Chapter 206: In the Wild [5]

There.

It didn’t take me long to find my next target.

I had sensed a group of monsters in the west, all of them being at Gold 1. I was purposefully avoiding the stronger monsters, even the ones in Gold 2, as fighting them in my current state wasn’t worth the effort.

The turtle had been an exception because it was the one who had initiated the attack.

Killing Gold 1 monsters would provide me with sufficient mana essence, so I didn’t think there was any need to overextend my body.

And the fight with the turtle had once again shown me how vast the difference between two tiers is at the higher ranks.

Fighting those in Silver 3 even while being a Silver 1 hadn’t been that difficult for me. On the contrary, it was surprisingly easy.

But a single Gold 2 was enough to waste a lot of my time, which I thought would be more productively used while hunting those in the same tier as me.

As I charged towards the monsters, who were still in the dark about my presence—

The distance between me and the group was reduced to roughly fifty metres.

Mana sense allowed the creatures to sense anyone in their immediate surroundings, but without it…

The monsters were helpless in the truest sense.

I didn’t wait for any of them to notice my presence, as I closed the distance, hiding behind a tree that was just a perfect distance away from the group.

There were around four monsters in the group, each of them being at Gold 1, though I could sense that two of them had just evolved their core, while the remaining two were closer to the next tier—

Didn’t matter much.

All six of my clones were nearby, ready to engage at a moment’s notice.

This time, I was going to make it quick.

Willing mana through my muscles, I made the move.

In a blink of an eye, all seven of us had charged towards the monsters, our blades flashing, as I went for the ones that had just evolved their Gold core.

Spurt!

With mana running through my muscles at full strength, I brought down my blade at the monster’s neck, though it had sidestepped in panic, resulting in my blade missing by an inch.

Still… the damage was done, as the monster whimpered in pain.

The remaining three were quickly engaged by my clones, as each monster was attacked by two of them in coordinated strikes, as small cut marks began to appear across the bodies of the monsters, though they still held on.

Even if my clones only had a tenth of my power, along with my regenerative abilities, it was enough to keep the monsters distracted without the clones being destroyed.

Focusing my attention on the one that had met my blade head-on, I dashed towards it, as the monster was trying to flee the scene.

In a heartbeat, I was before the creature, as my sword moved in a clean arc, cutting off its front limb, making the monster lose its balance.

Before the creature could stabilise itself, I planted my foot on either side, grounding myself, before loosening the grip on my sword, and twisting it to aim for the monster’s neck—

Spurt!

Another surge of mana essence was absorbed into my body, as the creature took its last breath.

The Gold Cores were surprisingly durable, but this monster had far weaker defence than the turtle, making it easy to decapitate its head.

If I could fight a Gold 2 with a strong defence, and even kill it, then there was no way I would struggle against a mere Gold 1, who seemed to have just evolved its core.

Turning back, I could see that my clones had sustained some injuries, though they weren’t severe enough to result in their death.

Well… It wasn’t like I had to look at the clones to see their status, as the clones were a part of me and shared my consciousness, resulting in my mind being able to feel and process each of their moves.

Swoosh!

One moment I was standing beside a corpse, and the next—

My blade flashed across the neck of one of the other weaker monsters among the group.

With its strength and speed being lower than mine, coupled with the fact that two of my clones were engaged in battle with it, not even the monster’s instincts could have helped it, as its head was severed from the body in a single fluid motion.

There was a moment’s silence as the remaining two monsters retreated from the chaos to observe their fallen family—

From their love towards their comrade or fear of me… I would never be able to know, as I once again disappeared from my place, with all six of my clones following along.

Blades flashed in coordination, as the monsters used their jaws to defend against the attacks, but—

Spurt!

Everything was a distraction for me to land a full-powered strike on their bodies, as another monster fell to my blade.

The monster’s head landed on the ground with a thud, and before the last one could process the events, my clones charged at it from all sides, as I stomped the ground below to jump high up in the air, before—

Spurt!

Another head rolled down.

The dopamine release made me pause for a moment, as the mana essence from each of the monsters was absorbed into my body, without any interruptions.

Even at the same rank, every species of monster was different in its own right.

Some were stronger than the rest, even being able to display power at tiers above their rank, while others were so weak that calling them a Gold core would put shame on the rank itself.

These monsters were in the second category, as within a few minutes, all of them were dead, blood pooling beneath their bodies, as the scent of rusted iron filled my vicinity.

Haa…

I could feel my power growing by another margin, though the mana essence from the turtle had given me the most pleasure and repulsion at the same time.

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