Chapter 174: Weird Cave
The Obsidian Horn Stag could never have imagined that it would be ambushed just as it was about to relax. Worse still, it had been carrying its own attacker this whole time.
With a flash, Adrian appeared in the dark cave, clutching his sword. Because he had been preparing for a fight, he immediately acted as soon as he spotted the Stag.
Meanwhile, the Obsidian Horn Stag, not expecting to be attacked, couldn’t react in time. With a squelching noise, its neck was penetrated by Adrian’s sword.
However, it was a Rank 4 beast. Its body moved on instinct as it twisted its neck to the side. It partially avoided the fatal blow, though the sword was still able to pierce through its neck.
’Shit!’ Adrian cursed internally. He realized that he hadn’t acted fast enough. No matter how prepared he was, he still needed a breath to acclimate himself to the environment.
That breath was not long, but it gave the Obsidian Horn Stag the time it needed to dodge the attack. That just went to show how formidable Rank 4 beasts were.
The Stag let out a loud squeal filled with both agony and rage. Agony from the pain it was feeling, and the rage from being attacked by a human. It had sensed the human and was surprised to find him quite weak.
It wondered where he got the guts to confront a powerful beast such as itself. With fury in its eyes, it swung its head, attacking with its antlers, trying to puncture Adrian.
He had no other option but to dodge, though he stubbornly held on to his sword. The beast, seeing that it couldn’t shake Adrian off, grew even more furious.
Its black, lustrous antlers began glowing with a menacing light. A wave of intense danger suddenly hit Adrian. He knew whatever the beast wanted to do wouldn’t be good for him.
He quickly acted, his grip still tight on the sword. Suddenly, the sword began blazing with flames. He activated his martial skill, the Sword of Flames.
The flames formed a silhouette of a giant sword that covered his own sword, extending into the neck of the beast. The flames seared the open flesh, cauterizing the injuries, causing more agony for the beast.
However, that was secondary. The true purpose of the attack was far more sinister. From within the beast’s injured neck, the embedded sword seemingly elongated and became even wider.
The increased size of the sword severed the beast’s neck, slicing through more than half of it. Its bones were completely severed through, causing irreparable damage to it.
By the time he was done, only a piece of muscle was connecting its head to the neck. No matter how much vitality a Rank 4 beast has, there is no surviving the decapitation.
The light of life faded from its eyes as its body became limp. It wanted to let out a last, desperate wail. However, with its neck severed, all that came out was a puff of air.
The Obsidian Horn Stag, a formidable Rank 4 beast that had survived being besieged by dozens of warriors, was now dead at the hands of a Foundation Establishment realm cultovator in some obscure cave. Its fate was truly pathetic.
Opposite it, Adrian was brimming with excitement. This was the second Rank 4 beast he had killed. For a Foundation Establishment realm cultovator, that was two too many.
Though both instances had exceptional circumstances, the fact was that he had indeed killed two Rank 4 beasts. Before allowing excitement to get the better of him, he quickly stored the beast’s carcass.
Like the others, it was immensely valuable and would be a great help on his journey. After securing the goods, Adrian let out a breath he had inexplicably been holding.
Only now did he have the wherewithal to inspect his surroundings. It looked like a normal cave that was secluded from sight. Considering it was able to house a Rank 4 beast, it was safe to say it was fairly large.
However, Adrian quickly realized one problem. That was the location of the cave. The structure of the forest made it such that a cave existing there was extremely unlikely. It looked like a structure that was plucked from a mountainous region and chucked into the forest.
It was a wonder how it was so well hidden, considering it was the only structure of its kind in the forest. Adrian moved quickly, yet warily, through the cave. He quickly reached the end, yet did not find anything strange in it.
No plants, no animal bones, not even insects could be found inside the cave. Just as Adrian turned around and was about to head out, his enhanced senses captured something.
Footsteps. Multiple, not just one, were converging on his position. He slowed down and strained his senses in an attempt to confirm what he heard.
Sure enough, he heard the footsteps even clearer this time. He was immediately able to tell that this wasn’t the sound of beasts. This was a group of cultivators and a rather large one at that.
He didn’t know if it was the same as the one fighting the Obsidian Horn Stag previously. Perhaps he had underestimated them, and they were actually able to track the beast down to this cave.
However, that was the last thing on his mind. His only concern was how to escape from them. He wasn’t even entertaining the thought of whether they were friendly or hostile.
Adrian retreated deeper into the cave in search of an escape. Perhaps due to the suddenness of the situation, he wasn’t thinking clearly, as he was clearly trying to find an escape route in a cave.
Adrian’s luck, however, seemed to be extraordinarily good this time. The cave, which he originally thought to be a dead end, was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
Perhaps due to the small entrance, if an entrance that could fit a Rank 4 beast could even be called small, or due to the fact that his mind had been on the beast the whole time, but Adrian hadn’t paid much attention to observing his surroundings.
If he had calmed down to think about it, he would have realized his conjecture was correct. The entrance to the cave, from the outside, seemed to be about double his height. Tall enough to allow humans to pass through, but far too small for the Rank 4 Obsidian Horm Stag.
He kept moving deeper into the cave, which seemed to stretch on endlessly. Now, even Adrian, who had entered in haste, could already feel something strange about it.
However, before he could ponder too much about it, the sound of footsteps broke his train of thought. The echo of the cave was loud, enabling sound to travel even further. Evidently, those guys had entered the cave.
Not just one or two of them as well. The whole crowd seemed to have entered together. They seemed to have no sense of self-preservation, at least at all, since they didn’t even think to send a scout party ahead, and just entered with the whole squad.
Perhaps they thought that their numbers would be sufficient enough to deal with whatever threat might be lurking inside. In the Crimson Forest, that claim might not be too far-fetched, especially since from their auras, Adrian could sense that there were multiple, at least at the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
However, if they knew that the cave they were inhabiting had been the resting place of a Rank 4 beast just minutes prior, who knew what expression they would have on their faces?
They seemed to be underestimating the danger inside the mystic realm. It wasn’t a coincidence that even though it was considered one of the weakest, more than half who stepped foot inside never walked out.
The dangers inside the mustic realm weren’t just the humans and beasts, as they were about to find out very soon.
Adrian, who was deeper, could feel the shift in the atmosphere. It was as if the temperature in the whole cave had risen a notch. As someone who had a high affinity with the element of fire could sense it more acutely than most.
Perhaps, not better than most in this situation, since most who entered this mystic realm also cultivated the fire element. However, it was high enough for him to notice the sudden spike in temperature.
The new arrivals probably didn’t notice it, since as soon as they stepped into the cave, the temperature rose as well. They probably didn’t think much of the temperature, since they were in the Crimson Peak mystic realm, where high temperatures were to be expected.
Along with the increase in temperature, Adrian noticed that the cave, which he had initially seemed to be empty, now seemed to be filled with... something.
Not life. It was something far more ethereal. Because of his spirit sense, which he shouldn’t even have at this stage of his cultivation, he was able to sense it far more clearly.
