Gaju - One

Chapter 46 - First Meeting

Gaju and his three colleagues only looked at each other when they heard two Griffin screeches in a row sounding through space.

There is no doubt that Gaju's analysis was wrong. They heard the Griffin's voice.

The four people quickly darted down the slopes of the Mountain without any formation and without paying any more attention to their movements.

There was only one word in their heads.

Run.

They were fully aware that the chances of survival against Griffin were minimal. The possibility of winning and slaughtering the Griffin?

Zero.

They had been educated as trained soldiers from an early age, but that did not mean they grew up to be foolish warriors who believed that they were invincible fighters.

They knew their respective combat capacities and fighting abilities. It was precisely because of that that they decided to escape without a second thought.

But, uh,

Reality does not always go according to everyone's expectations.

Not until the count of 5 seconds, a large shadow of a winged creature shot above them.

Boooommmmhm.

The trees and rocks in front of them were shattered. Dust, wood chips, and leaves scattered in all directions.

The four of them stopped their run and put the horses on standby.

The Griffin came and confronted them in front of their path.

It was then that Gaju and his three colleagues saw the figure for the first time.

A creature that has a four-legged body, has the body of a lion and the head of an eagle.

Unlike the mythical story, the Griffin has no two forelimbs and two hind legs of the Lion, but the Griffin that was in front of them right now had four Lion legs on the bottom of its body.

His head is the head of Rajawali which has feathers like a bird up to the lower neck. It has a pointed, sharp beak, slightly curved downward, and is suitable for use to tear apart its prey.

The wings are wings of birds with a stretch of more than 4 meters, with feathers that look shiny when exposed to sunlight.

His body was just like an ordinary lion, nothing special but his slightly larger size, with no mane, with a tail that seemed to move to provide balance when needed.

But.

There was something that made Gaju feel the fur on his back standing when he saw Griffin standing in front of them.

Eye gazes.

From Griffin's gaze, Gaju knew that the animal, rather, the creature, had a higher level of intelligence than ordinary animals. The Griffin that was in front of them could no longer be said to be an 'animal', he was a being that possessed a human-like level of intelligence, and even had emotions.

That made Griffin a much more dangerous enemy than ordinary beasts that relied solely on instinct.

Gaju knows that he is facing the biggest crisis of his life.

Aju, Adel, and Tian feel things that are not much different from what is experienced by Gaju. They just kept quiet and watched the Griffin with a tense and frightened look.

Gaju took out 6 of his needles, three in his right hand and three in his left hand. He will not give up without fighting. He has an obligation to defend himself.

Gaju then walked slowly and advanced forward. His footsteps looked firm and without hesitation.

Aju looked at Gaju and smiled.

"Yes, at least we died after trying," Aju said slowly, as if only to herself.

Gaju glanced at the object in Aju's hand and quickly a name appeared in his memory. The name of a weapon typical of close combatants from Southeast Asia.

Carambit.

"So that's what you made a few days ago in the Workshop?" ask Gaju.

"Yes. This is called Karambit, the mainstay weapon of fighters with pencak silat flow. I love martial arts and silat being my favorite," replied the Keling.

The Keling who was now standing next to Gaju then put his low horses with Karambit in both hands.

Gaju fell silent, everyone has their own path.

Adel and Tian only paid attention to their soulmates who were now in front of them.

As a strategist, the two of them had never thought about how or what they would do in a close combat situation like this.

They always assume that their job is to do the analysis and the fighters who will do the rest. But now, they know that their assumptions are wrong.

Not always they can always rely on fighters to protect them. The basic combat training they got might be able to save them from a less powerful enemy.

But, when faced with the real crisis as it is today, they could do nothing and could only rely on his fate to the two people who were now standing in front of them.

Adel and Tian realized, if after this they managed to survive, they would have to find their own fighting style for themselves.

Must.

Griffin looked at the four prey in front of him with a sneering and condescending gaze.

What can you do in front of my absolute strength?

Perhaps that was the message the Griffin wanted to convey to Gaju and his comrades.

Gaju smiled bitterly when he saw the Griffin's gaze. He clenched his jaw and moved forward.

"Aaaahhhhhhkkkk."

Seeing one of his prey take the initiative to attack him, Griffin flapped his wings and raised his beak upwards.

"Tian, don't lose focus, keep analyzing!" gaju shouted as he jumped towards Griffin and swung his left hand to throw one of his needles.

Aju, who saw Gaju advancing, also moved forward and intended to help Gaju.

A magnificent view was seen that afternoon.

In the middle of a forest full of thick and shady trees, two teenagers are seen attacking and facing a mythical creature named Griffin.

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"Urghhhhh," Gaju was thrown backwards and spewed blood from his mouth.

Aju was knocked unconscious under a tree.

Vain.

All the attacks he had made were nothing but futility in front of the dominance of the mythical creature.

His needle bounced when it hit the Griffin's feathers and wings. The feathers of birds on the head and neck of the creature are not ordinary feathers, even his own needle made from the strongest metal mixture he could produce from the Complex Workshop seemed useless in front of Griffin.

As with Karambit Aju, Aju can only injure some parts of the lion's body belonging to Griffin, but in no way gives fatal wounds to the creature. Just a meaningless scratch.

Aju even fainted unconscious after being hit by a Griffin wing while exchanging attacks with the creature.

Now only Gaju is injured here and there and has just spewed blood that stands in front of this level 3 creature.