“What's wrong? I thought you were the one who beat the raven senseless? Was I mistaken?” the general was approaching slowly, stomping the ground with each step.

Label didn't even manage to get his hands up as the tiger already placed an elbow in his chest.

With a swift move of his paws, he removed any attempts Label had at attacking back and then placed a knee in the boy's stomach.

His movements resembled those of monks who trained night and day to achieve the spiritual balance needed for such speed and strength.

Every hit, be it leg or arm was calculated beforehand, starting slow and relaxed, yet hitting fast and hard as a rock when it connects.

He was using his opponent's momentary daze as the build-up for the following attack, chaining hits one by one, each strengthened by the previous, slowly removing all defenses until the opposition was no longer standing.

Label noticed the pattern that was this style's ultimate strength and decided to turn it into a weakness.

Instead of grabbing where he was hurt, or trying to block and intercept, he decided to use his unusually sturdy body to take a hit head-on!

He got a knee in the stomach and while gritting his teeth to bear the pain, he attacked in a wide radius with both arms aiming for the general's neck.

Just as expected, Lao-Hu lifted his vambraces in defense to block both sides at once and that's exactly where Label was waiting for him.

Grabbing both of the tiger's arms using them as handles he pulled himself in with all his might, hitting the tiger's snout with his hard forehead.

“AAAARGH!!!!” the beast grabbed his bleeding face and growled as loud as he could, for as strong as he was, some parts of his body could not be trained to resist physical abuse.

“Anciel, NOW!” Label screamed at the boy waiting for the signal.

He jumped from the peddler onto the orgriash galley, running on the galley’s side fence, and while balancing on the tips of his toes he grabbed the katana by the handle.

The river was merciless and the vessel rocked left and right, not making it easy for him, but in a few spare moments Label and Noix made for him, Anciel managed to focus and draw the blade.

“Hiiiya!!” he slashed in a wide arc down towards the oars and all of them got cut off in a flash!

The galley was stopped.

After sheathing the sword, he backflipped onto the deck and helped Label carry Noix.

Each of them grabbed the limping man under one arm as they made their way towards the edge of the ship.

Label saw the general following them furiously, “One of us has to stay and stall him.”

“I'll stay. You have to take Noix back; I'm not strong enough to lift him on my own.”

Label was quiet. He knew Anciel was right, but he couldn't just leave his friend behind.

“I'm coming back for you!” he took the unconscious man on his back and continued to move towards the ship's edge, hoping to jump over to the steamer.

The black-haired boy turned around slowly drawing the katana.

“Is stopping us worth your life?” his gaze piercing the beast.

“Compared to coming back before the Queen empty-handed; death is a more favorable choice,” the general confessed, “Besides, it got personal..” he moved his arms in a wide circle and lifted one foot, just as before.

“Label... I got your back. Jump,” Anciel was prepared.

Label nodded, trusting in his friend fully. He leaped across the gap between the ships.

At the same moment, Bai Lao-Hu stomped the floor, starting his deadly combination, lunging forward with incredible speed.

Anciel's eyes spread wide, his grip on the sword's handle tightening; He's coming!

Yet as soon as the tiger started his advance, he got tripped by a wooden pole, or what was left of the cut oar in Sheena's hands, meeting the floor face first.

“Ruuuun!!!” she stood up, encouraging the boy to escape.

Anciel, surprised by this unexpected help, couldn't just leave, yet if he stayed, her efforts would go to waste.

“Arms up!” he yelled as he threw the knife he still had with him.

The leopard lifted her arms as high as she could and the chains hit by the boy's blade got cut in half. She was free.

Anciel gestured for her to come with him, but as she almost got past the floored tiger, one of his paws grabbed her foot and she fell.

“Goooooo!” she screamed from the top of her lungs.

I'm sorry... Anciel had to turn around and jump from the galley as the distance to the peddler was increasing.

While he was running away, the unrelenting beast found the knife, took a small vial of poison and splashed it over the knife's blade.

“Got you!” Label caught his friend’s hand just before he missed the edge of the boat, “We made it!”

The tiger took aim. “Not so fast!” as he threw the knife.

Despite the distance, unrelenting wind, splashing waves, and two rocking boats, his aim was perfect.

The knife would have hit Anciel but the blue-coated man covered him just in time, alas the blade got him in the back.

“Aaaaaargh!” the man let out a shout of pain before falling into Anciel's arms, his shades dropping on the floor. The boy reacted quickly and took out the knife as fast as he could.

Label's eyes filled with rage as watched his friend in agony. He turned around ready to jump the ship and go after the foul beast, but Anciel grabbed him; “No! Stop! It's over now.”

The infuriated boy turned to him. He was breathing heavily with his whole body being ready to explode.

Anciel has never seen him so angry so... full of resentment.

“We'll have our chance. There's nothing we can do now,” he tried to calm him down.

“Aaaargh! DAMN IT!” Label shouted and hit the wooden wall with his fist, making a small hole and getting his hand all bloody.

His friend looked at him with pity. It made him sad to see Label so helpless.