Infinite Blood Core - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: But We Are The Templars!
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
They had no chance!
Violette and Aupin hid near the entrance of the cave, they watched the beasts fight outside the cave.
The Scaley Horned Black Panthers were organized and calm, they tightly circled the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear in the center.
The second the young man and girl left the entrance of the cave, they would expose themselves to the eyes of the beasts.
If they rushed out bravely, their chances of survival would be very low. They would never make such a move unless as a last resort.
The more Aupin watched, the more frightened he was.
As the two sides battled, the Scaley Horned Black Panther was slightly in the lead.
These panthers don’t move alone, they often live and fight in the form of family organizations. However, this many panthers hunting in a group was almost unprecedented. On this island, not only do life forms have horrible mutations, but their habits also go through drastic changes.
Aupin had some guesses about the origin of the Scaley Horned Black Panthers.
He remembered when being chased by a swarm of Fire Venom Bees, he was attacked by a mysterious panther-looking beast. In the end, this beast fled quickly as it was chased by the Fire Venom Bees.
That beast was probably a Scaley Horned Black Panther. After fleeing, it probably returned to its group and found the other panthers. They then probably followed the scent of Aupin and Violette, all the way to here.
These panthers are probably not taking revenge on the Fire Venom Bees, they are probably hunting me and Violette!
Therefore, this Monkey Tailed Brown Bear helped us both from disasters…
However, Aupin felt zero gratitude in his heart.
The Monkey Tailed Brown Bear first drove away the Fire Venom Bees, now it was fighting the black panthers, giving Violette and Aupin a chance of life.
But once it wins the fight, it would still attack Violette.
All of this was just a coincidence.
Roar!
The black panther leader suddenly leaped on the brown bear’s back, it opened its mouth wide and bit down the brown bear’s neck.
The Monkey Tailed Brown Bear was furious and shook its body frantically.
But the black panther leader clenched its jaw, its body almost flew away as its teeth dug into the brown bear’s neck tightly.
The brown bear had thick skin and flesh, it only began to slightly bleed. It reached out its two orangutan-like claws, its sharp nails pierced through the panther scales, digging deep into the body of the black panther’s head.
The black panther leader did not let go, at the same time, the rest of the panthers also rushed forward.
One by one, the black panthers pounced on the brown bear, they crushed the brown bear to the ground.
“This is our chance!” Aupin made a decisive decision and immediately dragged Violette out of the cave.
But at this moment, the remaining black panthers saw them, one panther immediately roared at them and rushed over. The rest were about to follow suit.
Aupin and Violette were targeted by this Scaley Horned Black Panther, they could only escape back to the cave.
The black panther did not chase into the cave, because the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear began to resist.
Its claws exuded a hot vitality and its sharp and long metal nails turned red, like molten steel.
The brown bear rolled frantically on the ground, throwing away most of the panthers on its body.
His two sharp claws slammed into the body of the panther leader’s head. The panther leader struggled frantically while blood poured out from its mouth and nose.
The Monkey Tailed Brown Bear brazenly tore the black panther leader in half!
Its sharp claws glowed red, emitting a scorching aura, like a piece of steel that was just taken out of a furnace.
The iron-like claws could easily pierce through the scales of a black panther. Combined with the great strength of the brown bear, it was a killing weapon!
Instantly, nearly ten black panthers were slaughtered, corpses scattered on the ground!
The panther group dispersed, the losses were quite heavy.
Although the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear was the ultimate winner, it was also in misery. Its right eye was scratched blind, there were wounds all over its body, dripping with blood. Several wounds were on its legs, feet and arms, and some wounds so deep its bones could be seen.
The worst wound was on its neck. This was the place where the black panther leader dug its jaws into. The wound was deep, it seemed to have ruptured an artery.
Bright red blood was pouring out from the wound.
The Monkey Tailed Brown Bear was so badly hurt that after the panthers dispersed, it did not plan to chase them at all, so it immediately walked back into the cave.
Without any other option, Violette and Aupin could only retreat.
An injured beast was often more terrifying than an uninjured one!
Fortunately, since the brown bear was seriously injured, it did not run, it walked back to the cave at a slow speed.
The two were forced to traverse deeper into the cave.
If there was only one entrance in the cave, then they would eventually cross paths with the bear, a fight was imminent.
But Aupin was confident.
He had a sword before, but it was lost at the bonfire. The only sharp weapon he had were two daggers. One on him, the other in the hands of Violette.
The two retreated deeper and deeper.
Ideally, the cave paths would split into two.
However, an unexpected situation occurred.
The Monkey Tailed Brown Bear walked halfway and didn’t go any further.
It stopped walking, dug out an ore on the cave wall with its sharp claws, and swallowed it with its mouth open.
It is eating the hot ore!
Aupin observed the bear secretly. His pupils contracted slightly. He was surprised to find that after the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear had eaten more than a dozen ore pieces, the wound on its body gradually stopped bleeding. The brown bear’s weak and scattered aura gradually stabilized.
Aupin finally completely understood.
So these ores are food for Monkey Tailed Brown Bears!
He saw many claw marks on the cave walls before. He thought that the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear was sharpening his claws. It turns out that they were the marks left by the brown bear digging for food.
The physical condition of the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear was improving rapidly.
Violette and Aupin glanced at each other, their expressions became extremely solemn.
Right now they had two options…
One was to continue to retreat and look for a side path in the cave to avoid the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear.
The second option was to fight the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear, take advantage of its injuries, and kill it!
Both options carried considerable risks.
The first option was to give up their current opportunity and let the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear rest smoothly. If there were no side paths in the cave, they still had to fight the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear.
The second option was to go to war with the brown bear and Aupin was not confident in that battle. Although the bear was injured, if there was a side path in the cave, and he died in the hands of the brown bear, wouldn’t that be a shame?
Violette suddenly held Aupin’s hand. She did not speak, but her beautiful purple eyes had already revealed her intentions: she would follow Aupin’s decision!
Instantly, the ball was in Aupin’s hands.
This was a choice of life and death!
More importantly, it was not just his personal life and death, but also about the life of his fiancée Violette.
The heavy responsibility rested on the shoulders of Aupin.
Aupin’s eyes flickered and they soon revealed a look of perseverance.
He grabbed Violette’s hand tightly, then let go.
He drew out his dagger and started walking slowly. He quietly approached the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear that was eating.
Aupin was not confident in both of the options. There was also no reliable information that could help him make a judgment.
So he followed the choice of nature: he preferred to fight rather than flight, to try and seize the opportunity!
He didn’t have a sword in his hand, he only had a short dagger.
He got closer and closer.
The distance between Aupin and the brown bear kept getting smaller.
The brown bear was still eating, perhaps because it was in its home, or because it had just experienced a tragic fight, but it seemed to be unaware of Aupin approaching.
But suddenly, Aupin’s facial expression changed suddenly.
A memory popped out in his mind.
Damn it, this is the worst timing! Aupin cursed weakly in his heart as he was immersed in his memories.
Inside an old tavern, the lights were dim and the voices were noisy.
“We won!”
“Cheers!”
Aupin found himself sitting in a corner, surrounded by knights in shining armor. Of course, he himself was a knight.
There were brand-new wounds and scratches on the armor, clothes, and bodies of these knights, but everyone was excited.
It seemed that this was a celebration after a battle.
“Hurray!” someone cheered. “I don’t think there is anything in this world that can stop us Templars!”
“But looking back now, the battle just now was still very difficult and dangerous,” someone said as they sighed.
Someone holding a glass spoke with a tone of fear, “I almost didn’t control the mount.”
One of the Templars sneered.
“That is nothing! Boys, you are all too soft.” The voice attracted the attention of Aupin and the other Templars.
The voice came from an old man.
He had a gray beard, a majestic physique, and a set of Templar armor on his body. His gold and silver decor were clearly different from the other knights, they were even more gorgeous and majestic.
The Templars did not refute as they looked at the old man with expressions of awe.
The warm and noisy atmosphere in the tavern quickly lowered and dissipated.
“Grand Master. Tell us some stories. I know that you have participated in many battles, such as conquering the Iron Flag Castle, fighting the Blood Knights, and guarding the Griffin Cliff. What do you think was the most difficult battle?” someone asked.
The old Grand Master chuckled but did not speak. He raised his head and drank the beer in his glass.
Just after he put down the glass, a Templar brought him another full glass of beer.
The old Grand Master reached out his hand to grab the handle of the glass. This time he didn’t down it immediately, he took a small sip instead, and the rich beer foam slided down into his belly.
His remaining one eye showed a look of nostalgia under the light.
He opened his mouth and said, “The most difficult battle was the one six years ago, in the Jackal Valley.”
“I know, the annihilation of the Frozen Cedar Knights!” someone said excitedly.
Many people also stared at Aupin.
The old Grand Master nodded and continued, “Yes, it was in the Jackal Valley. Almost all of the southern aristocrats were treacherous villains, shameless and capricious!
“Our Fifth Order Templars marched for five days. After entering the Jackal Valley, they were betrayed by friendly forces. Thousands of Frozen Cedar Knights launched a siege against us.
“Our Fifth Order was withdrawn from the front lines. The first wave of attacks, we were caught off guard. A third perished, leaving behind just over 1000 people, almost everyone had injuries.
“The Frozen Cedar Knights launched waves of charges. We reluctantly defended our broken camps.
“We drove off the second wave of attacks, we lost three hundred people.
“After the third wave of attacks, we lost another two hundred people.
“After the fourth wave of attacks, we were only left with 80 people or so.
“We ran out of rage potions, there were no supplies at all. Also, there was a strong man known as the Corroder in the enemy army. This warlock was extremely vicious. Under his spells, our weapons and armors were damaged from corrosion.
“We were desperate and out of options. The Commander of the Frozen Cedar Knights wanted us to surrender.
“We knew that the southern nobles wanted to capture us, then they would have an important bargaining chip to negotiate with the Emperor.
“Hah, but he underestimated the Templars!
“We talked for a while, then started the charge!
“We had no swords, but we were the Templars.
“We had no armor, but we were the Templars.
“We had no horses, but we were the Templars.
“No supplies, but we were the Templars.
“No matter how many enemies there were, how strong they were, how short we were in numbers, we would never surrender.
“Because we are the Templars!”
