The High Priest of the Kalivera race reacted in time to cast the Divine Shield spell, blocking the incoming attacks. He was shocked by the sudden appearance of unknown enemies, but that wasn't even the worst. His Divine Shield cracked and shattered into countless fragments, revealing Hiraku and the Warlock Centaurs.
Hiraku blocked two Light Shards, weak attack spells from the High Priest and manifested a mace in his right hand. The mace was as thick as Hiraku's thigh and covered in spikes, adding another level of 'spice'. It plunged toward the High Priest's head.
The High Priest manifested several small Divine Shields, but their durability was not the same as the original version. They shattered one by one as the mace smashed heavily onto them. A shockwave reverberated through the surroundings, followed by the crackling of several bones breaking.
The High Priest and the Kaliveras near him screamed and roared, but neither Hiraku nor the Warlock Centaurs thought about stopping the attack.
If anything, Mekhaz and Zeron Polik joined Hiraku in the attack against the Higher Lifeform. Hiraku lifted the mace high above his head and smashed down once again. The High Priest tried to retreat but Mekhaz blocked him. His halberd pierced deep into the High Priest's side, dying his robe in blood.
The High Priest's body glowed and a tremendous amount of energy swept through him all of a sudden. Something about the High Priest was changing, and it was certainly not something advantageous to Hiraku and the Warlock Centaurs.
Hiraku observed the transformation of the High Priest for a quarter of a second before his attack commenced.
Only fools would wait patiently until their enemy finished their power-up. Hiraku was no such idiot. His mace impacted heavily, crushing the High Priest's skull with a deadly strike.
The Kaliveras around the High Priest screamed out once again, but they didn't have enough time to think about what was happening. They were the next to be hunted.
Hiraku and the Warlock Centaurs didn't hold back. They went all-out against their enemies and slaughtered them mindlessly.
Not only were Hiraku and the Warlock Centaurs stronger in terms of battle awareness, and martial arts mastery, but their Tier and physical strength were also much stronger. That didn't even include the tremendous advantage of possessing multiple high-ranked Soultraits that were highly compatible.
It was no wonder that the army escorting the caravan was obliterated in less than half an hour.
Close to 1000 corpses littered the surroundings, but not for long. Mekhaz and another Warlock Centaur collected the corpses for Michael to extract later.
Hiraku walked over to the caravan, ready to store everything in his War Rune's storage, only to realize that it was not possible.
'Hmm?'
Something blocked him from storing everything in his War Rune. That either meant the goods were too unstable to be stored in a pocket dimension, that the War Rune's storage repelled some of the items, or that there was something alive in the caravan.
"Ah right. He said that there are some 'monster-like'-things in the caravan. Whatever that's supposed to mean," Hiraku mumbled to himself. He was about to find out at any moment, anyway.
Hiraku pushed the curtain at the back of the first carriage aside and glanced inside. Rays of the afternoon sun shone into the carriage, illuminating the inside for the first time in weeks. At least, that was what Hiraku gathered from the groans and squeals that resounded from the inside.
Hiraku furrowed his eyebrows and transformed back into his original appearance to get a better view of the situation. However, what he saw took him by surprise.
"Are…well. Were those idiots slave traders?" Hiraku wondered, his eyes lingering on a dozen cages of varying sizes. A dozen pairs of eyes stared at him, their eyes filled with desperation.
However, there was also a trace of hope in their eyes. They could smell the blood hanging in the air, and death permeating the surroundings. The people who'd enslaved them were dead.
Hiraku scanned the carriage and discovered that there were monster younglings as well as young juvenile Awakened, whose War Runes hadn't fully formed yet.
That was not common, and it was rather rare, but it was not impossible. If two Awakened gave birth to a child in the Origin Expanse, it wasn't uncommon for the War Rune to form prematurely. The child would be exposed to origin energy in its mother's womb already, after all.
While it was normal that Awakened born in the Origin Expanse were stronger than others, it was also a fact that they had a much harder time leaving the Origin Expanse. They didn't have an anchor in the outside world, and it was usually much harder for them to survive in places without origin energy. Most Native Awakened would feel like they were about to suffocate outside the Origin Expanse.
That was also why it was uncommon for Awakened to give birth to their child in the Origin Expanse. It wouldn't be able to escape the Origin Expanse. Under normal circumstances, that is.
But there was also another factor that attracted Hiraku's attention. It was something he got to know only after he found out about Tiara and the Silverfang Tigerfolk.
'Were they born in the Origin Expanse, or are they from one of the races that sought asylum within the Origin Expanse?'
The answer to this question didn't matter right now. However, it might be crucial for Michael. Michael would have to decide what to do with these monster cubs and juvenile Awakened. He was the Lord, after all.
Hiraku retrieved a communication crystal and called Michael right away.
["Hiraku? Did something happen? Are you guys fine?"] Michael's worried voice rang out of the communication crystal within seconds.
The corner of Hiraku's lip twitched upon hearing Michael. He cleared his throat and reported the situation.
["You found monster cubs and juvenile Awakened with exotic monster traits? That's odd."]
Michael didn't say anything after that. He thought about what to do for a few seconds before he gave Hiraku his next order.
["Free them. Allow them to leave. We will make sure not to hunt them while we're conquering the Council of Xylon. IF they do not want to leave, or if they follow you, assist them to get to the Untamed Jungle. Stinger learned to jump through space not too long ago, but his golden stinger is much more powerful than it used to be. It might take a few hours, but you should help them. They're just kids. Nothing that happened in the Savannah region is their fault."]
Even though Michael couldn't tell that it would be 100% secure to bring monster cubs and Juvenile Awakened into his territory, he couldn't leave them behind. If they stayed with Hiraku, which was something his gut feeling told him was about to happen, the situation would get a little bit tricky. Michael wouldn't be able to tell Hiraku to jump into deadly battles if some monster cubs and juvenile Awakened clung onto him like little leeches.
Hiraku sighed heavily as if he was annoyed, but he was secretly relieved. The battle against the Council of Xylon was very important, especially in the next 48 hours. The Council of Xylon should be able to wonder of some countermeasures against them in the next 48 hours. Until then, Michael and his forces would have it a little easier to wreak havoc and kill as many enemies as possible.
That was their mission. To slaughter their enemies and weaken them enough to instill fear deep in their hearts.
However, that wouldn't be possible if Hiraku and his people were busy dealing with kids for half a day.
Hiraku tore the gates out of the iron cage's frames and helped the little creatures and Awakened out of their cages. They were starving, parched, and sleep deprived. Their bodies weren't covered in wounds, but it didn't take much to kill them. It was not hard to tell that they wouldn't survive long if left alone.
Hiraku pressed his lips together and walked over to the other carriages to take a look inside. There were even more cages.
'Were they about to trade slaves and creatures with corpses?' Hiraku wondered, his heart filled with fury as he broke the cages open to assist the fragile cubs and Awakened out of the confinement.
The cubs and Awakened escaped their prison, but they did not yet survive the aftermath. The Savannah would kill them.
Nonetheless, Hiraku decided to follow Michael's order. If any of the monster cubs or juvenile Awakened wanted to leave they could go. He wouldn't stop them. That didn't mean it didn't hurt Hiraku if they were about to leave because he knew that they were going to die out there, but he wouldn't deprive them of their freedom once again. He wouldn't be better than the slave merchants in that case.
"H-Help us…." A young juvenile Awakened uttered weakly, his body looking like he was about to melt, "..Plea…se…"
He had a special monster trait. It was something neither Hiraku nor the Warlock Centaurs had seen before. He was a slime monster, yet somehow…he wasn't.
Hiraku gripped his fists, frustrated about killing the Kaliveras painlessly, but he bent down and forced to smile at the youngster.
"Of course. We will assist you," Hiraku said, his voice filled with kindness for the first time.
Hiraku stared at the communication crystal for a second and thought about Michael.
A genuine smile formed on his lips.
"I can bring you to a great place."
