God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 278: The Chief's Guard (1).

Although the creatures possessed a modicum of intellect, they weren't very smart...

Cain's reasoning told him that the reason for this was the fact that the creatures had no natural enemies. Hence, the only thing they needed to learn how to do, was hunt for food.

Considering how powerful they were in the first place, it wasn't very hard. And because of the fertility of the female counterparts, which, in his own opinion, shouldn't even be possible, they had more than enough numbers to burn through.

However, this is where the confusion began...

'They are at the top of the food chain here. They barely lose any of their numbers when they go out to hunt. The females are also very fertile. Their numbers should have surpassed this...'

Cain had thought about this for a while, but he couldn't come to a logical conclusion. Logic and reasoning told him one thing, but the reality was different.

Cain scratched his head, 'I've been thinking about a lot of stupid stuff lately, haven't I?'

Shaking his head, he focused on the group of Chaos creatures. They had become extra careful this time, delegating roles and tasks to different Goblins and Trolls. Also, Cai got to witness one of the Personal guards come out to hunt.

To say he wasn't amazed would be a lie...

These creatures were also Trolls. However, different from the normal Trolls, they possessed more than one head.

Some had two heads, some three, and some four. The greater the number of heads, the smarter and more powerful the creature was. Cain had never seen something so bizarre. They were also quite large.

This current group was guarded by a two-headed {Chaos Troll}. It was larger and taller than the normal Trolls by about a full head. Its muscles were like thick steel wires bunched up and hidden under its black and grey skin.

Its facial features were quite different from that of the Goblins. It had two tusks that stuck out from its lips, as well as a short short protruding from its temple. It wielded a large battle-axe that had been carved from Onyx. Cain knew the mountain was filled with precious ores and stones, so he wasn't surprised by this at all...

'This... might be a problem.' Although the creatures weren't smart, their group was quite powerful, especially with the two-headed {Chais Troll} there.

He had led them by the nose to the most convenient spot to set up a trap. But now, he was feeling hesitant. Since the element of surprise was partially gone, it was a risky game to play. The only reason he had been able to kill off so many of them the last time was because of his speed and that they had no idea they were about to be sent down below...

Now, the only thing he had to rely on, was his speed. He also had no idea what special abilities these creatures could have except the names of their skills which didn't give much away. All he knew was that they had a very strong connection to the earth element, and their reserves of Aether were very potent.

'Just flipping great.' Cain heaved a sigh.

He just hoped it would go smoothly. If he couldn't take care of a mere two-headed {Chaos Troll}, how would he hand the ones with greater numbers of heads?

Cain took a deep breath as he activated a few abilities...

{Abyssal Dragon Blade: Rakshasa}, {Azure Burst}, {Imploding Star}, {Flame of Darkness}, the {Sigil of Darkness}, and the {Divine Essence of Metallurgy} were activated.

Without waiting for the creatures to understand what was going on, he ran out of his hiding place, a swift wind chasing behind him.

A breath of condensation escaped his mouth as he swung his blades, beheading two {Chaos Goblins} at once. Blood sprayed over the helmet on his face as well as the metal surrounding him, but he didn't really bother about it.

Twisting the blades into a reverse grip, he stabbed backward. The tip of the blade pierced straight through the head of a {Chaos Goblin}. Gripping the blade tightly, he pulled up, splitting through the rest of its head, bits of bone and brain fragments littering the ground.

An angry roar resounded, and then a series of angry roars followed. This was the sound of more than a few regular Trolls and the Two-headed Troll.

'They noticed me rather quickly...'

Regardless, Cain continued his battle, cleaving and cutting through the bodies of the Aether beasts. He turned into a whirlwind of steel and blood, a purple fog floating around him as his speed and power gradually increased the more lives he reaped.

The cold wind wormed its way into the slits in the helmet and touched his face. Along with it came the coppery smell and taste of blood. However, he was too drunk in his high to notice. Thanks to the {Hand of Stingè}, he was able to fall into a state of battle lust far quicker than before.

He continued fighting with reckless abandon until the rest of the creature gathered around. The Two-headed {ChaosTroll} moved with incredible speed as it tried to catch up with him as soon as possible.

Seeing this, Cain slowed down a bit and allowed us to catch up a bit. Soon, just when it seemed as though he would be surrounded, he released an attack.

Maybe if one of them had been smart enough to look up, they would have noticed the sun of darkness burning right above their heads, just waiting to fall and reap their lives.

Cain summoned the {Seven Golden Stars} and activated {Nexus Tether}, quickly teleporting away from ground zero by linking the swords to form two separate arrays.

Cain had a concentrated expression on his face as he let the ball of black flames fall.

He had no idea how much the magic resistance of the Chaos creatures would affect the potency of the {Flame of Darkness}. However, he had seen the dreadful flames lick the flesh from the bones of creatures far more powerful than them.

Sure enough, as soon as the small sun of darkness descended, a wave of soul-scorching heat spread in all directions. Cain paled as he used {Wind Weaver} and {Nexus Tether} to move higher to escape the wave of flames. Even though he was the spell caster, the flames were still too hot for him to handle.

Meanwhile, a cacophony of yells suddenly came to an end as soon as the wave of flames washed over that portion of land.

Cain waited for the flames to clear up before he decided to descend. A crater was left in the wake of the spell. The bodies of most of the Chaos creatures had turned to dust. Only those that were at the edges were able to get far away from ground zero. However, the blast and residual heat were enough to claim their lives, so there wasn't much more of a difference.

Cain reached the glowing ground, his face furrowed.

'Too much. I have to find a more efficient way.' Not only did using all those skills at once drain his mana and energy resources, but it also wasn't necessary. It was basically overkill at this point...

While Cain was deep in his thoughts, his mind completely relaxed, something came flying at him from within the residual smoke.

Although he was quick, he was unable to react in time. He was barely able to bring the blade of his blade to block when the head of a spear collided with it.

Cain felt his feet lift from the ground as he was thrown backward.

'Powerful!' Cain's eyes searched within the smoke. Two pairs of glowing red eyes stared at him from within the smoke, filled with nothing but rage, fury, and an overwhelming desire to kill.

Cain felt his heart drop, 'It survived that?'

Cain knew these creatures were troublesome. But he never knew their troubles only increased the higher up in their caste he went.

The creature was incredibly wounded. However, it didn't seem tired. In fact, its eyes glowed with strength Cain was a bit familiar with. There were no signs of exhaustion on its body as well.

Cain heaved a sigh when he realized he couldn't escape proper hand-to-hand combat.

Thinking about it got him a bit fired up. The only good thing about fighting the Troll was the fighting itself...

Cain's eyes gleamed sharply, "If you want to throw fists, let's do it now before I lose patience."

Cain had no idea if the creature understood his words. However, seeing the look of rage transform into madness made him know it at least got the idea.

The two-headed {Chaos Troll} jumped carrying its huge Onyx battle axe overhead. Cain charged up a nasty {Abyssal Crimson Slash}, waiting for it to descend.

A resounding shock wave split the air and ground apart. Cain felt the creature's overwhelming strength, but he remained steadfast. He growled heavily as he pushed the large battle axe back. His body moved nimbly as he began with a mad flurry of attacks.

To his surprise, the creature didn't just fight him with reckless abandon. It used the large surface of its battle axe to block a majority of the attacks while waiting for an opportunity for a counterattack.

But Cain wasn't going to give it one. A smile appeared on his lips as he spun both blades into a reverse grip. Two metal chains materialized from the ground and shot up, grabbing its hands and pulling its huge weapon to the side.

The air rippled as his blades slashed across the creature's chest. Cain could feel its flesh tear apart through the vibrations transmitted through his blade. The feeling was exhilarating.

The creature released an earth shaking roar as it moved two steps back. However, it didn't relent. Instead, it continued smashing its battle axe forward in all directions.

Cain's movements were agile as he dodged or parried the attacks. He attacked the creature from everywhere. His blades seemed to materialize from all directions as he sliced and stabbed forward.

A cacophony of clashes resounded through the air. Sparks fell to the ground like shooting stars. Blood splattered across the grass and ground.

Cain's eyes were narrowed as his mind concentrated to the extreme. Dodging a terrifying attack that split through the air with a shrill scream, he stuck close to the creature's body.

Cain could feel the creature's panicked heartbeats as it fought desperately to find a way to attack him. His blade moved once again as it sliced through the creature's hamstring. With a cry of agony, the creature fell to one knee.

Cain charged up another {Abyssal Crimson Slash}. The creature desperately poured all of its Aether into its battle axe. The Onyx weapon glowed with all sorts of magical lights as it swung down furiously.

It was so fast, it nearly caught Cain by surprise. In the end, he was still faster. Twisting his body midair, he jumped up above the creature and swung his blade down.

The jump took him considerably high into the sky due to how light his body was. Once his feet touched the ground, he could feel the light drops of the creature's spluttering blood upon his armor.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned around to see the two halves of the creature falling to the back and front. It had been split horizontally from the top, giving Cain a rather detailed look at the creature's internal anatomy.

At this moment, the time limit for the {Sigil of Darkness} expired...