Far away, within the Viltrumite command structure, the atmosphere was far less controlled. Thragg stood at the center of the chamber, his presence alone enough to silence everyone present.
A bunch of reports lay scattered infront him as he went through, his frustration grew with each second, even the way his fists tightened was evidence of that. His jaw too tightened slightly, though his expression remained composed.
"Disobedience…once again, what could he possibly be up to?" he said quietly, almost as if he was asking himself that question. General Kregg stood nearby, along with several elite Viltrumites. None of them spoke immediately.
They understood the situation for what it was; they also understood Thragg's patience had limits, limits nobody in the empire wanted to test.
"He was supposed to follow my orders, Grand Regent, and enforce the worlds in his mission logs, and now he has deserted from us!..... He has exceeded expectations in strength, that's why we need him more than ever," Kregg said carefully. "Reports suggest he has surpassed standard elite Viltrumites; he is literally only second to you."
Thragg's eyes shifted slightly saying, "I am aware. Which is precisely why this behavior cannot continue."
He spoke in a calm manner as if signing a fellow Viltrumite's death warrant wasnt something he would raise his voice over, Thragg continued, "He ignores orders. Operates independently. And now…disappears without explanation. You will locate him."
Kregg nodded in understanding, he cleared his throat and asked: "And if he resists?"
Thragg's gaze hardened, irritated by the question, but he didn't voice that out; instead, he looked at Kregg with a stern gaze that spoke volumes and said, "Capturing if possible, I want to finish him off myself. I hope I made myself clear."
His wording was deliberate so they couldn't misunderstand him. They shouldn't kill him but instead restrain him, and of course, being gently wasnt part of the equation, so they could take an aggressive approach if they wanted to.
Thragg folded his arms behind his back as he turned away and looked at Argall's skull saying, "Do not underestimate him. If reports are accurate, he is already beyond most of you individually."
Anissa and a few others exchanged brief glances; they already knew Harold was not normal ever since he killed Conquest a thousand years ago, so they had basic knowledge of his exponential strength.
So it was basically common sense not to underestimate Harold unless they had a death wish. "…Understood, we won't face him individually, if we come at him at once, there's a chance we might overwhelm him," Kregg replied.
Thragg looked behind slightly, "For your own sake, don't fail me, now go."
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Back on the battlefield, the planet itself had begun to suffer the brunt of this fight. Mountains in the distance cracked under the pressure of their clashes. Valleys split open as shockwaves rippled outward again and again.
The air vibrated with each shockwave that rippled through; it was severe to the point where if a human stood near, they would evaporate like smoke due to compressed air and heat.
The ground no longer held firmly below, as there were earthquakes everywhere, splitting the earth in various directions. These cracks in the ground fell so deep to the point where one would hit the planet's crust soon enough.
Harold was mentally exhausted by physical his body felt like he hadn't even done much. This was because of his near infinite stamina and his regeneration ability, which he stole from Juggernaut...
Blood dripped from his knuckles, from his arms, from the deep gash across his stomach that had long since begun knitting itself back together. The regeneration worked constantly now, fibers reconnecting, skin reforming, damage reversing faster than it could fully settle.
Battle Beast stood across from him, though "stood" was becoming less accurate with each passing moment. His entire upper body was torn open in multiple places, deep wounds crossing over one another until his chest looked more like a battlefield than flesh. One eye was gone, the other burning with that same relentless hunger.
Right now, he was on the ground because of a tackle from Battle Beast followed by rapid punches to his face, but he blocked by bringing his guard up, which prompted Battle Beast to grab his arms and spread them apart.
Battle Beast then bit down on his face, his lower fangs entering below his jaw while his upper fangs couldn't penetrate his skull. "AHHH", Harold screamed in anger and pain.
He struggled, but the force was strong like a clamp; he even tried to punch Battle Beast in the gut, making sure to grab the exposed rib cage and forcefully rip out the bones. With the bones out of the way, he grabbed the lung and squeezed tightly.
But Battle Beast didn't budge, and his skull was slowly cracking, so he decided to change his approach and used his hands to grab the beast's mouth, he was trying to pry it wide open to loosen its grip on his face. This was important because this cat was trying to bite his head off.
So he used all his strength to pry the mouth open, even groaning as he did so, while Battle Beast growled. 3 seconds later, he removed his head from the mouth because the fangs weren't stuck on his face anymore. Blood gushed out from below his jaw as his windpipe could also be seen.
But even though he was now free, he didn't let go of Battle Beasts' mouth; instead, he continued to open it wide open, aiming to make it spread 180 degrees. Battle Beast saw his intentions and started to claw at his abdomen constantly.
But Harold didn't let go, even when tears and blood kept falling from his eyes due to the pain and trauma of this fight, he clenched his teeth and continued to open wider and wider, cracks were sounding out, but he didn't stop even then.
His intestines were being clawed at, but his resolve held him firm; one could only imagine the Beast he would become once this fight was over. To prevent Battle Beast from piercing his heart, he drove his knee into the beast to stun it.
Then he followed with a pivot to jump behind Battle Beast while still stretching the mouth wider open, now that he was behind, he kicked the knee joints to force Battle Beast onto his knees. This position incapacitated the Beast, making it unable to claw at him anymore.