Wait! Was I Seriously Just Reincarnated As a Cat?-Chapter 39: Asserting Dominance

"Huh"

I could detect something, or rather feel it, coming from the ancient symbol that I jumped away from. It felt ominous, as if it connected to another world.

And just as I thought, a geyser of blood shot out from the ritualistic symbol, aiming straight for me. However, my body twisted midair as I dodged the torrent of blood, evading it right in the nick of time as I landed on the ground.

"What?" The Leader of the skinwalkers seemed surprised that I could evade his skill so effortlessly, but it was thanks to Lucky Dodge that I was even alive.

"Hah, what’s wrong, cat got your tongue?"

He scowled at me before holding up his hand to utilize more of his ominous skills.

I had to see what I was working with.

"Appraisal."

Everyone with a soul had a status hub, regardless of who or what they were. All status hubs were private information, unless the user willingly shows someone their stats.

But there were some skills that could bypass that rule, like Appraisal for example.

Unless he had an information concealment skill or something of that nature, his data would belong to me. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

[[Name: Naldoola

Titles: Beast Slayer, Man Slayer, Kin Eater, Cannibal

Race: Beast—Skinwalker

LVL: 9/10

Strength: 91

Speed: 89

Agility: 93

HP (Health): 1,170

MP (Mana): 960

SP (Stamina): 1,330

Intrinsic Skills: Night Vision (LV: 2), Keen Senses (LV: 3)

Special Skills: Blood Manipulation (LV: 5), Sacrificial Chorus (LV: 3)

Epic Skills: Blood Rain (LV: 2)

Resistances: Disease (LV: 2), Curse (LV: 2), Luck (LV: 4), Poison (LV: 7), Corrosion (LV: 5), Acid (LV: 3), Fire (LV: 5)]]

Just like I thought, I could see his stuff.

[Level 9, huh? He’s just one step below me. I should be able to handle this fairly quickly! He’s not even a Boss-Class beast.]

A wide grin crossed my feline face—or rather a confident one—to be exact.

I could handle this with ease.

"You will not escape me! With the power of my magic, I control all blood. Once you’re captured within one of my magic circles, it will be over." He also sounded confident in his abilities, but not as much as I.

"Go ahead and try it and see where it gets you!!" I hissed back with bristling fur.

"Haaaah!" On the far left of me, Rowan was engaging in battle with two other skinwalkers who seemed hesitant thanks to Aristella’s magical illusions.

I didn’t realize it at first, but her illusions were actually starting to move and interact with the physical world—which only scared the other skinwalkers even more.

I don’t know how she does it, but her magic was incredible.

There was no reason for me to worry about those guys, they can handle themselves.

Especially Conndo and his band of frogs.

The moment I finished that thought, Naldoola moved in the blink of an eye, literally vanishing.

I was definitely a lot faster than him, but he caught me off guard.

My instincts yelled at me before my eyes could keep up.

"Crap, he’s behind!"

It was too late, I could feel something slam into my side like a freight train, sending my body flying across the dirt and skidding hard before I crashed into a hut wall, knocking it down.

Wood splintered around me as my HP hit a massive dip.

"Gah!" I coughed, shaking dust from my fur before standing back on my four paws

I was a damn idiot, I had no experience in combat, except for maybe Croak’mar and that Hydra. But even then, my mom was the one who slew that bastard while my army aided me in defeating the hydra.

What have I done by myself, like a true ruler?

"That really... hurts!"

All of a sudden, blood flowed through the air where I’d been a second earlier, moving like living whips and carving deep marks into the ground.

It was my blood, and it became solid.

This was definitely the act of his skill, Blood Manipulation.

"Your confidence will be your undoing, small beast!" Naldoola snarled as his eyes glowed crimson red. "Blood answers only to blood."

He snapped his fingers as the blood from that geyser from earlier suddenly levitated into the air, twisting into dozens of needle-thin spikes that shot toward me all at once.

"Yikes!"

My body reacted before thought as I twisted, rolled, and leapt with my paws barely touching the ground as spikes grazed my fur, ripping through where I would have been.

One clipped my shoulder, burning cold-hot as it pierced, but I kept moving.

"Damn it, this guy’s annoying!"

I now skidded to a stop and slammed a paw into the earth in anger before focusing on my flow of mana from within.

"Toxic Cloud!"

Green mist exploded outward, swallowing the space between us and causing the blood spikes to dissolve midair as the poison ate into them, eventually engulfing Naldoola.

For a second, I thought I’d won the exchange, but the poison cloud suddenly turned red.

Naldoola laughed from inside the cloud.

"Blood Rain!"

Crap, his poison resistance is too high, this could be bad.

He completely overrode my toxic cloud and took control of it after turning it into a mist of blood.

Now positioning it above me, it started raining blood.

"Not good!"

It slammed down like a storm with each drop hitting with unrelenting force, burning through the ground and splattering against my body like acidic hail. My HP ticked down in painful chunks as I hissed and leapt backward.

"Aaaghhh! L-Lucky dodge won’t be able to get me through this one!"

Pain, so much pain, there was no way in hell I could dodge raindrops.

[HP: 612 / 1,260]

"Tch. I’ll show you just how dangerous a kitty cat can be!"

I bolted out of the rain zone just as the ground beneath it melted into a foul slurry of blood and poison.

Staring at Naldoola through narrowed eyes, I watched him manifest a new skill.

"Sacrificial Chorus!"

I widened my eyes, as suddenly, every skinwalker present within Nekoria stopped what they were doing, even if it meant being killed by their enemies.

It was utterly horrifying—like they were some sort of hive mind.

"Shit..." I hissed in annoyance before stopping in my tracks and jumping a dozen feet away.

Whatever he was doing, I wasn’t gonna risk getting any closer.

Rowan was now standing next to Aristella who held up two magic circles, prepared for any more attackers, but to their surprise, they were all chanting.

Every single one of them.

"They’re singing?" Said Conndo, taking a step back as he held his spear with two hands.

I had no information about this ’Sacrificial Chorus’ skill, even with appraisal. If I wanted an explanation of what it does, I would need to upgrade Appraisal to get that information.

Tough luck for me.

"Lady Keiko!" Stoneback, who was shown battling other Skinwalkers by bashing them in the face with his shell, turned to face his queen in worry. "Protect the Queen with your lives!" He ordered every beast in Nekoria.

[Crap, no, this is bad! I don’t need your guys’ protection.]

I turned to face him and every other beast present.

"No, stop! Don’t come any closer! I’ll handle this!"

[Yeah right, handle it how? If I do anything stupid, I could die. I’m afraid... afraid of what this skill can do, and its effects.]

As they continued chanting, the forest all around us started to feel eerie. Birds in the distance flew away, and the trees and ground started to turn a crimson color.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying, it must’ve been a native tongue that even Universal Translation couldn’t pick up unless it was at a higher level.

"This isn’t looking good..." I gritted my teeth in frustration, until suddenly, I gained an idea. "Wait, that’s it!"

One of my intrinsic skills, Purr-suasion.

I had totally forgotten all about it.

"...If this skill requires connection, then that means they can be disrupted!"

I closed my eyes, and slowly, I started to purr.

It started soft, barely more than a vibration in my throat. It was a low and steady rumble that carried through the air like a gentle current.

[[Skill Activated: Purr-suasion]]

But then, the sound deepened, coursing through my chest—my mana flowed naturally into it instead of being forced out.

It was a warm, comforting feeling applied to everyone within my vicinity, even my allies.

Needless to say, it was like a mother calling her cubs home.

The effect was almost immediate as their chanting wavered.

One Skinwalker stumbled, clutching his head. Another’s voice cracked with her tone dropping out of sync.

Hell, even the entire harmony fractured as their notes fell apart

"What?!" Naldoola widened his eyes. "No, keep chanting! Do not falter!"

He could keep trying all he wants, but it doesn’t matter in the end as my purring grew louder and stronger.

It rolled across Nekoria like a soothing tide, washing over fur, scales, feathers, and even souls.

The beasts behind me felt their fear easing from their bodies.

Stoneback’s tense posture loosened slightly.

Aristella’s eyes widened in awe.

"I-Incredible!"

The Skinwalkers, however—they all dropped to their knees.

"No... no no no!" Naldoola yelled as veins bulged along his neck. "You dare interfere with the Chorus?!"

The red trees and ground slowly went away as the Chorus ended, leaving only silence now.

Naldoola staggered back in disbelief

"...What did you do? This isn’t possible!"