Swish.
The Chaos Seeker captain flashed backward, his eyes locked onto the Spawn Beast he had been hunting for weeks. His muscles were tense, filled with chaos energy, ready to react at any moment.
After gaining some distance, he stopped. He needed to wait for his team—otherwise, this beast might escape. Thankfully, the beast itself seemed to hesitate as well.
While staring at his opponent, he thought:
How is this Spawn Beast's body so strong? My arm has gone a bit numb from a single hit. Is this really the physical strength a Spawn should possess? No—this is clearly at the Notorious rank.
The Captain looked at the Flame of Will at his waist; the color was still white.
It must have a Strong bloodline. Thankfully, it's still just a Spawn Beast.
That cursed city lord. I'll make him empty his pockets once I get back.
At the same time, Dravok was panicking.
What the hell?! How is that human so strong?This is the first time a human has survived a hit from me—and he even blocked my attack. Does that mean humans can use that strange energy too?
Thankfully, I can feel from that hit that he's still slightly weaker than me… but should I run away or try to kill him?
Just as Dravok considered retreating, three more figures arrived silently, forming a circle around him.
Damn it—I'm surrounded! Dravok thought grimly. I'll have to fight my way out. Thankfully, those three don't seem as strong as the other one. I still have a chance.
Men, close the circle—but don't get too close!" the captain ordered. "This beast has the physical strength of the Notorious rank. If I kill it alone, I might get recognized by the Will! So just don't let it escape.
Hearing the captain's words, the other members' faces turned serious. They immediately assumed defensive postures. They knew they couldn't directly join the fight—the difference in strength wasn't something numbers could make up for, and the captain might gain the Wills recognition, so they shouldn't interfere in the battle.
Boom!
The ground exploded as the dark horse charged toward the weakest member of the encirclement.
Davis, stall it!" the captain roared as he blasted toward Davis's position.
Davis's hands trembled as he saw the horse charging straight at him. He could only channel all the Wind Chaos Energy from his Chaos Stone into his arms, raise his iron shield high, and defend with everything he had.
Kling!
Davis's shield met the incoming horse's head, the sound like iron striking iron.
He lasted only a second.
His hands gave out. The Chaos stone in the middle of his chest was hit but remained unharmed; instead, the force spread around, shattering his bones, and his body flew into the air.
Swish!
The captain's figure appeared behind the beast. That single second was enough for him to close the distance. His muscles surged with chaos energy as he swung his blade toward the beast's hind leg.
Swish—!
The air tore apart along the sword's path.
Clang!
The beast twisted and kicked, its massive hoof colliding with the blade. Sparks flew. The air trembled.
"Damn it!" the captain roared.
His sword was pushed back, his feet carving deep lines into the ground. He immediately poured chaos energy into his legs—
Boom!
The ground exploded as he lunged forward again, attacking from multiple angles. His sword became a blur.
Damn this guy… Dravok thought as he parried sword after sword with his dark hooves .
Some attacks slipped through, leaving shallow wounds across his body.
As dark blood seeped from the wounds, his speed increased. His black eyes slowly turned red.
Fwoooosh!
Flames surged from his hooves, spewing violently toward the attacking captain.
Wha… how is this possible?!
Strong winds gathered around him, his clothes fluttering wildly.
"Wind Barrier!" he shouted.
Raging winds formed a wall in front of him, meeting the surging flames.
Boom!
Upon contact, the flames grew even stronger. The intense heat distorted the air, and the ground was scorched black. Thankfully, the barrier prevented the flames from striking him directly.
Swish!
The captain retreated in an awkward posture. His blackened face still held an expression of shock, his armor glowing a faint red. His hands trembled as he gripped his overheated sword, struggling to steady himself.
NEIGHH!
A furious roar erupted from within the flames.
A dark shadow burst out, the beast charging forward with monstrous speed and momentum toward the unsteady captain.
Take this, you jackass! Dravok roared in his mind.
His head slammed into the captain's chest plate—
CRACK!
"Captain!!" Davis screamed weakly from near a tree, where the old hunter had dragged him, as he watched the captain fly through the air.
Seeing their leader take such a heavy blow, one member rushed toward where the captain had been thrown, while the other, with a resolute face and covered in a faint blue light, charged to intercept the beast just to buy some time for the captain to recover. This was no longer about stopping the beast from escaping—the team might get wiped out.
Cough—cough!
The captain spat blood as he stood with the help of the other member. He immediately circulated his Chaos Energy throughout his body.
He looked toward his second-in-command, who was desperately resisting the beast to buy him time to recover.
Damn it… I should have gone all out from the start. I didn't expect it to have elemental abilities. I thought only its body was at the Notorious rank… is the Flame of Will wrong? But that's impossible! The problem must lie with the beast.
"Captain, what should we do?" the team member asked, panic in his voice.
The captain hesitated for a split second, his expression strained—then his eyes hardened with resolve.
He shoved his teammate away and steadied himself.
"Ron, take Davis and retreat," he said. "You must inform the city lord about this strange beast. If it continues to live, who knows what might happen. They need to send a stronger team."
Hearing the captain's words, Ron's heart sank. He knew what this meant. The captain was the only one who could hold the beast back long enough for them to escape. A beast that can use elemental abilities is impossible to fight with just the strength of one Notorious and three Spawn Chaos Seekers.
Only the vice-captain, with his Water Elemental Chaos Stone, could barely resist for a moment.
With a twisted expression, Ron nodded and rushed toward Davis.
Just as he reached him, a scream of pain rang out from the battlefield, followed by the captain's roar, full of rage.
The second-in-command was crushed—brutally killed.
"No!" Davis screamed weakly, tears streaming down his face.
Before he could react, Ron hoisted him onto his back.
"Old man!" Ron shouted to Theno."Run back to your village! Our captain will hold the beast back. If you escape, go to the city and report everything that happened here!"
With that, Ron fled, Davis clinging to his back, still in shock.
Old hunter Theno stood frozen for a moment—but then turned and ran, faster than he ever had before.
Dravok looked down at the crushed body beneath his hoof and snorted.
That's what you get. Even if you can barely resist my flames, you are still no match for me.
Then something caught his attention.
Two figures were fleeing—the old hunter and one attacker carrying the injured one.
Like hell I'm letting all of you escape!
Boom!
The ground exploded as Dravok charged after them. But just as he was about to reach them, a booming voice, filled with rage, rang out.
"Wind Cutter!"
Swish!
Powerful blades of condensed wind tore through the air, slicing across Dravok's path. He halted instantly. The residual sharp winds cut into his skin, drawing even more blood.
That bastard again…I'll kill you.
Dravok roared in his berserk state, rage igniting within him, making him lose control.
Beast! You'll pay for his life with yours!" the captain shouted. "I'll show you the strength of the Notorious Wind-Blade Chaos Seeker!"
His sword became wrapped in violent winds. Leaves, earth, and debris surged around him.
Swish.
The captain became a blur as wind gathered beneath his feet. The chaos energy from his transparent Chaos Stone was being consumed at a monstrous rate.
Winds and flames collided.
Explosions echoed throughout the forest.