The Crocodile Man had intended to wait until his followers had secured the sacrifice before emerging to enjoy the spoils.
Little did he expect that the very men he had placed such faith in would nearly collapse first.
With no other option, once the situation was stabilised, it had to intervene to prevent the sacrifice from escaping.
Since his mutation into a crocodile-man, the rationality of the man known as Grimmley Bawtin had rapidly dissipated over time. In its place arose an insatiable craving for flesh and blood, and for procreation.
Flesh and blood were the crocodile's primal urges; procreation was the last vestige of its human longing.
The agony of the unborn child's death and the yearning for bloodline continuity drove it, even in its crocodile form, to desperately seek to produce its own offspring.
Yet none of the female sacrifices it had previously captured had ever successfully conceived its offspring.
But this time was different!
This female sacrifice possessed a mysterious power that both terrified and captivated it.
This power, inherent within her, would undoubtedly enable her to bear the burden of procreation, and even make its offspring stronger.
Therefore, they must not be allowed to escape!
The crocodile-men moved.
Moving with astonishing speed through the dense woodland, it swiftly circled behind the witches' field of vision. Its thick, scaly legs thrust forward with a violent kick, launching it like lightning towards the unsuspecting witches.
A dark figure charged from the slope, colliding with it and sending it crashing to the ground.
"I've been waiting for you!"
Pinning the crocodile man down, Ruboo drew his Palan dagger and brought the broad, sharp blade down with brutal force.
During the previous counterattack, while Madison and even Zoe were displaying remarkable prowess, Ruboo spent most of his time guarding against the crocodile men lurking in the shadows, only occasionally firing a few shots.
Despite the young witches' formidable power, once an enemy closed in, they were little more than lambs to the slaughter.
At the end of the day, a witch's physical constitution is no different from that of an ordinary person.
Moreover, the teaching at the long-established witches' school focused on helping them control their abilities rather than cultivating them into assassins or dark wizards.
When faced with a life-or-death battle, rather than the current situation where abilities are deployed from a distance behind cover, their performance proved scarcely superior to that of ordinary individuals.
Swish!
The short dagger, reflecting a faint glow in the moonlight, whistled through the air as it slashed down.
The crocodile man hastily raised his arm to block it.
Snap.
Scales shattered, green blood spattered, the sharp blade sinking deep into flesh.
"Is that all you've got?" Ruboo grinned.
As long as one could eliminate the enemy on a physical level, it was no trouble at all.
[Stamina: 1.6]→[Stamina: 1.8]
At this juncture, there was naturally no skimping on the expenditure of containment points. Ruboo's palm gripped the blade's hilt with iron.
The Paran blade, capable of cleaving through large trees with ease, now channelled even greater force as it prepared to sever the crocodilian's arm in one decisive stroke.
A sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air from behind.
Ruboo's brow furrowed as he rolled away instantly.
The next instant, a thick crocodile tail swept through the space where he had stood moments before, lashing against a nearby tree.
Instantly, a thunderous crash echoed as the tree split open.
Shaking violently, the tree soon toppled to the ground, unable to bear the strain.
Roar~~
The crocodile man sprang to his feet, claw-like fingers splayed wide. A furious gale swept from his charge as he lunged at Ruboo.
Ruboo snorted coldly, switching his left hand to the Gnoque. With rapid fire, he unleashed a volley of shots at his opponent.
By the time the crocodile man was forced to halt and scramble for cover, Ruboo had already closed the distance, his heavy dagger swinging in a flurry of strikes.
Though he'd never learnt any swordplay,
But when it came to hacking at people, it all boiled down to three words: swift, precise, and ruthless.
With his extraordinary physique, he executed this with consummate skill.
"Hey! Ruboo, give us some space!"
Seeing Ruboo and the crocodile man locked in fierce combat, Madison and Zoe—neither of whom were blind—turned their gaze towards the fray.
They'd intended to intervene, but the speed of man and beast—twisted together in combat—left no opening for intervention. Hence Madison's cry.
"Is this something one can simply step aside from?" Ruboo managed to retort between blows.
Believe it or not, the moment he pulled back, the crocodile man would have bolted.
Did they really think he was one of those clueless cultists from the start?
Having learned their lesson from the initial mind control, the crocodile men would never stand still again. Coupled with their unmatched speed, the witches found it far more difficult to target them for spells.
Never mind the crocodile man. Even the surviving cultists had wised up, no longer exposing themselves to the witches' sight as before. This, too, meant the witches' gains were dwindling.
Gunfire grew ever closer.
One ricocheting bullet even landed perilously close to Ruboo's feet.
Startled, he snapped, "You lot focus on those cultists. I'll deal with this ugly bastard."
Madison and Zoe complied.
The crocodile man, however, was unwilling to be an enemy.
Its primary objective was to protect the witch who bore its offspring, not to confront Ruboo.
Realising Ruboo wasn't so easily disposed of, it seized its chance. With a flick of its tail, it seized the moment Ruboo dodged to create distance, lunging towards the witches.
A powerful hand seized its tail in the nick of time.
"Playing mind games? How could a beast ever outwit a human?"
Ruboo gave a cold laugh. A flash of the blade severed a chunk of the crocodile's tail, which fell to the ground.
ROAR!!!
The crocodile-man let out a piercing, agonised howl.
Enraged, it abandoned the witch entirely. Spinning on its heels, it reared up to a full two metres in height and charged viciously at Ruboo.
Already prepared, Ruboo swiftly sidestepped the oncoming blow, then thrust forcefully against the crocodile man's body.
Instantly, the crocodile man, unable to halt his forward momentum, stumbled as his foot caught nothing but air—Ruboo's position happened to be at the edge of a slope.
It tumbled downwards.
But before that, it deliberately lashed out with the bulk of its tail.
Ruboo, who hadn't fully dodged it, stumbled and followed suit, losing his footing and tumbling down the slope.
In an instant, both man and beast tumbled rapidly downwards, colliding with thickets of branches along the way.
When the commotion finally subsided, the thick-skinned crocodile man was the first to scramble to his feet.
Not far away, Ruboo, who'd been rather fortunate—barring a mouthful of mud, he'd escaped unscathed—quickly rose to his feet. Snatching up the short knife that had fallen to the ground, he clanged it against the sharp claws that lunged at him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With his free left hand, Ruboo drew the Gnoque once more and opened fire.
Seeing this, the crocodile man, already on guard, darted to the side.
Though these shots wouldn't kill it outright,
But little by little, they add up.
Dragging its wounded body into combat with others was manageable.
but it proved downright unwise when facing this absurdly formidable human before him.
And this, precisely, was what Ruboo desired.