Primitive Man

Chapter 240: Familiar yet different

Garnt felt something strange about this place. The trees, the fallen leaves, the distant roar of a dinosaur – it all felt eerily familiar. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind as he focused on the task at hand. The massive dinosaur ahead of them was a formidable foe, but Garnt knew they had no choice but to face it head-on.

Upon arriving at the place where the conflict was happening, he quickly felt relieved as his suspicion was confirmed: Toga was indeed there, frozen in fear. Garnt promptly sprang into action.

The ground trembled with each thunderous step of the beast. Garnt glanced at Unami, who nodded in silent agreement. They had faced dangers before, and they would face this one together.

"Ready?" Garnt asked, gripping his weapon tightly.

Unami gave a determined nod. "Ready."

The dinosaur roared, its massive jaws snapping hungrily. Garnt led the charge, his heart pounding with adrenaline as he sprinted towards the creature. The villagers followed their weapons at the ready.

"Spread out!" Garnt commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Don't let it focus on any one of us!"

The villagers moved swiftly, flanking the dinosaur and attacking from all sides. Garnt darted in, slashing at the beast's thick hide with his blade. It was tough, much tougher than he had anticipated, but he pressed on, determined to bring it down.

Unami fired a series of powerful blasts, each one hitting its mark with deadly precision. The dinosaur roared in pain and fury, thrashing wildly as it tried to shake off its attackers.

"Keep it distracted!" Garnt shouted, dodging a swipe from the creature's massive tail. He glanced around, noting the positions of his people. They were holding their ground, fighting with everything they had.

As the battle raged on, Garnt saw an opening. He sprinted forward, leaping onto a rock and then onto the dinosaur's back. His dagger was poised for the fatal blow, but as he struck, he realized just how formidable his opponent truly was.

"This is impossible! This toughness! Nobody told me about this," Garnt muttered through gritted teeth. The dinosaur bucked and thrashed, trying to shake him off. Garnt's grip faltered, and he tumbled from the creature's back, hitting the ground hard.

He struggled to get up, his body aching from the fall. The dinosaur turned its attention to him, its massive foot coming down to crush him. Garnt braced himself for the impact, knowing he was out of time.

Suddenly, a barrage of blasts echoed through the air, piercing the silence of the moment with thunderous reverberations. Garnt's eyes widened in astonishment as he looked up to see Unami and several others from the village, their weapons trained on the wounded dinosaur.

Without a moment's hesitation, they unleashed a volley of projectiles of explosions, each one finding its mark with deadly accuracy. The dinosaur roared in agony as it staggered under the onslaught, blood spilling from its wounds as it finally succumbed to its injuries.

"Phew! These weapons are really great," one of the villagers commented, looking at Unami, who nodded her head in agreement. She looked at Garnt, only to see his attention was on Toga, who had been watching the entire battle.

"Are you alright, Toga?" Garnt asked, concern etched into his features as he approached Toga's side.

Toga nodded, still reeling from the adrenaline rush of the encounter. "I... I'm fine. Thank you. I... I didn't realize...it was this strong."

Garnt laid a reassuring hand on Toga's shoulder, his eyes filled with understanding. "We're all in this together, Toga. No matter what differences may divide us, when it comes down to it, we're all part of the same race. I have the duty of protecting each and every one of you."

Toga swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat as he nodded in silent agreement. At that moment, surrounded by the camaraderie of his fellow villagers, he realized that perhaps there was more to earning respect than just proving one's strength in battle.

"This man! So my father learnt his battle arts and behaviour from him...maybe I have to learn from him to defeat him." Even at this moment, he thought about how to take his revenge, despite being saved by the kindness of Garnt.

As they gathered around the fallen dinosaur, ready to tend to its wounds and salvage what they could, Toga felt a newfound sense of belonging wash over him. And though the road ahead would undoubtedly be fraught with challenges, he knew things wouldn't be bad for them if they stuck together.

But all of this happened until they started to hear the noises of the vehicles approaching them, which Garnt quickly recognized.

"They are coming! They are getting awfully close to us. We have no time, let's move," Garnt wanted to keep their hideout a secret from the crazy woman called Mia who was chasing after him and Eva, but it was too late for him, as several vehicles surrounded the area.

Out of the trucks, several soldiers clad in dark uniforms spilt onto the scene, their weapons at the ready. One of them, a stern-looking officer, stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Garnt and the villagers.

[General Oswald!]

Eva commented, as soon as she saw the stern looking man, and Garnt quickly wanted an explanation because he knew things were not looking good for them.

"This is-" It was a surprise for the general to see a dead dinosaur so up close, so he knew it was one of the chances of his lifetime, but at the same time he never expected to find Garnt so easily, after only two days they deployed from the camp.

"I guess we should have avoided the large battles, after all, these weapons are damn loud," Garnt commented, and kept looking at the general knowing he could easily kill his people since they were surrounded by several guns.

"Young man, shall we talk? Or should I say, young woman? Eva, let's talk!" Oswald suddenly said looking at Garnt, and he knew things were going to get troublesome for them.

Garnt's mind raced as he took in the scene. The soldiers, the fallen dinosaur, the stern officer. It all felt eerily familiar, as if he had experienced this moment before. He shook his head, trying to dispel the unsettling déjà vu. Now wasn't the time to lose focus. He had to protect his people.

General Oswald stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized Garnt. "Young woman, Eva, let's talk," he repeated, his voice cold and commanding.

Garnt's jaw tightened. He knew there was no escaping this confrontation. He glanced at Toga, who was still recovering from the adrenaline rush of the dinosaur attack. Garnt put a reassuring hand on Toga's shoulder before stepping forward to face Oswald.

"General," Garnt said, his voice steady, "what is it you want from us?"

Oswald's gaze flicked to the fallen dinosaur, then back to Garnt. "Impressive work, taking down that beast. But I'm more interested in you, Garnt. Or should I say, Eva?"

Garnt's eyes flashed with anger. "My name is Garnt. I don't care about your suspicions or your accusations. We just want to live in peace."

Oswald smirked. "Peace? In this world? You know better than that. You've been a thorn in our side for too long, Garnt. It's time to settle things."

Garnt's mind was racing. He needed to buy time, to figure out a way to protect his people. He glanced around, noting the positions of the soldiers and the villagers. They were outnumbered and outgunned, but Garnt had faced worse odds before.

"I don't want a fight," Garnt said, his voice calm but firm. "But I won't let you harm my people."

Oswald's smirk faded, replaced by a cold, calculating expression. "You're in no position to make demands, Garnt. You're coming with us, and so are your people."

Garnt's heart pounded in his chest. He knew he couldn't let that happen. He needed a plan, a way to turn the tables. He glanced at Unami, who was standing nearby, her eyes filled with worry but also determination.

"Unami," Garnt said quietly, "get ready."

Unami nodded, understanding instantly. She moved subtly, positioning herself closer to the other villagers.

Oswald noticed the movement and barked an order. "Don't even think about it!" But it wasn't the trigger that stopped the motion of the group, rather a woman clad in a white coat and messy hair got out of the truck, as if she haven't seen better days in her life.

She shot the pistol she was holding at Garnt, slightly missing her target. At that moment, Garnt could only feel a sense of familiarity with this woman and the strange feeling that these events might have already happened in his life.

Oswald felt confused because she wasn't supposed to be with them, but seeing her shoot one of his soldiers made him both confused and angry. It didn't take long for her to disappear from the spot where she was standing and appear before Garnt in a flash.

"You brat! You and that stupid woman, I knew you would do this to me," she shouted in anger, holding Garnt in the air and showing her superior strength, which confused everyone because it looked almost impossible for her to do that given her body size.