7 Confronting the Pursuers

"Halt!" Dioro yelled to his troop as they all stopped and stood behind their leader, awaiting orders. "Wait for them to show their faces. I already know who is behind this but treat them with the greatest suspicion all the same. Only attack in defense or on my orders, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the dozens of gorillas yelled in unison.

Battle ready and focused on the oncoming enemy, the entirety of the troop released their auras together in search of the hidden targets in hopes to smoke them out.

The hidden enemies came out one by one as they surrounded the gorillas with their overwhelming numbers. They had heads similar to baboons, but their fangs and jaws were far larger than normal. Their spines almost feline, yet their claws had fingers and thumbs.

The gorilla clan recognized them as Saber-tooth Baboons and waited as the enemy leader finally showed himself.

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"Dioro! Long-time no see old friend," Zetro grinned.

"Zetro, what do you want? Make it fast," Dioro was unfazed.

"Is that how you treat an old pal? We even fought each other back during our tournament days," Zetro brushed over Dioro's deadpan comments, "Why would you have to worry about seeing me? Forgive the game of cat and mouse, I just wanted to see how well you would handle your clan under pressure."

"Get on with it, Zetro. I have no patience for people like you," Dioro demanded.

"You always were pushy, now that I think about it. Fine, I admit I've digressed. So, how about you make haste and hand over your divine core?" that wry smile returned to his lips.

"Is that all?"

"Of course, that's all. What do you take me for, a thief?" Zetro pretended to be offended.

"Oh, I take you for far more than that if I remember correctly. Even if I handed it over without any trouble, there's no telling what you'd do to with my clan. You'll rarely admit it, but you were always one of the vilest mutts I've ever met."

Zetro's face tightened when he heard those words. "Is that so? Then I guess I can just skip the formalities. I challenge you to a duel, winner takes the other's divine core. How about it?"

"Oh? Why should I accept?" asked Dioro.

"Let's just say that I know your pal Rathe isn't coming to help," stated Zetro.

"Are you sure about that, Zetro?" Dioro asked.

"Let's just say that we found an old friend of his, but that's beside the point. Don't forget about your son Oli, that was his name, right?"

"What have you done?" asked Dioro as his eyes narrowed.

"Who me, I haven't done anything yet. We have a few youths that stayed back to capture the boy while Rathe was busy. If you fight me and win, nothing happens to the boy. If you lose, well, I'm sure you know what's coming after that," Zetro gave a light howl and a portion of the baboons backed up, forming a perimeter around an open area. "All you have to do is fight me right here right now. Surely the great champion Dioro won't turn down a challenge, right?"

"Dioro, you don't have to—"

"Ania, don't worry. Like I said, I already knew what I was getting into," Dioro approached the open area with calm, exhibiting no nerves or rush.

"Good, I'm glad you've accepted my terms," Zetro entered the perimeter as the baboons closed it off, creating one circle around the troop and one around the two chiefs preparing to do battle. "I hope you're ready Dioro because I can't wait to get my hand on that core of yours and finally push myself to the next tier!"

With that, Zetro released his yellow essence to coat his claws and pounced at Dioro with full force.

Dioro also released yellow essence, but it compacted itself into an almost paper-thin layer covering his entire body. And even when Zetro took the offensive, Dioro did little to defend and just raised his forearm to parry the blow like it was nothing.

"Is that all you've got, Dioro? Oh, how the former champion has fallen!" Zetro mocked this measly attempt at defense with such a small amount of essence.

Zetro sped up, deciding to overwhelm Dioro's defenses with the sheer quantity of attacks. He succeeded in forcing Dioro to step back and take guard, but not a scratch could be found on his essence armor.

"Are you surprised?" Dioro began to converse while defending himself. "It may not seem like much, but my earth essence has just been compacted so much that it's virtually impenetrable. Go ahead and try your best, it's been a while since I got to test its limits."

"Dioro!" Zetro had always hated Dioro for his extremely cocky remarks that always cut daggers into his heart.

Releasing the entirety of his aura and channeling his full power into his claws, Zetro continued his assault onto Dioro. Gradually, he chipped away at Dioro's defenses until signs of wear appeared on the gorilla. Zetro was finally satisfied to know that he could break past Dioro's defenses and deliver a single killing blow. That's what he thought until he noticed the armor repairing itself with every second.

"Not bad, Zetro," Dioro stood tall to face his now frowning opponent, "But with that level of strength, you'll have to be far faster to break through my defenses before they fix themselves."

"Is that so?" Zetro's grimace was ugly to behold, "Then I have no choice!" again, Zetro dove at Dioro as another two Saber-tooth Baboons stepped in and joined the barrage, not letting the armor have a chance to self-repair. "How will you fare if we add two early-perennials? Let's find out!"

"That's against the rules!" one gorilla rejected the challenge.

"Stop!" Fontu stopped that gorilla and all those thinking to step in. "Remember the chief's orders!"

"But…"

"Or do you reject him as your chief?" Fontu mimicked Dioro's former sternness, silencing the gorillas. "Wait for the chief's victory. Until then, there is nothing we can do."