The threat wasn’t empty posturing or intimidation; it was a simple statent of fact delivered with the certainty of soone who had left trails of destruction across multiple regions.
The Golden Mane responded exactly as Arthur had expected from a creature drunk on wounded pride and aggression. The beast’s throat swelled as he unleashed a roar that shook leaves from nearby branches, the sound carrying enough force to make the Golden Beetle instinctively step backwards.
The roar shook the trees around them, causing monsters kilotres away to flee in panic, scattering in all directions.
The golden mane was a powerful, superior-rank creature; it wasn’t at the bottom of the food chain in the rank. It was most definitely near the top.
The roar was clearly intended as both challenge and intimidation—a declaration that this particular Golden Mane feared nothing and would bow to no intruder, regardless of their reputation or demonstrated power.
Arthur’s smile was sharp enough to cut heads as he processed the beast’s defiant response. The creature had just made a fundantal error in judgnt, one that countless others had made before eting their final monts under the hands of Arthur.
"Do you think you’re so special? I know fury, too. I know hunger, too. I know madness, too!"
Each statent was punctuated by a step forward, and Arthur’s approach was slow and asured. But where the beast moved with confidence, Arthur moved with the certainty of an apex predator whose confidence oozed out of his body like heat.
"Oh..." Arthur paused, his smile widening into sothing that would have given nightmares to anyone capable of recognising genuine danger. "And I’ve killed plenty of creatures more powerful than , too."
Arthur wasn’t boasting; he was simply stating reality as he understood it to be.
The Golden Beetle, observing this exchange from a position that kept it clear of potential violence, felt its eyes widening with growing concern. Through their mystical connection, it could sense the fundantal change in its master’s emotional state. This was no longer a tactical engagent or diplomatic negotiation; this had beco sothing far more personal and infinitely more dangerous.
Arthur’s high attributes, amplified by his legendary equipnt and mythical skills, created an aura of nace that seed to bend the very air around him. His hand rested casually on the hilt of his Chaos Katana, the pseudo-legendary weapon responding to its wielder’s emotional state by emanating subtle waves of dinsional distortion.
The forest itself seed to hold its breath as two apex predators faced each other in a clearing that had suddenly beco an arena. Nearby prey animals, sensing the escalating tension through instincts honed by generations of survival, began fleeing toward safer territories with panicked urgency.
Arthur’s eyes never left the Golden Mane’s amber gaze, his expression carrying the cold ice of Antarctica.
He was soone who had faced impossible odds and erged victorious through sheer luck, determination and overwhelming power. The beast before him represented more than just an obstacle to his quest; it had beco a symbol of every force that had ever tried to make him feel helpless.
The Golden Mane’s response would determine whether this encounter ended with quick resolution or beca a demonstration of exactly why Arthur had earned his fearso reputation across multiple regions. Either way, the beast was about to discover that wounded pride was a poor substitute for actual capability when facing Arthur.
The Golden Mane’s arrogant posturing had triggered mories and emotions that transford this encounter into a personal vendetta. Arthur simply wanted to break the lion in front of him just because of that look, nothing else.
...
Before the Golden Mane could even move his weight to begin an attack, Arthur moved.
The world seed to slow around the massive predator as his vision tried to track movent that exceeded his speed by a long shot. One mont, the human intruder had been standing several ters away, hand resting casually on his weapon. The next mont, reality itself seed to have betrayed the Golden Mane’s understanding; the human simply disappeared.
The Golden Mane’s eyes dilated to their maximum extent, pupils contracting to pinpricks as his mind struggled to comprehend what his senses were reporting. Arthur hadn’t simply moved quickly; he had transcended the boundaries of speed entirely, appearing beside the massive creature as if space itself had folded to accommodate his will, which it certainly did.
Arthur’s first strike was almost gentle by his standards, a casual backhand that connected with the Golden Mane’s flank with the force of a sledgehamr striking wet clay.
CRACK!
The sound of Arthur’s backhand on impact echoed through the forest as the Golden Mane’s five-hundred-pound fra was launched sideways through the air like a golden missile. Trees that had stood for decades splintered and cracked as the beast’s body carved a destructive path through the forest.
"ROAAAAAR!"
The Golden Mane’s initial roar still carried traces of his previous arrogance, though confusion and shock were beginning to show, not only on his face but on his voice, too. How had a re human generated enough force to send a superior-rank predator flying like a discarded toy?
Arthur appeared beside the beast’s landing point before the Golden Mane had even finished rolling across the forest floor. His expression remained coldly distant, as if he were not playing a superior-ranked beast at the threshold of conducting his Domain like a ragdoll.
"Too slow, what happened to that arrogance? Where are those eyes that were filled with fury? All I see is your hidden fear, you thought you were invincible?" Arthur spat mockingly.
The Golden Mane struggled to regain his footing, powerful legs churning against loose earth and scattered leaves. His once powerful body, which should have allowed him to recover instantly from attacks, betrayed him.
As the beast finally managed to stand, Arthur was already moving again.
This ti, the Golden Mane was ready, or thought he was. His reflexes that he was born with and honed through decades of successful hunts with his pack should have had enough defensive power to protect him from any conceivable assault, yet it didn’t.
Arthur’s fist connected with the Golden Mane’s jaw before the creature’s defensive posture was even halfway complete.
THUD!
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