novelnext Chapter 112 Master
Chapter 112 Master
Chapter 112 Master
The beast-like creature with the severed claw staggered and fled through the dense forest.
Blood gushed from the severed wrist, spilling onto the moss-covered tree roots and decaying leaves, leaving a broken, dark red trail.
Its breathing was heavy, and suppressed moans occasionally escaped from its throat.
It wasn't because of the physical pain at that moment, but more because of fear.
It wasn't fear of the human adventurers behind them.
It is fear of what lies ahead.
It ran slower and slower, its limbs became weak from blood loss, and its vision began to blur.
But it dared not stop; its master's command compelled it to return.
The trees ahead gradually thinned out, revealing an open area shrouded in an eerie blood mist.
The beastman slowed his pace and finally stood motionless at the edge of the clearing.
Moonlight filtered through the mist, illuminating the two figures in the center of the open space.
One of them was a Crimson Knight.
He was still wearing that tattered but still recognizable suit of armor, the silver arrowheads and flame patterns covered in layers of blood and grime, making them almost unrecognizable.
He stood silently, holding the blood-stained straight sword in his hand, his deformed arm, covered in dark red scales and embedded in the gaps of his armor, hanging slightly at his side.
The other figure, however, inspired fear.
It was a strange creature. It had the general outline of a dragon, but was even more ferocious and twisted. Its entire body was covered with rough, dark brown scales, and two deformed fleshy wings bulged from its shoulder blades, with the underdeveloped wing bones vaguely visible piercing through the skin.
Its head was somewhere between a wolf and a dragon, with a protruding snout, interlocking fangs, and a pair of murky, yellowish-brown vertical pupils coldly staring at the beastman who was staggering back.
The strange creature's hind limbs were as strong as a beast's, while its forelimbs had evolved a structure similar to a human arm, with five hooked claws at the tips. A thick tail covered in scales swayed slowly behind it, leaving shallow grooves in the ground with each sweep.
At this moment, this twisted and modified monster, somewhere between a demon and a beast, is the master of this corrupted territory.
The beast-like human collapsed to the ground, crawling to its master's feet, emitting muffled whimpers, as if explaining something, or perhaps begging for forgiveness.
The strange creature lowered its head, gazing at the battered body. It sniffed, catching the scent of blood from the severed wrist, and also sensing another unsatisfactory outcome.
The prey didn't smell like fresh prey, and he didn't bring back the flesh and blood he had hoped for.
It emitted a low, guttural gurgling sound from its throat, unlike any other creature.
The next moment—
Claws raised!
"Pfft!"
The beastman's chest was pierced directly by that curved, hook-like claw!
Before it could even scream, its cloudy eyeballs trembled violently in their sockets before fading away.
The strange creature retracted its claws, its claws still gripping the slightly beating heart, and brought it to its mouth, taking a bite!
With a muffled thud as flesh tore apart, warm juices dripped from its mouth onto the still convulsing corpse.
It chewed, its brownish-yellow vertical pupils slowly turning toward the blood-red knight beside it.
The Crimson Knight stood there, expressionless, or at least outwardly so.
But when he witnessed that heart being torn apart and devoured, a very rare and faint tremor flickered in his chaotic, murderous eyes.
Can't bear it?
Even he himself couldn't tell what it was.
The strange creature swallowed the last piece of flesh and blood, stuck out its forked tongue to lick the corner of its mouth, and then let out a sharp roar that pierced the night sky!
It was an order from the master.
The Crimson Knight's body trembled suddenly. That irresistible will, originating from the depths of his bloodline, once again washed over every nerve in his body.
He gripped the straight sword tightly.
Turn around.
I strode towards one direction of the forest.
Anderson leaned against a leaning tree trunk, his face still pale, but his breathing had become steady.
Melissa's treatment was stable and effective; the tear under her ribs had healed, the internal bleeding had stopped, and the two broken ribs had been properly positioned and fixed.
Given his current condition, he should have no problem walking out of this forest on his own.
"Alright," Anderson said hoarsely, nodding to Melissa. "Thank you. Consider this life a debt I owe you."
He struggled to his feet and walked toward Timmy's body.
The young, cold corpse lay supine on the fallen leaves, his eyes gently closed by Melissa. Two daggers lay neatly crossed over his chest. His face showed no pain, only a strange, relieved calm.
Anderson knelt down beside him.
He didn't speak, but remained silent, slowly and carefully removing the two daggers, wrapping them in a clean cloth, and putting them into his bag.
Then there are the badges for the adventurer's party.
Anderson's fingers lingered on the badge for a moment, then he gripped it tightly and tucked it into his pocket.
Ultimately, we need to give an explanation to our teammates and their families.
He stood up and took one last look at that young face.
No tears were shed. The adventurer's tears had long since dried up on the battlefield.
A few minutes later, Anderson buried his teammate.
He turned to Xia Lin and the other three, his voice hoarse but clear: "My name is Anderson, leader of the Peak of the Distant Mountains team. If you need any help in the future, just give me my name at the Adventurers' Guild." He paused, "I owe you, remember that."
Then he didn't say anything more, turned around and walked back the way he came.
The figure quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
The crowd watched him walk away until the last sliver of his clothing was swallowed by the shadows of the trees.
"Let's go." Kyle's voice brought everyone back to reality.
She stared at the broken trail of blood on the ground, the trace left by the beastman with the broken claw as it fled.
"We can still catch up before dark."
"This thing has bled so much, it can't go far."
Without further delay, the four followed the trail of blood and the brutally torn bushes deeper into the forest.
As dusk fell.
When the last rays of sunlight were completely blocked by the dense canopy of trees, Kyle finally stopped.
"We can't chase it anymore." She pointed in the direction the bloodstains led. "Visibility is limited at night, and that thing is more familiar with the terrain. What if it leads us into an ambush—"
She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.
Garu muttered something, but put down his giant axe and began clearing a relatively flat open space nearby.
"Let's rest for the night and continue the pursuit at dawn tomorrow."
The campfire was quickly lit.
The group sat around the fire, breaking the dried meat and rations into pieces and swallowing them with the cool water from their water bags.
No one spoke; exhaustion made even communication a luxury.
After nightfall, they arranged for people to take turns on night watch.
Xia Lin and Kyle were in the first class.
The campfire crackled, casting their shadows, which appeared to grow longer and shorter behind them.
Kyle leaned against a tree trunk, his rapier resting on his lap, his golden vertical pupils gleaming with a dark light in the firelight.
At this moment, she was so quiet that she didn't seem alive; even her tail stopped wagging.