Otrank Mountains, Core Area.

Clareno wore a cruel smile as he approached Patricia, slowly drawing out the massive weapon strapped to his back. It was a gigantic iron hammer, intricately carved with the image of a terrifying monster with nine heads.

Not only that, the hammer emanated a powerful aura.

Patricia’s expression turned grim, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Hammer of the Primordial Beast! The Primordial Beast Clan actually entrusted this to you!”

The Primordial Beast Clan was a powerful race in the Underground-River starfield.

This clan was made up of beastmen and included some unique groups as well. While they were somewhat weaker compared to the Temple of the Seven Gods, they were a significant force in the Underground-River starfield.

The Hammer of the Primordial Beast was a special weapon equipped by the Primordial Beast Clan.

Such a weapon required immense strength to wield, capable of ignoring armor and other defensive treasures. With a single strike, it could reduce a person to a puddle of flesh, and it was widely known throughout the Underground-River starfield.

However, only the direct bloodline of the Primordial Beast Clan had the right to use the Hammer of the Primordial Beast.

Although Clareno was quite strong and had a superior bloodline, he did not qualify as a direct descendant of the Primordial Beast Clan.

There must be reasons behind this that Patricia was unaware of.

With this thought, she felt anxious, but she was currently surrounded by Clareno and his subordinates and was already injured, making escape seem utterly impossible.

Patricia fervently hoped that Kitsch, Quinn, and the others would not come.

If she died, the Rage Temple would surely find out and send someone to investigate. With the temple’s power, they could uncover the hidden truth behind Clareno.

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed.

Kitsch and Quinn rushed over with Enzo and Karina. When they saw Patricia injured in the pit, Kitsch and Quinn’s expressions changed, and they were about to run toward her, but Patricia stopped them. “Don’t come over! Run!”

Kitsch and Quinn sensed something was off.

At that moment, Clareno laughed loudly, his eyes filled with disdain as he mocked Patricia, “Patricia, look at your reinforcements. Two weak little bugs—oh, wait, I mean two Fierce Beast world natives who aren’t even as good as bugs! With them, I have no interest in making a move.”

Clareno’s taunts turned Kitsch and Quinn’s faces crimson.

That was not just from anger, but from humiliation.

As members of the Temple of the Seven Gods, even if they were just ordinary members, they were considered top geniuses in the entire Underground-River starfield, commanding respect from everyone within the temple’s sphere of influence.

Of course, there were exceptions, like Enzo.

But Enzo had already demonstrated his strength, earning Kitsch and Quinn’s respect. What qualifications did Clareno have to look down on them?

As a result, Quinn, who had a hot temper, couldn’t bear it anymore. He raised his giant axe and ran towards Clareno, then roared, “Long haired monkey, just because you dare to say that, go die !”

Quinn’s words angered Clareno.

He roared in a low voice, “Die!”

Seeing Quinn charging towards him with the giant axe raised high, Clareno calmly lifted the Hammer of the Primordial Beast. With a gentle flick, the hammer cut through the air, creating an afterimage that seemed to manifest as a terrifying beast. The beast roared and charged, crashing into Quinn’s chest.

Bang!

A heavy thud echoed sharply.

Quinn came to a sudden halt, his eyes widening as his cheeks puffed up. He then spat out a mouthful of blood and was thrown backward, crashing into the ground and leaving a deep trench behind him.

He convulsed on the ground, his breath growing faint.

Clareno, slightly surprised, remarked, “He took a hit from the Hammer of the Primordial Beast and didn’t die. It seems he has a special bloodline…”

His gaze shifted, as if plotting something.

Upon seeing Quinn’s condition, Kitsch, who stood not far away, felt his anger dissipate in an instant. He immediately turned to flee, shouting to Enzo, “Run!”

Clareno shook his head and sneered, “Thinking of escaping?”

With that, Clareno’s figure vanished in an instant, reappearing right in front of Kitsch. He swung the hammer again, sending Kitsch crashing down into the same deep pit where Quinn lay. However, Kitsch was not so fortunate. As he fell into the pit, his head twisted at an unnatural angle, and he was completely lifeless.

After all this, Clareno remained completely unfazed.

He reappeared at the edge of the deep pit and looked at Enzo and Karina, saying, “Kid, I have to admit, you’re more sensible than the other two. You didn’t choose to run. Otherwise, your bodies would be lying down there in the pit as well.”

Karina’s face was pale, clearly filled with fear.

Enzo, however, raised an eyebrow, a look of confusion on his face. Calmly, he asked Clareno, “Did you just use teleportation?”

This question caught Clareno off guard.

He hadn’t expected Enzo to ask such a thing.

After all, he had just killed one of Enzo’s companions, and the other was on the verge of death. Yet this kid didn’t plead for mercy. Instead, he asked an unrelated question.

It didn’t make sense.

Either this kid had enough confidence to escape from him, or he was completely paralyzed by fear.

Clareno was certain that Enzo belonged to the latter category.

So he didn’t answer, instead he lifted the Hammer of the Primordial Beast and slammed it down at Enzo and Karina, while roaring, “Two fools, go die for me!”

Boom—

A deafening roar erupted, and an invisible shockwave swept through the air. The ground trembled violently, cracking open and kicking up a storm of dust.

Clareno’s expression shifted slightly as he sensed something was wrong.

It seemed that the Hammer of the Primordial Beast hadn’t struck a person but instead hit something incredibly hard—something that resembled a wall.

After a moment, the dust settled.

Clareno’s eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed at the scene before him.

At the spot where Enzo and Karina stood, a dark gray fortress-like illusion materialized, exuding a mist that was both eerie and imposing, giving off an overwhelming sense of weight, like a mountain.

“What is this?” Clareno asked, dazed.

Clearly, no one was going to answer him at that moment, and Enzo had no intention of explaining either.

However, in Enzo’s mind, he was thinking. “Soul Fortress… this is no ordinary soul-based divine art. Not only can it defend against soul attacks, but it can also materialize an illusion in the external world to block incoming attacks. But the cost… is terrifying. With my current soul strength, I can only use it twice at most.

Any more, and my soul consciousness won’t be able to bear the strain…”

While Enzo was deep in thought, Clareno made his next move.

He didn’t choose to strike again but instead waved his hand toward the others behind him, then turned to Enzo and said, “Kid, I don’t believe you can keep using this technique to defend forever. Besides, we have so many people, and you’re just one. Even if it’s purely a matter of stamina, we can exhaust your strength completely!”

After finishing speaking, Clareno shouted to his henchmen who quickly walked up to him, “Go ahead and kill this kid!”

Enzo’s expression remained calm as ever.

He placed one hand around Karina’s waist, and the power of the space element surged around him. Without warning, the figures of Enzo and Karina disappeared, only to reappear moments later in the deep pit.

Then, Enzo took Patricia’s hand and, with a flick of his wrist, sent out a vine to bind Kitsch and Quinn.

After finishing all of this, Enzo turned to Clareno, who stood at the edge of the pit, and said, “See you next time.”

With those words, Enzo and his group vanished.

Seeing this, Clareno’s anger flared, his teeth grinding in fury. “Teleportation! That brat actually mastered teleportation!”

He finally understood why Enzo had asked the question earlier.

It wasn’t that Enzo was foolish, but rather that Enzo had noticed the anomaly when Clareno had appeared before Kitsch earlier.

In fact, Clareno had attempted to comprehend teleportation himself.

It was tied to the Elemental Law, a domain of deity-level research—extremely profound and difficult to master. Clareno, who prided himself as a genius, had only grasped a small fraction of it. He was capable of teleporting within a hundred-meter range, but his ability had time and usage limits, unlike Enzo, who seemed to teleport at will.

However, this realization sparked new thoughts in Clareno’s mind.

He muttered to himself, “To grasp teleportation and wield such a powerful technique capable of completely blocking the Hammer of the Primordial Beast… That kid is definitely no ordinary person. He’s highly likely a hidden genius from the Temple of the Seven Gods. And for such a genius to appear in the Fierce Beast world… there must be a deeper purpose behind it…

No, I must report this to the higher-ups of the Primordial Beast Clan!”

A serious look flashed across Clareno’s face.

Then, he gave orders to his subordinates.”All of you, focus all your efforts on searching for Patricia and that kid in the coming hours. Once you find anything, don’t act rashly—notify me immediately!”

“Yes!” everyone responded in unison, their figures quickly vanishing.

Despite issuing the command, Clareno didn’t let his guard down. He stored the special creature with sapphire-like scales from the deep pit into his spatial storage ring and silently strengthened his resolve. “This operation is crucial for the expansion of the entire Primordial Beast Clan. Even if it means destroying the Fierce Beast world, the plan cannot fail!

As for the people of the Temple of the Seven Gods, I hope you’re ready!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep