King Of Limbo

When his name was called, the big Panthera moved forward and took a position in the middle of the formation, a proud expression on its face.

"Does anyone wish to challenge I, Kudgar?" He posed the question with an unimaginable amount of confidence while gently sweeping his head from left to right to see if anyone would approach.

As his gaze passed Aron it had stopped briefly, of all the Panthera present he felt the most worry from him. He wasn't going to challenge him, was he?

'Then I'll make you…' Kudgar's attention immediately shifted to the female observers in the distance.

Many people saw that it halted in especially on Ohtli and Ohtlizhi and could then grasp what was about to happen.

However, someone spoke first before the huge Panthera could finish their sentence.

"I challenge you!"

!!

Many Panthera were startled by the voice and turned to look in its direction, only to find a young, uneasy Panthera scowling at Kudgar.

"That stupid kid." Garu mumbled beneath his breath, helplessly shaking his head.

"Who is he?" Aron immediately wanted to know who was speaking.

Even though he appeared to be muscular and young, he was still a long way from Kudgar. Even Garu looked capable of handling him.

"You don't remember him? I've lost count of how many times you warned him to stay away from your daughter, he truly wants her to be his mate and his alone. However, this is ridiculous.

'So it was infatuation.'

Aron could see why the young Panthera had spoken up at this time. He initially wouldn't, but when he noticed the chosen mate being eyed by someone else, he took action.

"Then come forward Kakur."

The young Panthera was merely given a short, annoyed glance by Kudgar before being summoned to come over with a spear.

Kakur looked intently at Ohtlizhi in the distance before moving onward. The other females roared in approval as they saw this, appreciating and enjoying the sight of being fought over.

Ohtlizhi, the female in the center of it all, however, just cast a troubled glance in his direction; regrettably, Aron was already paying attention to the two Panthera about to engage in combat.

The challenge was accepted, of course! The old Panthera declared.

Ho, Ho, Ho

The Panthera started chanting in unison, tapping their spears against the ground, making rhythmic booms as they did so, raising the volume of the spectacle.

"Begin!"

The young Panthera was the first to attack after these words were said, hoping to exploit his superior speed and zeal to overwhelm Kudgar and catch him off guard.

Clang!~

Contrary to his expectations Kudgar managed to block it in the last minute by holding out his spear in a horizontal manner, stopping the vertical slice coming.

Woosh~

Upon contact, a small wind gust suddenly appeared.

Now only a meter separated the two, and their ferocious gaze locked.

It appeared as though the game had ended, but in reality a new war had started.

Both sides were attempting to use strength to overrun the other in that circumstance, which appeared to be static. One strike is blocked by another.

The muscles in both of their arms and legs were stiff and bulging strongly, but neither side appeared to be giving easily.

"Grr…"

Although there were no audible words spoken, Kudgar's growls got sharper and the impasse quickly started to shift in his favor.

!!

Kakur's eyes widened a bit when he felt his arms being pulled back. The only thing he could do to stop this was to grit his teeth even harder.

Bam!~

Kudgar kicked hard at the helpless chest after raising his spear just a little bit higher.

Blurgh~

A clean kick to the chest from a Panthera was normally fatal if both parties were of equal strength because of their tremendous leg muscles.

Aron smirked as he watched this laborious battle from a distance. He could approximate each side's strength from the time the two sides clashed weapons.

"Tsk, at most Tier 5."

Though this realization didn't surprise him, he thought that all of his caution had now been reduced.

He was certain that this couldn't be the primary Panthera village after knowing that there were additional ones.

The primary Panthera was probably located there, and it was also possibly where the current settlement obtained its clothing and weapons.

Once this was established, Aron was somewhat more at ease as he simply observed the plodding battle until its conclusion.

Bam!

After being struck by the back of Kudgar's spear, Kakur flew to the outside of the formation.

Kakur's motions had slowed down ever since he was solidly struck in the chest, and Kudgar took advantage of this by attacking nonstop until Kakur was unable to protect himself.

"We've got a Victor!" The elderly Panthera announced passionately.

Kakur continued to attempt to stand, but the outcome was obvious: he had lost.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Kudgar turned to face Aron once more as raucous cheers from the females in the distance erupted.

"I challenge you for your mate, I will also be taking your daughter unless someone else wants to challenge me for her?"

Kudgar revealed his desire to claim a female as his own and stated his purpose to steal a mate from another, two distinct but related issues.

Cheers followed once again as many females longed to watch this battle, Ohtli included. Her daughter nonetheless furrowed her brows and looked to be expressing distress.

"Forfeit brother…"

Aron entered the central area and approached Kudgar with a spear in hand, ignoring Garu's low-pitched whispers.

"I also challenge you for your position." Aron continued, raising even more commotion.

For those who were watching, the stakes were really high right now, which added to the excitement of the fight.

"Heh, I accept!"

Kudgar sneered at Aron and proclaimed arrogantly while raising his nose.

"Begin!" Once the elderly Panthera said this, Kudgar erupted.

This time, he was the one to initiate the attack, charging Aron with his spear drawn.

!!

To many people's surprise, Aron followed suit. Given their relative sizes, a direct fight of this nature could only be won by Kudgar.

Bam~

Woosh!~

But to their surprise, no such outcome materialized. Instead, he stabbed Kudgar in the stomach with the flat back of his spear, sending off an even stronger gust of wind.

"Ssss~" Kudgar battled to breathe and unintentionally dropped to his knees as his eyes widened and he felt the air leaving his lungs.

Bam!~

But like Kudgar had done to Kakur, Aron immediately delivered a strong kick to the face.

Woosh~

Kudgar rolled on the ground in excruciating pain as he flew even further back than Kakur had. He held his stomach while doing so.

He tried to speak, but nothing came out despite his entire body shaking.

"…"

Before the Panthera in charge of the matter spoke, everyone just stared in shock at Aron.

"An elite has emerged from our village!" She said with pride, to loud applause.

Aron fought with that degree of strength because if additional Panthera villages existed, they would very certainly experience strength at the top of Tier 5.

The fact that he had attained that level may have been the only true surprise, but nobody contested it.

It was only inevitable that he become stronger after witnessing his insane training regimen so often.

"Does anyone want to challenge me for what's mine?" Few people even dared to look him in the eye as he questioned while surveying the area.

By what many people mistook for a reference to his girlfriend and daughter, he was actually discussing the job.

Whatever it was, nobody wanted to challenge him, much less battle him.

"Then it's settled! Our new first hunter is Tlaloc!" Following a series of rhythmic booms coming from all directions, the supervisor stated.

…

This went on for a while, and then other Panthera started vying for the same partners.

By the time it was all over, very few still had severe wounds, but no one had died.

Aron and Garu approached the supervisor once the ceremony was done.

"Nnaga Ikara… I have some concerns regarding my brother…"

Garu detailed the events of the assault and revealed that his brother had had some brain injuries.

He couldn't come beg for herbs at the time since his position was uncertain, but now that he was the first hunter, they had to treat him!

"Hmm, this is troublesome."

Ikara rubbed her head and rocked it from side to side.

"I've heard of such happening but I do not know how it is treated. I would need to ask another Nnaga of a better village." She responded, looking worried.

"That's fine, until then however it's best I'm reminded of the territories, where to hunt and where not to. Beast dens, enemy territory and the like so we don't fall short in the hunt." Aron put forward.

They couldn't leave him behind given the worth he shown, thus his suggestion was the best one under the circumstances.

"Yes… yes. As long as he is aware and you are there by his side it shouldn't be risky!" The Nnanga enthusiastically nodded thrice in agreement.