The godlike creatures which seemed like they had no weakness had been killed.
Tatehan was shocked.
The knight bruteneck had been dominating, cutting down two lunatic carapace brutenecks in quick succession. Its movements were fluid and precise, like art to Tatehan's eyes.
But then one of the lunatics, in a wild, desperate swing, brought its bone club down on the knight bruteneck's neck.
The bone shattered on impact.
But the knight bruteneck stumbled.
It reached up to its neck, and Tatehan saw it—a small section of the armor around its throat had given way. The metal hadn't held. Where the bone had struck, the rusty plating had crumbled like dried clay, exposing the soft flesh beneath.
The knight bruteneck tried to turn, tried to defend itself, but another lunatic was already lunging.
This time, the bone weapon found the gap.
The knight bruteneck's head jerked violently to the side, and it collapsed, the same weakness that plagued all brutenecks finally claiming it.
Tatehan's eyes widened.
The goddamn necks!
The soft necks!
The weakness of other brutenecks!
So they weren't invincible after all. The armor protected them, yes, but it was worn and too old. Rusted through in places.
They could die just like any other bruteneck, you just had to hit the right spot. Or in this case, the wrong spot in their armor.
Of course, why were they called 'brutenecks' in the first place? They had the same soft necks as the others.
Tatehan had thought them to be some fairy tale heroes who could never be killed. They looked the part, they were very precise with their hits and so accurate with their dodging, doing so in a very fluid manner.
They basically fought like humans, beings with brains and senses.
Or had they?
To Tatehan they fought like perfect creatures, the most fluid fights he had seen in his life. And the finishing touch to their kills, the way the enemy's neck fell and how they didn't look at it, like paying respect.
It was beautiful…
Or had Tatehan thought them to be so godlike because they saved his life? Even though they did so unintentionally, he owed them big time.
The remaining four knight brutenecks seemed to realize what had happened.
Of course they did—they all looked at the dead corpse of their fellow creature and were just speechless, not that they could speak.
But instead of seething with rage and storming at the now six remaining lunatic carapace brutenecks, they only exchanged glances and in unison dipped their swords in the blood pooling just beside the head of the dead knight bruteneck.
Tatehan, who had wanted to sneak away, squinted his eyes as he watched the scene that unfolded before him.
What are they doing? Is this some sort of ritual?
The lunatic carapace brutenecks froze, watching the scene in surprise. They too had the same thought that Tatehan had.
Tatehan knew he was taking a big risk staying here. Because from the look of things, whoever won the fight now would be coming for him.
If the lunatic carapace brutenecks won, he would be expecting a brutal death, and if the armored brutenecks won, he would be expecting a graceful and precise death.
While the lunatics would tear him to pieces and eat him brutally (alive), the armored brutenecks would take him to paradise…they would show real swordsmanship.
Wait, how dumb could he be? He was dying either way.
Goddamnit! Perhaps because the knight brutenecks saved his life he seemed to think he owed them his…unconsciously though.
He wanted to hit himself to snap out of it, but doing so would mean unnecessary torture. He wasn't in such a good condition (he was literally near death at this point) so why would he want to bring himself so much closer to it?
He should be finding a way to sneak out because this was the perfect time for him to do so. With the two species of brutenecks facing each other, this was the perfect time for a clean getaway.
But Tatehan had no intention of doing that. He wanted to see who would win. Who would come out on top, who would beat the odds and win this intense duel.
Hate started the fight. The lunatic carapace brutenecks were killed without their knowing by the knight brutenecks, and while the lunatic brutenecks fought with the aim to just defend sometimes and some bit of hate, the knight brutenecks fought like they were having rice for dinner.
But now, they paused, looking at the damage done to both sides. The knight brutenecks dipping their swords in the blood of their dead 'comrade' and the lunatic carapace brutenecks looking at the damage done to them, the real damage.
Dozens of heads on the floor with bodies now swarming with martian flies, first time Tatehan was seeing flies on Mars, though they were the insects (animals) he hated most. Even more than mosquitoes. And mosquitoes sucked a lot of his blood.
But the hate for flies was more intense. And now knowing there were flies on Mars (martian flies), he couldn't help but be surprised. He decided that later on, if he survived the Hexapod mauler and returned to the spaceship alive, he would research them.
Now, he concentrated on the fight that was about to unfold before his eyes. He knew that both sides would take a different approach to the fight, and he couldn't wait to see what it would be.
The act of watching would probably cost his life later as he wouldn't be able to run as before due to the state he was in. But he was going to take the risk. There was a chance he would survive this, it depended on how the fight played out.
The four knight brutenecks removed their swords from the now blood-soaked ground and in unison pointed them at the six lunatic carapace brutenecks, who howled and hit their large bone clubs together.
He could see the intense hatred that burned in their eyes.
Tatehan smirked.
It was worth the risk.
How he loved the sight of an intense battle!