Chapter 232: Bros to the Rescue
Jacks Meteor Punch turned night into day. A purple sun blazed into existence, disintegrating the red tent and scattering any materials that survived. The strike kept going, annihilating another tent before crashing into the far wall of the canyon and causing a part of it to collapse.
At the same time, the shockwave of the attack was unleashed at a wider range, blowing a tent clean off its base and sending multiple guards flying. As for the cage behind Jack, though it had been struck by a mighty wind, it remained unmoved.
In the blink of an eye, half the camp had been destroyed. Such was the power of an immortal.
Good fucking morning! Jack shouted. Come out to meet your daddy!
A hostile aura burst out of the red tents remnants. It was a black sphere arced with lightning, and two large, red eyes hovered in its middle, staring down at Jack.
Who dares attack me? an imposing female voice rang across the canyon, snuffing out the cries of the injured.
Come here and find out! Jack roared back.
The black aura parted, revealing a female centaur standing in its midst. Blood ran down the side of her face, while one of her four legs was broken. She didnt seem to care. Her eyes were burning with rage, scanning Jack like she was about to tear him apart.
She was a weird person to look at. Her face was soft and circular, with beautiful features. Blond hair cascaded down her back, creating an image of purity which was instantly shattered by the sheer cruelty visible in her eyes, a gaze made to terrorize whoever met it.
Jack scanned her again.
Centaur, Level 210
Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)
Title: Fourth Ring Conqueror
Two hundred and ten. Seventy-eight levels over himseven hundred and eighty stat points, along with a greater storage of Dao energy.
A powerful adversary.
But she stood alone.
The two early D-Grades lay in the rubble behind herthe human was dead, his chest caved in, while the feshkur was still bleeding out. Jacks attack had cracked his skull, broken several limbs, and burned his entire back.
Even though these two immortals were of a slightly higher level than Jack, they couldnt handle his surprise attack.
The centaur did not spare them a single look. Neither did she glance at the many dead or injured guards who were running away. Her eyes remained glued on Jacks, and the terror they brewed only intensified.
The Dao of Terror? Jack wondered. Of cruelty? Or pain? Something like that.
His heart almost cowered before the gaze of this centaur, but he quickly recovered. He was Jack Rust. The embodiment of the fist. The conqueror of Trial Planet. He could not be intimidated by a single gaze.
He grinned at the centaur, weathering her heart assault without blinking. Her eyes narrowed at that.
A low D-Grade who can stand against my aura she muttered. Her gaze ran over him and his status screen again. With intelligence befitting an immortal, she quickly put two and two together. So, you are the infamous Jack Rust. I hadnt heard you became an immortal.
What can I say? Im fast where it matters.
The centaur stayed silent for a moment, her eyes constantly narrowing. Finally, she said, I sense no others. Did you really come alone?
Almost. I have a monkey.
There was no point in trying to hide Brock. As they spoke, the brorilla was busy rushing the prisoners through the hole Jack had made in the cage. The centaur could easily sense him and deduce the connection between thembut Jack didnt plan on letting her do anything about it.
You cannot possibly think you can match me, she said.
And what if I do?
Then youre a fool. Her aura rose, becoming a dome of darkness deeper than the night. It covered the entire canyon. Screams rang inside itauditory illusions made to break ones spirit. A fool who landed right into my arms.
Surrounded by darkness, Jack chuckled. That remains to be seen.
His own Dao Domain burst forth. A purple dome unraveled from the deepest parts of his being, vying with the womans for supremacy. The two domains ground against each other, one on the inside and one on the outside. Jacks was smaller, but it was also far more compactthough he could only cover a radius of a hundred feet compared to the centaurs half-mile, his control over this area was far superior.
The warden frowned and pushed harder. Her domain crashed inward, growing smaller but stronger. The screams rang louderand, though Brock and the prisoners were safe inside Jacks domain, he suspected that many of the Animal Kingdom guards outside of it were screaming.
She didnt care about them at all.
Neither did Jack, to be honest. His hands were full with resisting her domain. Where black and purple met, Dao particles of fist smashed into those of pain. Their understandings warred, looking for gaps that could compromise the others integrity. After a while, no domain emerged as the victorthe two had formed an unsteady balance, with the constant pressure neutralizing each others forces.
If two immortals had a great disparity in power, the stronger one could just rip through the others domain and dominate them. If they were closer in power, however, neutralizing another immortals domain was difficult.
How can your domain stand against mine? the centaur called out, her voice filled with incomprehension. Youre just an early immortal!
An early immortal whos about to kick your ass, Jack corrected her, his gaze stormy. Lets take this to the sky.
In the wider galaxy, it was customary for immortals to fight in the sky. This was because, with their powers, fighting on the ground could ruin entire cities and genocide populations.
In this case, however, the centaur couldn't care less about her guards, while Jack had to protect Brock and the prisoners.
She opened her mouth and laughed with malice. I dont think
Jack was upon her instantly. His domain contracted around his body, pressurized to form a tiny patch of the world completely under his control. He appeared in front of her, ducked down, and sprang upward into an uppercut.
Dao Domains were used for posturing or suppressing weaker opponents. In a battle between equals, there was no reason to keep it up constantly.
The centaur raised her body and crossed her front legs to block. The punch hit them straight. With the crack of a bone, the wardens entire body was sent flying upward like a missile, ascending hundreds of feet in the blink of an eye. She screamed.
Jack Space Walked right before her. Now that they were high enough, he had no reason to hold back. Meteor Punch! he roared, drilling at her chest.
A black spear appeared between her hands. She twirled it and brought it down on his fist. Pain and Misery! she screeched.
Spear and fist collided in an explosion of color. Purple and black were unleashed into the sky, each spreading into a hemisphere behind their wielder, but the purple area was larger and richer. Jack pushed his fist forward to break the stalemate, and the centaur flew back while spitting bright red blood.
Jack had won the exchange, but he still gripped his wrist tightly. Ouch, he muttered breathlessly. The centaurs attack wasnt just physical. The moment they collided, he felt a tremendously strong pain drill through his bones, like his entire forearm was liquified and compressed.
That had not happened. He was fine, but the pain hed just experienced was quite extreme.
However, Jack wasnt unfamiliar with pain. This was nothing compared to the torture hed endured when assimilating the Life Drop, or even the all-penetrative lightning of his breakthroughs heavenly tribulation.
Dao of Pain my ass, he thought, gritting his teeth as he raised his eyes to meet hers. He was angry now. He didnt just want to fight her; he wanted to destroy her.
Apprehension entered the centaurs gaze. Why are you not screaming? she shouted from a distance. How can you overpower me? What the hell is wrong with you?!
Because Im Jack fucking Rust, he growled back at her, then charged forth. The centaur unleashed something between a roar and a scream, raising her spear to meet him. They clashed againand the sky was torn apart by colors.
***
Brock watched his big bro punch the horse woman to the sky. He nodded in acknowledgementthat was a good strike.
He didnt keep watching the battle. He knew Big Bro would win. He just focused on extracting Guitar Bro from the cage, along with the other cage bros. When enough of them were out that they could help the otherseven in their shocked confusionBrock left them and sprinted for the ruined red tent.
There were two bodies thereone was the dead human, and the other the half-dead feshkur. One of them held the keys to the shackles of the cage bros. Brock had to find them, rescue the bros, and help them fight off the guards.
He went for the human first. Rummaging through his pockets, he found nothing but a green credit card and a small bagboth of which he kept. He then rushed to the feshkur. He quickly spotted the ring of keys hanging from a leather ring embedded in his belt. The only problem was, how to get it out?
Brock narrowed his eyes at the keyring. He had never faced such a mechanism before. The keys were hanging from a large iron ring, which in turn hung from another ring fused into the feshkurs belt. But how could he remove one ring from the other, since they were clearly interlocked?
Why did smart bros have to make things so complicated?
Just as Brock was considering the issue, a weak groan came from the feshkurs mouth. His eyelids fluttered as if he was about to wake up. Help he started saying.
Brock smashed his Staff of Stone into the mans face, repeatedly. When he stopped moving, Brock nodded. Bad bro stay sleep, he said before returning to the ring problem. He then realized hed spent his entire short life working out for a reason. He grabbed the leather belt and pulled it out, making the feshkurs body spin in the process, then grabbed the keys and ran to the prisoners.
Bro! he shouted at Guitar Bro, who was currently helping his bros out of the hole in the cage. Guitar Bro looked over, noticed the keys, and his entire face shone with reliefand a little bit of surprise.
Thanks! he shouted, pushing his wrists forward with the lock at the top, so Brock could unlock it. But why did you take the entire belt?
Brock did not respond. If Guitar Bro wanted to make snarky comments, then Guitar Bro could go fetch his own keys. Or at least tell his human bros to stop making silly stuff.
Who even needed belts?
The shackles fell off, and Guitar Bros face lit up like a Godrilla lantern. He raised his hands and looked at them in wonder. Alright! he shouted, Dao overflowing from him. Brock felt his blood boil and a need to shake his head up and down like a maniac. Its show time, baby!
Guitar Bro jumped up, ready to unleash his powers, but Brock grabbed his wrist firmly and gave him the keys. He pointed to the other cage bros. You, he said.
Me?
Yes. You. I fight.
The remaining guards were already regrouping and preparing to assault them, and Brock didnt plan on letting some random bro have all the fun. He wanted to fight, too. The Staff of Stone appeared in his handsretrieved from the makeshift strap on his backand he flexed at the approaching enemies, showcasing his ultra bro-like physique.
The guards were a bit confused, but also appropriately intimidated. After all, Brock could sense that only a few of them could match him in combat. The rest were just punching-bag bros.
Brock Smash! he shouted, jumping staff-first into the fray while Guitar Bro struggled to unshackle the rest of his bros.
***
Jack piled into the centaur. The sky was spinning around them as they exchanged a kaleidoscope of strikes, each attack pushing the centaur back a bit. Her body was bruised and battered now. Her dark robe had been torn in places, and her once-savage face was contorted into equal parts humiliation, anger, and fear.
As for Jack, he was fine, though the constant spikes of pain were taking their toll on his mind. They were also making him more determined to kill her. His strikes came faster and faster, ignoring the pain. The centaur was slowly growing weaker.
It wasnt an easy battle, but Jack held a comfortable advantage.
Why dont you fall? she screamed.
Because I dont want to! Jack retorted, punching her even deeper into the sky. Finally, she made a mistake. Her spear went too wide. Jack angled his punch straight into it, pushing it away, then pivoted mid-air and prepared to plant a massive fist into her gut.
Got you.
Suddenly, a feeling of wrongness assaulted him. He abandoned his attack and teleported away just in time to see a large green column fall through his previous position. If he hadnt dodged, he would have been smashed by it.
No. Its not a column!
He turned his gaze to the sky. What had originally seemed like a column was now clearly a thick vine stretching down from the clouds above. Jack remained frozen for a moment before realizing what was going on.
Whos there? he roared. Show yourself!
At least, the centaur woman looked equally confused.
A man slowly descended through the clouds. His heavy-set body was made of bark, he only wore a pair of brown shorts, and one of his arms had transformed into the long, thick vine that had almost speared Jack.
Treant, Level 197
Faction: Triple Helix (C-Grade)
Jack stared at the man for a moment, trying to remember where he knew him from. Torm? he finally asked. This was the easy-going guy whod spotted Jacks disguise and explained some things about this planet.
Jack Rust, the treant replied with a satisfied grin. And here I thought Id lost you. You were smart to skip town, and even smarter to miss your appointed teleportation. I almost got you at that cratered mountain, too. Thank the System you took the initiative to start fighting again.
Who the hell are you? Jack asked, still confused.
Torm laughed. I knew it! Only a recently-Integrated fool could travel the galaxy without knowing about the premier bounty hunting faction: the Triple Helix. His grin settled into a professional stare. Its the end of the line for you, Jack. Please surrender quietly. Your bounty is higher if captured alive.
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