The majestic bison was standing alone in the land. No other animals dared to be in his way or close to him.
He was even bigger than Sirius thought — truly terrifying.
And he would be one of the people who would kill him, who would kill that enormous beast.
"So we'll execute the plan. I'll tank his attacks when needed with my shield. Sirius and Charlie, you'll try to attack his legs to slow him down. Zoe, try to make him bleed as much as possible, and Rosie, go for fatal blows."
All the group nodded. The only thing that could go badly was if Colin failed to block the bison, but he seemed confident in it, so there was no reason not to trust him.
Since the land was almost flat for kilometers, there was no way to ambush the bison or trap him — only a frontal attack was possible.
Sirius, even though the bison was really big, was quite excited to fight it. It was his first time fighting a non-human being, and battles often brought enlightenment. This fight could bring him closer to the late stage.
One doesn't gain enlightenment every fight nor advance a stage that easily. In his battle with Darin, Sirius had been lucky to gain enough insight to progress.
Not to mention that each stage is harder than the one before. Each realm is even more difficult. From early to mid stage of the Self Vision realm was the easiest among all stages and realms.
Charlie wasn't really in the mood. He didn't like blood, and a beast like that would bleed a lot. But he was forced to fight — after all, it was for both money and enlightenment. Without fighting, he'd get neither.
Enlightenment or power weren't really necessary in his life, but he really needed money. His sister was waiting at home, and no money meant no food.
Rosie, on the other hand, loved fighting, especially against beasts. Her weapon was made to kill giant monsters like this, and was terrible for fighting small ones — though it worked fine on humans.
She didn't care much about money, since she already had plenty. Nor about enlightenment — she was strong enough. All she cared about was fighting and killing.
Colin was more someone who fought for honor and to protect the city than anything else. His whole family were mercenaries. Protecting the city was his duty, and he was ready to die for it.
Money and women didn't interest him much, and he was confident he'd reach the Completion realm no matter what. So he wasn't fighting for enlightenment either.
As for Zoe, she didn't really care about anything — fighting, money, better stage. She had no idea what she wanted to do. Being a mercenary was just the beginning of the path until she figured it out.
She had lost her memory two years ago. The only things she remembered were how to write, speak, and her martial art stage and realm — nothing more.
The group was slowly approaching the bison. Patience was the key to victory, and rushing was the key to losing. There was no reason to charge into the bison just to save a few minutes and risk someone's life because of it.
The bison, seeing the group approach, charged at them, wanting the death of the intruders in his territory.
The group split at that moment. Charlie and Sirius moved in opposite directions. Zoe and Rosie, who had long weapons, stayed behind Colin, who held his shield with both hands, preparing to block the hit.
The bison, not seeing Charlie or Sirius, slammed into the shield. Colin took several steps back, astonished by the impact, yet he held his ground — and the shield.
Sirius took advantage of the charge and slashed his saber at the bison's left foreleg. The cut was narrow, but the bison was bleeding.
Charlie also attacked the foreleg. If both legs were cut, the bison would naturally fall, becoming an easy kill for Rosie and her zweihander.
While Rosie didn't find the chance to swing her massive zweihander, Zoe successfully thrust her spear twice, piercing into the bison's side with quick strikes.
The bison was bleeding, yet he didn't care in the slightest. He charged at Colin a second time, this time aiming with his massive horn instead of his body.
The shield nearly broke on impact. A hole appeared where the horn struck. Miraculously, Colin wasn't hit — but it had been close.
It seemed the bison was a bit stronger than they thought.But Rosie swung her zweihander into the bison's side, slicing the lower part of its back.
The bison screamed in pain.
But that wasn't all. Sirius and Charlie, who had followed the bison's charge — though slower — attacked the forelegs again, cutting deeper into the muscles.
The legs didn't fall off, but they were clearly damaged. If this had been a normal bison, its legs would have been severed long ago. But here, its legs were at least three times thicker — they couldn't be cut so easily.
Zoe pierced the body three more times before retreating. The group was currently winning.
But now the hardest part began — the shield was gone.
And while they were confident they could dodge the bison's massive body, it was another story for his horns, which — with his speed — could pierce through any of them and kill them instantly.
While a Self Vision martial artist's body is tougher than a normal human's, a two-meter horn coming at one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour would surely pierce through — not to mention the bison's immense strength.
Because yes — while human martial artists at the Self Vision realm were limited to around one hundred or one hundred and five kilometers per hour, beasts could go beyond that limit. A flying centaur at the peak stage once reached the monstrous speed of two hundreds km/h. The group who fought it had been obviously annihilated.
The battle had only just begun, yet they had already lost their ability to block the bison.It would not be an easy fight at all.