Free Web NovelChapter 21: Claw Strike
Ren took to the sky outside the cave, his eyes locked onto the forest below with a keenness that would allow him to see even an ant moving along the ground.
’Sigh, I should have known that humans would find a way to be stubborn. I was pretty stubborn as well.’
He spotted the first group leading the way, over ten students walking together and no instructor in sight. He watched them find a deer, a Lumine deer similar to the one Luka and Dawn had seen the day before, but unlike the two of them, they did not watch the deer, they attacked it.
One student pulled his sword and dashed, travelling several meters in a few seconds. He went in for a slash down. The deer reacted and pulled back fast, barely evading the blade, its hooves finding the ground as it tried to sprint away, only for a girl in the group to cast a spell. Vines ripped out of the ground and wrapped around it, holding it down.
The boy that had missed the first slash found his opportunity to finish it off. He planted his feet fast and launched forward, sword lifted and about to cut through the terrified monster.
Slash, the blade cut through the neck, and the deer fell to the ground dead. The students were elated after their kill, especially the boy. He looked at the deer on the ground with glee, now all he had to do was dig up the core from its head and they could move on.
Above the unsuspecting students, Ren was gliding. He had not stepped in when they attacked the deer, and he had a few reasons for that. Much like how he hunted and ate food when he came to this world, they were also hunting, and they were stronger, so they deserved the kill.
Also, the deal that he had with them was that if they laid a hand on a forest monster, and now had done it, the deer became a sacrifice, a martyr for what was about to happen.
Ren flapped his wings and shot straight down.
WHOOSH!
BAM!
He landed on the ground with immense force. Dust and wind moved out in a massive wave. The students were caught unaware. They ducked under their hands to protect their eyes, and when the rush reduced and they could all remove their hands, they saw the dragon standing there and looking right at the deer.
’I needed a reason to justify my cause to protect my subordinates. I’m sorry,’ he muttered to the deer and then raised his head to look at the students.
"You dared to attack a monster in my forest even after the warning I gave," he spoke, his voice more menacing than before, especially after his last evolution.
The students froze, their feet could barely move at all. They were all looking at a real-life dragon. It was not much to say they were petrified and shocked at the same time.
Right now, Ren was working under the assumption that the teachers had informed the students about the threat, and that was why he allowed them to kill the deer first. He believed that they knew about his threat, but the teachers had given them the audacity to keep at it. That detail was what spun his head very much and made him quite pissed at them.
"Dra-Dragon!" one boy managed to speak.
The boy that had killed the deer was the closest to Ren. He was standing only a few feet away. He could almost feel the body heat from Ren.
’Tch, they don’t seem ready to speak. Fine, then we do this with force.’
He thought and then spoke, "You have ten seconds. Run as far and as fast as you can. Feel what it feels like to be hunted," he said those words like a verdict.
"10, 9."
When he started the countdown, the reality that he was serious hit them. Everyone turned tail and began running as fast as they could in all directions while Ren watched.
He kept the countdown going, and the very moment that he hit one, he stopped. He did not do anything else. They had run off already, and someone else had arrived here. The person was coming in hot.
Ren looked in the direction the person was coming from and unleashed a sonic roar almost three times stronger than the last one he had used.
RAWWWWWWWWRRR!
Trees were blasted out of the ground in one roar. Debris flew in all directions.
"Whooo, that almost hit me," a voice cut through the air. A figure appeared in the direction Ren had roared. It was Ash, one of the teachers.
He walked toward Ren with a swag to his step.
"Pretty nice of you to let the kids go, you know," he said.
’Sigh, I figured at the last moment that those kids were not informed about me. The teachers must have kept it a secret from them. I’m sure seeing a dragon would cause fear, but they were petrified. There was no way they knew about me or believed a teacher would save them.
This means a few things, to be honest. The teachers felt they could handle the situation easily. They didn’t think I was a large enough threat. That alone had pissed me off.’
Ash looked at Ren and his eyes widened.
"Whoa, you are definitely not as small as they said you would be," he said, but then smirked a few seconds later. "That being said, the larger they are, the harder they fall.
I’ve never gotten to take down a big lizard before, so this is a great opportunity for me, hahahah."
Ren looked at Ash for a few solid seconds and then spoke. "You speak too much." After saying that, Ren flicked his claw, using a claw strike. The strike ripped through the air faster than Ash could react to. It slashed him in the shoulder, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
Ash’s eyes widened when he saw this. He looked up at Ren.
