6 Friend Turned Foe?

"Chief we can't run much further!"

"I know," Dioro answered the gorilla, "but for now we must run. Just a little longer should do it."

"But Chief, why wait? We should attack before they surround us, and we're at a disadvantage," the gorilla was certain of his plan.

"You heard my order; do you dare defy it?"

"I-I…" the gorilla hesitated in fear of Dioro's punishment. "Of course not!"

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"Then stop talking and pass the order," Dioro was firm with him but not too harsh, letting the gorilla know that he understood the gorilla's momentary lapse in judgment.

"Yes, sir!" the gorilla made quick work to spread the order and keep the troop in order.

"Thank you, Fontu."

"Just following your orders, sir," Fontu sheepishly accepted praise for passing his fumbled orders.

Dioro looked to his right and saw Ania mentally panicking. "Ania, don't worry yourself, He's with Rathe, so I'm certain that he's fine. There is no one in this area that can defeat him, and you know that the harder the challenge, the better he shines, right?"

"You're right, Dioro," she nodded, letting him comfort her aching heart. "You seem to calm yourself. Do you know who's chasing us?"

"Yeah, and so do you," answered Dioro. "It's Zetro."

Ania felt a rush of mixed feelings. She remembered how Zetro would always compete with Dioro, and how he eventually turned on Dioro once the price on Dioro's head got high enough. Since Zetro tracked him down for so long, it was clear that they would be after blood and nothing else.

Guilt could be seen in Dioro's eyes. "I'm sorry for bringing you and the troop into this. I thought I would be able to hide the truth, but it seems I was wrong."

"It's not your fault Dioro, it never was. You shouldn't be blamed for doing something that wasn't wrong in the first place. Besides, there will always be a danger, that's why we chose you as the chief," Ania tried to console him with a call to action.

"Thank you," some light came back into Dioro's eyes.

"You know I'm here if you need me," Ania knew her husband wouldn't need her, but she knew that her being there allowed him to stay calm and not lose control.

"Fontu! We halt in two minutes, make it known!" Dioro prepared for action.

"Yes, sir!"

* * * * *

"You're as quick as ever, Vloz!" Rathe always spoke loudly, even more so when in battle.

"And I see your strength isn't lacking in the slightest," Vloz glanced at the slew of craters in the earth and the dozen trees he had torn through like paper.

"You know it!" proud as ever, Rathe continued his rampage of swings and lunges chasing after Vloz, or better said chasing after his after image. "Stay still! Weren't you so proud to be a whole tier higher than me? Prove it!"

Vloz paid Rathe's comments no heed. He knew Rathe liked to get under people's skin during battle. He also knew that despite being a full tier higher, he shouldn't let Rathe connect a single punch. With the ridiculous physique of an Iron-body Gorilla, his natural strength and defense were off the charts compared to those at the same tier as him. What Vloz wanted was a battle of attrition, where he could continually dodge Rathe's attacks and slowly chip away at the ape until he had nothing left.

"Are you gonna try anything, scaredy-cat? Or do I have to make the first move?" taunted Rathe. "Have it your way. Here I come!"

At this moment both of them released their essence auras. Rathe's was an earthen yellow that compressed itself into thick, studded gauntlets. Vloz's was a purplish-black that seemed like layers of shadows surrounding his claws. They finally got serious.

Yet again, Rathe lunged at Vloz with a right hook and Vloz evaded to the left of Rathe with ease and struck at his chest. Rathe jumped straight up off of his left leg that had lunged forward before, allowing him to dodge Vloz's claw.

His right arm was pulled into his chest to generate momentum and twist around at an incredible speed. He took advantage of that speed by reaching out his left fist as it collided with Vloz's face, sending him flying through the next three massive trees in his path.

"Ha! Are you out of shape, you petty kitty?" Rathe taunted.

Vloz rose to his feet with relative ease and shook the dust and wood chips from his fur. "I should've known you were near a breakthrough. I'll take this as my reminder to never underestimate you." Vloz used his paw to wipe the blood from his mouth.

"Come one already! We need to hurry so I can see the look on Zetro's face when he squares off with Dioro," Rathe yelled.

"Why are you always in such a rush to die? You know that I've had to save you countless times because of that very attitude," Vloz retorted.

"I've always counted that as returning a favor, given how many times I've saved your hide. Let's just call it even and start back at zeroes. That way, after this fight you'll owe me one for not finishing you off," if trash-talking were a cultivation technique, Rathe would've reached the pinnacle of the divine class at birth.

"That's enough chit-chat, you're not the only one near a breakthrough," Vloz vanished. Rathe tried to follow his movement but could barely keep track of him, let alone react to them.

In a moment's time, Rathe had received multiple cuts across his arms as he used them to cover his chest and face. Vloz reappeared behind Rathe this time.

"Now do you see? This fight is useless if you can't even touch me, or even get away from me. You can only stand there and take it. I don't underestimate that miraculous defense of yours, but you and I both know that eventually, you will fall," Vloz always lived by logic.

If something made sense to him, he would do it. If it didn't follow logic or reason, it was a futile effort to try and convince him otherwise. This was something that these long-time partners never shared.

"Ha! Is that all you've got?" Rathe's banter knew no end. "So, you gave my arms a trim, big deal. Get serious already! You know I don't plan to hold back!"