Aris felt a slight fear rise to his head.
A steady shiver that dried out his throat.
All this time, he had thought that the fennecs were simply growing more numerous without actually improving, and remained stupid until the very end.
That allowed him to keep an advantage on their attack patterns and the way they reacted in certain situations. He knew them very well up until now and could see more or less where their strengths and intelligence lay.
Aris knew very well that the fennecs were almost harmless; however, they often fought in groups, and that made them troublesome. They surrounded their prey and sometimes all leapt on it at once, while others tried to bite its ankles or attack below the waist.
Even though he criticized their tactics a lot, it allowed him to stay above them in all his fights, without losing sight of his objective: to eat and survive.
But the situation had been reversed...
It turned out that the fennecs themselves had evolved. They were faster, stronger, smarter, and tougher than they had ever been.
Aris had not even managed to take down three since the beginning of the fight — something he would have done easily before.
In fact, Aris had been trapped, in a way. By getting used to the mediocre level of the fennecs, he had never changed the way he thought about them.
His fighting style, based on the surprise of knife throws and his way of using the environment to his advantage, had been made to fit insignificant, harmless fennecs.
But that was no longer the case...
First of all, he had faced that fox, which had not only taken more time but also more cunning and strength. The fox was more calculating and stronger, but Aris had simply considered it as just a stronger fennec.
That was partly true, but the fight had been harder as a result.
Now, the fennecs hiding behind the rock, waiting for the fight to end, had also been boosted. Their strength and agility increased, as well as their toughness and intelligence.
The fennec biting him had cleverly dodged his arm to climb onto it and attack his face. Its bite was more powerful than the dozens Aris had endured before, and its reaction time was clearly better.
If Aris followed that logic, then any beast in this gray desert was bound, one day, to gain the strength of the beast above it.
If it was just a matter of simple evolution, then the fennecs might be destined to become foxes, and the foxes perhaps wolves or dogs. And by evolving this way, in the end, not only would he have to face beasts the size of mountains, but even the ones just below might still bite into his flesh as if it were nothing more than a rag.
Aris realized just how deep in trouble he was.
He knew he was known as the strongest man in the world. His physical strength, his combat intelligence, and above all his ability to perfectly read every style and to know how to wield any weapon terrified soldiers just at the sound of his name.
Aris was the symbol of strength in the human world, and he used that strength to inspire and lead all who wished it.
But in the lands of the West, being as strong as Aris was worth absolutely nothing — except perhaps prolonging his life by three days at most.
For the simple reason that it was impossible to eat, and Aris had eaten nothing since the beginning of his journey. The only thing he had put in his mouth were fennec balls no bigger than a marble.
Sometimes he tried the fattier, disgusting organs. He managed to empty them out and tried to eat only the meat. It was vile, but it sufficed.
His stomach had stopped crying out in hunger, and instead the hunger had been replaced by an immense desire to tear apart and annihilate every trace of life.
He had managed to suppress it for now thanks to his mental strength, but he knew it would not last.
In fact, as soon as a fight began, he no longer held back much.
But it was not enough. The fennec was already tearing pieces off his armor. The fox had probably been stronger, but given how things were evolving, the beasts hiding deeper in the western lands were going to crush him completely.
And that, even if he was the strongest man in the world…
Aris cursed and hurled the fennec onto the ground with a quick movement of his arm.
The fennec, not surprised, landed neatly on the ground and rushed at his opponent again.
Aris looked at the beast with a worried gaze and furrowed his brow.
"Sh.t..Sh.t..Sh.t."
The others were already surrounding him while the dead fox was still hanging onto the jagged wall.
Aris tried, as best as he could, to calm himself, but the situation was anything but favorable for that. Instead, he had a thousand reasons to panic.
Yet he did not, because he knew it would only lead him straight to his death.
'Sure, they've grown stronger, and I need to get used to that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to lose. Their increase in power isn't glorious either. I only got worried thinking about the future, but for now…'
Regaining his composure little by little, Aris dove toward a small separated group of fennecs.
He rolled forward before suddenly propelling himself with his arms, soaring a good meter above the ground. Despite the hunger and the lack of energy, he hadn't lost his acrobatic prowess. Even if it was less impressive than at his peak, the fallen king was still capable of such feats.
He leapt over the stunned fennecs and landed gracefully beside one that was still struggling to pull the knife from its jaw.
Aris ripped the blade out violently, slicing the beast's head clean in two.
It was neat, sharp, and precise.
Then, he rose with a cold gaze and fixed his eyes on the small group of fennecs already turning on him.
He had no time to think…
Aris exhaled calmly, closing his eyes, as the first fennec already leapt at his face.
That too was new. Originally, the little beasts weren't supposed to jump that high. Aris was nearly one meter ninety, so reaching that height was impressive, even for the small fennecs.
Aris exhaled again, sharpened his senses, and managed to pinpoint the exact position of the fennec in the air. Then, in a movement almost blurred and ghostlike, a flashing curved white line tore through the space. The fennec didn't even realize it had been cut so its expression never changed as its body split cleanly in two midair, both halves avoiding the fallen king's body with eerie precision.
Aris was still a king. And on top of that, he was the strongest man in the world. Simple fennecs like them were never supposed to be anything more than punching bags for his training.
So he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze colder than ever. The fennecs suddenly backed away, sensing that something was terribly wrong.
Then, a spark of madness mingled with the chilling dominance of the dethroned king.
Soon, a narcissistic smile spread across his face, making the terrified beasts tremble even more.
It was that damned murderous instinct again—the one that had been manifesting ever since he began devouring beasts. That same instinct that screamed at him every single moment…
"KILL!!!"