Ben readied himself. So did the trava lupis. Ben from his previous experiences knew that he could last only a few minutes in this state due to his previous exhaustion. He estimated he had to end the battle in 3 minutes or in 180 seconds. If not, he will fall unconscious here and will become the prey for animals. So he moved. With sure and steady legs he ran towards the lupis. The lupis, having seen his close combat proficiency did not want to let Ben anywhere near it. It unleashed the vines and roots.
In the enhanced state, Ben's physical, mental and sensory capabilities had transcended the normal limits. These attacks, without any sound strategy were only paltry in front of him. He dodged them and reached near the lupis in 5 seconds. He struck with his claw swipe. The lupis blocked it with its wine.
The lupis also tried to use its claw and teeth. But to no avail. Its close range capability was limited. It seemed that it had practiced its long range skills much more. Ben did not distance himself from it. Some of his attacks did strike the lupis and it began to bleed. It did not spare its powers to heal itself. All of that was dedicated to fighting the marthya in front of it.
On the wine around its body, suddenly a flower bloomed. The intensity of its aura increased. From what Ben saw, the flower was absorbing the sun's energy. It did not bore well with him. So he tried to stop it somehow. But the lupis was guarding it. The flower was quickly 'charged'. Suddenly from the flower, high intensity energy beam was released. Luckily Ben was on guard and he dodged it. The energy beam destroyed a medium sized boulder in the vicinity. He would have been injured if he was struck.
Suddenly, Ben's senses screamed. He dodged to the right. A large beam, much powerful than the previous one passed through where he was standing. The missed beam struck the root wall that the beast had created to prevent Ben from escaping and completely obliterated it. Ben was terrified. He quickly regained his bearing. He estimated that he only had 90 seconds remaining. He had to end this quickly. He also estimated that the attack used by the lupis was energy intensive. The fact that it pulled of this fiasco, meant that it intended to finish him with this attack.
When he looked at the lupis, as expected it was also panting. Its aura had dimmed and it was gasping with its tongue out. Ben did not waste any time. He moved. The techniques of 'Sharabha Chalanam' had an interesting feature. If used properly, the sudden stopping during motion mentioned in its training can produce life like feints at superhuman speed. Ben was not aware of this. He just used the techniques and principles fully. His speed had enhanced due to his 'rage state' and thus, his movements and sudden stops were producing extremely life like feints, utterly confusing the lupis.
Thus, its attacks became extremely spread. So it lacked the power to kill Ben. Ben did not fully understand why it was attacking so chaotically. But he did not want to take chances. So he attacked with full might.
When the lupis' attention was at his feint, his hand penetrated its body. He tried as much as possible to not damage any internal organs. The lupis fell down. It had a little life left. It looked at Ben, with tired eyes. Ben felt a pang of sympathy when he looked at the creature. He took a small sharp knife and ended its life.
Ben sat down, intending to rest for some time. But suddenly he remembered what Mahaansh said. 'Never let your guard down', Ben thought. He quickly bagged the corpse of the lupis and ran towards the camp. This time he did not lose his way.
He reached the camp and used his token to enter it. Mahaansh and Vishok were not there. So he just drained the blood of the lupis without damaging its fur or skin. Those had its uses. The extraction of the energy core of the beast had to have done by them. The removal of the fur and the vine on the trava lupis had to be done carefully. So Ben waited for them to come back.
While waiting, he cleaned himself and sat down to meditate so that the lost aura could be regained. The meridians had penetrated 85 % in Ben's body, giving him good control over the usage of aura. He was also introspecting the battle he had with the trava lupis.
' Another life or death situation, caused by my exhaustion and lack of awareness. Two other avenues for self development. I need to find out if any meditation techniques are there that makes the mind sharp all the time. I will also need a sensory technique. I was completely caught off- guard by the attack of that lupis.
An attack and movement technique are a must. Well, I have no idea what kind of techniques available and what kind of techniques are suitable for me. I am overthinking again. Let us wait till I have some wealth.'
Having these thoughts, he gradually went into a nap. It did not take long for him to sense the arrival of three powerful energies. Of course it was Mahaansh, Vishok and Azurbaan. Azurbaan had already sniffed the scent of lupis blood. It was excited. This was because the blood and flesh of trava lupis had direct benefits for Azurbaan.
Mahaansh and Vishok were stunned. They knew from the size and various features of the trava lupis, that this one was at the cusp of becoming a noble rank beast. And that was actually killed by a beginner Knight. Although it was not impossible, it did not mean it was easy.
Mahaansh looked at Ben and said, " Boy, you have given me a surprise." Vishok also nodded and said, " To kill a trava lupis, in its home ground is indeed incredible. That too without the support of any true martial techniques. Good."
Azurbaan was not concerned with any of these. He kept on nudging Vishok and looking with 'cute' eyes at Ben. But the attempt of Azurbaan to appear cute was terrifying for Ben. This was a trick that Vishok had taught Azurbaan to pick up girls, when Azurbaan was a little cub. But Azurbaan had forgotten that he was no longer a cub.
Vishok looked at Azurbaan exasperated and then turned to Ben. " Well, as you can see this guy wants that beast. But since it is your catch, I can buy it from you, at a reasonable rate."
Ben understood why this beast was acting so coy. Ben said " Well, you have to give me the market rate for the flesh, blood, fur, bones and energy core of the beast." Vishok's lips twitched. The two of them bargained for some time. Mahaansh did not speak anything. He wanted Ben to have some skills that will help him in martial journey- the skill to obtain resources at a reasonable price.