The Martial Unity

Rui's decision was not impulsive but actually quite well-thought-out, as always. If the fauna of the Forest of Fear had evolved such that they had no sense of fear innate to them and would go extinct in self-destructive acts without fear induced in them by the Forest of Fear, then it made sense that only the strongest creatures of the region would be able to survive the period when it lost its fear-inducing substances.

In a Squire-level region, those strongest creatures were Senior-level creatures. It meant that Rui would need to apply his trance hypnosis to these creatures and then subject them to his Plurichroma domain to create SOUL models for their memories.

The issue was that being Senior-level creatures, bullying them was not nearly as straightforward as it had been for the catoblepas or the blackhinds. Senior-level creatures were fully capable of resisting Martial Seniors, even if the latter was much stronger than the former on an individual basis.

"We're going to have to be very careful," Rui replied. "However, as long as we keep track of them, it should be all good. I'll create predictive and SOUL models for them, and, with that, any chance of defeat on our end should be gone."

Perhaps Rui was excessively confident. However, he did think that his reasoning had a strong basis. With the power of predictive models and SOUL models, he was undoubtedly an absolutely unstoppable force to be reckoned with within the Senior Realm.

"Are you sure?" Kane stared at him with anxious concern.

"Yes, I told you, you're being afflicted with fear."

"Well, I can't help it. Are you absolutely sure that your plan is safe? Because it doesn't sound safe to me."

Rui heaved a sigh. "Well, one risk is that the beasts are harder to quantify. Beasts' power levels do not adhere to human paradigms of the Realms of Martial Art. There are plenty of beasts whose power levels fall in between Realms. It's possible that some creatures of the Forest of Fear have crossed the limits of the Senior Realm and become quasi-Master-level."

"Wait, really?" Kane grew more fearful.

"Yes."

"Aren't we screwed if that's the case?"

"...Not necessarily," Rui replied, glancing at his hands.

He clenched his fist, feeling an enormous surge of power coming from deep within. It came from within his mind, not just his body. It gave him a massive amount of confidence in his ability.

Perhaps he was being overconfident, but he felt invincible. He felt as though he simply could not lose.

Of course, this was dangerous. Even as he was now, Martial Masters would overwhelm him with little effort.

"Alright, for now, let u-" Rui froze as an intense wave of peril washed over the two of them.

One moment, the air had been normal.

The very next, their Primordial Instincts warned them of an incoming attack as their Martial Hearts burst into action, beating furiously as all metabolic processes were accelerated and strengthened.

BOOM!!!

The two of them leaped away moments before an intense impact shook the very lands around them. An attack that would have leveled cities struck the very spot they were at microseconds prior.

Rui and Kane took their stances as they beheld their ambusher face-to-face.

It had magnificent glossy black scales that stretched across its entire body. Its claws were razor sharp; its very edge was beyond their vision. Equally sharp sets of teeth lined at the edge of its jaws

Its sharp black pupils focused on its targets with a glint of predation.

"An obsidian wyvern." Rui grew grave.

"Is that bad?" Kane had become much less fearful as the activation of his Martial Heart had significantly, albeit not entirely, eliminated the fear-inducing substance's impact on his mind.

Suddenly, a sharp sense of peril approached behind them.

WHOOOOOOOOSH!!!

An enormous inferno almost swallowed them whole. Rui grimaced as he dispelled the heat away from them with heaven-bending, catching a glimpse of the culprit.

"A second wyvern?!" Kane panicked.

"They hunt in groups," Rui's expression grew severe as he recollected all the data on them from his Mind Palace. He expanded his senses farther and wider while also using the vector detection of the Angel of Laplace across the entire detection.

What he feared turned out to come true.

"We're surrounded by a pack of wyverns."

Rui's tone was grim.

WHOOSH!

A heavy fireball flew at them like a blazing cannonball, only to be intercepted by Rui's Transverse Resonance, revealing a third wyvern.

Soon enough, several more appeared in the sky as they began circling Rui and Kane at a low altitude.

"How did they find us?!" Kane gritted his teeth.

Rui eyed the approaching wyverns. "They use fear to detect prey that is non-native to the Forest of Fear."

Only one of them had experienced fear.

"…Damn!"

"ROOOOAAAAAAR!"

The exchange of words was cut short as the wyverns shot towards the two Martial Seniors, launching fireballs and infernos at them.

FWOOOSH!

"Rgh!" The two grimaced, leaping away, as just being in the vicinity of the heat singed their attires and skin.

Rui glared at the wyverns. Having already activated Angel of Laplace and the SOUL System, he never once let them out of his field of vision.

Unfortunately, the wyverns didn't make it easy. Their inhuman eyes appeared to be devoid of any sense of self-preservation or fear of death.

That was why they were akin to fish in water in the Forest of Fear.

Their prey, however, were usually creatures that exhibited heightened fear, which was a dead giveaway that they were non-native. This usually was very attractive prey to the obsidian wyverns because it meant that they were hampered by excessive fear that would reduce their performance.

Kane was a perfect example.

"AAAAAARGH!" He ran away at top speed from the conflagrations that the obsidian wyverns spread in an alarmed panic.

THUD!

He tripped, fell over, and turned in horror to face the incoming infernos.

THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM!!!

Rui launched five Mighty Roar Flash Blast attacks, dispelling the fires. Yet, what followed next was his true trump card.

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