As soon as the message disappeared, all the Werehyenas looked straight at me. The Boss then woke up almost immediately. It's soul-piercing scarlet eyes staring straight at me. It then moved its head as if signalling the Werehyenas to attack me. The alphas and squad leaders or rather omegas, stayed behind. Seemed like they were more than confident that five hundred normies were enough to take me down. Wouldn't blame them. Even I had doubts if I could take them all on but if I don't try, then I'll regret it. My life is on the line here. I'll struggle till 'the end of days' if it comes to it. An entire army of five hundred Werehyenas started charging at me. They'd even constantly topple over one another but that didn't stop them. I felt like backing up but then remembered a certain saying I've heard from somewhere; if you feel like taking a step back, take two steps forward. So I did just that. Next thing I knew I was running full speed ahead to what might quite possibly be my death. So I gathered as much Mana as I could on to my fist, activated my Brawler Skill...
"Now, let's see just what exactly you're made of newbie Skill of mine."
Then launched a punch. It wasn't directed at any specific Werehyena. What happened next honestly scared me. A rain of blood, what looked like nearly countless guts and dog body parts fell down and some splattered across the terrain. The enemy forces were reduced to about 70 maybe 60%. 180+ normal Werehyenas were dead. Additionally about 50 to 60 alphas all died without even getting the chance to do anything.
"You're kidding! One single punch didthat!!?"
I couldn't believe it....
"Ohhohoho...ohhhohohohohhah...ohhhohohohohhahahohh! Heh-heh-heeihh! This is gonna be fun."
~Slurp~
I licked my lips and smiled. Then, sparring not a single second to waste, charged at the Werehyenas that were left. They all looked baffled at what had just happened, especially the Boss. I still don't know why that weirds me out, it's not like they're mindless beasts so of course they're aware of what's happening. Their viciousness tends to throw me off really.
Anyway. I started doing the same thing I did before. I gathered loads of my Mana onto my fists then punched away continuously. All the normies attacked ever so vigorously then the alphas also joined in while the omegas and the Boss watched. They surrounded me from all sides attacking almost in unison. Some would constantly climb on my back and try to bite my head off while others went for my legs so to solve the first problem I'd allow myself to fall hard on my back and for the second, gather Mana onto my feet then use the Brawler Skill to kill them all with kicks of incredible force and power. I continued with my fist full assault, punches coming from all directions, elbow blows, headbutts, knee hits and uppercuts for all those who came too close for me to launch a straight forward punch. None of the punches I launched were aimed at any specific Werehyena though, each punch took out a large number of them but I then noticed something strange was beginning to happen.
Each time I punched, the number of how many Werehyenas fell at once decreased, one time it was about fifty then went down to about thirty, then twenty. Until it came at a point where all the Werehyenas I could take down with each punch was at most twelve or ten. The punches took a lot of Mana and stamina also and since my Mana is the lowest of the low, all I was left to rely on was my stamina, an aspect of my Health Stat which, while significantly above that of average Warriors, was not enough. There were about 80 normies and 15 alphas left, I hadn't touched any of the omegas along with the Boss so it was fair to say I was in quite the tough spot considering how my efficiency was depleting. Worse enough, the Boss noticed. So it then signalled all the normies to start attacking more violently. I was getting tired, significantly tired.
Sweat ran down my head as I was beginning to gasp for air. The number of Werehyenas I could take down with each punch dropped straight to one and then to zero as my punches started to merely injured them by sending them flying without killing them.
"Crap, this is bad."
Ten normies then jumped at me forcing me to fall on my knees as I covered my head with my hands and arms. Brawler and Treasure Hunt both deactivated. I felt indescribable pain as they continuosly gnawed and clawed at my back and arms. Piercing into my very skin, their claws and teeth even reaching my bones as blood dripped out continuously from the wounds.
"Shit, is this really how I'm gonna die? No, I can't accept it! I won't accept it! Not like this, not after all I've been through! My ambitions, my resolve, my will! You think I'm gonna let a bunch of mangy mutts turn it all into nothing! LIKE! HELL!"
Mustering all the strength I had left, I busted out of their pin, stood up and flinged my arms out with amazing force and delivered a war cry.
"GET THE HELL OFF OF MEE!!!"
The force alone created a powerful shockwave that sent all the Werehyenas surrounding me flying ten to twenty metres away. I looked at all the wounds they inflicted on me.
"God! This hurts like a biatch!"
The bleeding wouldn't stop and I started to feel a slight dizziness as I grabbed my head with my right hand.
"Still though, it's weird. It doesn't look like they were trying to kill me. Did they want to just tire me out then send me to their Boss so that thatbastard would launch the finishing move? If that's the case then..."
I looked at the Boss and gave the bastard my own dose of a soul-piercing gaze.
"You're really going to regret making that decision..."
The Werehyenas weren't attacking anymore, they just stood there staring at me, wary, as if they were trying to decide whether or not I may still pose a threat. I was bleeding a lot and couldn't even stand straight signalling a weakened state but my face, my expression...screamed anything but.
"Hoo, one-thousand two-hundred and forty Intelligence Stat and what do I have to show for it? A half-assed use of Mana simply because I was too excited about gaining a new cool Skill. Seriously, I should take these wounds as punishment for my ignorance. But now that that's out of the way, a reward for my reflection? Mhh, enlightenment sounds about right. That thing I did before I gained Sunset Slash increased both my instincts and sensory perception and made them one. I think I should call it Astral Unification. It had that much of a crazy effect and that was before my Treasure Hunt Skill even reached B-Rank and my Intelligence Stats entered the thousand realm, so if I do it again now what with all my physical related Stats in the thousand realm plus my high-ranked Treasure Hunt Skill then..."
I tried it out.
Second time doing Astral Unification so I didn't close my eyes since I had gotten the hang of it. I inhaled and exhaled a few times, calmness unlike any other permeated throughout my very soul. My self-awareness spiked up once again. I activated my Bladework Skill to increase mainly both my Health and Intelligence Stat then activated my Treasure Hunt Skill and a buckload of information then entered my brain, I could see everything, hear everything, feel everything, all that was under the Treasure Hunt surveillance was under my watch.
The info was enough to make any normal human being go mad but with all my physical related Stats in the thousand realm playing a part, especially the Intelligence Stat, my senses were heightened beyond measure instead of them going haywire. Again, my brain was the source, from it, Mana circulated throughout my entire body.
The manifestation of one's subconscious mind creating a connection between my instincts and self-realisation, making them one. I then finished the preparations as the Astral Unification from before was complete but I didn't feel satisfied. It felt imperfect, like there was room for improvement. I realised that I had only noticed it now due to my increased Intelligence Stat. Then the more I increase said-Stat, the more I can understand about Mana manipulation I figured. So I went ahead and tried to improve the Astral Unification.
"The Mana being circulated is, similar to the one I had gathered to my fist when I launched those punches, raw. But unlike the one being circulated, the one from the punches was being, in a word, 'wasted'. All I was doing was making it burst at large quantities with each punch in an attempt to increase the firepower, but I can still achieve the same effect and still save considerable amounts of Mana. If I take the circulated Mana, fine-tune it, increase its concentration and density then...whoa...! Ue-freaking-rica!"
I felt an incredible sense of relief overflowing through my body. As if a number of impurities within my body were being washed away. My wounds slowly started to heal as the bleeding stopped while the Werehyenas started to look a lot more wary than before, but I doubted the Astral Unification would give me regenerative abilities, rather it seemed like something that only happened due to the 'enlightenment' so it wasn't guaranteed if it'd happen again anytime soon thus I prevented myself from getting my hopes up. What mattered was that I was back to full strength so I stopped the Astral Unification and then checked out the changes it brought. All my senses were almost ten fold greater than before.
My Treasure Hunt Skill was still active so I activated the Brawler Skill in addition, gathered Mana onto my fist. The nature of said Mana had changed significantly to a more dense and concentrated form. This time I wasn't gonna let it explode with every punch. Rather I'd keep the Mana circulated on my fists then only explode the force of my punches, generated by the Mana through each clash. The Mana was in the form of multiple circles surrounding the fists constantly rotating at alarming speeds.
Looking at all my foes, those damned mutts, I stuck out my left arm, bent my right arm moving it backwards, and did the same with my legs too. A stance that basically screamed; "this punch is for the big leagues". The Werehyenas started backing up as if they instinctively knew they weren't safe. The words I uttered next, while they weren't whispered, it was indeed a Special Attack...
"Demolition Strike."