FAMILY ABOVE ALL: BATTLING AGAINST GODS

 

Three bodies lay on the ground near each other.

Leo's corpse was atop the Torkun's, and there was no movement from the two.

Arlo on the other hand gasped softly for breath.

He was completely spent. His right hand was completely crippled while his left arm was riddled with holes. He could feel his life draining away from his body as he continued to gaze at the crimson sky.

'Father, mother…is this the end?' Two lines of tears fell down his face.

…..

[Joe's POV]

I moved far away from the battle. I was petrified on the spot with my mouth hung wide open as I gazed at the corpses that littered the ground.

'What the hell?'

'He is so young, yet so strong.'

Seeing that the battle had ended, I wanted to make my way toward the young boy.

However, I stopped several times. Even from here, I could tell he was fatally injured as the amount of blood that had pooled up under him was simply much.

'He will soon die,' I quickly concluded.

At this moment, I recalled something very important.

In all my life, my father had only ever given me two gifts.

The first gift was a bottle of pills.

I could still remember what he said when he handed them to me.

"Son, these pills can save your life even at the brink of death. They are called life pills and they are the only three on this continent. Use them wisely and don't let anyone know of it, not even your siblings."

Not hesitating, I fetched out a round silver pill from a small pouch hidden in my pants.

The one I hung on my waist had already been taken, however, it was just a fake as the main one was kept in the safest place one could ever imagine.

My pant.

A rich medicinal fragrance filled the surroundings as I quickly ran towards him.

Arriving at his location, I found his eyes closed with two lines of tears drying up on his face.

"BROTHER!" I screamed in panic.

I quickly took the pill, opened his mouth, and shoved it down his throat.

Controlling my emotions, I knelt beside him and sent my mana into his body to help absorb the pill.

After a few minutes.

His closed eyes trembled slightly, and after some time, they slowly slid open.

When I saw that the pill really worked, tears of joy streamed down my face as I choked out the words:

"Brother, I thought I lost you. How could you do this to me?"

Looking at the stunned expression on his face, I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

'Hehe.'

'That is right. You have no choice but to be my brother.'

'Hmph. You should be proud, we aren't even on the same level.'

...

Arlo put on a weird face.

'From savior to brother, to junior brother, and now to brother once more. This boy really is shameless.'

However, he also felt gratitude.

"Thank you." He could feel his body rapidly healing. His crippled hand and injured veins were being restored rapidly.

"There is no need for such words between brothers."

"When did I become your brother?"

Joe thickened his skin and replied:

"Immediately when I saw you, I felt some kind of bloodline connection between us. It was almost as if we were meant to…"

*Spu...*

Arlo shifted his head to the side and spat out.

"Your shamelessness really has no bounds."

Joe's face turned a red shade. Even with his thick skin, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

"You should leave." Arlo suddenly said.

"Huh?" Joe was perplexed about why he would suddenly send him away.

"Those three said there is a camp of theirs near here. The fight just now must have created a huge ruckus in this silent forest. So you should leave before they come here to investigate," said Arlo.

"What about you?" Joe asked.

"Though whatever you gave me healed my injury, I still feel exhausted and I can barely move my body."

"Huh?" Joe looked at Arlo with a strange expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" said Arlo, his voice cold.

"Why didn't you ask me to carry you along?"

Without waiting for him to reply, Joe lifted Arlo and tried to carry him on his back.

"Hey hey, why do you keep holding my butt?" asked Arlo his voice tinged with fear.

"Hehe, don't worry about it. I will be gentle."

"You…"

Two little boys less than ten years of age were entangled together in the silent forest, with corpses around them...

…..

Two hours later.

Joe carried Arlo on his back as they both moved in the direction from which Arlo entered the forest.

Arlo had his eyes closed all this time, but suddenly his eyes flashed open.

"I can sense a presence."

Sure enough, before Joe could even reply...

*Whoosh.* the wind whistled.

An old man with a white beard and hunched back suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Stop!" The old man said, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

Joe had no choice but to stop.

What was surprising was that the old man said nothing else and simply waited.

Joe's forehead soon became covered with sweat.

After about five minutes.

Joe turned his head back as he felt some movement behind them.

A group of eight people appeared before them.

A tall middle-aged man was leading the group while a huge man of about 2m was pulling a wooden cart behind the group.

Focusing his gaze on what the man was drawing, Joe couldn't help but gulp nervously.

Atop the wooden cart were three bodies. Both Joe and Arlo recognized these bodies as they belonged to Leo, Nio, and Rio.

"Sure enough. You both know what happened to them." The middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader of the group said as he stopped in front of Joe.

"Speak."

"Who killed my brothers?" asked the leader, his voice dripping with killing intent.

Joe didn't hesitate at all as he answered:

"It was the Torkun."

*PAA!* A resounding slap echoed out.

Joe was sent flying, along with Arlo who was on his back.

A scorching red handprint appeared on Joe's face, and two of his teeth were knocked out as blood dripped down the corners of his mouth.

Joe's eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

This kind of pain was simply unbearable for him.

"Don't try my patience, brat." The leader asked again as he moved closer to the two.

Arlo sighed.

He was just about to open his mouth to confess he was the one who did it. But...

"Little brother, be-believe in me." Joe suddenly said to him, as he flashed him a confident smile.

However, the smile didn't look so confident as two dams of tears had already broken down his face.

"Oh!" The leader suddenly exclaimed. He didn't even glance at Arlo from the beginning.

Now that he did, he could sense that the aura around Arlo was strangely different. It didn't take him long though, to realize why it was different and he suddenly exclaimed.

"A HUMAN!" The leader's eyes became filled with greed, the killing intent now seemed to have disappeared.

"What?" The others were suddenly startled.

The old man along with the others quickly fixed their eyes on Arlo.

"He really is!" the old man exclaimed, his eyes also filled with greed. He didn't bother to observe the duo at first as he found it beneath him.

The leader coughed and collected himself as he returned his gaze to Joe. Now, Joe didn't seem that important to him.

"Max, come draw out the truth from this brat. If he doesn't speak, you know what to do, right?" The leader suddenly said as he turned to the back of the group.

The huge man pulling the cart suddenly let it down and cracked his hands while walking towards Joe.

"Don't worry, boss. I will handle it."

Looking at the man with bulging muscles and scars across his face, Joe's legs continuously wobbled on the ground.

"Joe..." Arlo said.

"Don't wo-worry about me. I may be a we-weakling but I am still a royal." Joe smacked his chest confidently, his legs shaking intensely and tears streaming down his face.

Suddenly...

*ROAR!*

*ROOAR!*

*ROOOAR!*

Angry roars shook the entire forest, the last especially sounding majestic.