Nick couldn't be so sure about it, but there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he might be right…
And if he was right…
'Jackpot!'
Of course, he couldn't take advantage of the fact that there might be a Beast Den, one that continually spewed out a Radiant Beast here and there at that, but he could sell the information regarding it for quite a high price!
And he just happened to know who exactly to sell it to!
As the only other gang in the War Beast Sanctuary, Dido's War Beasts were the most obvious choice. Not only did they have the power to actually hunt down Radiant Beasts, but they had the capital to pay for such information too!
He just had to prove whether this was actually the case or not. He couldn't just go around and tell them there was a Beast Den only to find out that there wasn't.
If he did that, they might really just ignore all rules and pretences and kill him on the spot — if not Dido, then that psycho Meylin!
Whatever the case, he had to focus on surviving what was right in front of him for the time being.
Or, if the situation presented itself — make his attempt at stealing the kill!
At that moment, Nick happened to see the Mantis swinging its razor sharp scythes at Beast Slayer after seeing that he had blocked its Wind Blades without taking much damage.
Hissss!
The Mantis' blades moved in, about to cross paths with Beast Slayer's armour.
'Is this my chance? Is Beast Slayer actually going to take a hit? The damage would be brutal with his lack of physical defence!'
Nick could feel his blood boiling, imagining a scene where Beast Slayer was just straight up killed then and there.
That would save him a lot of pain and suffering in the future if he did!
Unfortunately, Nick's wishes didn't come true.
Not yet, at least.
Just before the Mantis' blades could cleave Beast Slayer in two — a fate Nick would have spent his entire earnings from his hunt with the War Beasts to see — one of the man's loyal underlings made a swift, last second dive in front of his esteemed leader.
Of course, Nick was certain that Beast Slayer had more Armour type Radiant Beast Armaments he could switch to and defend himself, but that was a risk in and of itself.
The time it would take to unsummon his current armour, and summon a new set could be the difference between life and death.
It was safer for him to just rely on his subordinate's swift action to tank the hit for him.
The man was wearing a strong Mutant Beast Armour, so even if he took the full brunt of the attack, he should be able to survive — albeit with some injuries.
A flicker of light surged across the man's body as he summoned such a Beast Armour, with a full suit of armour plating him up in just a moment.
"Out of the way Boss!" The poor bastard bellowed as he raised both arms, bracing for impact.
But Beast Slayer didn't even pay attention to the guy's words.
"You fucking idiot! You should have had your armour on since the very beginning, not be summoning it now!"
But his scowling for his subordinate's incompetence couldn't amount to much now.
The Mantis wouldn't pause its attack to wait for the imbecile to finish summoning his armour before slicing at him…
SLASH!
The first blade struck with a whistling shriek, shearing clean through the idiot's left arm and embedding itself halfway through the man's shoulder and torso.
The second blade came a heartbeat later, cleaving him diagonally down to the hip with surgical elegance.
Nick winced — more from the noise than the gory scene.
'What kind of fucking retards is Beast Slayer letting into his gang!?' He questioned inwardly.
Even he wouldn't make such a newbie mistake as not activating his Beast Armour — if he had one that was…
But still, the guy either had to be missing a few brain cells or just plain stupid from birth to not realise that making such a mistake in battle with a Radiant Beast might not be such a good idea.
The man split open like a watermelon under a cleaver, intestines unspooled out like party streamers.
A wet thud followed as the top half of his torso slit off and flopped to Beast Slayer's feet, eyes still twitching with his dying confusion.
The scene was brutal. Tragic even.
And absolutely hilarious in Nick's eyes.
Never did he think that Beast Slayer could have let such incompetence into his gang, yet here we were.
The man didn't even get to fully summon his armour before he was slashed to pieces, as the summoning cancelled automatically the moment his life expired.
Beast Slayer could say bye bye to any loaned Beast Armaments the guy had borrowed from him, as they were destroyed now that the guy had died.
That was the fate of any Beast Armaments held by an Altered should they die with them in their possession.
But most importantly, Beast Slayer — the ego swollen maniac, had absolutely not expected that outcome.
He stumbled backward with all kinds of curses and shouts, tripping over the slick entrails of his subordinate, hitting the forest floor hard.
Nick bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing aloud.
'Oh, don't get up… don't you dare get up… just one clean slice… come on, big buggy, redeem yourself!'
He wished and prayed inside for the Mantis to target Beast Slayer before he could summon his own Radiant Beast Armour.
To his immense disappointment, the Mantis didn't go in for the immediate kill.
Instead, it made a move that Nick had never been expecting since the fight began, and one that he had been dreading.
It's gaze quickly turned, mechanically like a robot, and locked onto his location in the bushes.
'FUCK!? Did this thing spot me!??'
Panic quickly started to settle in.