Survival of the fittest

Michael's plan was pretty simple; he would poison the Gogis.

Since he was weaker than the Gogis, and he had only one ally by his side, Michael deemed it necessary to be fully prepared for the Gogis' attack.

He didn't have enough funds to purchase lethal poison with the effect to killing powerful opponents, but his savings, combined with the little money he had to spare from his first income as a Lord had been enough to purchase a simple poison that attacked the nervous system of the affected, paralyzing the victim for a few minutes.

It was like a narcotic, just a tad weaker and easier to use.

Michael could only purchase a single bottle of the paralyzing poison with his meager funds but that had to be enough.

"Gogis are dense, and their attacks are simple. If you can keep them distracted for a few minutes, the tide of the battle will turn in our favor," Michael said before he began to elaborate the plan he had in mind, sharing more details.

Tiara listened intently and nodded every few seconds.

Two minutes later, she dashed through the thicket and emerged outside the protection barrier. Her eyes moved from left to right before she kicked on the ground. Tiara darted to the left and the heads of all Gogis followed her movements at once.

The Gogis picked up their spears and stones and threw them with full might at the detestable target. However, before any projectiles could hit her, Tiara disappeared behind a humongous tree.

She reappeared on the other side a moment later, only to vanish into the nearby bush, confusing the Gogis. In the following 60 seconds, Tiara kept the group of 30 Gogis fully distracted. Their heads flicked in Tiara's direction, and the only time their focus wavered was the second they took to pick up new projectiles to throw at the Battle Maid.

The Gogis forgot about the protection barrier and kept attacking Tiara. Upon noticing that their projectiles were useless, some Gogis began to charge at Tiara.

It was only a moment later when it happened.

A loud thud resounded through the area, which was immediately followed by the crisp sound of rustling leaves. The Gogis were too engrossed in cornering Tiara so even if they heard the sound, they were already focused on the target ahead of them. They didn't want to give their target an opportunity to escape now that she had left the protection barrier. She had killed too many of their comrades to be kept alive!

Thus, they ignored the continuous sound of thuds and rustling leaves and only looked up when their brethren roared out in anger.

The Gogis turned around, only to halt in their tracks upon seeing that six of their brethren were lying on the ground, spiked with several arrows.

More arrows flew through the air, hitting another target three times in quick succession. After the first arrow hit the target, the Gogi stumbled. However, only after the second and third arrow impacted did it collapse.

They were not yet dead, but their combat prowess had been nullified by Michael who paralyzed them for the next few minutes.

All of that was thanks to the poison-coated arrows Michael shot at his targets.

He was standing on a tree branch high up in the air, dozens of meters away from the Gogis. Michael had left the protection barrier earlier to find a better position to attack the Gogis secretly.

He could locate his opponents quite easily from his position with his Eagle Eyes while the Gogis didn't have such an ability. Furthermore, their tracking skills were not exactly exceptional either.

"One of my people stole your Bilroxs' eggs, but you attacked my territory. We started it first, but that doesn't mean I'll allow you to hunt me down!" Michael mumbled to himself as he coated the next three arrows in the bottle of paray poison.

Initially, Michael wanted to grow his territory inside the protection barrier first. He had too few subjects and missed out on a vast pool of information about the surrounding area and the Overlords of the rainforest by staying confined to his territory. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Origin Expanse wasn't going to be merciful enough to give him enough time to build his territory.

The Gogis had a good reason to attack him, but it was not as if Michael would allow them to destroy everything. They were stupid and already fully focused on Tiara.

They didn't even realize that someone else had already sneaked up on them and believed that Tiara had unleashed some sorcery to attack from a different angle. They didn't see a second person, which meant that there was no second person – obviously.

Michael chuckled when he realized that the Gogis were not even trying to find him. Their eyes kept following Tiara as the Battle Maid continued to run around and distract them. She closed the distance between herself and the Gogis every now and then before diving deeper in the rainforest's thicket, evading several projectiles easily.

Her movements were graceful and nimble. It was easy to tell that she had been trained meticulously and that her body was well-balanced, able to discharge tremendous strength through every single muscle fiber in her body without adversely affecting her flexibility.

Michael observed the battlefield intently in the meantime. He finished coating the next batch of arrows and nocked the first on the bowstring. He pulled the bowstring back when most of the Gogis were focused on Tiara and aimed.

However, he didn't release the arrow immediately as a doubt flashed through his mind.

'Three arrows are enough to paralyze them, but is it really alright to leave them alive?'

He noticed that some Gogis had finally diverted their focus from Tiara to help their injured comrades. They dragged their comrades over the ground and away from her, increasing the distance to both the protection barrier and Tiara.

They were moving closer to Michael's position but that didn't change the fact that the Gogi seemed fiercely loyal and had an extreme sense of unity.

'If I leave them alive, they'll be able to flee…by the time I face the Gogi Lord I will have to face more enemies, who're thirsting for my blood…'

He looked at the Gogi he had targeted earlier, grit his teeth, and changed his target. The next moment, his arrow aimed at one of the Gogis who was trying to pull his comrade out of the danger zone. Then Michael released the arrow and observed as it flew towards its target.

Shivers ran down his spine and goosebumps spread all over his body as his eyes followed the arrow's trajectory precisely. It was almost as if time had slowed down as the arrow pierced the Gogi's head, precisely shooting through its ear, and penetrating the brain.

The Gogi was not even able to utter a sound as it collapsed on the ground and died at once.

Michael retched after witnessing the devastating damage a single precise arrow could cause and tear his opponent. He felt like vomiting but forced his stomach to calm down and swallowed the bile rising in his throat.

He was a little bit disgusted with himself even now, but Michael understood that strength meant everything.

Murder was not nice, that was for sure. However, killing the opponents who wanted to see him dead was a necessity if he wanted to survive.

The Origin Expanse was a cruel game of survival of the fittest. Being merciful to those who wished to see him dead would lead to more problems.

He couldn't spare the lives of his opponents, or he would be the next to die.

'Get your fucking act together! It's either you or them!!'