11 Chapter 11

Zenith pushed through the dense jungle looking around, his heart raced as he stayed low, stayed hidden, until he found the archer;

"Oh yeah, hunting the hunter, good for you," He muttered under his breath as the birds chirped_Probably the opposite.

The humid air was an even worse contributing factor to his growing frustration, he swatted the bugs and meandered around the shrubs and avoided anything that would snap or crumple.

He realized that the birds stopped chirping and froze in the gripping silence.

He groaned when an arrow flew into the soil by his foot and taunted him "You missed!"

He ducked into the covers when more arrows came flying at him;That was close.

The fact that the Akero, the greatest marksman-assassin in Regno Forst stooped low to miss several shots was unbecoming but he would give points for distraction.

He stayed low and flung his green cape in front behind him for cover. He picked up a rock and ran his hand over it.

Akero's eyes scoured the place, he would make sure to destroy that bush animal, Zenith before he got anywhere. In his brown pigskin suit, he wore a hood and a mask with vents, shielding his good eye and the other grey one, he underestimated the crook in Cauli, a small village in Regno Forst when he took his eye. But would give him credit for pushing him to become better; Let me thank you in my own little way.

Kneeling on a tree branch and relying on any slight noise, he shot an arrow and it crushed a rock that rolled out.

The worst part was, he wouldn't wander out into the open like a heedless scapegoat, so if Zenith wouldn't come out, then he would have to fish him out.

He spread out his arms when he plunged to the ground landing with the finesse of a squirrel. His ear twitched and he pulled out an arrow to shoot below the silhouette by the tree inviting a loud bellow.

He stepped back when the moose bawled and scampered over injured with a bow in its side and he fell over when it rammed its antlers against him and returned kicking him with its hooves at every move, darting around.

For its safety and his, he played dead and it honked leaping over the bush to dart off into the distance. He stayed that way till he was sure it was gone and he pushed up, maybe with a fractured rib and he coughed when a cable whizzed about his neck and he caught it getting up to counter the tight cable and cut it with his arrow.

Zenith lunged when he sliced it off and the rest of the cable smacked his hand and Akero dashed toward him.

Zenith panicked and set his arms across his face and looked dazed when he ran up his body disappearing into a tree.

He lurched when Akero leaped again and strapped his legs around his head and threw him up into a tree.

Akero veered around. "You will pay for your crimes, Tomley!"

Zenith was dazed because Akero wasn't good at combat, he was only a glorified

sharpshooter.

The Akero stood tall and took off his hood and Zenith was thrown off by the splitting image.

He growled with half of his bald head burnt, his greyed out eye and the good black one fixated on him in a demeaning gaze. He thrust up his bow while Zenith held his bleeding hand, it still stung.

Zenith (Guy) threw his hand out and poised with his mace, he was Zenith around here, so he was somewhat accountable for the marksman's disability_ I've never killed anyone before. He thought.

Akero attacked spinning the sharp ends of his bow against him while he backed away recoiling and went low to spin kick him off his feet.

Zenith groaned when he fell hard and Akero stepped on his breastplate. It rattled and he wheezed holding his foot.

"You know that's not effective right?" Zenith huffed.

"That's not why I'm stepping on you" He thrust his hand into his satchel to get an arrow and poised aiming for his eye and Zenith held his leg and twisted it.

His bone cracked at the impact and let the arrow lose and Zenith shrieked when the arrow pinned his ponytail down, he pulled it out and stood up with his ponytail falling down leaving his nape length hair.

Akero gasped and recovered limping up again and Zenith kicked his broken leg and shuddered at the sound of the crack and the pain in his voice when he fell.

It echoed in his ears but he held up Akero's head.

"You'll never be worthy" He croaked jamming his elbow into his armor and Zenith gripped him by the neck

"I'm going to end you with your own weapon"

In the blink of an eye, he plunged on his side with blood spewing from his neck at every fading pulse and he crumbled laying still.

Zenith wiped his bloody lip and spit it out tossing his bow away; "Tastes like iron"

+500 +500

Achievements: 2 +2 +2 +2

*8

The panel developed in form of a circle blazing on the sides, Spectran appeared and he stood back to see her.

[ Zenith, I must warn you, the hunters are looking for you everywhere, you must remain covert and forge on to the Temple of Prosperity ]

He huffed and vomitted "I'm coming Spectran, I just need a minute" He whispered wiping his eyes and then groaned covering them blinded by the blood in his eyes.

"This is even worse than my presbyopia" Slowly, he cleaned it out and turned to Akero's dead body and gagged then pulled himself together again.

The villagers glanced at him as he walked by the array of thatched roofed cottages with wooden grey shutters and people closing their windows at him.

He looked up at the line of flags and the white sky, squinting his eyes as he forged on the ingneous rocky roads with beggars on the streets enduring the prickly nature of the rocks with their leprous arms out begging for alms.

They hid them immediately afraid that The Akero might cut them off and the villagers scattered. His eyes scoured their faces and pulled up his mask_So this must be Cauli.

He didn't know who they feared more, Zenith or Akero but he wouldn't play himself to find out.

Their eyes fell on the mace he wielded on his suit and a black bag, stirring mumbles and they gasped whispering Zenith's name.

"He wields the mace" A woman pushed on to her sage grandfather and pointed.

Their hush was gripping and he lurched roaring forcing them to huddle up by a wall. He kept moving to an open space with quartz everywhere and paused at the chariot that almost railed against him.

The horses careened pawing at the air and stopped.

The aristocrat and the charioteer hopped down and rolled on the dust begging him to spare their lives and their families'. He grinned enjoying the position he wielded now.

***

He picked up a bag by the aristocrat's side and flipped the ends open to reveal solid gold coins_What would Akero do?

He was a mercenary and only preyed on his adversaries, he picked up a single gold coin and the rest splashed in front of his head.

The aristocrat touched his head at the hit shaking terribly and looked up when he was gone and gathered the coins and got up climbing into the chariot quickly.

"Get up, get us out of here!" He flapped and the charioteer looked everywhere and pulled himself up climbing the chariot and the wheels rumbled and hooves clicked as he drove away.

Zenith in disguise walked through the dark tunnel built out of stone and made away with the head. He stumbled and held his breadbasket at the unsettling feeling.

He stopped outside in the major city with buildings and several classy windows, the sentries let him through the metal gates and he flinched when a hawk flew over to his shoulder and flapped his hands

"Get off, you bloody chicken" He said clutching the bag and they looked down at his black bag.

He poked the end with his spear and wisped it open to find fruits and gourds

"Where is his head?"