A crushing pressure suddenly descended upon the canyon. It felt like the entire forest was suffocating. Rudra's body began to tremble violently. Sweat poured down his face as he instinctively threw his arm out, pushing Abhay behind him.
Abhay stumbled back, completely bewildered. Without any cultivation, he couldn't sense the sheer terror of the Origin Energy that was choking the soldiers, but he could clearly see the absolute panic in Rudra's eyes.
BOOM!
A massive figure crashed into the canyon floor like a falling meteor. Dust and shattered rocks exploded in all directions. A deep crater formed on impact, spiderweb cracks spreading across the ground.
As the dust settled, a towering, seven-foot man stood up. He was built like a mountain, his dark, scarred skin gleaming in the moonlight. He wore no armor, only a deep, blood-red dhoti tied tight around his waist. Heavy iron shackles rested on both his wrists. A massive, jet-black greatsword was strapped to his broad back. His untamed black hair flowed wildly down to his waist.
The battle instantly stopped.
Seeing the giant emerge, the surviving Vyadhs immediately dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. "Forgive us, Overlord Vikraal!" they screamed in terror. "We tried to capture the Princess, but her guards overwhelmed us!"
Vikraal didn't even look at them. He walked slowly forward, completely ignoring the bleeding Pratap. He stopped in front of the Vyadh swordsman who had been fighting Pratap moments before.
"I gave you one simple order," Vikraal said, his voice cold and flat. "Bring the Princess to me without any complications. And you couldn't even do that?"
Vikraal finally cast a dead, blood-chilling glance over the kneeling hunters. "I could crush insects like you with my bare hands."
Dead silence fell over the canyon. Cold sweat dripped from the hunters' faces as they shook uncontrollably.
Pratap, barely standing, stared at Vikraal with blurring vision. Sur, Samar, and Rudra were frozen.
"Why... why are you all so scared of him?" Abhay whispered, terrified by the silence.
"His name is Vikraal," Rudra replied, his voice barely a breath. "He is an Adhipati... an Overlord of the Vyadh-Sangh. He leaves nothing alive."
After a long, suffocating silence, Vikraal sighed. "It seems I have to clean up this mess myself."
Hearing this, Pratap ground his teeth. He pressed one hand hard against his spilled intestines, tightly gripping his sword with the other. Using his Origin Energy, he had forcibly stopped his own bleeding just enough to stand. He braced himself for a final attack.
Vikraal turned his gaze to Pratap and took a step forward. Pratap tightened his grip, ready to strike.
But Vikraal simply vanished.
Before Pratap could even blink, Vikraal was standing right in front of him. Vikraal casually clenched his fist and punched Pratap squarely in the face.
CRUNCH.
The sheer, raw force of the blow instantly shattered Pratap's skull. His lifeless body was launched through the air like a ragdoll, smashing into the canyon wall right in front of his horrified friends. He was dead before he hit the ground.
"You fools are still stuck at 'Energy Gathering'?" Vikraal mocked softly. "I think the insect I just squashed had barely reached the initial phase."
"Pratap!" Sur screamed in pure agony. Blind with grief and rage, Sur charged straight at the giant. "I'll kill you, Vikraal!"
Sur swung wildly, but Vikraal lazily dodged every strike. "Is swinging a blade blindly all you know how to do?" Vikraal sneered. His eyes fell on Sur's fractured arm.
Vikraal suddenly grabbed the broken limb. "Let me show you what real pain is."
With a sickening crunch, Vikraal crushed Sur's broken arm between his massive hands. Bone and flesh ground together like a clay doll being mashed to dust.
Sur unleashed a blood-curdling scream. Vikraal just smiled, enjoying the music of his agony.
Seeing Sur being tortured, Samar completely lost his mind. Ignoring Rudra's desperate shout to stop, Samar hurled his throwing chakra directly at Vikraal's head.
But Vikraal didn't even try to dodge. He simply yanked Sur's body into the path of the blade. The sharp chakra buried itself deep into Sur's own back.
"VIKRAAL!" Samar roared, charging forward with his sword raised. "I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"
In a flash of movement, Vikraal grabbed Sur's mangled arm, brutally ripped it clean off his shoulder, and tossed the dying man to the ground.
As Samar brought his sword down, Vikraal caught the sharp blade with his bare, unarmored hands. Samar pushed with all his might, but the blade wouldn't budge. With a flick of his wrists, Vikraal snapped Samar's steel sword right down the middle.
Before Samar could react, Vikraal drove the broken, jagged half of the blade deep into Samar's stomach. With a brutal yank, he sliced upward, cutting Samar completely open. Samar collapsed into a pool of his own blood.
Vikraal casually pulled the bloody, broken blade from Samar's body and tossed it at the ground. It pierced straight through Sur's skull, ending his suffering instantly.
Out of the four royal guards, only Rudra remained. Vikraal slowly turned his head, his cold, dead eyes locking onto the heavily built soldier and the trembling boy in the black cloak.