About five minutes before Pax and Fay began their assault on the slave merchant caravan. Several miles to the north traveling south at a steady pace on horseback were around a hundred soldiers riding in orderly lines. These soldiers all wore silver armor that reflected the moonlight as they slowly inched southward. Looking at their left shoulder one would would notice a triangle with its point downward yet the triangle was divided into four smaller triangles within, one in the center then three forming the points of the larger triangle.
Somewhere in the middle of their ranks some soldier were having a conversation as they road:
"Ugh... We have been up and down the Sky Dragon Road for the last three years searching for this illusive beast by the orders of head yet we haven't found a shred of a clue to where the damned thing is... Ugh..."
"Don't say that, you know three is a holy number and I doubt the gods will forsake us after all of our efforts to search for the evil creature."
"You know well the Royal Wing Tiger is a Phoenix Class beast that has been alive for the last several hundred years hounding caravans on this route... just because some prophet says that our mission will be a success means we must seek it... who is to say how many will die even if we truly do succeed."
The other man's face went solemn before looking to the front of their group at their commander before he smiled a bitter smile before responding: "You know well that the commander is an anomaly raised by the order just for the purpose of freeing humanity from such monsters... I dare say that the beast will have its hands too full to deal with people like us."
"You may just be right."
The commander was at the front of this large group. He was wearing special armor that seemed to glow. The armor had golden etchings on its surface that seemed to swirl around the chest piece of the armor. In the center of the chest piece was the same upside down triangle etched in gold except three of inner triangles, that formed the points, were inlaid with odd crystals.
This symbol was the religious insignia of the Krain Religion. The top left triangle was red to symbolize the god that governs the morning, the blazing rising son. This god is one of the three gods of time in the Krain religion, also known as the god of beginnings who governs over all past events. The top right triangle was a yellowish orange, almost gold, color to represent the god that governs the midday sun and is the god of the present. The bottom most triangle pointing down was black to represent the god of the night and death as well as the unknown dark future. The god of the night is rarely named or revered and is often referred to as the 'Cruel God'.
In the Krain religion there are five gods. The three gods of time, then the god of origin and nothingness which is represented by the open center triangle. Then there is the god that rules over all physical things as well as the other four gods, represented by the whole large triangle.
With this symbol on his chest the commander had a sense of pride as he held his head high and looked forward into the darkness ahead barely lit by the quarter moon. His shoulder length golden blonde hair and light blue azure eyes and handsome face gave him a holy air as his white horse strode forth in the night.
Suddenly ahead of them they heard a sharp piercing sound that could shatter glass. Then about eight seconds later the ground shook slightly, startling some of the horses. Ahead of them on the horizon highlighted by the moonlight was an enormous dust cloud. The commander tightened his grip on the reigns as he shouted: "Quickly! Full speed, we can't miss this chance!"
The entire small army of a hundred men suddenly sped forward along the dirt road forming a dragon of dust behind them, the time had come for them to finish their objective after three years of searching.
Back at the camp just after Colenus steeled himself to fight Pax for his comrades safety. He took his step forward before tensing the muscles in his shoulder as he lashed out in front of him aiming directly at Pax's chest. Pax casual sidestepped as he took one step forward almost like he was on a casual stroll. Suddenly like it was alive the whip changed direction as it curved through the air lashing out horizontally. All this time Colenus was completely concentrated on the whip, Pax's position and movements, as well as maneuvering himself to best strike with his whip.
Pax's eyes suddenly sharpened because he saw that the whip had a thin glow over it, Colenus was infusing the whip with his battle spirit. Although it wouldn't hurt him much it could still easily cut his skin. The whip was just about to hit Pax's left shoulder when his entire body suddenly blurred. Suddenly it appeared as Pax was standing at three places at the same time, the three spoke at the same time: "You wish to use such a method to harm me and protect your friends human, try harder."
At that moment the three figures disappeared like mirages and standing about five feet in front of Colenus was Pax, happily chewing on another core center as fresh blood ran down his hand and leaked from the corners of his mouth. Pax suddenly smiled as wiped away the blood from his face, displaying his bloody teeth, as he chuckled and said in a playful voice: "Humans are always so fascinating... Show me your limit and perhaps you can keep me from killing them."
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Seeing the blood on Pax's hand Colenus's face darkened. He gripped the handle to the whip so hard his nails began to tear at his palm, blood began to run down the length of the whip. He remembered the faces of his comrades earlier, how he struggled up the chain of command in the mercenary company, the smiling faces of his friends the pain and laughter. He had been with these people for a long time and thinking that a beast was simply toying with him at this moment, killing his friends. Colenus's blood ran cold as he was overcome with emotion.
His vision went red as rage overcame him as he pushed his battle spirit to its limits, to the point he was at the threshold of igniting it. He knew he could at most sustain this peak condition for around three minutes before the energy in his core center was forcibly ignited. Pax smiled as he saw the dim orange-red glow on the whip grow brighter. Pax suddenly appeared ten feet back from his previous position before stating in a simple manner: "We will start again."
That single statement was like a match that set Colenus's inner rage ablaze. He was nothing but entertainment, a toy. His whip came alive in his hands as it lashed out in front of him. The whip was so fast that to normal person it became a blur. This time Pax didn't dodge and instead walked forward to meet the slashes. The whip met Pax's chest with a loud crack as it tore apart his robe and left a deep cut on his chest, you could almost see his ribs.
If that was all then there would be no problems for Pax however like a snake the whip kept drawing back before lashing out again repeatedly, within a second the whip already formed three large cuts on Pax's chest. The loud cracks echoed in the air followed by spraying blood. This scene continued for three whole minutes.
A bloody mist hung in the air. Colenus suddenly dropped to his knees as he could no longer hold his battle spirit at that level. In front of him Pax stood like a mountain. Pax's chest was now simply mangled flesh but even in the midst of that flurry of strikes he was healing the entire time. A mere fifteen seconds, this is how much time it took for Pax to heal after the strikes stopped. Pax had a large smile on his face as he watched Colenus's face. A face filled with resignation as he watched Pax heal so quickly before his eyes.
Fay who was slightly worried seeing Pax surrounded by a mist of his own blood now settled down slightly as he noticed Pax's healing speed. In that moment he could feel a certain unmoving might coming from Pax as he looked down at Colenus. Like a king passing judgement on a subject.
The surrounding mercenaries were trying to decide what to do after witnessing this display, some of the weaker willed in their company already deserted. However most wished to face their fate along with their brothers in arms, they all had serious looks as they waited to see the verdict.
Suddenly Pax's smile seemed to erode, he quickly turned to grab Fay. Fay was confused as Pax transformed and began to fly off at an unbelievable speed. Fay barely managed to voice his confusion as the wind beat at his face: "What's wrong Pax, why did we leave?"
Hearing Fay's question Pax spit out an agitated growl: "Some annoying pests have come our way."
Around fifteen minutes later at the caravan camp. The forces sent by the Krain religious order had already been informed of what happened. The commander was standing in front of where Pax was previously being whipped. He looked at the dirt that was covered in small droplets of Pax's blood. He then called to one of the nearby soldiers: "Get the Kalek beetle. Quickly before blood dries!"
Almost immediately after the order a man in a white robe came over holding a cage, that he held with a handle on top of the cage to keep from getting hurt by what was within, and a small glass vile. The man kneeled down and with deft hands collected some drops of blood into the vile. He the quickly poured the several drops into the cage.
Within the cage was a Kalek beetle. It was shiny green blue and was covered in spikes, most noticeable was its mouth that appeared to look like a shredder. The Kalek beetle is known for often hunting in small hordes. With simply a taste of blood they can sense their prey's natural essence signature allowing for them to sense the prey's general position. In small hordes they will latch on to the target's whole body causing cuts as they shred their flesh with their shredder like teeth.
However for their purposes this beetle was the perfect tracker. As soon as it tasted Pax's blood it began to ram against the cage. The commander seeing this was pleased as he ordered his men to mount their horses. They quickly left the Sky Dragon Road and the hundred or so soldier stormed west, following the direction the Kalek beetle pointed them to.