And for a battle as impressive as this—impressive in the sense that this was basically brawn versus brains.
The lunatic carapace brutenecks were going to fight like wild animals and do so much more brutally than they had done before, while the knight brutenecks would fight with their precision but perhaps more carefully.
The creatures paused for a few seconds, looking at each other, each seemingly expecting the other to make a move.
Soon, the fight began. The much-anticipated fight Tatehan had been waiting for. The fight he had been hyping.
The remaining four knight brutenecks were as precise as they were before, but then their movements became more cautious, more defensive.
More defensive?
Tatehan blinked repeatedly. By fighting defensively, the knight brutenecks were giving the lunatics a chance.
From what he could reason from all this, to kill the lunatics, one had to be equally fierce as them but with much precision and dodging.
And that was what the knight brutenecks had been doing before. But fighting defensively?
This heightened his belief that the knight brutenecks reasoned like humans, because only a sensible being would know when to change tactics in a fight.
Unlike the lunatics who fought in one direction, the knight brutenecks knew when to switch. They positioned themselves to protect their necks even more carefully, angling their bodies to keep the armor's strongest sections facing the enemy.
Tatehan stared in disbelief. This was brilliant. The knight brutenecks probably could win if they fought normally, but they couldn't afford to lose another life, and so they were now fighting with caution but much more brilliantly than he had expected.
They still fought with the precision they had come with though, but more defensively. Even their moves were defensive. He was sure they would be winning.
But the lunatic carapace brutenecks, sensing weakness, pressed harder and fought more beautifully than Tatehan had expected. And so he watched for minutes as the cousins fought, no one falling to the ground.
This was getting interesting now.
Even though the carapace brutenecks might have belonged to the lunatic species, they had one aim in this fight—target the neck of the knight brutenecks. They knew the stuff protecting it wasn't as protective as they had thought.
Frankly, the reason the knight brutenecks had killed so many of the lunatic carapace brutenecks was because they didn't know that the knight brutenecks had the same weakness as them. But now they were making the most of it.
Suddenly, a knight bruteneck got hit so fatally at the neck by the large bone club one of the lunatics held.
It stuck and twisted the neck to one side, in an unnatural position, one that made Tatehan wrinkle his face in an 'ouch.'
Another hit sent the head off the neck, and then it was falling and rolling down the ground, weird-colored blood pouring out of it.
Tatehan couldn't believe his eyes. The lunatics were winning?
And the critically acclaimed knight brutenecks were losing?
Twist plot!
Now it was six lunatics to three knights.
Tatehan knew he couldn't stay here. Win or lose, once this fight was over, he would be next, and since the lunatics were currently winning, he couldn't even think of how brutally he would die.
But curiosity was getting the best of him.
His body was still recovering, his partial regeneration working overtime to heal the damage. But he couldn't wait for full recovery.
He just had to move. Now.
With a sigh, slowly, carefully, Tatehan began to inch away from the boulder, keeping low, keeping quiet.
But as soon as he was a few steps from the boulder, he heard loud howls.
The decision to force himself to continue moving forward or go back and see the outcome of the fight was tumultuous.
In the end, with a deep sigh, he went back to the boulder, and what he saw made him smile.
Two lunatic carapace brutenecks were on the floor, dead, and now four remained.
Four versus three.
Oh, things were getting interesting.
The lunatics hit their chests so hard Tatehan felt they would damage their insides. And they dashed forward, their bone clubs catching a neck, but the knight rock swords caught one of theirs.
The lunatics were just more brutal. They chopped off two heads of the three remaining knight brutenecks, and now only one was left.
Tatehan felt a pang of anxiety shoot through his chest. If he were to leave now, he was certain the lunatics would come for him.
Shit!
Shit!
Because to him, they had won the fight already. But then, Tatehan decided that perhaps it was worth it to see who won after all. To see how this twisting battle ended.
The lunatics hit their bone clubs together and exchanged glances, ready to finish the one last knight bruteneck standing.
Tatehan felt disappointed. All the charisma of the knight brutenecks about to be wasted like this.
The remaining knight bruteneck picked up a sword from one of its fallen brothers and struck it in the air with his own, howling like a maniac, its eyes seething with vengeance.
The lunatics dashed at it, and all it had to do was sidestep with fluid evasion. It received many hits from the bone clubs though. Many to the side of its belly section.
It was beaten to near death, but with its fluid evasion, it managed, with a dodge, to aim both swords at the necks of two lunatic carapace brutenecks.
Twishhh!
Fwishhh!
They fell.
The remaining lunatic carapace bruteneck stared in awe, but a sword was already kissing its throat.
It struck and sent the head off from the body.
The knight bruteneck had....won!
Tatehan ought to be rejoicing. He ought to be glad that the knight brutenecks came out on top.
A few minutes ago, he had been hoping the monsters were too distracted with each other to notice him slipping away, but now he had made a new resolution.
He wasn't in good shape, although he was much better than before, he still needed to rest and recover.
You know what, fuck it!
The knight bruteneck was in a bad state…
Tatehan ran like a maniac, with so much speed, very fast, similar to when the lunatic carapace brutenecks were chasing him.
He picked up one of the rock swords laying beside a dead knight bruteneck...