He knew it was stupid, but his rage got the best of him. He could feel that something was attacking his mind, and it was taking all of his concentration to fight back against it.
With his back turned to Sylas' location, Vorak didn't even notice the flying dagger until it was too late.
It shot downward and ripped apart the Achilles tendon of Drax.
Sylas pulled it back before it could embed itself into the ground. Using telekinesis at the moment, he could only output less than half of his current Strength. However, with the abilities of the dagger, it was just about enough to match him if he wielded a normal dagger without the Pierce ability.
His Will and Charisma average was around 110 or so, which was just barely double his Strength stat. That meant that he needed four times the Will-Charisma average to equate the same amount of Strength… and he would take full advantage of what he had.
The dagger embedded itself into a tree that was nearby, and the second dagger whizzed forward.
Vorak reacted quickly, releasing Snarl's wrist and pivoting. With a strong sweep of his bone ax, he knocked the dagger out of the air.
The force was much too strong for Sylas to get control of it in a short time, so he didn't bother, letting it fall directly to the forest floor as he fell from the trees above.
He hit the ground in a deep squat, not minding a six-meter drop at all. His knees absorbed the impact like a spring and he rolled forward, dissipating the rest of the force before jumping to his feet.
He accelerated forward.
The others weren't sure what had happened because Sylas had already dissipated Madness. He couldn't control who was and wasn't affected, so he had no choice but to do this to avoid friendly fire.
However, it was because they weren't sure what happened that they felt that everything was still going according to the original plan and they burst into action as well.
Sylas, though, was already completely focused on Vorak.
The truth was that he could have likely succeeded in sneak-attacking Vorak as well and taken out one of the largest concerns immediately, but he hadn't done so for two reasons.
First, if he used Olivia's weapons to kill or maim Vorak, it would be a question as to who could claim the Genes. Vorak looked like the best opportunity he had to find something other than pure Physical Genes due to how high his Will and Mental were. Sylas didn't want to muddy those waters.
Plus, Snarl's wrist was snapped, Nala had a nasty gash across its chest and it was quickly bleeding out, and Drax had a useless leg after losing an Achilles tendon.
He had done enough on that front.
He really wanted to fight him.
Vorak's eyes seemed to collide with Sylas' and a high-pitched squeal-turned-roar echoed.
The gnoll elite was about to attack when he sensed other humans suddenly rushing through the clearing. He clearly hesitated, his eyes churning with thoughts that felt distinctly more human than beast.
Sylas could feel it. There was a plan to execute, and Vorak was hesitating about whether it was even possible anymore.
Sylas appeared before the gnoll elite, his fist shooting forward.
Vorak took a step back and swung down at Sylas' arm, wanting to take the whole thing. But Sylas' arm had already pulled back in a feint, his leg whipping against the gnoll's knee.
A subtle glow came from Sylas' shin as his kick suddenly accelerated.
His kick cracked against the side of the gnoll elite's knee and it buckled inward.
Sylas' eyes narrowed. He had expected more substantial damage than that, but he didn't mind it. Caught off balance, Vorak wasn't in a position to counter at all, so he pressed his advantage.
His kicking foot descended to the ground and swung back as he shifted his weight, sending a straight right into the gnoll elite's snout.
Blood spewed, and Vorak stumbled backward. Rage lit the gnoll elite's eyes as he looked like he wanted to rip Sylas' throat out with his bare teeth.
Sylas could feel the flow of battle clearer and clearer. His mind was so calm under the effect of his heavy Will that he seemed capable of thinking three or four steps ahead.
That was why when the gnoll elite's Aether moved, seemingly about to activate a Skill, Sylas activated Sudden Burst first.
His body flickered and his Dexterity increased enough that he went from a full stop to his top Speed in an instant.
The gnoll elite couldn't react to Sylas grabbing the arm of the former's weapon and then driving his elbow right into its snout again.
Vorak's head whipped backward, the feeling of disorientation so heavy that his eyes watered. He tried to wrestle control of his weapon away, but Sylas' Strength was too great to easily ignore.
Sylas drove his elbow across Vorak's snout a second time before the latter lashed out with his free hand, swiping a claw at Sylas' head.
With movement that almost looked pre-planned, Sylas' elbow shifted positions and slammed against the gnoll elite's forearm, blocking the claw swipe. Then, his weight dropped, pulling the bone ax down with him, and Vorak as well, who still refused to let go.
The moment his knees bent to an extreme, he exploded upward, his knee driving right into Vorak's chin.
The gnoll elite's grip loosened on the bone ax and instantly, the Scorned Wrap flared up, burning it to ash.
Vorak stumbled backward, but Sylas' leg kick from earlier kicked in, causing him to lose his balance and fall to a knee.
Without hesitation, Sylas activated Tail Whip again, driving his shin right across the gnoll elite's skull.
The sick sound of shattering bone echoed, and Sylas stood there, taking deep breaths.
Blood dripped from his elbow, both his own and the gnoll elite, but he couldn't feel the tooth fragment embedded into him at all.
His blood was boiling. The flow of battle seemed to be becoming more and more natural to him.