Chapter 114: Taking out the Terrors (Part-1)

The Berserk Ratallia was an early-stage Bronze Rank beast, so although its body was riddled with unknown diseases, it was bound to have some value.

Ray put it into his inventory before pressing forward.

With his speed, traveling long distances was as simple as taking a walk in the park.

Even while being wary of his surroundings, he covered several miles in minutes, soon arriving at Yarnan Ruins.

The ruins were massive, appearing to be a dilapidated and extremely run down version of a once-grand city.

Here, half-collapsed stone buildings jutted out of the swamp water at odd angels, and moss and thick vines clung to every wall.

Also, what had seemingly once been paved roads were now buried beneath layers of mud and weeds.

’Nature has completely reclaimed the place,’ Ray thought as he spotted movement in the buildings ahead.

A group of hulking, gray-skinned humanoids lurched out from the building. Each stood nearly seven feet tall, with muscle-ripped bodies and faces that bore features like curled ram-like horns, glowing yellow eyes, and jagged fang-filled maws.

These were Targodyle brutes. Advanced stage Bronze Rank creatures. And there were four of them.

“This must be a hunting party for the Mad Chieftain,” Ray calculated swiftly.

The Targodyle brutes spotted him and let out furious roars.

One snatched up a jagged boulder and hurled it at him with monstrous force.

Whoosh!

The rock cut through the air faster than the eye could track. It was the kind of attack that would instantly kill an average Iron or Bronze Ranker who couldn’t react in time.

However, Ray sensed it coming even before it was thrown. Not to mention, his agility rivaled that of an intermediate-stage Gold Ranker. He was anything but ordinary.

He tilted his head ever so slightly, and the jagged rock that was hurtling through the air like a death sentence missed him by a hair’s breadth, whizzing past his cheek.

Then, Ray’s fingers moved through the air, tracing a rune in front of him with primordial energy. The rune shimmered bright blue, pulsing to life the moment he completed it, a sign it had been drawn perfectly despite being drawn in a flash.

Boom!

A lightning bolt burst from the rune, cutting through the mist and striking the Targodyle brute who had thrown the rock.

Bam!

The Targodyle brute, struck by the lightning, convulsed violently as blue sparks tore through its flesh, and in the next instant, it collapsed to the ground lifelessly. Its flesh was charred black and cracked in some places. And steam rose from its body.

A notification rang out in Ray’s ears.

♦️ You have killed a Targodyle Brute, an Advanced Stage Bronze Rank beast. You have gained +50,000 EXP.

♦️ You have gained +25,000 additional EXP for killing a being an entire major realm and two minor realms above you.

The remaining three brutes charged with reckless abandon, brandishing crude stone axes and spears.

Ray read the trajectory of their attack in a single glance. Then, he simply stepped back.

Their weapons sliced through the air, missing him by a hair.

For a moment, Targodyle Brutes couldn’t believe their eyes, but that didn’t stop them from attacking him.

He repeated the motion again and again, efficiently dodging their relentless strikes with the least amount of movements.

When the brutes burned themselves out, their breathing ragged and movements sluggish, Ray raised both his hands.

From one palm, streams of fire surged forth; from the other, azure wind blades shot out like streaks of death.

The brutes targeted by the wind blades lifted their weapons in panic, hoping to block the attack, but their eyes went wide when the azure blades sliced through their stone weapons like a hot knife through butter, then cut straight through their necks.

Two heads spun into the air spinning before landing with a wet thump in the swamp’s murky water. Blood burst out of the severed neck and the headless corpses crumbled, dropping into the same body of water as their heads.

♦️ You have killed two Targodyle Brutes, both Advanced Stage Bronze Rank beasts. You have gained +100,000 EXP.

♦️ You have gained +50,000 additional EXP for defeating beings one major and two minors realm above you.

The last remaining brute, seeing what happened to its brethren, dodged Ray’s next attack rather than try to block it. Right after, with a roar, it lunged forward, covering several dozen feet in the blink of an eye, its massive stone axe cleaving toward Ray’s head.

Ray deflected the strike with a powerful blast of Azure Wind.

His eyes glowed green again.

Whoosh!

Another wind blade flew out, faster than lightning, slicing through the brute’s neck before it could react.

♦️ You have killed a Targodyle Brute, an Advanced Stage Bronze Rank beast. You have gained +50,000 EXP.

♦️ You have gained +25,000 additional EXP for killing a being an entire major realm and two minor realms above you.

While Ray was dealing with the brutes, a Targodyle Assassin tried to sneak up on him from behind while using its innate power, the invisibility spell, to hide it from sight. It believed it would get him for sure. After all, how can one dodge what one can’t see coming?

It didn’t know that he felt its killing intent even before it made its move.

Dozens of azure bullets formed around him and shot backward, striking the Assassin square in the chest. It let out a strangled cry before collapsing face-first into the swamp, dead before it could even raise its blade to strike Ray down.

♦️ You have killed a Targodyle Assassin, an Advanced Stage Bronze Rank beast. You have gained +50,000 EXP.

♦️ You have gained +25,000 additional EXP for killing a being an entire major realm and two minor realms above you.

Just as that fight ended, another Targodyle burst out of the murky swamp water, lunging at Ray with a jagged stone spear in hand.

Ray sidestepped the clumsy thrust and slammed his fist into the brute’s chest.

The impact detonated through its body like mini explosions. Its ribcage shattered, its heart burst, and it crumpled to the ground lifeless.

♦️ You have killed a Targodyle Warrior, an Advanced Stage Bronze Rank beast. You have gained +50,000 EXP.

♦️ You have gained +25,000 additional EXP for killing a being an entire major realm and two minor realms above you.

Suddenly, a roar split the silence like thunder, echoing across the ruins with bone-chilling ferocity.

Ray whipped around to see a hulking figure step out from the shadows of a shattered tower.

He didn’t need any introduction to know who it was. It was the Mad Chieftain of the Targodyles.

The Mad Chieftain stood well over eight feet tall. Jagged horns curled back from his skull, decorated with the skulls of men and beasts alike, showcasing the trophies of the countless lives he had personally ended. And in his massive hands, he carried a colossal bone-clad warhammer.

Interestingly enough, intricate tribal tattoos etched across his body glowed faintly with an eerie green light.

They resembled runes in more ways than one and might actually be runes.

If that was truly the case, then the Mad Chieftain was a rune warrior!

It was one of the special supernatural discipline Ray could’ve learned back in the previous trial.

This discipline granted its user different type of powers, but it was quite taxing, not only physically and mentally, but it also consumed a lot of magic power in fights.

’I will know what’s what when we fight,’ Ray thought to himself, staring at the Mad Chieftain cautiously.

His glowing yellow eyes locked onto Ray, and a savage grin spread across his twisted face.

“Human vermin!” the Mad Chieftain roared. “How dare you desecrate my land and butcher my kin? You will pay for your crimes with your life! Your corpse will hang from these walls, and your innards will be dug out and strewn across the swamp to appease the spirits of my fallen!”

At the Mad Chieftain’s threat, Ray didn’t even flinch.

“I came here to put an end to you,” Ray said, his tone cold, resolute. “So shut up and come here and die!”

His face was expressionless, but his gaze was colder than ice. The sheer killing intent in his eyes was strong enough to be palpable, giving off an intense suffocating feeling.

The Mad Chieftain brushed off the feeling of great discomfort with a cold snort.

He had never met someone so arrogant.

“I will butcher you for your insolence!”

Never had anyone dared to speak to him this way. Ray had to pay the price of his disrespect with his life!

The Mad Chieftain’s muscles bulged, and the tattoos glowing faintly green across his skin flared brighter. Then, he vanished!

Ray’s eyes flickered.

The Mad Chieftain was indeed a rune warrior like he had guessed, and he was faster than he had expected.

’But he’s still not fast enough,’ Ray thought to himself.

The Mad Chieftain appeared behind him in a blur, his warhammer raised high. The very next moment, the warhammer trailed afterimages through the air as it came crashing toward Ray.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep