Fight

The journey to the forest was uneventful. Even if there were bandits and wild animals around, the muscle heads would be sure to scare them away.

Bang would feel secure if not for the fact that the muscle heads were a threat to him.

If the fight gets tough and they had to retreat, Bang was sure they would leave him behind. If by chance they win the fight, they would probably kill him to silence him.

It was a no-win situation for him. He didn't know what the system would do to protect him.

'You'll protect me, right system?'

'........'

Why does the system always shut up whenever he asks for something? It's really weird. When he wants to shut up, the system would then command him to do something ridiculous.

Bang looked at Ligi and saw that he wasn't better off than himself.

Ligi kept taking glances on his father. There were mixed feelings of curiosity, anger, and frustration that Ligi could not understand. Speechless, he could only frown at his father.

The worst part of it was that his father wasn't noticing him. Deep in his heart, he wanted his father to at least feel something when he is clearly mad at him. He wanted his father's acknowledgement.

At least when his father was scolding him, his father's attention was on him.

That moment of weakness and vulnerability made Ligi even more miserable. He couldn't even be useful to someone who vents their anger. He couldn't even be a punching bag.

The muscle heads became serious as they stepped into the forest. Any carelessness could lead to their deaths.

"Lead the way."

Tarim said that as he gestured to Bang.

Bang noticed that Tarim was different than before. His muscles were the same size but they looked more defined.

It looked like every nook and cranny of his body was sculpted with sharp edges.

He looked even prouder of himself. Any more and he will probably worship himself.

Bang and Ligi were now placed at the front. They are at the most dangerous position to be in when they reach the Limaw.

With the system taking over, Bang traversed through the forest. The muscle heads followed a few steps behind and looked around the vicinity.

As they walked, Bang felt that this part of the forest was familiar. He remembered running through here. Why was he running? He was escaping......From what? Right, the crab.

He remembered the bald spot in the forest. A mess of broken trees and vines. How did he even escape the crab? Right, the crab backed off.....why?

He remembered that the crab suddenly stopped chasing him. Because of the adrenaline, he didn't pay any mind to the reason the crab walked away.

Now he realized it must be because of the bald spot in the forest. It was like an invisible barrier that the Limaw couldn't get through. Or wouldn't go through?

'Is that where the Limaw's nest is?'

As he thought this, he felt a chill on his back. If he were unlucky or that he stayed in that place longer, he could have met the Limaw. He could have died.

The thought scared Bang out of his wits.

In the distance, he could now see the bright spot in the forest. A place devoid of crowns that blocked the sunlight.

Bang slowed down and gestured to the muscle heads. They stopped and readied themselves.

Flexing and stretching their muscles, they finally felt they were prepared.

They inched closer into the bald area and entered. The blazing sun entered their sights. They had to readjust their eyes.

In the distance, they could see a big lump. This lump was like a big rock. It was heaving up and down. Wait, that's not a rock. That's a monster.

Seeing their target in their sights, all of them felt nervous.

The Limaw was sleeping. It had balled up into a ball and it's eyes were closed. Looking closely, it looked like a lizard.

It looked like it's skin was slimy and wet. It looked very vulnerable without scales protecting it's skin. The only protection it had was the shell on it's back.

6 muscle heads surrounded the Limaw, making sure to not make a sound. 1 muscle head stayed behind to make sure the captives doesn't escape.

Unfortunately, the one on guard duty was Tubo, Ligi's father. It was extremely awkward for Bang to even speak. He just looked away, giving them their space.

The two family members kept quiet. Tubo kept his eyes on the fight and kept ready in case of an emergency. Ligi was still stealing glances at his father.

Looking around the area, the muscle heads didn't see any eggs. They looked at the Limaw and saw broken trees and branches where the creature laid.

This must be where the Limaw kept it's eggs.

Seeing they had no clear way to get the eggs stealthily, they got ready for a fight.

Tarim signaled his subordinates to gather around on the creature's face. He pointed at the Limaw's eyes and closed his fists in a forceful manner.

They all got ready and contracted their muscles as if loading a cannon. They closed their fists and punched the creature's eyes.

The combined power of 6 muscle heads was enough to damage and dent the Limaw's eyes.

Surprised at the sudden pain on it's eyes, the creature flinched awake. It roared loudly in pain and anger. It was ambushed while sleeping, of course it would be angry.

The guttural roar sent shockwaves throughout the forest. The muscle heads felt their insides churn and they quickly backed off.

Now standing on it's feet, all of them could see how big the creature was. On Earth, it's size could be compared to a larger and longer elephant.

Like an experienced hunter, they surrounded the Limaw and attacked the parts of the Limaw without the shell.

Their muscles flared in anger and they punched the creature. It was a very barbaric way of fighting that was solely focused on physical power.

It seemed that the punches of the muscle heads worked as the Limaw roared again in pain.

Even though it was blinded, it tried to hit the muscle heads by swinging it's arms wildly.

Although speed and power was the advantage of the muscle heads, their agility was paling in comparison.

They dodged the arms of the creature by a small margin. They deployed a hit and tun tactic that seemed to irritate the creature even further.

At this point, the creature was bloodied and bruised. The Limaw was swaying and it looked slow compared to before. It looked like the fight was the muscle heads' win.

Not waiting anymore, a muscle head went out of formation and checked on the eggs. There, he saw 6 eggs ripe for the taking.

He slowly walked through the nest and was about to pick up the egg when he suddenly felt pain on his back. He didn't even know what hit him as he died.

It was the Limaw who suddenly attacked the unguarded muscle head. It was angered when it felt the disturbance in it's nest.

It suddenly went into a frenzy and opened it's eyes. The muscle heads were unprepared for this and they dodged out of the way.

They were already familiar with the attack pattern of the Limaw but one muscle head felt pain on his chest.

He looked down and saw a huge slash on his chest as he fell down and died.

The creature suddenly grew claws in it's frenzy. It even looked like it had healed it's eyes.

Seeing two of their comrades down, they felt fear and alarm. They stopped attacking the creature and just focused on dodging.

The Limaw was getting faster and faster in it's swipes. The muscle heads felt it was harder and harder to dodge the creature.

The Limaw's eyes were now completely healed and was now swiping with accuracy.

The creature's eyes were getting red and it's movements were getting more aggressive. It was getting angrier as time passed by.

As the barrage of swipes came at the muscle heads, one of them was unfortunate enough to be hit with the claws. Blood sprayed from the wound as he went down.

Only 3 of the 6 muscle heads that fought the creature remained. Ligi and Bang were watching with fear in their hearts. This fight was beyond their level. They wouldn't last a second.

Tubo was also the same. Fear was plastered all over his face. He thought that once he got his power, he would be invincible. The truth couldn't be more further than that. He was weak. He needed more power.

The three muscle heads felt hopeless. They thought that retreating would be the best course of action.

Before they could even retreat, the creature suddenly roared louder than the previous ones. It was a last ditch effort.

After roaring, the creature slowly fell down.

The muscle heads were surprised and looked at each other. Tarim carefully observed the Limaw for any movements.

After a while, Tarim decided to walk to the creature and feel it's life. There were no movements. It looked like the creature was dead.

Tarim rejoiced and quickly gestured for his subordinates to gather the eggs. This mission was a resounding success. The lives lost compared to the eggs gained was a positive.

With only 4 muscle heads and 6 eggs, Tarim decided to let Bang and Ligi carry it.

They could have carried two, but they would need their other hand for the dangers in the forest.

As they were about to depart, they suddenly heard another guttural sound. The ground was shaking as they heard the sound coming their way.

It was another Limaw. It looked the same as the previous Limaw except it was bigger and the shell had spikes on it.

The muscle heads didn't tarry and they ran for their lives.

The creature kept chasing them and it looked really angry at the death of it's partner.

Tarim felt that he had no choice, it was a shame for the 2 eggs but it had to be done.

He kicked Ligi in his stomach making Ligi fall on his knees. With the sudden pain, he let go of the egg.

Tubo saw the event happen and he stopped in his tracks. He looked at Ligi for the first time and they locked eyes with each other.

Ligi thought that finally, his father was acknowledging him. Deep in his father's heart, he cared for him. He wasn't useless.

Then he saw his father bend down, pick up the egg, and started to run.