Tatehan felt genuinely alard, his confidence wavering. Sure, he had been dominating the fight earlier, landing clean hits and drawing blood, but this transformation seed to be a massive problem developing right at this critical mont.
He had actually thought he was gaining real montum, that he was going to defeat Mub and walk away victorious...
But that wasn’t Mub’s full form at all. Mub had been fighting without his abilities this entire ti. He had been fighting Tatehan like a completely normal human would do— no supernatural ability, no transformation, nothing special. He had been fighting like an ordinary human warrior would, relying solely on skill and strength.
’This isn’t looking good at all,’ Tatehan thought, dread settling in him.
If Mub was about to be at his absolute fullest power, how was he possibly going to defeat that? How was he going to successfully face off against a literal man-beast hybrid with enhanced everything?
The odds were greatly, overwhelmingly not on his side now.
All the bravery and confidence that had earlier co from gaining montum was slowly draining away, evaporating like water in the Martian heat. And now fear was actively crawling into him, spreading through his chest.
This wasn’t an emotion he could easily control. This wasn’t sothing he could simply shrug away or dismiss with willpower alone.
’When he transforms, his attack patterns will change completely.’ He thought.
"Enough gas!" Mub suddenly roared, his voice deepening unnaturally, taking on an animalistic quality. "I’ll show you exactly why I’m number one in this clan!"
The mont Tatehan had been desperately anticipating was now here, unavoidable. The mont he had been trying to ntally prepare for was now unfolding right before his eyes.
Mub was about to transform fully.
Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, Mub’s body began to change dramatically. His already large muscles bulged and expanded grotesquely, swelling to nearly twice their original size. His skin was darkening significantly and hardening, taking on a texture that looked almost like natural armor plating. His fingers extended and sharpened into razor-sharp claws that glead dangerously. His face elongated slightly, becoming distinctly more bestial and predatory. His teeth sharpened visibly into prominent fangs that jutted from his mouth.
The Wild Beast transformation was beginning in full.
But even as Mub transford and Tatehan was starting to panic internally, fighting to keep his composure, he sohow managed to notice sothing specific in Mub’s eyes—sothing that hadn’t been there before this mont.
Uncertainty.
For the first ti since this duel had begun, Mub was clearly realizing that Tatehan had been gaining montum steadily, landing multiple hits, drawing blood twice, sothing the beast had honestly not expected from this stranger.
What Mub had initially expected was to tear Tatehan into bloody pieces within the first minute as the duel began. Although Tatehan carried the title of Mauler Slayer, Mub clearly hadn’t expected him to be able to dodge his attacks so effectively and gain the kind of montum he had demonstrated.
He hadn’t expected Tatehan to put up a genuine, serious fight against him. He didn’t think Tatehan would be much of a real challenge at all.
’What did he think I killed... a toothpick?’ Tatehan thought with dark humor.
Only soone insane or dangerously arrogant would dismiss one who had slayed the Hexapod Mauler as being easy to face in combat. If one truly knew the mauler species (the Hexapod Mauler variant to be precise) how ruthless and normally unpredictable those creatures were in battle, they would see the slayer as soone genuinely strong and capable.
But Mub thought lowly of his opponents, dismissing them. He had not expected that his opponent, who should have been dead and bleeding out within thirty seconds, was not only surviving but actually winning the exchanges.
And that realization was starting to worry the champion of the Red Crest Clan, shaking his confidence.
But with the looks of things now, watching the transformation complete, it seed Mub was about to turn the tables back dramatically so the advantage would favor him once again. He was ready to slay Tatehan properly this ti.
He was ready to slay the Mauler Slayer and restore his reputation. He slamd the axes together forcefully, gritting his now-fanged teeth.
"YES!" the crowd exclaid collectively, their excitent building. "Full beast mode! Show him your true power!"
As Tatehan took a brief look at the assembled crowd, their eager faces, he seed to really realize and understand what they were actually here for.
These people weren’t genuinely supporting any particular person in this fight, although so might naturally support Mub since he was the clan’s undisputed top fighter. But the main reason most of them were gathered here was simply to see blood spilled and violence unleashed.
They were here for pure entertainnt, for spectacle. And Mub, now dramatically hitting the flat sides of the axes against his transford chest, was about to give it to them.
\I hope I’m able to accurately predict his movents now that he’s fully transford. His patterns might be completely different,\ Tatehan heard Riven say through the earbud, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty.
Tatehan swallowed hard, his throat dry. His life depended entirely on this at the mont—on Riven’s ability continuing to work, and on how fast he would be able to dodge and react to the attacks of the transford Mub.
Mub slamd his axes together one final ti with a resounding clang, and with that signal, he charged directly at Tatehan with terrifying speed.
\He’s moving faster now, much faster! Left slash coming high, duck and roll right!\
For just a split second, Tatehan wondered how Riven was able to shout instructions at him without being caught or heard by anyone.
Or was she speaking much lower and the earbud he was wearing made it higher.
Perhaps it was the level it was set at, to be able to receive low sounds and make it loud and audible at the other end. Like when he had dropped his voice far below a whisper and Riven still heard him loud and clear.
Tatehan now dropped and rolled, but barely. Mub’s speed had increased dramatically. The axe missed his helt by a hair’s breadth.
In desperation, Tatehan quickly unsummoned his sword in a flash of smoke and imdiately summoned his chakrams instead, hoping the throwing weapons would give him better range and options against this beast.
He hurled the first chakram with all his strength at Mub’s exposed chest.
The spinning blade struck the hardened skin and... bounced off harmlessly with a tallic clang, leaving barely a scratch on the transford hide.
’Damn it!’
\Second axe coming from below, jump!\
Tatehan leaped, but not quite high enough or fast enough this ti.
The flat side of Mub’s axe caught him solidly in the ribs mid-air, the impact trendous even through his armor. Tatehan wasn’t sure but he felt sothing crack inside his chest as he was launched sideways through the air like a ragdoll.
He crashed hard into the ground several ters away, rolling twice before coming to a painful stop.
The crowd roared with approval, although so gasped.
"The mauler slayer is being defeated!"
Tatehan gasped for air inside his helt, pain radiating through his entire torso. That single hit had done more damage than everything in the fight so far combined.
He saw words flash across his retina:
[70 percent absorbed]
[30 percent impacted]
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