Chapter 137: Fighting the team

Ethan flowed through shadows like liquid darkness, his enhanced speed carrying him across open space in the span between heartbeats. The cave’s irregular walls provided concealment while the ongoing territorial dispute outside dominated the team’s attention.

Eight meters. Six meters. Four meters.

Torres remained focused on his communication equipment, monitoring frequencies for any word from Lord Vance or other operational units. His positioning created a blind spot that Ethan exploited with surgical precision.

Two meters. Perfect angle.

The Low-Gold captain’s enhanced senses detected movement at the last possible second. His head began turning toward potential threat—

Too late. But not helpless.

Torres’s Low-Gold reflexes activated with desperate efficiency. Enhanced speed carried him sideways while his defensive talent blazed to life, creating a barrier of crystallized air that would deflect most attacks.

Ethan’s fire-enhanced strike met the improvised defense in a collision that sent shockwaves through the cave system. The barrier held for exactly one heartbeat before superior force overwhelmed hastily constructed protection.

CRACK!

The defensive construct shattered like glass, but it had served its purpose. Instead of a killing blow to the skull, Ethan’s attack carved a devastating furrow across Torres’s left shoulder and chest.

SCREAM!

Torres’s cry of agony echoed through stone corridors as enhanced flames seared through muscle and bone. His left arm hung useless while blood fountained from wounds that would have killed a Silver-rank fighter instantly.

Injured but alive. Time for the follow-up.

But Ethan was already moving, his Enhanced Speed carrying him through Torres’s compromised defenses. The Low-Gold captain tried to retreat while activating emergency combat protocols, but shock and blood loss slowed his reactions fatally.

Wind blades materialized around Ethan’s position, compressed air sharpened to cutting edges that sliced through Torres’s remaining defenses. The invisible attacks struck from multiple angles simultaneously.

Multiple hits. Lethal damage confirmed.

Torres collapsed as wind magic severed vital arteries throughout his torso. His communication equipment clattered across stone floor while his death throes disturbed loose rocks from overhead.

One down. Six to go.

But the noise had consequences. Torres’s scream and the sound of falling stones echoed through connected cave systems, alerting every member of the enemy team to hostile presence.

“Contact! Contact in the caves!”

Harrison’s voice boomed through stone corridors as the Mid-Gold captain coordinated immediate response. Boot steps thundered against rock as five Peak-Silver operatives moved to support their commander.

“Torres is down! Unknown hostile in the eastern passages!”

Time for psychological warfare.

Ethan activated his newest transformation as enemy forces converged on his position. Power flowed through his enhanced physiology as human form dissolved into apex predator magnificence.

Bones extended and muscles swelled as the Apex Mane transformation took hold. Golden fur rippled across expanding limbs while predatory instincts awakened in his consciousness. Enhanced senses revealed the exact positioning of every approaching enemy.

Mid-Gold physical enhancement. Time to test this properly.

The transformation completed just as Harrison burst into the cave chamber, his Mid-Gold aura blazing with combat readiness. Behind him, five Peak-Silver operatives spread into tactical formation.

“What the hell—”

Harrison’s words died as he processed the impossible sight before him. Where they’d expected to find an infiltrator, they found an apex predator that radiated power matching his own rank.

“It’s a shapeshifter! Mid-Gold rank!”

Finally. Opponents worth testing enhanced capabilities against.

The Apex Mane form brought clarity that his human consciousness couldn’t match. Every scent, every heartbeat, every micro-expression became data points in a predatory calculus that calculated optimal violence.

Harrison moved first, his sword blazing with Mid-Gold enhancement as he sought to eliminate the threat before it could cause further casualties. His tactical training demanded aggressive response to unknown variables.

Steel meets claw. Classic confrontation.

Ethan met the blade with enhanced talons, the collision creating sparks that illuminated cave walls in stroboscopic patterns. Harrison’s weapon technique was impressive—decades of training evident in precise cuts that sought vital points.

But the Apex Mane transformation provided instincts that transcended learned skill. Predatory patterns flowed through enhanced muscles, each movement optimized for maximum efficiency.

Duck. Weave. Strike.

Harrison’s overhead slash met empty air as Ethan flowed around the attack with feline grace. His counterattack raked across the captain’s armored torso, enhanced claws carving furrows through steel plate.

First blood to me.

“Support the captain! Coordinated assault!”

The five Peak-Silver operatives attacked simultaneously, their weapons seeking to overwhelm him through superior numbers. Swords, spears, and magical projectiles converged on his position from multiple angles.

Pack tactics. Intelligent response.

But the Apex Mane transformation had evolved to handle exactly this type of threat. Enhanced speed carried him through their formation while supernatural strength turned their coordination into vulnerability.

A casual swipe removed one operative’s head completely. Another fell as enhanced teeth found his throat. The third died screaming as claws opened his torso from sternum to pelvis.

Three down in as many seconds.

Harrison pressed his attack while his subordinates died around him, professional discipline overriding the horror of watching his team dismantled. His blade work intensified, seeking to trade injuries that might slow the creature’s rampage.

“Stand firm! We can take it down!”

The remaining two Peak-Silver operatives tried to flank while Harrison maintained frontal assault pressure. Their coordination suggested extensive combat experience—these weren’t ordinary soldiers but elite specialists.

Worthy opponents. Finally.

The confined space of the cave system worked against the operatives’ tactical flexibility while favoring the apex predator’s natural advantages. Enhanced strength allowed him to use the environment itself as a weapon.

Limited time before they adapt. Need to finish this quickly.

The Apex Mane form provided solutions that human tactics couldn’t match. Enhanced strength allowed him to literally throw one operative into the cave wall with bone-shattering force.

CRUNCH!

The man’s spine snapped on impact, his body crumpling like a broken doll. His companion tried to retreat while maintaining defensive posture, but apex predators didn’t allow escape.

Enhanced speed carried Ethan across the intervening distance faster than thought. Claws found the operative’s throat before he could raise his weapon, ending the threat with surgical precision.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep