Chapter 60: The Demise of Rience
After enduring over a hundred blows from Arthur, the giant wolf had lost all its initial composure.
Initially, it chose to fight head-on, planning to exchange blows with Arthur. Since the battlefield was its own mental domain, any damage could be repaired as long as its psychic energy held out.
But it hadn't anticipated that this human's combat power was ridiculously strong; he had managed to completely dominate the fight from the very first exchange. The beast-soul couldn't help but want to ask Arthur: 'Why are you so proficient?!'
But now, it had a more pressing matter: "Awoo! I surrender! I'll let you out right now!" It desperately drooped the one ear Arthur wasn't gripping, and its tail was clamped tightly between its hind legs. No matter how hard Arthur hammered its head, it didn't dare show even a sliver of its fangs.
"Mercy, Master! This is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
After what felt like an eternity, and just as the beast-soul felt its skull was about to be pulverized, the thunderous hammering on its head finally ceased.
Arthur's scolding voice sounded sweeter than any music it had ever heard: "Beast, do you know your mistake?"
"I do, I do! I shouldn't have been disrespectful to the Master…" The beast-soul frantically wagged its tail, but its flattering words were cut short by another heavy punch on its skull:
"I asked if you know your mistake."
There were no bodily fluids in the mental world, yet the beast-soul felt tears welling up in the corners of its eyes: "Master, I know my mistake!"
Another punch landed, though noticeably lighter than the previous ones. "Do you truly know your mistake?"
The beast-soul was overjoyed. Although it didn't know what was wrong with its attacker, it cooperated: "I truly know my mistake!"
"Say it together with the last sentence!"
The beast-soul nearly wagged its tail into a blur, howling cheerfully: "Master, I know my mistake, I truly know my mistake!"
As the words left its mouth, the beast-soul suddenly felt the pressure on its back lift. Arthur had genuinely let it go save for the ear he was still gripping.
The beast-soul was ecstatic and prepared to say a few more ingratiating words, but when it looked up, Arthur was shaking his head, speaking with a look of severe constipation:
"No. You only know that you are about to die."
What?!
The beast-soul felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured through the cracks in its skull, chilling the wolf to the core.
It glared at Arthur, its eyes full of bitter resentment:
You were playing games?! You made me talk nonsense for ages only to kill me anyway?!
As if reading the beast-soul's mind, Arthur raised his hands almost shamefacedly, and a two-handed greatsword slowly materialized in mid-air:
"My apologies, but I've always wanted to say that."
"You bastard! When did you learn to condense psychic energy into a weapon?" the beast-soul roared in collapse.
Arthur replied with an innocent expression: "I came in using magic, after all. Surely you didn't think I wouldn't know this basic operation."
The beast-soul wanted to curse, but in its barren life, it had never focused on anything outside of killing. By the time it finally thought of an appropriate insult, the brilliant flash of the sword had already ripped apart the entire world.
The desolate village was like a painting engulfed by blood-red flames, instantly turning into ash that piled up, forming a single effigy.
Before Arthur could even make out the effigy's face, his vision sharply shifted again.
The ground beneath his feet became dry. Niren's face was peaceful, and he was sleeping soundly.
A mass of crimson, glowing energy erupted from the hunter's body. Just as it flew a few meters to the west, it seemed to encounter an immense suction force and plunged straight into Arthur's body.
The shadows in the forest churned, condensing into familiar black text:
[UNYIELDING POWER: 85/100, Decimal points not displayed]
Arthur could barely contain his grin. Before, the Ghoul Chieftain had only managed to raise his progress score to 65, despite summoning over a dozen ghoul warriors. This single beast-soul provided 20 points, along with such ample emotional value… Brother Wolf-Soul was far too generous!
The night had fully descended, and the woods were almost pitch black. Under the enhancement of [Dungeon Explorer], Arthur's senses grew increasingly keen. He could now hear Niren's heartbeat, Margareta's footsteps on the distant leaves…
And the humming sound of a portal opening.
Someone was coming! Could it be Rience?
Arthur cautiously distanced himself from Niren, hiding behind a thick tree trunk. This location was too close to Niren to be truly hidden, but it was the most convenient place to intervene and provide protection should anything happen.
Fortunately, the incoming person was clearly oblivious. His footsteps in the silent forest sounded like muffled thunder, and he was cursing under his breath:
"That damned beast, that ungrateful peasant, how dare he secretly disrupt the ritual. I'll show him how I settle things this time…"
It was the voice of the man in the black robe! It was Rience, after all!
Arthur's body trembled with excitement. This time, even if the sorcerer capable of Shadow Transit was present, this fellow wouldn't escape!
"It's bloody dark in here…"
Rience showed no awareness of the danger in the forest. He brazenly conjured a ball of light above his head, illuminating the surrounding area.
"Looks like this guy is nothing more than a puppet himself…" Arthur murmured. Seeing Rience place the Luminos spell above his head, only one phrase came to mind:
[The foolish child has lit a fire... ah, look! I am here!]
Clearly, Rience had left a tracking mechanism on Niren. Even though the sorcerer had been walking in the correct direction since exiting the portal, he still acted like he was blind, constantly glancing around, only noticing Niren when he nearly stepped on him.
"Hah! You shameless wretch! Is this how you repay the Master who gave you an easier life?"
Niren was not a huge man, but he was solidly built. Yet, Rience managed to lift him clear off the ground with one hand. Rience continued his verbal abuse, raising his free hand to strike Niren's face.
But before he could swing, the hunter suddenly opened his eyes:
"Good evening, you son of a bitch!"
"How dare you Ah!" Rience was both shocked and enraged by the torrent of abuse. The hand gripping Niren quickly morphed into a sharp, iron claw he intended to use his old method to discipline the hunter again.
But before the iron claw could even begin to heat up, a bone-chilling coldness pierced his abdomen.
He tried to push Niren away, but the freezing object twisted rapidly, and the strength drained from his body, accompanied by wracking pain, like a gate being opened.
Consumed by agonizing pain, Rience could no longer stand. Niren used the momentum to push Rience to the ground, pinning him, and then began to stab upward from the abdomen toward the chest, one strike after another.
"This strike, for my murdered wife!"
"This strike, for the torment I've suffered all these years!"
"This strike, for the sins I was forced to commit!"
…
The hunter howled like a wild animal, yet his stabbing motions were methodical, carefully avoiding lethal points. Rience initially responded with a few screams of pain. Later, perhaps exhausted, he simply lay on the ground, silently bleeding, no matter how many times the hunter stabbed him. His eyes, however, were fixed intently on a nearby tree.
For some reason, he felt certain someone was watching him from behind that tree.
......................
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