Chapter 731 - Distraction, The Battle at the Coastal Town of Matutinao (1/2)

Day 154 - 7:11 PM - Barangay Matutinao, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

Two hours before Pefile's group found Celine within the prisons of the Tamawo's Ancestral Tribe...

The explosion that engulfed buildings spread flames on the northern part of the town. In its current state, several firetrucks would be needed to be dispatched. Yet, it would still be hard to determine how long the fire would be put out. If it continued, nothing would be left of the northern area of the town after several hours.

And, of course, the culprit had no care for the aftermath.

With the raging flames behind him, Mark landed in the middle of the road that passed by the center of the town. He made sure that his wings were hidden and were not seen by anyone.

Why?

Mark wanted to draw the attention of the Tamawos in the town as much as possible. Allowing them to know that he could fly and escape at any time he wanted would wane the urge for the enemies to surround him.

And besides...

He was currently portraying himself to be a regular human.

”There is the culprit! Surround him!”

A Tamawo with a body covered in tribal tattoos shouted as he saw Mark.

Surely, the Tamawos and humans in the town were utterly confused by the situation. As their minds could not comprehend what just happened, they immediately concluded that Mark had something to do with it as soon as they saw him.

The response from the Tamawos was fast. A single call from their superior gathered the warriors nearby to surround Mark. In a single minute, about fifty Tamawo warriors already gathered around Mark.

Mark watched the situation, tapping his foot as he waited.

Finally, the very same tattooed Tamawo stepped forward with his spear. He seemed to be cautious about Mark's behavior. It was no surprise since they already surrounded him without any means of escape, but he still behaved nonchalantly.

”Are you the one responsible for this?”

The Tamawo asked, pointing his spear at Mark.

And...

Mark stared at the Tamawo awkwardly.

'Well damn... I can't understand him.'

The Tamawo spoke in Cebuano, the local language of the province of Cebu. It was a language that Mark definitely had barely any knowledge of.

Mark might have been able to understand a bit if the Tamawo spoke in Spirit Language. However, if Mark did the same, it could blow the cover that he was no ordinary human.

”Hah... Whatever...”

Mark sighed as he threw away any notion of conversing with these Tamawos.

The Tamawos were still waiting for Mark to answer. They were brave warriors that would not attack unless their superiors allowed them to. That was why...

They were caught off guard as Mark ignored their leader and ran towards the side.

Drawing Ignis from his back, Mark slashed the Tamawo he ran towards.

SPLAT!

The wavy blade of Ignis, like a giant saw, ran diagonally on the Tamawo's body. Blood splattered. The Tamawo's upper body, from his left shoulder to his right armpit, slid off from the rest.

”ATTACK! ATTACK!”

The Tattooed Tamawo roared with fury. Not only that Mark ignored his question, but he also disregarded the warrior's etiquette.

Mark smiled. Delaying the Tamawos by conversing was not plausible. Thus, it would be easier to keep them here by causing a bloodbath.

With about fifty Tamawos rushing at him at once, Mark approached the closes and beheaded the poor guy. He then turned around and ran along the road.

The second death before their eyes definitely angered the warriors. However, as they saw Mark ran away, their ego was bolstered, thinking that the enemy would not be able to handle their numbers at all.

Of course, Mark was just deliberately showing weakness.

Unknown to the Tamawos, Mark was picking them off one by one.

At random intervals, Mark would slow down, allowing a Tamawo to get closer behind him. But when the Tamawo charged in for the kill, Mark would avoid the attack. The missed attack caused the attacker to have an opening, and Mark did not hesitate but to give a killing blow in whatever way he could.

As flames danced in the background, a dark shadow covered Mark's smile.

The Tamawos kept chasing him as Mark continued to run. Soon, more and more joined the chase. The less than fifty Tamawos soon bloomed into about a hundred. As their numbers grew, so as their confidence in taking down the cursed enemy.

So far, none of them realized that Mark deliberately ran into places where the rest of the Tamawos were gathered to make them join the chase.

***

”Gather the slaves! Don't let anyone escape!”

At the southern part of the town across the bridge, the Tamawos moved to secure the slaves first. The attack in the town was the best opportunity for the slaves to escape. It was something that they could not let happen.

The Tamawos reached and surrounded the school where the slaves were supposed to be gathered for their rationed dinner.

What they found, however, was the dead bodies of the Tamawos, who were supposed to guard the dinner of the slaves.

The Tamawos that arrived at the school were enraged. Their eyes fell on the humans gathered within the school grounds. They thought that the slaves were the ones responsible for this situation.

However, they could not help but notice the group of little girls standing at the center of the school grounds.

It was odd.

There were no children among the slaves. The children they captured were all brought back to their tribe. That was why it was odd to see four little girls at the center of the dead bodies of their tribe members.

In any case, they were just children. What could they possibly do?

”Capture them!”

The leader of the Tamawos to secure the slaves commanded. With their spears ready, the warriors approached the girls.

”Stay put! Don't move, or we will be forced to harm you!”

One of the Tamawos spoke to the girls.

However, like Mark, the girls had the same problem. The language barrier.

”Kill?”

Miracle asked Iola. It was kind of strange to hear such a question for a seemingly three-year-old girl.

But before Iola could answer...

”I'm first.”

Abbygale said as she ran towards the nearest Tamawo.

The Tamawo was surprised at the speed that Abbygale showed. He immediately brandished his spear, throwing away the order to catch the girls alive. His spear was precise on the target despite Abbygale's speed. It showed how the Tamawo warrior was trained.