Blind Box World - SSS-Rank Eye of Truth

Chapter 64: The Feast

The four factions of monsters surrounded the tree, none willing to yield to the others.

The white boar snorted heavily, lowering its pair of red crystal tusks, glaring at the white lion and the stone crab full of provocation. The stone crab raised its two colossal claws high, snapping them together to produce piercing clicks. The white lion growled in its throat, its mane bristling up all over.

And the four Orc Kings stood right at the base of the tree, gazing hungrily at the lump of flesh while warily watching the three newly arrived monsters.

"All of you get lost!" the aggressive Orc King bellowed first, swinging the bone club in his hand. "This meat, we found it first! Any of you that doesn’t want to die, scram right now!"

The white boar clearly understood human language too. It snorted once full of contempt, then spoke in a booming, raspy voice.

"You stupid Orcs think you’re even worthy of eating crystallized flesh?" Its voice was slow but full of menace. "This meat, only the strongest has the right to enjoy. Mongrels like you, get to the side and watch."

"Who are you calling a mongrel, you fat pig?!" another Orc King flew into a rage. "I’ll carve you up for a roast right now!"

"Carve me up?" The stone crab spoke up too, its voice shrill and screeching like metal scraping against metal. "You Orcs sure talk big. If you’ve got the guts, try piercing through my shell."

"All three of you lot shut your mouths for me!" The white lion let out a roar that shook the whole forest, its golden eyes sweeping over them all. "This meat, today I eat it, and that’s that. Any of you not convinced, come at me!"

Four factions, each with its own voice, cursing back and forth chaotically, the air so tense that a single spark would set it off.

And that spark came very fast.

The aggressive Orc King didn’t say much more. He knew that if he kept standing here fighting with his mouth, the meat would sooner or later fall into another’s hands. He let out a roar and swung his bone club, charging straight at the white boar.

Just waiting for that, all four factions immediately hurled themselves at one another.

In the blink of an eye, the whole forest turned into a chaotic battlefield.

The white boar rammed with its red crystal tusks, each ram carrying a terrible killing intent, sweeping across and toppling trees with crashing sounds. The stone crab swung its two colossal claws, crushing everything within reach. The white lion was fast as a bolt of lightning, dashing about pouncing and biting one after another. And the Orcs and Goblins shouted, swung their weapons, throwing themselves into the tearing and biting.

This was a truly chaotic battle, no faction allied with any other, whoever was nearest fighting whoever, all over one single lump of flesh.

The four Orc Kings, though somewhat weaker than the three monsters in individual power, had the advantage of numbers, and coordinated well with one another. The four swarmed in, one pinning down the boar’s legs, one harassing the stone crab, throwing the situation into a deadlock, with no clear winner.

Just like that, the whole horde fought until heaven and earth turned upside down, every one of them wounded, blood flowing freely, but not one willing to retreat a step, because the crystallized flesh still hung suspended on that branch, tempting them to the point of madness.

Behind the boulder, Lěng Ruò Yān watched that chaotic scene, her mouth agape.

"They... they actually started fighting..." She stammered. "All over one lump of your meat..."

"Not mine." Ethan calmly corrected her. "It was the Harpy Queen’s. I just hung it on the tree."

Lěng Ruò Yān: "..."

She suddenly felt that this Awakened wasn’t just fearsome, but extremely cunning. With just a lump of flesh that he and Laira didn’t even bother to eat, he had lured four factions of monsters into tearing one another apart until their heads were split and skulls cracked.

Meanwhile, Ethan was still calmly observing the battlefield. His eyes flashed with a faint light, quietly registering every monster, every wound, every weak point gradually being exposed as they exhausted themselves.

He was waiting.

Waiting until all four factions had fought to the point of nearly collapsing, until their energy was drained, until their defenses were at their loosest.

And that moment finally came.

After a spell of fierce fighting, the Goblins had nearly all died, and the four Orc Kings were each covered in wounds, panting heavily. The three monsters, though stronger, were also exhausted, their attacks growing more and more sluggish, their openings more and more numerous.

Ethan quirked his lips.

"All right." He said quietly. "Our turn."

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

[Eye of Truth.]

The whole battlefield before him immediately faded into two colors, black and white. And on the bodies of the entire horde of monsters locked in melee, countless red points flared up all at once. The base of the boar’s tusk. The gap at the joint of the stone crab’s shell. The white lion’s throat. The napes of the four Orc Kings.

Every weak point, not one missed, was displayed crystal clear before his eyes.

Beside him, Laira had long since been waiting ready.

She blinked faintly, and through the Resonance skill, all those weak points were immediately transmitted into her mind, not off by a hair.

Laira smiled, raising both hands toward the sky.

In the sky above the forest, countless red points of fire suddenly condensed, more and more by the moment, until a whole patch of sky blazed brilliant red. Then she swept her hand down.

Fwsh! Fwsh! Fwsh!

Countless red beams of light shot down from the sky like a rain of fire, each one hurtling along its own trajectory, precisely aimed straight at the weak point of every monster.

The horde of monsters, already exhausted after the chaotic battle, was utterly unable to react in time. The arrows of fire pierced through throats, through napes, through the gaps in the armor, driving straight into the most fatal spots.

A chorus of piteous screams rang out.

Of course, a few reacted quickly, dodging the rain of fire arrows in time.

The white boar rolled to one side, evading the arrow aimed at its nape. One Orc King also raised his bone club in time to block.

But before they could let out a breath of relief, a red figure had already hurtled toward them.

Laira.

In her hand now was a spear condensed entirely from red flame, her whole body turning into a streak of light, sweeping across the battlefield at dizzying speed. The flame spear in her hand thrust out, each strike precisely piercing through the weak point of the ones who had luckily dodged the arrow rain.

Fwsh! Fwsh!

The white boar had just rolled up to its feet when the flame spear pierced through its throat. The Orc King who had just blocked the arrow, before he could even rejoice, the flame spear had already driven into his nape.

From beginning to end, not one of them touched Laira’s body. Because she had known in advance where every one of their attacks would come from, and where every one of their weak points lay.

In less than a minute, a whole battlefield that just now had been loud and chaotic had gone dead silent.

The entire horde of monsters, from the Goblins, the four Orc Kings, to the three colossal monsters, all lay collapsed on the ground, not one of them moving anymore.

Ethan leisurely stepped out from behind the boulder, Lěng Ruò Yān tiptoeing behind him, her eyes still wide with astonishment.

He walked a circle around the battlefield, running his eyes over his "spoils of war."

When he passed the Orc Kings, he frowned faintly, a look of distaste showing on his face. These Orcs, though monsters, had bodies too much like humans, with hands, with legs, with faces. Ethan glanced at them, then muttered.

"This humanoid lot, forget it. I’ve got no interest in eating things that look like people."

Saying this, he turned his head, and his gaze immediately lit up as he looked toward the three remaining monsters.

The colossal white boar, its flesh surely plentiful.

The stone crab with the cluster of blue crystals on its back, one look and you could tell it was packed with energy.

The white lion with its sleek fur, its flesh must smell wonderful.

These were the true top-grade ingredients. Three large beast-shaped monsters, each a sealed Gold-tier Awakened, their bodies containing a colossal amount of energy. If he decomposed all of them, the amount of crystallized flesh and crystals obtained would be enough for him and Laira to cultivate for a good long while.

The corner of Ethan’s mouth curved up into a smile full of greed, his eyes almost glowing.

He rubbed his hands together, turned to his dragon, and spoke up full of excitement.

"Laira!" He declared resoundingly. "Light the fire! Let’s get ready for a feast!"

Hearing this, Laira’s eyes lit up too. She licked her lips, both hands erupting with brilliant red flame.

As for Lěng Ruò Yān, she stood rooted in place, looking at the two of them, one person and one dragon, gleefully preparing to "throw a feast" from a pile of Gold-tier monster corpses, the corner of her mouth twitching, only one thought left in her mind.

’These two... what in the world is there left that they wouldn’t dare to do?’