Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Skullius' eyes honed in on the monkey as he searched for its details from the guidance field, his vision being blasted with the information immediately.

~~~

[ Name : None ]

[ Tier :  2 ]

[ Level : 18 ]

[ Race : Mountain Sage Monkey ]

[ Inv. Status  : At peace ]

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[ Stats ]

[ Strength : 57 ]

[Agility : 48 ]

[ Intelligence : 42 ]

[ Endurance : 50 ]

[ Luck : 12 ]

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[ Health : 305/305 ]

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[ Mana : 215/215 ]

....

Its stats weren't anything special as far as Skullius could tell but he turned vigilant nevertheless when he saw the Warrior fly a distance and shatter a few tree trunks before skidding on the ground!

Fore and Stylla remained composed as they analysed.

Skullius' cloud of darkness still roamed and continued to show invisible figures walking within it clearly.

Stylla's mind raced as she tried to figure out what exactly had happened.

'There's no doubt about it. The attack from Bron was redirected at him by some kind of skill. Does this work for any and all attacks?' she thought while beginning to coat her saber with mana.

As she gathered the facts, more of these Mountain Sage Monkeys started becoming visible and advancing towards the four.

At this point, Bron had stood up, dashing back to the group with quick steps.

"Damn it! That was rough! I'll kill that damned thing!" he bellowed. "That's the first time I've eaten my own technique!"

Stylla raised her hand to stop the Warrior from lunging back into danger.

"Let me check something first..." she said before she disappeared from her initial position and popped up in mid-air as she then swiped her saber laterally to cut apart one of the Mountain Sage Monkeys!

Bron furrowed his brows. If her attack was redirected at her...

Stylla's sword gleamed with illusory glows of blue and red, both carrying the characteristics of fire and water.

She then increased the speed of her slash and coated her entire body with a thick blanket of mana, her weapon swiping at the monkey's neck!

At the point of impact, which was just around an inch from the creatures neck where something protectively guarded its body, Stylla felt it...

An immense amount of feedback!

A blistering heat and biting cold pounded towards her with a sharp sensation touching her neck!

However, this wasn't what she was focusing on.

Her eyes that were glued to the Sage Monkey saw a few droplets of blood stain its fur at the neck and she grinned...

She then compressed her mana and gathered it around her neck and then with her left hand, she twirled her fingers, using her great knowledge about her own technique to deconstruct the fire and water effects she had conjured!

The heat and cold dissipated and the sharp sensation that threatened to decapitate her was warded off by the thick layer of her mana in an instant!

Stylla drew back as she many of the monkeys rushing over, but she didn't retreat back to the party. Instead...

"It's not how it looks. These bastards can't redirect your attacks 100%. With a strong enough attack, they can only divert it so much of it while some it actually reaches them. Use your stronger techniques and when they get redirected towards you, tear them apart before you suffer any damage. You show know how..." Stylla called before her body exploded with mana and vanished again, this time with an immense shockwave rupturing where she initially stood!

A second later, five Mountain Sage Monkeys were slashed apart, dismembered!

Their limbs went flying with trails blood that oozed and stained their spotless white furs in an epic scene of carnage!

What was unusual about the cuts on the creatures was how every severed limb released scorching bursts of steam that were tinged in red, a raw aroma diffusing into the air!

This was the Twin Contrast Sword Technique of Stylla's family.

A sword technique that combined any opposing elements into swordplay.

Stylla herself was the fourth child of the Bryne Family, a small but decently influential family which hailed from one of the large cities.

She was not very good at the technique as she had even chosen the more simpler elements to use.

Stylla zipped through the trees before dashing towards the monkeys once more.

Even though she was glad she had figured a way to fight these beasts, she was unnerved by the monkeys' reaction towards the death of their comrades.

Nothing at all.

They were unfazed

They merely looked and continued to rush around.

"Heh! So that's all we need to do?" Bron yelled.

Fore turned to the bulky man and scoffed.

"I don't think you're smart enough to do that."

The thin man then extended his hand in a grasping motion towards one of the monkeys and then closed his hand into a fist!

One of the monkeys moaned as it was compacted together, bones and flesh being squeezed into each other in a very cruel fashion!

Fore felt the feedback hit him but he was already prepared.

He knew how his psychokinesis worked and for him who had only learnt it at the basic level, it was easy to counter the force that sought to replicate the effect he applied on the monkey back to him.

Bron frowned.

In the spirit of not wanting to be left out, he decisively formed his hand into a fist, channelled mana into it and then struck the ground hard!

BOOM!

A powerful shockwave burst with incredible force!

With this entire exchange happening on the side of the mountain, the integrity of the crust on the geographical feature broke, the broken and hard ground they stood on becoming susceptible to gravity!

"Incoming!" Bron growled, signalling for his companions to not be swept away by the resulting avalanche!

Many of the monkeys lost their footing and began to fall down the mountain.

However, even as they dropped, they had on solemn expressions with their hands continuing to be clasped together.

Skullius had dashed to safety before he was swept away.

He had seen the entire thing but hadn't made a move.

This was not a good situation for him.

Going by what Stylla had said, he probably wouldn't be able to deconstruct the attacks he used on the monkeys.

'Gah! I guess this is the difference between me and these guys...' he thought. They actually knew the ins and outs of their techniques.

From way up on the mountain, bigger monkeys started rushing down in great numbers, responding to the assault happening beneath.

The four noticed the differences.

These monkeys were Tier 3 and there were almost forty of them, rushing with their hands plastered together!

Their eyes were cold, depicting a sagely wisdom.

When Skullius checked their statuses, he was surprised to see all of them at the peak of their tiers with relatively high stats.

One the monkeys rushed towards Bron, looking at him with a sagely light of rebuke for his act of desecrating their pristine home!

Bron gave it his attention and as it drew closer, he blasted it with his fist, four hazy rings surrounding his arms as the Warrior added more strength to his attack than the last!

The punch landed on the monkey's face... but no damage registered!

There was no feedback however.

No recoil.

When Bron's fist touched the monkey, it simply lost all momentum, much to his shock!

Then...

PWAA!

A resounding slap smacked Bron at the side of his face, turning his head one way.

He had been slapped by the serious monkey which genuinely looked to be rebuking him!

It didn't look to do any damage at all and for a few seconds... there was no reaction from Bron.

A few moments later though, the brawny man turned to his companions with a unnatural smile that stretched from one ear to the other.

His eyes were closed and his cheeks puffed a bit.

He clasped his hands and uttered a few words that rattled Skullius more than anyone else.

"Now... I am at peace..."