The maids were doing a terrific job. Both at handling Rungwald and his pack, and then dealing with the blood sacrifice raging wolf transformation that said pack had gambled on. Jack could see the logic behind it as well, truth be told. It was made clear that there was no way out of the confrontation for the wolf beastmen, and with that being the case, was it any wonder that a desperate, last ditch attempt to cripple such a powerful human group was taken?

  Unfortunately, the technique, while indeed much more powerful than the separate parts, was nowhere near strong enough to bridge the gap between the sides. Though, to be fair towards Rungwald, he was stopped as seemingly easily as he was only because his technique was flawed. For all the raw power that it gave him, it also took away one of his greatest strengths as well- his clear mind and ability to strategize. Without it, he was no better than raging, bloodthirsty beast, and if there was one thing that Jack's maids were used to, it was dealing with such an opponent.

  And so they had, using the advantage a wind mage gave them in terms of response time, and the sharpness of Jack's weapons to take away the wolf amalgamations front paws, crippling its mobility. Then, it was only a matter of time before they whittled down the remaining life force in that fused body through a combination of fireballs, well aimed and precise spear arts, after the twins received a well deserved round of healing from Nivi of course, and everything else the maids could come up with.

  In the end, the fused abomination was dead, stored away in one of the maids storage rings just like the rest of the beastmen leaders bodies, allowing the maids to join the defence as well, further breaking the stalemate that had been reached. Jack, Arsha and Spartacus were one of the main reasons for said stalemate, though a proper credit also had to be given to Selin as well. Unlike the beastmen where individual power made leaders, with only second awakening experts leading their own factions, the wandering tribes of humans often had a leader with command class, allowing them to empower large groups. And sure, the beastmen had their own large scale buffers, but they were always a sort of an afterthought, a ridiculed class category of sorts, making it extremely rare and undesired.

  Was it any wonder then that once matched against a force with similar individual power, albeit a bit below their own that was more than compensated with better gear, and then empowered by a multitude of buffs coming from command class specialists, they would not only be held in their tracks but also pushed back despite the numerical advantage that they had? Such amplification was never as simple as one plus one equals two. When used correctly, it was a proper force multiplier- something that the attacking beastmen raiders were learning first hand.

  Once all three leaders of beastmen forces were taken down and Jack's own second awakening level people joined the rest of the defenders, the tide turned further still, breaking the metaphorical camel's back. Worse yet, some of the scouts on beastmen side also saw the death of their leaders, wisely realizing their own death was approaching at quite the enviable pace and in turn decided to bolt while they still could, warning their buddies within calling distance about what they saw.

  A single set of ears was enough for the information to cascade down the line, taking little to no time to spread throughout the entire beastmen force, creating a true chaos in turn. Those at the very front, locked in combat against the humans, could do nothing but grit their teeth and try to slowly step back, their shields still raised, lest they get skewered by more and more enthusiastic defenders. It was everything behind that that quickly turned to utter shit.

  Those at the back of the force immediately turned around and bolted away, no doubt making numerous excuses in their minds about the importance of reporting what they had learned here to the rest of their people back in the inner steppe so a counter measure could be prepared. Most likely in the form of a full invasion, unifying all the great cities and their powerful clans. Nothing less would ensure their victory and the safe preservation of their ways.

  Those in the middle tried do something similar, heavily impeded by every other beastmen around them who was trying to do the same, pushing and growling as they tried to get away. The occasional explosions that resounded around them as Jack continued his bombardment only sent them into greater frenzy, each and every one beginning to think only about their own safety. Weapons were dropped and abandoned with next to no beastmen raiders having access to their own spatial storage, their weight impeding their ability to speed away.

  'If only they could retreat with a calm mind. This is only the beginning of your nightmare.' Jack smirked as he observed the chaotic retreat. What the beastmen seemed to be forgetting in their panicked state of mind was otherwise quite obvious. There were quite deep in the outer steppe by now, with weeks of travel between here and their owned lands. Weeks worth of travel, filled with roaming packs of all manner of creatures, most of which would be more than willing to make a quick meal out of the now fleeing beastmen.

  Worse still, Jack had no reason to let them reclaim the supplies that were left further behind. The moment he would deem the beastmen force entirely routed, he would move out himself to claim them, leaving Spartacus and the maids to continue cleaning up here. Thankfully, he did not have to wait long for it, as mere minutes later he called out to Arsha who was nearby and relayed his orders, stashing away his own bow, stretching his arms and cracking his neck once or twice.

  "Time to let my babies out once again." Jack smirked as behind him unfurled his long unused energy wings. Now, he was stronger than ever before, with better grasp over his class and more power in his form. It was only natural that he could use his wings for more than gliding. No. Now he could fly properly. And so he did.

  A powerful gust of wind exploded from him as the epicenter as his body was pushed skyward, like some rock catapulted upwards. In moments gone was the smell of burnt flesh and sweat, and blood, replaced with cool evening air that felt nice and clean in the lungs. For a couple of beasts of his wings Jack stayed in place, his gaze locking onto the direction the beastmen were fleeing towards, and then, his body tilted forward, propelled ahead quite the speed, overtaking even the fastest of the beastmen raiders. Fire and despair behind then, and soon enough, so would the same be ahead of them.

  Evening had come slowly, downright dragging its feet as though a prisoner walking towards the execution block, its life's end imminent. Boredom and jealousy had been the companions undesired for the beastmen left behind to guard the supplies, with a couple of them standing watch while the rest were huddled relatively close together around a campfire, split into several packs as they played dice, gamling a coin or two at it. What ele could they do as they had to wait and protect the supplies, all while the rest of their brethren could enjoy something truly one of a kind- sacking of a human city. Now that was a first in who knew how long.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Two sixes. Huh, where was this luck when the commanders picked the guard?" grumbled the one who had just won the round, not nearly as happy as he should be otherwise. he nevertheless reached out his hand and grabbed the coins piled together on the ground- the winnings of this round. It was no large sum, that much was true, with most of their wealth left back home.

  What good was their money out here as they raided, one might ask? The answer was quite simple. There were always favours to be asked for, or small goods to exchange. Or gamble on a slow evening like this. There was always some way to spend coin, little as they would pack with them. There was also another currency that all beastmen soldiers carried with them, much more valuable and only used in dire situations.

  That currency was specialised and handcrafted 'I Owe you' tokens, with the name, city and clan of the one in debt recorded on them. Such a coin, if handed out, would have to be repaid with a taks of the creditors choosing. the caveat was that one could not ask the debtor to kill himself or go on what was clearly a suicide mission. Everything else was fair game. Wanted to spend the night with the debtor- not a problem. Need muscle for guard duty- name time and place. So on and so forth. But such valuable thing would never be pulled out for something as simple and flippant as dice.

  "Think they are already pillaging to their hearts content?" another took a few sips of water from his flask and asked, a wistful expression on his face. "Flaying a few men while at it. Ohhh, how sweet would their screams be." he continued to daydream.

  "Heh, not all us are sadistic bastards like you." another snickered from the side.

  "Don't act like you would not buy that flayed meat from me at bargain prices for a snack. Would not be the first time." the first one jabbed back, both laughing a moment later.

  Others joined in with their own likes and preferences, each worse than the last, ranging anywhere from a particular type of torture- be it physical or psychological, to every other despicable act imaginable. Hell, there was even what the rest of the beastmen considered to be an animal fucker- a specimen that found human like races quite the treat in bed.

  "What would you understand?" the beastman in question- an old bear beastman with gray fur, larger than your average beastman body and muscles- waved the repulsed companions of his off. "You find a pretty thing among our own kind, get tied down and then live your life as you had so far, waiting for that one time of the year when they get their freak on. If you are lucky, she gives a bit extra every now and then to take the edge off. But them? They are ready whenever you want. All it takes is a bit of training and you are good to go. Bend them over and the heaven awaits."

  "Yea, and what monstrosity comes out if you keep going like that? Ain't no way I'd ever risk it, assuming I was not repulsed by their furless forms." another jeered, visibly shaking at the mere idea of such an act.

  "Red Voss tea is all they need to make sure it never catches And lucky me, it is dirt cheap." the old bear beastman laughed, too absorbed in his own fantasy and too uncaring about the opinion of those around him to care. He was the exception to the rule, all too happy to have a taste of any human-like race in the sheets. "Would love to try an elf though. Rare pointy eared buggers." he added, earning more disgusted looks his way.

  The banter kept going, interwoven with the occasional grumble of the guards, each and every one complaining they were just that unlucky to be left here.

  "INCOMING!" a loud cry of one of their scouts on the lookout resounded, tearing the rest of the camp away from their leisurely lounging. They were all armed and armoured, and in second they were on their feet and in a formation, eyes on all sides and waiting for action.

  "A FLYER!" the same scout cried out again, narrowing down the amount their group had to observe, with the scout relaying the information joining them soon afterwards, slipping inside their formation.

  "How many of them are there?" the commanding beastman officer asked a breath or two later, allowing the scout to inhale and exhale a couple of times.

  "I sensed just one, but its fast. Unreasonably so." he replied, his eyes darting across the sky in search of the danger he had sensed just moments before.

  And there it was. Just at the edge of his vision he could see a blurry figure plummeting their way, growing larger by the second.

  "Eyes on the target." the scout reported, his hand raising as he pointed towards the incoming object. As he did so, the rest of the guards turned towards the direction pointed towards, their shields raising higher as those in the backline began chanting.

  "I see it too." another few seconds later, one of the archers confirmed the approaching threat, followed by another another second later.

  "What is it?" the commander asked, already juggling a few potential response protocols to choose from.

  "It's still surprisingly blurry." the scout explained as he squinted his eyes, trying his best to discern what he was seeing. "It almost feels like some cloaked, half distorted thing, flying our way."

  "One of the avians?" another asked puzzled from within the formation.

  "A lone avian flying through the outer steppe? Are you dumb, or just pretending?" another immediately roasted the previous speaker.

  "FOCUS!" the commander ordered, his hand clutching the weapon at his side. With each passing second he grew more and more worried. Something was seriously off.

  "Five hundred meters." the scout warned, suddenly jeering back as he cried "Accelerating. Brace for impact!"

  He barely managed to squeeze out his words as the entity collided with the earth not too far away from them, enveloping the entire area around the beastmen group in sand, creating quite the commotion among the pack animals that were kept a bit further away. Thankfully, they were all trained to not go entirely off the rails in similar situations, their momentary frenzy quickly dissipating. The dust settled soon too, revealing a single entity, entirely clad in a cloak, with only a pair of dark, energy based wings that kept moving back and forth for a while longer, until suddenly, they retracted, leaving only the cloaked figure standing in front of them.

  Before the commander of the beastmen could say anything however, a rather large sized sword appeared in the entities hand, a dangerous feeling oozing from both the weapon and the wielder alike.

  "Your friends failed and are now rushing here with their tails tucked between their legs. How unfortunate that all they will find is more despair and hopelessness here. Do try your best and entertain me in the meanwhile." the entity spoke the slave language, his words- for it sounded like a male based on the voice that he spoke with- going past most of their ears as they could not be bothered to learn it, with only rare few understanding said words. A hint of fear flashed in the eyes of those that did understand Jack's words, though was quickly replaced with ridicule and anger at the foolishness they had just hear.

  "Bullshit!" one of the beastmen sneered, hearing nothing but the ramblings of a suicidal, no doubt half insane human with no doubt a weird class.

  "Suit yourselves." Jack added once he realized that most did not understand his words, and those that did would not take them seriously. "You will learn the truth soon enough." he added, raised his swords higher, tilted his body slightly forwards and then sot ahead, his speed so fast it startled more than a few of the beastmen.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 37

  Class- Awakened twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)

  Stats unassigned: +14

  Attributes:

  Strength- 34 (14+7+13(gear))

  Vitality- 28 (12+8+8(gear))

  Dexterity- 29 (15+6+8(gear))

  Intelligence-20(15+ 5(gear)

  Spirit- Spirit- 30 (20+10)

  Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX), Origin of matter(EX), Unbound by laws of the lessers(EX), The end made manifest(EX). Destroyers presence(unique legendary).

  Spells- none.

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. Monster debugger.The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme. Slavemaster, Eldritch garbage disposal(legendary).

  Gear: Two handed sword(t3)+ 5 str +5 vit: Armor 3str +3 vit +3 dex; Ring 1 - spatial storage, ring 2 +5int, ring 3 +5 str; amulet +5 dex.