Chapter 732 - Tapping unto his Strength, Edzels Growth and the Proof of his Ancestry (1/2)

Day 154 - 7:59 PM - Barangay Matitunao, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

Buffeted by the needles, the Tamawos charging toward Edzel froze for a second. They felt the slight pain of needles piercing their bodies. However, none of them had immediate fatal injuries.

The Tamawos immediately looked for the source of pain, and they saw the greenish-black needles stuck on their skin.

”Such a flimsy trick... Attack!”

A Tamawo with slightly more tattoos on his body commanded the others while removing the needles and threw them on the ground.

The Tamawos were even more enraged to fall to what they thought was a useless trick. They tried to continue charging at Edzel once more.

But after a couple of steps, those Tamawos who got hit by the needles began to slow down. The others slowed down in suit, noticing the oddity of the event.

”What is happening...”

The tattooed Tamawo grumbled in pain as he was one of those hit by the needles. His face became filled with grim as pain enveloped his body, starting from the area where he got hit.

That was when they noticed that the skin around places where the needles hit them began to have an ominously greenish hue. And from the center of impact, their blood vessels started to bloat and turn black.

It was a scary sight to those who were watching. Since the fire from the burning buildings illuminated the area, everyone could see how the poison spread out of the bodies of the Tamawos. Furthermore, with their pale white skin, the changes in the color of their blood vessels were horrifyingly clear.

Half a minute later, those Tamawos hit by the needles lay on the ground lifeless. Their eyes turned white, and their bodies filled with web-like black-colored blood vessels. Even their whole bodies had a greenish hue as if they already began to rot.

Because of the horrifying fate of those Tamawos, the others froze in their tracks. The fear made them unable to approach Edzel once again.

Edzel steadily held his spear, not taking his eyes away from the enemies in front. He tried to intimidate the other Tamawos, making them think they would have the same fate if they continued to approach.

But, of course, this one was just a ploy.

The spear that Edzel held was something Mark hastily made overnight. It was capable of launching those poisonous needles, as displayed earlier. Unfortunately, as said, it was made hastily. It lacked the function to reload in a short time as it had to be done manually in each hole in the blade of the spear.

In a sense, that needle spread shot was a one-time thing in a single battle.

Nonetheless, it achieved its purpose in this battle. It was to give the Tamawos something to get distracted on.

The poison in the needles this time was not that fast-acting. Furthermore, its effects were too showy. It was made this way to instill fear unto those that saw its effects. The enemy, fearing being hit by the projectiles, would get distracted by Edzel's spear. They would try to speculate when Edzel would make another shot and would not be able to erase it from their minds, unable to fully concentrate on Edzel's attacks.

Edzel stared at the Tamawos in front of him. His role was already done with this as he managed to stop the enemies from approaching the slaves. All he needed to do was delay further until Mark arrived to dispose of the enemies on one go.

However...

Was it what he wanted?

Edzel wanted to become strong. Strong enough that he could protect Pearl and make her not leave his side once more.

If he just stood here, things would be fine. But he would not grow either.

Edzel tightened his grip on his spear. He glanced behind him. There was Pearl, speaking with the slaves, making them prepare for escape.

Pearl... She was always his reason for living in this cruel world.

”I want to grow stronger.”

Edzel murmured as his eyes returned to the enemies in front.

It was what Mark promised him when they first met. And the promise was not broken. Mark turned him into an Evolver, gave him a bit of training, and taught him some advice in combat.

However, Mark's self-taught style was not suitable for Edzel. That was why he was also instructed by other people in the base in different kinds of fight styles. However, the thing that he felt the most natural was Pefile's teachings. Specifically, how to fight using spears and bows,

Thinking about it, he was like this ever since the start. Unlike kids that played using fake swordfights, he preferred something like a wooden spear. Even when fishing in the river, he would use a spear instead of sitting down with a fishing rod in his hands.

And now, for some odd reason...

Mark made him a spear last night.

Feeling the spear on his hand, the feeling to become strong intensified.

”HAH!”

Edzel shouted, charging towards the Tamawos in front of him. He would not let the teachings and training he had to go to waste.

In the group, it was just him and Pearl who were the weakest links. In the least, he wanted to carry both his and her value in the group.

The fight inside the school on Edzel's side finally began. In no time, however, he became surrounded by the Tamawos.

It was not surprising. Even if the little girls were holding back most of the Tamawos in this area, Edzel was still disadvantaged in terms of numbers.

Edzel fought with his spear and managed to take down a few. Compared to Pefile that taught him to fight with a spear, these Tamawos around him were much weaker.

PSSK!!!

The spear on Edzel's hand took another life. However, he was not without an injury. As it was a fight with spears, his arms were more susceptible to attacks. Thus, his arms were already dripping with blood, being hit by the blades of the spears of the Tamawos. Even if he was wearing armor, not every part of his body could be protected by it.

Pearl noticed Edzel's predicament. She could not help but worry. He already looked tired and was heavily panting as he fought. However, she was without any fighting capability. She had a pistol hidden under her clothes. However, she was told to only use it in emergencies.

Seeing Edzel's struggle, she could not help but reach for her gun.

It was when she noticed. Edzel's eyes were filled with determination as he fought a disadvantaged battle. It was the determination to grow stronger.

Pearl could only shake her head, realizing that it was not her position to intervene in Edzel's growth. She did not want to drag him back because of her worry. In the first place, Edzel was still not losing.

In any case, she also had her role to fulfill.

”Is everyone alright?” Pearl turned to the slaves, specifically towards the old ones. ”Just wait a little more, and you all can finally escape this place.”

The old slaves seemed to be thankful to Pearl. However, Pearl noticed something strange. As the heart created the strongest vibrations on a human's body, she could sense their heartbeats, albeit faintly. The heartbeat of a human differed according to the emotions they had.

And for some reason, some of the slaves seemed to have odd heartbeats.

Unfortunately, it did not take long for Pearl to learn about it. Furthermore, it happened the hard way.

”STOP! HUNONG!”

A loud voice of a man echoed across the school speaking in both Tagalog and Cebuano. The sudden distraction took everyone's attention and stopped the battle abruptly.