Soon, Drakar's breathing quickened, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His hands, once fiercely swinging the cutlass, suddenly stopped, falling limply to his sides. He stood there, eyes wide with awe, gazing at the extraordinary scene before him.
Before him stood a behemoth, moving contraption whose body seemed crafted from several large pieces of sturdy metal. The rectangular torso featured a smaller rectangular shape at one end for its head. Its neck, a slightly curved cylinder connecting head to body, had smaller, pointed triangles on top resembling ears.
A long, gigantic tail extended from the back like a flowing, tapered triangle. The creature's towering legs resembled long, vertical cylinders ending in hooves shaped like rounded ovals. However, it wasn't the sheer size of its body or the fact that its head almost pierced the clouds that left Drakar more astounded.
What truly amazed him was the presence of various homes scattered all around its body, on and in this colossal moving contraption. They oddly resembled the tree houses from the four-eared beings who had come to trade with the village within the farm.
The scene before him appeared so surreal that he wouldn't have believed it if someone had described it. In fact, he was certain that anyone who hadn't witnessed this spectacle wouldn't believe his words. It was truly...
"Runaway Cities, individuals aspiring to become legends, creatures capable of battling against the Vylkr vines," Drakar said, his body shivering with intense excitement. "I've found it."
Suddenly, a smile curved his lips, and he roared in happiness, "I'VE FOUND IT!! HAHAHA... I'VE FOUND IT!!" Drakar screamed joyfully, swinging the cutlass to sever the Vylkr vines and free himself. With resolve, he made his way toward the colossal moving metal contraption.
Meanwhile, within minutes, the colossal contraption that was initially far away had drawn close, causing Drakar to raise his head further upwards, gazing at its long legs.
Suddenly, Drakar snapped his head to the side and noticed several figures approaching him.
Narrowing his eyes, he saw about four figures rapidly heading toward him, skillfully dodging the Vylkr vines in their path until they finally arrived and came to a halt before him.
The four figures were draped in milky white cloth, covering them from their legs to their necks, with only their forearms and faces exposed.
However, what captured Drakar's attention wasn't their peculiar clothing but the thick, odd bracelets on their wrists and the remarkably large weapons they effortlessly wielded.
It became evident to him that the people standing before him were not opponents he could easily deal with.
"Who are you? How are you here alone?" a robust, ragged voice echoed through the air, emanating from the man at the forefront of the group. He wielded a strange two-meter (6.5 feet) long spear with several detailed metal contraptions moving within it, clearly establishing himself as the leader.
Drakar, curiously, asked, "Who are you?" as he gazed at the individuals before him.
The man furrowed his brows and frowned before shaking his head in response. "Look here, we asked you a question first, so who are you?" he demanded again.
Drakar entered deep thought before nodding in understanding.
"Okay then, I am Drakar," he responded.
"...Drakar," the man repeated as though getting used to the name before nodding in understanding.
"How are you here? Which runaway city do you come from?" he asked, eyeing Drakar warily.
Drakar pondered momentarily before responding, "I come from far away, within the mountains."
The man and the group fell into deep thought upon hearing Drakar's reply.
"Now, I've answered you; tell me who you are. And if you are from that thing?" Drakar asked curiously, pointing at the behemoth moving contraption, as he awaited their response.
The man furrowed his brows.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to come with us before we can tell you anything," he said.
Drakar looked at the man who had ignored his questions, along with the three figures now approaching him.
Gripping his cutlasses tightly, he asked, "Aren't you going to answer my questions?"
The man shook his head in response. "Before I answer any of your questions, there are still some things that we would want to know about. So please come with us, and we can get this done as quickly as possible," the man said.
Drakar frowned deeply.
"And what if I said I'm not going anywhere until you've answered my questions?" Drakar responded.
"Then we will have to capture you by force and bring you back. However, I would advise that you come with us peacefully because, from the looks of it, it seems as though you don't have it in you to fight properly," the man responded as he looked at the other four figures and gave them a silent signal.
"We'll see," Drakar said as he raised the cutlasses in both hands.
"Capture and restrain him. However, be careful. For him to stay out here too long, he must have some skills," the man ordered.
Instantly, all four individuals raced towards him, intending to confront him head-on.
Witnessing this, Drakar gritted his teeth, released his Vylkr energy from all three Vylkr containers, and immediately activated his gift.
After ten minutes, the area around them was filled with deep gnashes and pits that extended for several meters deep and long. Within the centre of these deep pits, three individuals lay unconscious on the ground with several injuries around their bodies, and their large weapons lay at the side beside them.
Meanwhile, beside them, two individuals stood on their feet, staring at each other as they breathed out raggedly.
Drakar had several pierced wound marks around his bloodied body, including the piece of cloth tied around his waist that wasn't spared and was riddled with several sword marks that seemed as though it would fall apart at any second.
Meanwhile, the man standing in front of him didn't look too good either, as the grey clothes that were wrapped around his figure had been torn severely, exposing his injured, bloodied figure. However, the most eye-catching thing was that his two-meter (6.5 feet) long spear was now about three and a half meters long (11 feet) and vibrated with an intensity that caught Drakar's attention.