Gid's uncle swung his blade sharply, causing the lingering blood from the Earthwulf's to spray across the already blood-spattered grass. Six Earthwulf's had just been killed in a moment, and even though Rowan had watched the entire fight, he wasn't sure he would be able to describe it.
It was as though the beasts had just fallen apart, without even the time to realise what had happened. Rowan could only feel weak in the face of whatever the man had unleashed. As far as he knew, Gid's uncle Thomas wasn't a tier 4 Viscount, which meant that he had to have been a tier 3, which Rowan still didn't have the name for.
Gid's uncle turned to them and waved, and it was only as he started to get closer that Rowan began to truly realise the size of the man. Though Rowan was still growing, he doubted he would ever reach the height that this man stood at. Easily the tallest person he had ever met, Rowan guessed it was something like seven feet tall.
And his build was a match to his ridiculous height, insane muscles across his entire body. As he took in the size of the man approaching him, Rowan really started to understand how strong he must have been, to move as quickly as he did.
And that speed was once again demonstrated as he dashed towards the trio, his footsteps resonating through the ground beneath them. It reminded Rowan of the strength of the stone drake, packed into a fraction of its size.
Rowan turned briefly to look at Gid and Bea, but neither of them seemed to be as shocked as he was at the sheer power radiating off of Gid's uncle.
'I suppose he's grown up around it, but still. How could anyone get used to being around someone as strong as this? It feels like he could kill ten of me at once!'
Gid stepped forward to welcome his uncle, and was immediately pulled into a bear hug by the behemoth.
"Haha! Ya made it! I knew ya would, but ya father's been running crazy ever since you left. How did ya Hell go?"
Rowan watched Thomas' eyes scan the trio, and noticed a small wince creep onto his face. He had realised a second too late that he already knew the answer.
"Me and Bea were the only ones that survived, and we very nearly died too. We're only alive thanks to Rowan."
Rowan felt Thomas' gaze shift to him, and felt a desire to flee well up inside him.
'Ah shit, even just looking at him makes me want to run'
Rowan nodded his head in return to his eye contact, and tried his best to appear confident despite the rapid beating of his heart.
"They were almost eaten by a spider beast in Killarney, but I managed to get them out after slaying it."
Thomas raised a sceptical eyebrow at Rowan, and he felt a bead of sweat gather at his neck.
"Ya killed it yourself? a Weaver? Tsk, there's no point in bragging like that, son. Who's going to believe that a freshly awakened Knight killed a tier 3 beast?"
Rowan froze up on the spot, as Thomas revealed the 'Weaver' he had killed had been a tier 3 beast. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but the domineering pressure from Thomas made it impossible for him to get any air out.
"Holy shit, you killed a tier 3 Rowan! You're definitely competing with Reggie now! And I'm sure of it, uncle Thomas, I saw the dead spider myself! Rowan had damn near chopped the things head off, after it dragged us to its lair."
Rowan finally exhaled, grateful that Gid had managed to back him up. Rowan also noticed, interestingly, that Thomas immediately took Gid's word at face value, despite how disbelieving he had been of Rowan.
"Well, I'll be."
Rowan was once again under Thomas' scrutinising gaze, and as he was wondering how long it would continue, Thomas offered his hand out, in a friendly gesture.
"Well, the name's Thomas, son. What's your ability, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's regeneration... Sir."
Rowan felt he had no choice but to comply, as despite the fact that he now seemed friendlier, he still had a presence to him that Rowan could physically feel. He reached out to shake Thomas's hand and felt an almost vice-like pressure as Thomas very firmly shook it.
"No need to call me Sir, ya saved my nephew, so it's only right you get to call me Thomas. Now, we should get a move on. There aren't many other people still looking for other survivors, most of the awakened have stopped looking after their own children made it back safely."
He turned and set off immediately, with Bea, Rowan and Gid having to speed walk to keep up with his pace. Rowan naturally drifted to the pack of the group, still feeling the effects that Thomas' presence had had on him.
Gid and Bea each obviously knew Thomas, and spent the time catching each other up on what they had missed, and Rowan listened passively in the back.
"I've been telling them they have to make designated search parties, but they just never listen. Always prattling on about how it'd leave our defences compromised, or that asshole Derrick talking about how it 'builds character' and is 'part of the induction. Pah!
"If we saved the ones that die in the wilds, we'd be saving at least a dozen kids each month, more than a hundred each year!"
Thomas continued to ramble about the importance of saving the children from the wilds, but Rowan was too busy taking in the view ahead of him. He had never seen the walls of Cork from the outside, and seeing them stretch across the horizon made him realise how truly huge the last city of Ireland actually was.