The revenge of the dethroned king

Aris missed again. His left arm had already delivered a monstrous hook to the little beast, but now it wasn't really responding. It was too late to match the already weakened reaction speed of the fallen king.

"Shit."

Aris moved to the side, which later proved to be a very bad idea. The large fennec attacked him while he was still lying on the ground. Its long rows of teeth flew toward Aris, who could only stare in horror.

He rolled to the right with all his strength and got back on his feet as quickly as he could. The situation was catastrophic. He who had attacked the little fennec fox thinking he could eat it now found himself surrounded by two hungry beasts who wanted nothing more than his skin. The situation had been reversed, and the hunter found himself being hunted.

"Shit."

Once again, Aris swore and tried to find an opening to escape. However, the large fennec saw him and as soon as he took a step forward, it jumped, opening its mouth, toward his ankle.

Aris didn't waste a second and, with the little reflexes he had left, managed to land a kick on the small creature. The little fennec didn't take long to strike back. This time, Aris couldn't dodge, and instead of hitting back, he found himself bitten on the ribs. The pain of having one side crushed was unbearable, but luckily, he was still wearing his armor. In fact, it gave out just as he got rid of the fennec.

The bitten side revealed a simple, dull brown tunic. Aris lifted his head and saw the little fennec violently spit out the piece of armor it had torn from him. Then the small creature grinned, bits of metal poking out from its mouth.

"Are you kidding me?"

However, Aris didn't have time to wipe that grin off the little beast's face, because the bigger one came rushing in from behind. Aris felt it coming. Normally, no one could defeat Aris with just two people. Let alone two little fennecs who thought they were real threats. But right now, just one of those things was already too much trouble.

Aris spun around quickly and faced the second fennec. But then he heard the light footsteps of the smaller one closing in fast. Aris's heart skipped a beat.

A weapon. He needed a weapon. Aris didn't have one. Suddenly, his gaze locked onto something. Not even a second later, he lunged for it. The fennecs looked at him like he'd gone mad and moved toward their prey. Soon, the two creatures were closing in on the fallen king.

But to their great dismay, both were knocked away by a small rectangular sign Aris had ripped out of the ground. On the sign, it read:

"Welcome to the Western Lands."

Aris got back up, holding the sign and its wooden stake. It wasn't exactly a weapon, but it would do. After all, the fallen king was a master of arms.

The two fennecs got back up like nothing had happened. Clearly, those two were tough as hell. But Aris didn't have time to dwell on it. In fact, a bit of good news had just come to him—the stake ended in a sharp point. A point he could use to pierce those monsters.

Still, he had to be precise. Not a single movement could be wasted. One wrong step could be fatal, even against those disgusting creatures that looked like fennecs.

The two beasts stood facing Aris, eyes filled with rage, but Aris kept his cool. The smaller fennec attacked first, and in its shadow, the larger one followed. They started zigzagging in front of the fallen king. Aris had no idea they were capable of such coordinated movement.

Their intention was clear: to confuse him. The question now was—who would strike first? Aris couldn't believe how perfectly synchronized they were, but there was no time to admire them.

He watched their pattern, studied it as they advanced. He had to keep calm and rely on his perfect analysis. He focused hard, reading the smooth rhythm of their movements—their breathing, their timing, their steps, their gaze. And then it hit him: they were going to strike at the same time. One low, the other aiming high.

In a flash, he detached the rectangular sign from its wooden stake and faced them—stake in his right hand, sign in his left. The big fennec jumped a split second before the small one, lunging straight for Aris's chest. Fortunately, Aris blocked it with the sign.

The smaller one rushed at his already injured left leg, but Aris saw it coming and, at the last second, drove the stake into the monstrous creature. It pierced with difficulty, and black blood sprayed from the wound. The little fennec was left impaled, a massive stake lodged in its body. It thrashed for a moment, then went still. The light gone from its eyes.

But the big fennec didn't seem to care. It kept attacking the rectangular sign while Aris did his best not to let it break.

The situation was a bit better now—but at this distance, he had no chance of driving the stake into his second target.

The big fennec backed off to gain momentum. Aris used the moment to shift back into a defensive stance.

His status as a fallen king didn't stop him from being just as devastating in battle. There was no mistaking it—right now, Aris had the upper hand.

The large fennec charged at him again. This time, Aris charged too. The two collided, and the former king shoved the beast violently. It jumped back, but as soon as its feet hit the ground, it came right back after him.

Aris changed the way he held the sign. Instead of holding it vertically, he turned it sideways—and just as the fennec leapt over it, Aris used the board to launch the creature upward.

The fennec soared over two meters into the air. It was exactly what Aris needed. Without hesitation, he pushed off the ground and, just as the beast came back down, drove the wooden stake straight into its mouth. The fennec's face twisted in surprise, and moments later, the light faded from its eyes. The stake had gone clean through—it was the kind of blow no monster could survive.

Aris looked at his trophy, skewered on the end of his staff. Black blood slowly trickled down the wood. The former king watched the liquid creep dangerously close to his hand. He avoided touching it—he knew the scent might attract more fennecs.

He lowered the beast to the ground and slid it off the stake.

"Holy hell... it's finally over. I just hope I can—"

Suddenly, Aris's eyes snapped toward the small fennec's corpse. That's when he saw the third unwanted guest that had joined the scene. A fennec was dragging the dead one's body with its tiny jaws.

But that wasn't why Aris turned pale.

It wasn't just one.

There were at least a dozen...