Tatehan felt genuinely alarmed, his confidence wavering. Sure, he had been dominating the fight earlier, landing clean hits and drawing blood, but this transformation seemed to be a massive problem developing right at this critical moment.

He had actually thought he was gaining real momentum, that he was going to defeat Mub and walk away victorious...

But that wasn't Mub's full form at all. Mub had been fighting without his abilities this entire time. He had been fighting Tatehan like a completely normal human would do— no supernatural ability, no transformation, nothing special. He had been fighting like an ordinary human warrior would, relying solely on skill and strength.

'This isn't looking good at all,' Tatehan thought, dread settling in him.

If Mub was about to be at his absolute fullest power, how was he possibly going to defeat that? How was he going to successfully face off against a literal man-beast hybrid with enhanced everything?

The odds were greatly, overwhelmingly not on his side now.

All the bravery and confidence that had earlier come from gaining momentum was slowly draining away, evaporating like water in the Martian heat. And now fear was actively crawling into him, spreading through his chest.

This wasn't an emotion he could easily control. This wasn't something he could simply shrug away or dismiss with willpower alone.

'When he transforms, his attack patterns will change completely.' He thought.

"Enough games!" Mub suddenly roared, his voice deepening unnaturally, taking on an animalistic quality. "I'll show you exactly why I'm number one in this clan!"

The moment Tatehan had been desperately anticipating was now here, unavoidable. The moment he had been trying to mentally prepare for was now unfolding right before his eyes.

Mub was about to transform fully.

Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, Mub's body began to change dramatically. His already large muscles bulged and expanded grotesquely, swelling to nearly twice their original size. His skin was darkening significantly and hardening, taking on a texture that looked almost like natural armor plating. His fingers extended and sharpened into razor-sharp claws that gleamed dangerously. His face elongated slightly, becoming distinctly more bestial and predatory. His teeth sharpened visibly into prominent fangs that jutted from his mouth.

The Wild Beast transformation was beginning in full.

But even as Mub transformed and Tatehan was starting to panic internally, fighting to keep his composure, he somehow managed to notice something specific in Mub's eyes—something that hadn't been there before this moment.

Uncertainty.

For the first time since this duel had begun, Mub was clearly realizing that Tatehan had been gaining momentum steadily, landing multiple hits, drawing blood twice, something the beast had honestly not expected from this stranger.

What Mub had initially expected was to tear Tatehan into bloody pieces within the first minute as the duel began. Although Tatehan carried the title of Mauler Slayer, Mub clearly hadn't expected him to be able to dodge his attacks so effectively and gain the kind of momentum he had demonstrated.

He hadn't expected Tatehan to put up a genuine, serious fight against him. He didn't think Tatehan would be much of a real challenge at all.

'What did he think I killed... a toothpick?' Tatehan thought with dark humor.

Only someone insane or dangerously arrogant would dismiss one who had slayed the Hexapod Mauler as being easy to face in combat. If one truly knew the mauler species (the Hexapod Mauler variant to be precise) how ruthless and normally unpredictable those creatures were in battle, they would see the slayer as someone genuinely strong and capable.

But Mub thought lowly of his opponents, dismissing them. He had not expected that his opponent, who should have been dead and bleeding out within thirty seconds, was not only surviving but actually winning the exchanges.

And that realization was starting to worry the champion of the Red Crest Clan, shaking his confidence.

But with the looks of things now, watching the transformation complete, it seemed Mub was about to turn the tables back dramatically so the advantage would favor him once again. He was ready to slay Tatehan properly this time.

He was ready to slay the Mauler Slayer and restore his reputation. He slammed the axes together forcefully, gritting his now-fanged teeth.

"YES!" the crowd exclaimed collectively, their excitement building. "Full beast mode! Show him your true power!"

As Tatehan took a brief look at the assembled crowd, their eager faces, he seemed to really realize and understand what they were actually here for.

These people weren't genuinely supporting any particular person in this fight, although some might naturally support Mub since he was the clan's undisputed top fighter. But the main reason most of them were gathered here was simply to see blood spilled and violence unleashed.

They were here for pure entertainment, for spectacle. And Mub, now dramatically hitting the flat sides of the axes against his transformed chest, was about to give it to them.

\I hope I'm able to accurately predict his movements now that he's fully transformed. His patterns might be completely different,\ Tatehan heard Riven say through the earbud, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty.

Tatehan swallowed hard, his throat dry. His life depended entirely on this at the moment—on Riven's ability continuing to work, and on how fast he would be able to dodge and react to the attacks of the transformed Mub.

Mub slammed his axes together one final time with a resounding clang, and with that signal, he charged directly at Tatehan with terrifying speed.

\He's moving faster now, much faster! Left slash coming high, duck and roll right!\

For just a split second, Tatehan wondered how Riven was able to shout instructions at him without being caught or heard by anyone.

Or was she speaking much lower and the earbud he was wearing made it higher.

Perhaps it was the level it was set at, to be able to receive low sounds and make it loud and audible at the other end. Like when he had dropped his voice far below a whisper and Riven still heard him loud and clear.

Tatehan now dropped and rolled, but barely. Mub's speed had increased dramatically. The axe missed his helmet by a hair's breadth.

In desperation, Tatehan quickly unsummoned his sword in a flash of smoke and immediately summoned his chakrams instead, hoping the throwing weapons would give him better range and options against this beast.

He hurled the first chakram with all his strength at Mub's exposed chest.

The spinning blade struck the hardened skin and... bounced off harmlessly with a metallic clang, leaving barely a scratch on the transformed hide.

'Damn it!'

\Second axe coming from below, jump!\

Tatehan leaped, but not quite high enough or fast enough this time.

The flat side of Mub's axe caught him solidly in the ribs mid-air, the impact tremendous even through his armor. Tatehan wasn't sure but he felt something crack inside his chest as he was launched sideways through the air like a ragdoll.

He crashed hard into the ground several meters away, rolling twice before coming to a painful stop.

The crowd roared with approval, although some gasped.

"The mauler slayer is being defeated!"

Tatehan gasped for air inside his helmet, pain radiating through his entire torso. That single hit had done more damage than everything in the fight so far combined.

He saw words flash across his retina:

[70 percent absorbed]

[30 percent impacted]

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