Blood Nemesis

The spikes were never intended to harm the Silvertailed cows. At a glance, it might look strong and sharp, but by taking a closer look, you will see that it was made out of soft mud. The top layer of the spike, which looked hard, was peeling off to reveal the soft interior.

Oliver didn't have to think hard to understand what the Ironclaw was trying to do.

With a smile, he watched the herd of cows panic and scatter.

From several dozen, the herd split into groups of three or four individuals and fled from the spikes. They were too scared to understand it was a trap.

Among the fleeing groups, one also approached the Ironclaw hiding within the tall grass.

The group contained two Silvertailed cows. One was a large cow, and the other was a calf, barely a year old.

The calf, similar in size to a small car, jumped up and down as it closely followed its mother, thinking something fun and exciting was happening, unaware of the danger lurking before them.

The narrator's voice intensified as the show progressed, clearly conveying the mounting tension.

Even Oliver put away his bored expression and began to immerse himself in the show.

Would the calf be safe?

Will the predator succeed once again?

Or will it fail?

Can they escape?

Unknowingly, many questions sprouted in his mind.

Just as he was thinking that, the calf shown on the TV screen took a wild turn and jumped right over the tall grass where the Ironclaw was hiding.

Contrary to what Oliver expected, the beast didn't move an inch.

It left the calf go right in front of it without as much as a twitch.

'In hindsight that makes sense…The Ironclaw will not be satisfied with a small calf.'

Before his thoughts could end, the mother cow reached near the Ironclaw.

The yellow giant, camouflaged within the grass, immediately moved. The mana within its body condensed around its claws and legs.

Defying common sense, it leapt towards the cow.

Like an arrow that was released from a bow, the Ironclaw flew through the air and latched onto the side of the truck-sized Silvertailed cows.

The cow wanted to shake it off.

But before it could do so, two sharp black claws dug into its soft belly, ripping it apart.

The claws were razor-sharp, hard, and durable.

The cow tried to struggle free from the death grip.

However, by each passing second, the claws dug deeper and deeper into its body, finally reaching its heart.

No amount of mana used could stop the claw from moving deeper.

Finally, the primal fear of death flashed its eyes.

It let out a painful cry, startling the fleeing calf.

By the time the calf turned around to look, it saw its mother, bathed in blood. Near it was an Ironclaw, twelve meters in length. The dark yellow scales of it were covered in a similar shade of red as its mother's blood.

The calf paused.

Not out of fear.

Not out of pain.

It just paused and stood still.

Even though its mother was bathed in blood, it didn't understand what had happened.

Never had it seen an image like that before.

The young one was unfamiliar with what death was.

As the Ironclaw plunged its claws deeper, cutting into the flesh of its mother, it still stood nearby.

Just watching.

For some reason, it instinctively wanted to stay back. But it was also unwilling to leave.

So, it silently waited until the Ironclaw carved the flesh and consumed everything it could eat.

It took a while.

The music intensified, and no vocal commentary intruded into the moment.

Only the calf standing like a statue and the Ironclaw eating its fill was shown.

A few seconds later, the image cut to a later time.

The dusk approached as the evening sun sank below the horizon.

The Ironclaw, after eating a majority of the Silvertailed cow's flesh, suddenly stood up.

With a shake of its head, the blood and chunks of meat sticking to its face and mouth fell off.

Turning to look at the sky, it slowly turned around and walked, totally ignoring the calf, even though it knew it existed.

*Sigh*

Oliver took a deep breath and sighed.

What he witnessed was the way of the world.

Whether they knew it or not, similar scenes were happening everywhere in nature.

Like it or not, it could also happen to you one day.

The predator never showed concern for the prey. It didn't leave the calf to live because of the kindness of its heart. It left it there, knowing that it might become its food someday.

[The survival of the fittest is a lie. The rules do not apply in the case of an individual. It can only be used in scale. And ultimately, the only metrics that can determine whether you are fit or not are by checking whether you are alive or not at the moment.]

[So, are you alive?] The narrator asked.

[In this changing world, littered with all kinds of danger, are you sure you are alive? And how long can you be alive?] The voice asked again.

[How fit are you?]

He continued.

[Prove it.]

The narrator's voice suddenly changed.

A new person took over.

[Prove it through action.]

The camera switched again, showing a man wearing a heavy armour-type exosuit.

Suddenly, the man flew into the sky.

The camera switched again and panned to the ground.

Now, the man was below the camera, and the ground was below the man.

As the drone moved, the image of the Ironclaw moving across the grassland was visible from beneath the man.

Immediately after that, a bright red light was released, and the thrusters on the exosuit flared up.

It pushed the body of the man towards the ground. The metallic armour chimed as bluish mana seeped out of the man, hardening the exterior of the armour.

The man plummeted swiftly, gaining momentum.

Then, like a meteor, he struck the Ironclaw's head.

The camera switched to show the horizontal shot of the man kicking downwards with the armoured foot, right on the Ironclaw's head.

Behind them, over the horizon, the sun sat staining the sky red.

*Boom*

The blue mana from the kick disintegrated the Ironclaw's head, sending blood and flesh into the air.

Ironclaw's body quivered and promptly went limp.

The fearsome predator had died instantly.

The man who did it casually walked off the head of the Ironclaw and looked right into the drone camera hovering near him.

[Success through strength.]

The man spoke firmly.

[Join us.] He added.

Immediately after that, the logo of the Guardians guild flashed next to him.

A steel shield on top of a sword.

It spun in the air and flashed twice, signalling the end of the show.

"It was a fucking ad!! And a damn bad one at that!!!" Oliver exclaimed.

Technically, it was a short film. But Oliver didn't give a damn about that at all.