Lr stories part 1: Power royale

Chapter 10: Attack of the Living War Boar, Part 2

Announcer 1: "Oh, it looks like our contenders aren't the only ones taking to the trees! Just when you thought they were safe, another challenger enters the fray! Things are about to get wild!"

Announcer 2: "Indeed, this is shaping up to be a brutal confrontation. With limited mobility in the trees, our contenders are at a serious disadvantage. This could be the end for some of them if they don't act fast."

William, Angelo, and Laurel clung to the branches of the towering trees, trying to stay as still as possible while the war boars circled below. Their muscles were tense, their breaths shallow, as they waited for the chaos to subside. But just as they began to think they might have a moment's peace, a voice broke the silence.

"Looks like I've found some tree monkeys. Mind if I join in the fun?"

The trio whipped their heads around to see a man standing casually on a branch just a few feet away. He was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes wild with a dangerous glint. He was tall and wiry, his clothes tattered and covered in dirt and blood. But what unnerved them the most was the way he seemed completely at ease, as if the world around him was nothing but a playground.

"Who the hell are you?" William growled, already preparing to summon metal spikes, though he was acutely aware of the limited space he had to work with.

The man tilted his head to the side, his grin widening. "Name's Nickolas. But you can call me Monkey Man. Everyone does."

"Monkey Man?" Angelo repeated, his eyes narrowing. "What kind of name is that?"

Nickolas—or Monkey Man—shrugged. "The kind you get when you don't really care about names anymore. Or reasons. Or... well, anything, really."

Laurel's eyes flashed red as he aimed his laser vision at Nickolas. "Get out of here, or I'll blast you out of the tree."

But before Laurel could fire, Nickolas vanished. There was no sound, no warning—just a blur, and suddenly he was gone.

"Where—?" William started, but he didn't have time to finish his sentence. Nickolas reappeared behind them, perched on another branch, laughing like a maniac.

"You guys are fun," Nickolas taunted. "Let's see how well you fight when you're stuck in a tree!"

Before they could react, Nickolas teleported again, this time right in front of William. He swung a fist, catching William square in the jaw and sending him reeling back against the tree trunk. The branch beneath him creaked ominously, and William had to scramble to keep from falling.

"Damn it!" William spat, trying to regain his balance. He tried to summon metal from his surroundings, but there was little to work with in the dense forest. The few scraps of metal he could find were slow to respond, and Nickolas was already on the move again.

Angelo shifted into a panther, his sleek form blending with the shadows as he tried to anticipate Nickolas's next move. But every time he thought he had him, Nickolas would teleport just out of reach, his mocking laughter echoing through the trees.

"You can't catch me!" Nickolas taunted. "I'm everywhere, and nowhere!"

Laurel fired his lasers, but Nickolas dodged them with ease, appearing and disappearing faster than the beams could hit him. He was toying with them, enjoying the chase.

"This is bad," Angelo muttered, shifting back into human form as he clung to a branch. "We can't get a bead on him. He's too fast."

William, nursing his bruised jaw, gritted his teeth. "We need to find a way to corner him. If we stay up here, he's just going to pick us off one by one."

But before they could come up with a plan, Nickolas struck again. This time, he teleported right behind Angelo, kicking him hard in the back and sending him crashing into the branches below. Angelo groaned in pain, barely catching himself before he fell to the ground.

Laurel tried to cover Angelo with more laser blasts, but Nickolas teleported out of the way, reappearing next to Laurel and grabbing him by the collar. With a swift motion, he slammed Laurel's head against the tree trunk, dazing him.

"Too easy!" Nickolas laughed, tossing Laurel aside like a ragdoll.

William's anger flared. He gathered all the metal he could find, shaping it into jagged spikes, and hurled them at Nickolas. But the madman simply teleported away, the spikes embedding harmlessly in the tree trunk.

"Getting frustrated, are we?" Nickolas sneered as he reappeared on a higher branch, looking down on them like a predator toying with its prey. "Maybe this game isn't as fun as I thought. Maybe it's time to finish it."

With that, he teleported again, launching himself at William. The impact was brutal, knocking the wind out of him as Nickolas's fists pounded into his ribs. William tried to fight back, but in the cramped space of the tree, his movements were slow and clumsy compared to Nickolas's blinding speed.

Angelo, still struggling to recover from the earlier hit, shifted into a hawk and swooped down at Nickolas, trying to distract him. But Nickolas saw him coming and teleported away, causing Angelo to miss his mark and crash into a branch.

Laurel, dazed but still conscious, fired another desperate laser blast, but Nickolas dodged it with ease. He was everywhere at once, and they couldn't keep up.

The trio was getting the shit kicked out of them, and they knew it. Every move they made was countered, every attack dodged or deflected. Nickolas was toying with them, and there was nothing they could do to stop him.

As the night wore on, and the war boars continued to roar below, the situation grew more desperate by the second. William, Angelo, and Laurel were battered, bruised, and outmatched. And as Nickolas laughed and taunted them from the branches, it became clear that this fight was far from over.

Announcer 1: "Oof! Our contenders are taking a real beating here! Looks like Monkey Man is having a blast at their expense!"

Announcer 2: "They're in a tough spot, that's for sure. With limited mobility in the trees and Nickolas's teleportation ability, they're at a serious disadvantage. If they don't find a way to turn this around soon, it could be game over for them."

As the moon continued to rise, casting eerie shadows over the battlefield, the trio knew they were in for the fight of their lives. And with every punch, kick, and teleportation strike from Nickolas, their chances of survival dwindled further.

To be continued...