Bloodstar System: Infinite Evolution Through Beast Slaughter

Chapter 25: The Second Green Talent, Lithe Form!

Far away, atop the ruined high rise.

The young team member who had been waiting to watch the show nearly dropped the gum in his mouth.

"He... dodged?"

He stared through the scope in disbelief.

For a moment just now, he had been certain the kid was dead.

"Luck."

"He dies on the next attack."

He adjusted his breathing again, his finger returning to the bowstring.

"But if that kid can live a few more seconds, at least he gives us a better opening."

"Do we move now?"

The young team member turned toward Kaia, who had not spoken.

Then he realized the captain’s expression was not quite right.

Kaia ignored his question.

In that instant, she had clearly sensed an extremely obscure mental fluctuation.

The timing of that fluctuation had matched the moment right before the wind blade erupted.

Was that...

Prediction?

At the center of the battlefield.

Joren had no idea people in the distance were commenting on his movements.

His mind held only one thought.

Closer.

Get closer.

The Gale Fiend Wolf had clearly been enraged by the provocation of this tiny insect.

It roared, sweeping its massive wolf claw across with a shrill rush of wind, powerful enough to shatter stone.

Left.

The thought flashed through Joren’s mind.

His body reacted before conscious thought.

He dropped into a sudden slide, his body pressed close to the ground as he slipped beneath the Gale Fiend Wolf’s foul smelling abdomen.

Above his head, the wolf claw howled past.

Now.

The instant his slide stopped, he landed beside the Gale Fiend Wolf’s injured right hind leg.

The wound Kaia had left there was deep enough to expose bone. Blood poured from it, and pale bone splinters could still be seen.

This was the breakthrough point.

"Hah!"

All his strength, together with that unyielding killing intent, poured into this one slash.

Awooo!

A scream sharp enough to tear through the sky rang out.

The Gale Fiend Wolf convulsed from the pain, its massive body shuddering hard.

It had never imagined it would actually be wounded.

And wounded in an old injury at that.

The agony drove the Gale Fiend Wolf into madness.

It thrashed its hind leg wildly, trying to fling away this hateful insect.

At the same time, its intact left hind leg slammed against the ground, and its huge body actually leaped into the air, trying to crush Joren into meat paste.

"!"

Not far away, Tavian let out a desperate cry.

It was over.

He had completely enraged it.

At this distance, there was nowhere to dodge.

Joren gripped the knife handle tightly as his body was dragged upward.

Using the momentum of being thrown, his wrist twisted violently.

The boning knife jammed between the beast’s bones spun with savage force.

Crack.

The tendon that had already been hanging on by only a layer of flesh finally snapped under that ruthless twist.

Far away.

The thermal imaging device in Jazz’s hand almost slipped to the ground.

The young team member’s mouth fell open as well, and he even forgot to draw his bow.

"This..."

"You call this luck too?"

That slide, stab, and vicious twist flowed together perfectly.

A textbook weak point strike.

"Is he really just Mortal?"

"Move!"

Kaia’s voice was no longer calm. It carried an urgency that allowed no argument.

Her figure blurred.

The broken wall under her feet collapsed at once, and she turned into a streak of black lightning, racing toward the battlefield.

The young team member froze for a brief instant, but his hands did not stop.

As the squad’s ranged sniper, his muscle memory reacted faster than his mind.

The tip of the special alloy arrow shone with a cold gleam.

Target locked.

The Gale Fiend Wolf’s eye.

Predicted path.

Perfect.

Wind correction.

Complete.

Even if this arrow could not kill the injured Rank Three Voidbeast, it would at least ruin its vision and win a thread of life for the boy struggling under its claws.

"Hold!"

Kaia’s sharp command exploded through the earpiece.

"You will hit him!"

The young team member called Alar trembled. His fingers forcibly held back the arrow that was about to leave the string.

He was stunned.

"Hit him?"

"That kid is moving!"

There was a trace of anxiety in Kaia’s voice.

"His movement path has no pattern. If the shot goes wide, he dies first!"

"All close combat units, charge!"

Joren’s situation was not as hopeful as it looked from afar.

Countless tiny wind blades sliced everything around him indiscriminately like a meat grinder.

His body was already covered in fine cuts.

But he felt no pain.

Adrenaline surged wildly through him, and with his Mental Force fully opened, he entered a strange state of extreme clarity.

At that moment, he sensed several powerful auras rushing toward him at high speed.

Very strong Awakened Warriors.

Antares Command’s squad?

Joren’s gaze went cold at once.

What do they want?

Save me?

Or...

His eyes fell on the broken body of the Gale Fiend Wolf.

To wilderness hunters, a heavily injured Rank Three Voidbeast near death was a moving mountain of gold.

The materials alone were worth millions.

Not to mention the beast core it might contain.

Steal my kill?

No.

Absolutely not.

This was not only about money.

This was Bloodstars.

A full one hundred Bloodstars.

The key to plundering that green Talent, [Lithe Form].

If one of them landed the final blow, would all these wounds not have been for nothing?

The system’s kill judgment required the fatal strike to come from him.

Joren stared hard at the roaring Gale Fiend Wolf, a fierce possessiveness flashing deep in his eyes.

This is my beast.

No one gets to take it.

Those people would arrive in ten seconds at most.

He had to end the battle within ten seconds.

Joren drew a deep breath.

The great dragon of his spine suddenly gave a crisp crack.

Talent, [Bladeborn Frame], activated!

The boning knife in his hand twisted and trembled visibly. A terrifying vibration traveled through the handle and into the blade.

The Gale Fiend Wolf seemed to sense the threat of death.

It opened its mouth, and green light gathered again.

This time, it was not a probing wind blade.

It was an extremely compressed wind pressure bomb.

"Die!"

Joren took a hard step forward.

At the instant the blade pierced in...

Bang!

A crisp sound rang out.

The boning knife that had accompanied Joren for so long shattered into dozens of tiny fragments.

Joren’s movement did not stop.

Mental Force poured out without reserve.

The blade fragments inside the Gale Fiend Wolf’s body seemed to be seized by invisible hands.

Rank One Psionic Master.

Object control.

Joren clenched one hand in the air and pushed forward violently.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Dozens of blade fragments carrying terrifying kinetic force turned into a metal storm.

The wind pressure bomb in the Gale Fiend Wolf’s mouth had not even been released before countless sharp fragments severed its energy circuit.

Under the pull of Mental Force, those fragments then tore through its body...

Madly stirring.

Its heart.

Its lungs.

Even its brain.

In a single instant, they were cut into pulp.

Whimper...

The Gale Fiend Wolf let out a choked whine.

The light in its violent vertical pupils faded rapidly.

[Ding! Killed Rank Three Voidbeast, Gale Fiend Wolf.]

[Gained Bloodstars: 200]

[Current Bloodstars: 260]

[Detected plunderable Talent: Lithe Form Green. Plunder?]

The system prompt rang out in his mind.

Joren exhaled heavily.

Then he grinned.

"Good... no one stole it."

Only a bare knife handle remained in his hand.

Even so, he still held it tightly, his gaze guarded as he looked ahead.

Kaia and the others had just arrived.

These people were Antares Command.

Official in name, yes, but out here in the wilderness, killing and looting were not unheard of.

Especially when this Gale Fiend Wolf was worth a fortune.

"This is mine."

Joren’s voice was hoarse as he stared hard at Jazz, like a young beast guarding its food.

"I killed it."

Jazz put away his battle axe and raised a hand.

His tone turned serious.

"Since you killed it, it is your trophy."

Hearing this, Joren’s tense nerves eased a little.

Kaia walked over and said one word.

"Object control."

"You are a Psionic Master?"

The air around them seemed to freeze.

Jazz’s voice went a little dry. He pointed at the boy before them, who was covered in blood and could barely stand.

"This kid... is a Psionic Master?"

Kaia nodded, then added,

"Not fully confirmed yet. He will need to be tested."

At that moment, Tavian, who had been frozen in a daze, finally snapped back to himself.

He scrambled and stumbled to Joren’s side, wanting to help but not daring to touch him. He was so excited his words tangled together.

"That is a Rank Three Gale Fiend Wolf!"

"We are rich! We are rich!"

Tavian’s voice broke the strange silence at the scene.

Joren glanced at him.

A weak smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Strip the materials. Quickly."