Back with Leo (Third-Person View).........
Leo was running in what the Leopards called the Shadow, and honestly, he was starting to freak out. From the normal Leopards he had tamed to other giant beasts, everything was roaming around them.
Weirdly enough, his instincts somehow felt at ease, as if using this place was supposed to be normal. After minutes of running, the Jaguar in front of him stopped. He looked at it; it gave a low growl before jumping into a newly generated shadow portal in front of them. Leo followed, along with the other beasts.
Soon, the shadowy scene was replaced with a magnificent landscape. Along with the sight, he was hit with a strange, missing feeling. In front of him was a mountain cliff with a magnificent fortress hanging on its side. What really piqued his interest was the spatial crack he saw behind it.
Coming closer to the gate, he noticed hundreds of life signs on the top of the wall and thousands more inside. Noticing an older man standing in front, Leo shifted back to human form as he walked closer.
"Nice to finally meet you in person, Leonard," Banri said, smiling and greeting Leo after passing the initial shock of what he'd just seen.
"Nice to meet you, and that must be the old fogey?" Leo asked, looking past Banri and seeing the old man being escorted by what looked like two guards.
"So, what were you going to do?" Banri signaled to the guards, who pushed the old man in front of Leo.
The old man looked Leo directly in the eyes with a smug, challenging expression.
"You look smug for a man about to be judged," Leo said, smirking. "I thought you'd be shaking by now."
"What? You think I'll be scared by a boy still wet behind the ears?" the old man rebuked with a snort.
"Well, I see it from another perspective," Leo said, his smile vanishing. His eyes instantly took on a lion's shape as he said simply, "Kneel."
Softly as he said it, every person present felt a shiver down their spine, but the one who was meant by the words felt a sudden, crushing weight, forcing him onto his knees in front of Leo.
"That's what a 'wet behind the ears' boy can do with one word," Leo said in a calm, freezing voice. "Now, would you like to talk on your own, or should I force you again?"
Under the shocked eyes of the people around, the old man looked up, the color completely drained from his face.
Most people in the fortress were normal guards or explorers who didn't understand the deeper meaning of what just happened, translating it only as a show of strength. Only the elders and "bookworms" of the clan realized that this was an Alpha Oppression—the higher the bloodline, the more the holder could force their will on lower-level beings. That explained why the wild and untamable beasts were following him so willingly.
As for Leo, he only used 'Beast Lord,' not knowing he had left such a sensation behind.
"Sigh. Han, just get on with it, or I'm going to have you turned into a nomad," Banri said, causing the old man in question to shake even more.
"I... was looking out for the family, and that little brat had the gall to refuse to honor the family with this small sacrifice," Han said. "Do you know what my standing has become among my fellow elders?"
He glared at Banri with a look that he wished could kill. "And you! As the Clan Leader, you refused it, too! Is that a Clan Head decision, or a father's one? What a disgrace!"
Banri glared back at him, and at the same time, his aura flared in rage, pressing Han down even more. You could hear the old man's bones crack under the pressure.
"You wanted me to force my daughter to sleep with every man in the clan, and you said it was a good idea? You really had the guts to bring this up? Where is your manhood? Where is your honor!" Banri roared, the shocking revelation hanging in the air for everyone to hear.
"I thought the three months I let you spend in the hospital was a clear answer, but now... I think I should have killed you on the spot." Banri increased the pressure, and Han started to scream in pain.
As a matter of fact, very few people knew about the crazy proposal, as very few knew the true reason behind it. The Shiroya clan, Leo's mother's family, was highly secretive, even in this advanced time, so very little was known about them. One thing they had found was that the spouse of a Shiroya would have their ability for soul energy manipulation (Reiatsu or Reioko) transferred to their partner. For the Rageheart family, this was a golden chance. By marrying her, Leo's father became a Free Walker, his self-imposed restrictions broken by the ability to control soul energy. Elder Han then came up with the crazy idea: Why not have her sleep with other clan men and see if they could also become Free Walkers? Of course, that ended badly for him.
"I see, so that's all this was about," Leo said from the side. Based on what he read in his mother's notes, books, and all the things left behind, he quickly reached a conclusion, but honestly, he didn't like the idea of someone planning something like that for his mother.
Uncontrollably, his aura manifested around him. Once the aura passed a certain level, it gained the form of a Giant Lion around him, snarling at them all. Everyone felt like a top predator was eyeing them; one slight move, and they would become its next meal.
Seeing Leo's condition, Banri cursed internally, forgetting that her son was just beside him. Now he knew he had kicked a sleeping lion.
"You retrogrades really think with your lower heads despite all the knowledge you've hoarded through the years," Leo's voice came out layered with a unique tone. "That property didn't come from the physical intimacy; it comes from a deeper bond, or else what are the mate and imprint for?"
"Later, I want a list with all the personnel involved," Leo demanded. He turned back, took a deep breath, and restrained his energy.
Out of nowhere, Han got the guts to try and rebuke Leo. The latter only gave him a side look, and Han was launched toward the fortress like a cannonball before he could even speak, embedding him there, unconscious.
Not giving them time to register what he'd done, Leo cracked his neck, and his claws appeared in full glory.
"We'll talk about all that shit later. You may want to step inside and raise your defenses," Leo said, looking toward the forest.
Banri looked at the forest and extended his senses. His face crumbled into a wary smile before he looked at Leo.
"Sorry, but seriously, did you expect me to keep my cool after that revelation?" Leo asked, understanding the look.
"Point taken," Banri said, looking up at the walls. "Raise the defenses! Wave coming!"
After the scream, three flares flew from the wall, lighting the night sky. The whole fortress stirred like a disturbed beehive. Guards scrambled to the top of the wall, and dozens of clan members with giant wall shields and spears rushed out. The gate shut closed behind them.
The unit leader, wielding a unique long spear and gear, screamed, "Formation!" and seventy-something men and women slammed their shields down in a fan formation.
Jumping to the back, the leader slammed his spear into the ground, and all the shields in front of him lit up, forming a force field in front of the fortress.
"Whistle. Neat trick," Leo murmured.
"Well, let's get going," Banri said, about to step beside the spear user.
Surprisingly, Leo denied him. "Nah, I'm cool here." Saying this, he whistled, and his allied beasts came to his side.
"Well, like father, like son," Banri sighed in defeat. He stepped beside Leo and shapeshifted, taking on a half-lion man form. The shift gave him another meter in height, with stronger arms and legs, and a long tail like a whip.
"Oh, so you're joining?" Leo smirked before looking at the forest as the cloud of dust and noise came closer. "Little advice: don't attack with killing intent. You'll like the result."
Leaving this cryptic instruction, he stepped forward to block a monkey's claw, sending it flying to smash against a tree trunk, knocking it unconscious.
"Facing a wave without killing? Okay, this is interesting," Banri muttered, balling his fists and wrapping them in Haki. He joined the fray, slamming the head of a Cheetah to the ground, using his perfect control to only knock it down.
While the grandfather and grandson duo worked havoc in the middle, the beast wave had already slammed into the force field. With the first impact, the guards on the walls let fly a wave of arrows, bullets, and energy blasts. Alongside them, the spear holders in the back stabbed their spears through the field, claiming the lives of dozens of beasts in a row. After retrieving their spears, the force field released a shockwave, accompanied by a scream from the shield holders, pushing the wave back along with the bodies.
Again, the beasts tried to crash the force field, and the cycle repeated for a few more interactions. Meanwhile, Leo noticed the intensity of the wave irritating him more than concerning.
'Why not just tame them in one go and be done with it?' Yaga came to his mind.
'How so? You know I need to win over them to get them tamed, right?' Leo asked confusedly.
'Well, if they were at your level, yes, but most of the strong ones here are at top-middle levels at best,' Amaterasu came back. 'Just charge a roar with the ability you used on the old man before.'
"Oh, I can try that," Leo said. He carefully approached Banri. "Any way to raise the shockwave range? I need space to try something."
Nodding, Banri looked at the leader, giving him a signal before putting his hand on Leo's shoulder. Rooting his legs on the ground, he surprisingly covered himself and Leo in Haki.
Right after, a devastating blast came from the force field, sending everything flying back toward the forest. Except for Leo and Banri, of course, as the shockwave bypassed them like a wave passing a rooted island.
"I kind of asked for space, not a final attack," Leo said. "But a cool trick, nevertheless."
"Well, that wasn't an attack by definition," Banri said. "By channeling the force behind the shockwave, it's more like an expulsion technique. Even low-level creatures can survive."
"Now what's the plan?" Banri asked, looking excited.
"We'll retreat close to the force field, and you stay behind me," Leo said.
As they retreated, the beasts in the forest started to attack again.
Leo stood in front, taking a deep breath. He then let out a defiant Roar. At first, the effect didn't come, leaving him a little nervous, but surprisingly, the wave started to slow. Then, they stopped right in front of Leo, and from the front, one by one, all the monsters knelt with their heads on the ground.
"Okay, I may start to like this," Leo murmured excitedly, as he now officially had an army of ten thousand something beasts under his command.
On the other side, every person there was shocked by the speed and manner in which he handled something that normally took days to stop.
"So you can use it like that," Banri let out an explosive laugh, filled with pride and excitement. As a matter of fact, he had the same gift as Leo, but never in his wildest imagination could he have thought it could be used like that, as it was a matter linked to how the two perceive the beasts and this whole forest.
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Well, any thoughts on the chapter and the other fanfic?
hope to see you in the next chapter.
You know, life can be ***** sometimes.