Chapter 20: Treasure Orb (Part 1)
As soon as William moved, the Iron Pig sensed the disturbance and instinctively turned its head.
However, by the time it turned around, William was already upon it.
When he was only about half a meter away from the monster, William suddenly bent down and slid forward on his knees.
Carried by his momentum, he continued gliding across the ground until he reached directly beneath the Iron Pig, where its completely exposed underbelly came into view.
While he was still sliding beneath it, the sword in his hand erupted with a hazy blue glow, and he swung it upward.
Swish!
The blade slashed directly across the monster’s exposed underbelly.
William intended to rip open its belly in a single strike, severely wounding it before finishing it off.
The plan was good. Unfortunately, reality was different.
Clang!
Instead of sinking deeply into the flesh and tearing open its belly as William had expected, the sword only penetrated a few centimeters before coming to an abrupt halt.
The instant the blade touched the Iron Pig’s flesh, the muscles beneath its underbelly suddenly tightened like forged steel, making his sword lose its momentum.
William’s expression changed slightly when he saw this, and he immediately withdrew his sword before sliding out from beneath the monster.
ROOOAR!!
The Iron Pig let out a deafening bellow that made the surrounding air tremble, and a faint metallic glow instantly spread across its entire body.
It was the Iron Pig’s innate ability awakened after reaching the Star Warrior level—Iron Hide.
Not only did it greatly increase its defensive power, but it also enhanced the monster’s physical strength to a certain extent.
William immediately rose to his feet and attempted to retreat.
But before he could create any distance—
ROOOAR!!
The massive Iron Pig released another furious roar before slamming one of its front legs onto the ground.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The earth exploded beneath the impact as countless stones were blasted into the air like bullets.
William immediately crossed his arms in front of his face while a hazy blue layer of Aether Energy enveloped his entire body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! - - -
Several stones slammed into him, forcing him to slide backward nearly three meters and even with the protection of Aether Energy, the impacts made him groan in pain.
His forearms instantly turned red, and blood flowed from several shallow cuts left by the flying debris.
’If I hadn’t escaped in time and that leg had landed on me... I would have definitely died...’
William narrowed his eyes as he stared at the monster before him.
Seeing that the two-legged beast was still alive, the Iron Pig snorted loudly, steam pouring from its nostrils.
Its blood-red eyes locked firmly onto William and the next instant—
BOOOOOOOM!!
It charged forward.
The ground trembled beneath its enormous weight, while the surrounding trees shook violently as the gigantic beast rushed ahead like an unstoppable fortress.
William immediately turned around and sprinted deeper into the forest, feeling the heavy tremors beneath his feet caused by the pursuing monster.
Seeing William run into forest, the Iron Pig showed no intention of stopping.
It smashed through every tree standing in its path as it chased after him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! ———
Towering trees collapsed one after another, sending loud crashes echoing throughout the forest.
Fortunately, although this Iron Pig was much stronger than the unranked ones, its running speed was only slightly faster.
William was able to maintain a safe distance from it with ease.
As he ran, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder, keeping roughly fifteen meters between himself and the pursuing beast.
’Almost there...’
A cold gleam flashed across William’s eyes as he thought about the preparations he had made earlier.
A few seconds later, William suddenly leaped forward and crossed a patch of grassy ground.
The enormous monster behind him paid no attention to his actions and continued charging straight ahead.
However, the instant its massive body stepped onto what appeared to be ordinary ground, the very spot William had deliberately avoided.
Crack!
The earth beneath it suddenly gave way and the Star Warrior-level Iron Pig instantly plunged into a pit nearly five meters deep.
ROOOAR!!
The monster roared in fury as several sharpened wooden stakes pierced into its legs and lower abdomen.
Although the stakes failed to penetrate deeply because of its terrifying defense, they were enough to momentarily restrict its movements.
William’s eyes flashed when he saw this and without wasting even a second, he jumped into the pit.
His gaze locked onto the shallow wound on the Iron Pig’s underbelly—the very wound he had created earlier.
Holding his sword firmly, he circulated every last strand of Aether Energy inside his incomplete Aether Core.
This time, he held nothing back.
Azure light burst from the blade as all of his remaining Aether Energy surged into it.
Gripping the sword tightly with both hands, William poured every ounce of power he possessed into a single strike.
The blade began trembling violently under the overwhelming amount of Aether Energy flowing through it.
Then—
William swung with all his strength.
Swish!
A brilliant azure arc flashed through the pit.
The sword precisely struck the previous wound before slicing upward with overwhelming force.
Rip!
Blood exploded into the air as a miserable scream escaped from the Iron Pig’s mouth.
The monster desperately contracted its muscles in an attempt to stop the blade.
But the strike into which William had poured everything was far too powerful.
Even its overwhelming defense could not completely withstand it.
The sword tore through flesh, muscles, and internal organs, leaving behind a massive gash as blood gushed out like a fountain.
The moment his sword lost its momentum, William didn’t hesitate and immediately jumped out of the pit.
The instant he landed on the ground, his legs gave way beneath him.
He staggered before collapsing onto one knee, breathing heavily.
A streak of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth as he clutched his chest, where his half-formed Aether Core was located.
As mentioned when William had killed the Forest Tiger— coating a weapon with Aether Energy was a technique that could normally only be used by Star Commander-level experts and above.
The reason was simple.
Drawing Aether Energy directly from the Aether Core required extremely precise control over it, a level of mastery that most people only achieved after reaching the Star Commander realm.
William possessed such control because of the experience he had accumulated in his previous life.
However, forcing such a massive amount of Aether Energy through his half-completed Aether Core was still extremely dangerous.
Several minutes later, the agonizing pain in his chest finally began to subside.
William took a deep breath and examined his incomplete Aether Core.
And as he looked at it, he couldn’t help but sigh because he noticed some tiny cracks across its surface.
’Good thing I stopped drawing out Aether Energy in time. Otherwise...’
William shook his head before shifting his gaze toward the Iron Pig inside the pit.
Because of the enormous wound he had inflicted earlier, the monster had already lost a tremendous amount of blood, and many of its internal organs had been severely damaged.
The Iron Pig struggled to climb out of the pit.
However, as more blood flowed from its body, its movements gradually became weaker.
Eventually, it collapsed back into the pit, staring at William with eyes filled with hatred.
’It should die soon...’
William silently watched the dying monster and around half an hour later, the light gradually faded from the Iron Pig’s eyes.
Seeing this, William let out a long sigh of relief.
He was just about to stand up when the Iron Pig’s body suddenly began to shine with a brilliant light.
The glow was far brighter than the one he had seen after killing the Desert Hunter.
’A drop...’ A look of surprise flashed across William’s face and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately jumped down into the pit.
