God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 221: Beating to Submission (1).

"None of you... are leaving."

Cain spoke as though what he had said was a fact none of them could refute. His words were like thunder that struck them speechless.

However, after a few seconds, Li recomposed himself,

"You! How dare you leave us stranded here without saying anything?!" Li yelled at Cain furiously.

"I can understand your frustration, but that doesn't mean you have to leave," Cain said calmly, not paying any attention to Li's venomous tone.

"We've wasted three whole days here, doing fuck all, and you are telling me this crap?! Screw you!" Li said, taking a step forward aggressively.

"Li! Calm down!" Jenny said, tugging on Li's shirt to drag him back, but he remained unmoving, starting at Cain with defiance.

"Jenny, what do you have to say about this?" Cain said with narrowed eyes. While he was approaching the surface of the water, he was able to hear their conversation due to his incredible perception.

Hence, he knew he had to solve this issue promptly. There was no way anyone leaving their group at this moment was a good idea. They had just gotten off the island, and he knew the dangers they would face ahead would be too much for a handful of people to handle.

Facing Cain directly, Jenny felt as though her words were stuck in her throat, completely unable to fall out. She clenched her hands as she stared at Cain in silence.

"Let's just let them go, Cain. It isn't worth it." Steve said with a sneer.

It was at this moment Cain realized something...

If he didn't do what was necessary, he would lose a few capable people who could bolster their strength. He wasn't so proud that he would let them leave just like that.

After his visit to Prometheus, he learned a few things...

During his trials, especially when he had been chased and nearly killed by the {Lythoran Wyrms}, he realized that if he had been backed up by numerous teammates who were just as powerful as he was, there was no way he would have been driven into the dire states he had found himself in.

He had come to learn the usefulness of having not only a large group but a competent crew, but unfortunately, due to how he had treated it in the past, this team of individuals who had no bonds between them was about to be broken apart.

Hence he decided to make sure the group held together. Even if he had to rely on some unscrupulous methods...

"If you want to leave, then you can leave. However, don't think I'll let you all leave just like that." Cain said sternly.

To him, his main focus was thinking logically. Although he wanted them to stay, he had to make sure he didn't appear weak or desperate.

"Oh, really? Do you think you alone can stop us?" Li said, raising an eyebrow.

Despite him being cautious of Cain's power, he now had complete confidence in his. After all, he had had a lot of time to grow. On the Island, he had trained together with both Stan and Sue who let him develop new and stronger abilities and skills.

Now, he was confident he could face Cain without there being much of a disparity...

"Cain, this isn't about fighting. Can't we just settle this-" Jenny said, attempting to defuse the tense atmosphere.

"Shut it, Jenny. If I say you aren't going anywhere, you aren't going anywhere. Remember our promise?" Cain said to Jenny who had her eyes wide open.

"Hmph! Scarface, while I don't hate you that much, speaking like that to sister Jenny is a bit much, don't you think?" Sue said, a dark flame lighting up in her eyes.

"Sorry boss, but you can disrespect Jenny like that and expect us to sit back, do you?" Stan said with a small smile as he drew his saber from his back, creating a crisp metallic ring.

"If you all think you have what it takes to face me, then come. If I defeat you all, then you will be a part of this team from now on. You'll take orders from me..." Cain said, deep pride etched onto his face.

"You don't have to fight alone, Cain. Let's show these little cubs what it is like to scratch against a boulder." Steve said excitedly.

Seeing Steve's enthusiastic expression, Cain could only produce a wry smile, "Let me handle it..."

"Anything you say, boss," Steve said, an understanding smile on his face.

"Doesn't matter how many of you there are. I've been itching to have a piece of you since you fought that {Flame Devil}.

'He might have grown a lot since that fight but I've grown as well. Together with everyone else and Jenny, we won't lose!'

Li had an excited gaze hidden in his eyes as he turned to Jenny, "Jenny, I don't care about whatever feelings you have for this guy. Right now, he is the enemy. You have to follow us and fight him." Li said.

"I agree with the idiot this time, Sister Jenny. While he might be a fool, I believe this is one of those times where we fought back. Besides... I really want to know what he's made of." Sue said to Jenny with a strange predatory look in her eyes as she licked her luscious pink lips.

Staring at Cain for a while, Jenny had a conflicted expression on her face. However, she noticed a twinkle in Cain's eyes. He gave her a subtle nod and a small smile that only she noticed. Seeing his actions, Jenny quickly made her decision.

"Let's fight then..." A magical light shimmered in her hands, and her huge sniper rifle materialized into reality.

Eyes gleaming like two unsheathed blades, Li stared at Cain. Now, he was completely confident in their victory.

Staring at them, Cain'mind was working overdrive as he began formulating a plan that would make them submit to him. He had come to realize that what he needed from them wasn't just their ability to fight, but their ability to fight when he said so. This was the only way he could think of. And that meant he needed to tighten his belt and deal with the issue at hand the hard way.

"Come..." Cain said to Li, his index finger pointed out provocatively.

"Gah!" With a short, Li kicked against the ice bridge and ran straight at Cain. Stan followed immediately behind, while Sue began chanting...

'They are well coordinated...' Cain thought to himself as he watched the two melee combatants approach.

'I probably shouldn't allow Jenny to fire that shot.' Cain thought to himself as he watched Jenny place her finger above the trigger and take aim. Feeling the incredible danger surrounding him, Cain knew that the incoming shot wouldn't miss if he didn't take some precautions.

While there were many ways he could easily end the match, he didn't want that, as he wanted to thoroughly beat them. He also wanted to analyze their skills and how they functioned in a group.

Hence, he decided not to bypass Li and Stan. Instead, he simply activated a skill that was so anticlimactic it could change the direction of the winds of victory.

"Seal."

Cain had activated the {Seal} skill on Jenny when they had first met, and it has worked excellently. But he knew that unless they had found a way to counter it, they wouldn't be so eager to engage with him.

"Nexalis..." A single word escaped from Jenny's mouth as she pressed down immediately Cain activated {Seal}.

A bolt of light purple shot off the gun and spread like a bud of flower petals scattering into the air. The mysterious {Seal} rune that appeared in the air when the skill was activated immediately shattered in less than a fraction of a second.

"That might have worked before, but you aren't the only one making adjustments. Let me show you what it means to burn up, Cain." Li said. Once he was just a few steps away from Cain, he slammed his feet into the ice bridge and took a stance.

Violent flames burned around his fists as he prepared to activate one of the stronger skills in his arsenal...

"Hypernova Explosion!"

Li's fists began firing rapidly at Cain at supersonic speed. The fists broke through the sound barrier and created shockwaves that created cracks in the ice bridge.

Sensing the force behind the fists, Cain knew he couldn't take them lightly...

"Infernal Wings..." The wings of flames wrapped around him like the blessed wings of an angel, expecting him from the barrage of flaming fists.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Fiery red feathers broke away from the wings indicating that they were suffering some sort of damage.

'Incredible power, but it is quite lacking in substance...' Cain thought.

Taking one step forward, he pushed Li back forcefully. This caught him completely off guard as while he wasn't able to attack through the shield of fiery feathers, the same didn't go for Cain.

Cain's hand grabbed Li through the curtain of flames. An elbow smashed into his ribcages causing him to cough up some blood. Before he was able to react, Cain's other hand had lifted him from the ground and smashed his body down...

With Cain's brute strength reinforced with a bit of Ki, the damage Li had to suffer was represented in the form of a sickening crack.

"Oi, don't just rush forward without me, or you'll get your ass handed to you!" Stan yelled as he expertly twirled his blade around. Different runes lit up around his body as he charged at Cain headfirst. The blade immediately grew in size, and his body seemed to bulk up instantly.

BANG!!!

A loud bang broke through the air as Stan smashed his blade onto the {Infernal Wings}. It was as though a train had hit him, causing Cain to slide back about ten meters.

'Ho's raw physical strength is incredible...' Cain could tell that there had been no mana infused in the blow he had just received. It was a purely physical one...

'Could he be reinforcing his body with magic? Those rubes are certainly doing something.' Cain thought as he took a few steps forward.

"Sue! Attack him with everything you've got!" Jenny said as she retrieved another arrow from her inventory and loaded it into the chamber of her weapon.

Not even a second later, numerous magic circles began to appear all around them. The magic circles were replaced by blazing hot {Fireballs} that were ready to dive down at a moment's notice...

'Hopefully, you don't die from this one.' Sue thought as she let the fireballs fall on Cain.

Seeing the fireballs coming, Stan jumped back just before they came crashing down on Cain.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Numerous explosions sounded out at once, producing a very large amount of dark smoke. The ice bridge beneath them began to produce some steam as a thin layer of ice was beginning to melt.

"Did we get him?" Li said as he stood up slowly from the ground and wiped the blood that trickled down the side of his chin.

The smoke immediately cleared up and Cain's unharmed figure was revealed. A majority of the feathers on the {Infernal Wings} were still on, but a large portion of them were gone, indicating that he had taken on a fair bit of damage.

'Their coordination also isn't bad, and their damage output is incredible. Seems like I'm going to enjoy this one.' Cain thought to himself excitedly.

"If that is all you can do, then you all are most definitely going to lose..." Cain said, a mocking grin on his face.

Taking a step forward, he suddenly disappeared from their line of sight...