority to say that? Do you even have the strength to defend yourself from me taking that essence forcefully?” The sharp faced man said with a bit of anger and disdain in his voice.

“No, no, no, I couldn’t even handle one of you much more four of you....... Looks like we got off on the wrong foot here, I’ll restart with the question of who dares negotiate with me.”

“Dare.....DARE..... SABIK! You better remember the name of the mighty Tarim in your last seconds of life!” Exclaimed Tarim as he stepped forward with so much force that the ground in his path caved in forfeit in his bulging muscles. The shockwave spread throughout the forest and the birds observing the fight flew away in freight as the sound of their wings flapping covered the sounds of Ligi’s clacking teeth in nervousness.

Ligi has never seen that kind of show in power. He had heard that hose blessed with an inheritance can be likened to superhumans, capable of things only our imagination can think of. But seeing it upfront, close, and personal made him see the gravity of the situation and how much he downplayed his upcoming demise.

Sabik waited a few moments looking at Tarim but secretly observing his surroundings for any abnormalities. Even with the sounds of wings flapping away, he did not forget to listen and feel the ground.

‘Damn it, it’s not here’ thought Sabik with his smile now gone and a look of seriousness now blanketed his face.

The others looking at him and what his course of action will be, saw his change in demeanor as a sign of fear in the face of absolute power. Only for a second did they see this face and as it quickly changed again to a carefree demeanor.

Tarim then became wary and attentive to any movement of Sabik as that grin usually signaled something bad. He once again flexed his muscles to which the other muscle head noticed and then looked at his leader’s back and nodded in understanding. The two muscle heads just kept their attention to the two hunters, who kept their mouthes shut so as not to get the attention of the leader whose sole focus is now on Sabik.

Sabik then once again pulled Ligi and started running away. This did not escape the attention of Tarim as he and his comrade started running at the same time with wordless communication. The two other muscle heads looked in essence’s direction and started running towards them, leaving the two hunters behind.

Sabik ran with all his might and while fiddling with his shirt, he took out a glowing sphere. The essence that was now in the sights of those who wanted power now became more aggressive in catching the man who possesses it.

Then they saw Sabik hand this precious holder of power to Ligi, which surprised all of them, including the recepient.

“Take this.”