The forest was silent and anticipation rested in the air. Lyren was now about to witness the final showdown and see who was going to be the new boss. The faceoff barely lasted as the crow was quick to attack appearing almost instantly before the peeking head.
The tortoise was a slow creature in nature but that peeking head which was targeted was a step slow and it got a scratch.
The crow collided with the shell which was sent flying and it used its wings to stabilize itself. Lyren felt his heart beat fast because the creatures were actually widening his horizons.
He could not in the real sense mimic their moves but he was learning and he could not wait to see the response from the tortoise.
Something about how it moved somehow reminded him of the movement technique from the first sword. The shell rolled several times and it somehow landed on its back.
The legs of a tortoise could definitely not reach the ground in that position and again Lyren was curious how it was going to set itself free.
The crow was not attacking as it was waiting for the exact moment the tortoise was going to peek out and try to get back into position.
But who could have thought!
The shell started swaying sideways and its movement grew stronger until it could roll over and the tortoise was once again back on its feet.
Its head fully emerged and so did the legs. A shallow wound appeared on its head and it took the first step forward so slowly as the crow charged at the tortoise.
The tortoise was already out of its field of vision and it was already behind the crow and a slow palm was already coming from behind the crow.
The crow felt immense danger and it tried to fly away but the tortoise was already onto it and they connected. A slight shockwave spread throughout the air as the crow was sent flying and crushing into the trees. Black feathers fell from the crow while in mid air.
The tortoise was quick to act as it retracted its feet and head and allowed its shell to absorb the impact.
The crow was quick to get back on its feet and take flight but the tortoise was already cooped in its shell by then. The crow had fury in its eyes as it let out a screech. Its eyes stared at the enemy hidden in plain sight.
Lyren sighed when he saw the crow's reaction but it was well deserved. Fighting such an opponent was the last thing he would want to do.
The tortoise's strategy was actually perfect because it had defense worthy of the opponent at hand. The crow was going to have to try harder if it did not have any more attacks.
He had also not missed the tortoise's gaze. One thing he had seen was that it was actually very observant.
It had a calculative light in it and the timing of leaving the shell was perfect. The crow had been waiting for the tortoise to peek out and attack and the tortoise was the one who was waiting for the crow to attack.
It was a high stakes battle where the opponent acted like they were doing so on their own judgement but you were actually pulling the strings and setting the battlefield. When the opponent started losing their cool, you were already controlling them now.
The tortoise was a manipulator and also a good observer. It knew how the opponent would react which was why it was now cooped in its shell.
The crow attacked the shell with its talons but it did no damage let alone cause a scratch. It flew up and it came flying down and its talons connected with the shell and the best it did was to send the shell tortoise flying.
The crow landed and screeched once again. It opened its beak and screeched and it was obvious it was going for the ultimate attack.
It flew high and when the tortoise saw this, it got out from its shell as it was sure that it could not survive what was coming next if it only stayed cooped up.
The crow flew downwards and midway, its chest started glowing yellowish and when it was closer to the ground, it opened its mouth and spluttered flames.
The tortoise was obviously the slower one and there was no way it was going to escape unscathed and as it took the first step towards the crow, the flames landed on it but it had already accomplished its goal.
By the time the crow finished spitting its flames, the ground was charred black and it appeared fatigued. Its eyes were wide with horror as there was no tortoise before it.
The tortoise appeared behind the crow again and when the paw and back connected, there was barely a shockwave as the crow took all the damage and more wings were plucked.
It hit the ground and more feathers were seen flying and the tortoise landed behind the crow and raised a paw.
Lyren had his hands clenched as the creature he was supporting seemed to have lost but the tortoise had managed to survive and ended the battle winning.
It was also a strategy to use yourself as a bait but it only worked if you could survive the onslaught. The tortoise was pretty confident in its own strength and it had won in the end.
Even though black spots appeared on its head and it kept using predictable patterns, what use was predicting if you could not counter?
That was a battle where everything was calculated and so was the damage. The crow could not move anymore and the tortoise seemed to be actually ready to off the crow.
Lyren moved as he smiled as this moment was him again going to do something he shouldn't. He landed quickly to the ground and charged towards the tortoise's raised paw.
The other beasts were shocked when they saw the human but those that were injured seemed to be showing another emotion.
Acknowledgement.
The tortoise stopped midway when it saw him and Lyren drew his sword and slashed the crow into two. His sword lit up and charred the ground and grass black. The tortoise cooped itself up instantly and the other beasts were horrified by the sudden turn of events.
Lyren bent towards the crow and smiled as he picked the core. This was what had forced him to act.
He did not plan on interfering but when he saw the crow was a fire elemental beast, he instantly desired its core. He looked around and saw the several dead beasts around and slaughtered them for their cores.
The others watched in fear as Lyren finally picked the panther's core which was black. The crow's core was a flaming orange and as he sold the other cores, he was going to keep these two.
He looked around and there was nothing else of importance and he left for good this time. The beasts paved way and the tortoise peeked at his back as he left.
It had thoughts of revenge as its kill had been taken but it was just in time for Lyren to turn back and smiled at the tortoise which instantly cooped itself once again.
Lyren disappeared and left the beasts to solve the rest on their own. He did not have much to do in this forest anymore and it was about time to head back.
On his way, he was going to have a change of clothes and a bath as he searched for a place to sell his haul. He was going to be richer soon.