Emperor of Soul Pets

Chapter 23: Victory or Defeat?

Puchi! Splat!

Blood rained down on Rao Wu as he drew his spear out of a Bugbear, and then charged at another. The seven-years-old youth was like a messenger of death as he stormed through the Bugbears, swiftly cutting them down before they could come close!

"Guo!" A few meters away, Ju Tu smashed through the Bugbears. Unlike Rao Wu, the Steelback Ape was akin to a sledgehammer. It bravely tanked the Bugbear's strikes and then retaliated with swift blows of its own, frequently leaving only bloody mush in its wake.

Rao Wu, having confirmed Ju Tu's progress, briefly scanned the other battle occurring a few dozen meters away from them. The two Bugbear tribes were in the midst of a terrible confrontation. The struggle seemed fair, but Rao Wu knew that the tables would swiftly turn once one Bugbear Lord fell. "Let's finish this up quick!"

"Guo!" Following Rao Wu's shout, Ju Tu completely abandoned defense and switched to an all-out attack. Ignoring the Bugbears' acid which ate into its skin, the Steelback Ape rampaged, crushing several Bugbears beneath the clubs it stole.

Rao Wu, meanwhile, also became more aggressive, choosing to switch out the spear for his trusted bone dagger. The bone spear was a good weapon, but Rao Wu often adopted a passive stance when using it. With the spear, he would either bait an enemy or dodge an attack and then unleash a lethal blow to kill them off. This strategy worked perfectly when fighting strong enemies that he did not want to get too close to but hampered his aggressiveness in a group fight.

With the bone dagger, however, Rao Wu's savage personality rose to the fore. Like a demon hound, he charged into the Bugbear's midst and swung the blade like an extended claw. Like any jungle monster, he did whatever it took to win with minimal injuries. He crawled on the ground, latched onto Bugbears, bit arms, and shamelessly threw sand into their eyes. To Rao Wu, there was no such thing as an honorable battle, only the living and the dead.

Rao Wu's unruly, unorthodox fighting style greatly confused the Bugbears who had never faced a foe like this. The youth took advantage of their confusion to slice them up, eventually losing himself to the bloodlust and roaring adrenalin.

Rao Wu did not know how long he was immersed in the bloodlust. Surrounded on all sides, he could only give in to his animal instincts to survive. Blood and gore spilled around the child until a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"RAAA!" Rao Wu shouted as he spun around to stab whomever it was on instinct.

Thunk!

Shockingly, the bone dagger failed to pierce the target. Rao Wu only then looked up to see Ju Tu looking at him with a worried gaze.

"Guo~."

"Ah. Sorry. I did it again." Rao Wu shook his head as he gave Ju Tu an apologetic look. The bloodlust was something that had plagued Rao Wu for as long as he could remember. From experience, the bloodlust was triggered when he killed multiple foes in quick succession in an agitated situation. Whenever it happened, Rao Wu would enter an extremely excited state and begin attacking everything in sight, friend and foe alike.

The bloodlust was something that affected all Beastkin. Rao Wu was not too worried because he could retain his reason as long as he kept up with his cultivation. However, it could be a worry if he ever had to fight on a team.

"Thanks, Ju Tu," Rao Wu thanked the Steelback Ape as he pushed the incident to the back of his mind. He would worry about the bloodlust later. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand. A quick glance across the plains revealed that both sides were still in combat, albeit coming to a conclusion.

As Rao Wu expected, the tribe of the Bugbear Lord they were familiar with looked like they were just about to clinch the victory.

Rao Wu's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the fight. He did not want to get involved in such a messy brawl. For all he knew, both sides could suddenly focus on him once he was in their midst. However, just because he was not getting into the fight, did not mean he could not turn swing things in his favor. "Let's throw in a little chaos."