nownovels Chapter 149 The Loneliness of the Beast
Chapter 149 The Loneliness of the Beast
Chapter 149 The Loneliness of the Beast
"Back off! Back off, all of you!" Gebu shouted, knowing that the scorpion lion's final counterattack would be the most terrifying.
The monster used up its last bit of strength and charged toward the person in front of it!
The goblin wizard quickly chanted the spell: [Gravity Amplification]!
Gravis ut saum!
An invisible force field enveloped the manticore's body. It tried to struggle to stand up, but felt an immense weight pressing down on it, rendering it completely immobile and pinning it to the ground.
Soton, who was lying on the manticore, suddenly gained weight. His movements slowed down, but each strike was three times more powerful—the scimitar slammed down and cut deep into the manticore's bone!
The immense gravity tore the wound open even wider, causing more internal organs mixed with blood to gush out and stain the ground beneath it.
Seeing the manticore unable to move, the swordswoman charged forward in three strides, almost face-to-face with the monster, grabbed her javelin, and fired continuously at close range! Each throw splattered blood!
Stimulated by the excruciating pain of being pierced, the manticore struggled in its death throes. With a twist of its body, it threw Soton away. Under the influence of the gravity spell, it slowly got up, and the swordswoman immediately took two steps back to create distance.
Just then, Gebu had prepared the final incantation!
Geb recited the incantation for the Burning Hand, but did not cast the spell himself—his shadow entered the body of the manticore—a physical means could not harm the clone, and the phantom goblin did not even need to dodge, directly overlapping with the manticore's body and releasing the Burning Hand, giving it a barbecue from the inside out!
The manticore's internal organs were scorched by the flames, emitting a painful hiss, its entire face contorted in agony. Its vision was completely extinguished; everything around it plunged into darkness, leaving only boundless fear and hallucinations, and the intense pain coursing through its flesh. Its legs gave way, and it collapsed to the ground!
The Blackwing Rattlesnake struggled in the flames, but gravity magic held it firmly to the ground, preventing it from escaping the fire. Its human-like face distorted in the flames—
The manticore exhaled a wisp of fire smoke, its life escaping into the air with the drifting smoke before dissipating.
"It—it's finally stopped moving?" Dulin asked, trembling, the crossbow in his hand having fallen to the ground at some point.
Geb sensed that the gravity spell had lost its target and knew that the manticore's life signs had completely disappeared.
"Dead," he said hoarsely, his voice carrying a hint of unbelievable relief.
The entire hall of the ruins fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the crackling of the flames and the heavy breathing of the crowd.
They are all alive.
The swordswoman dragged her injured body to the charred corpse of the manticore. She reached out and tentatively kicked the huge claw to confirm that it was indeed motionless.
Her resolute face finally showed a tired and relaxed expression. She slumped to the ground, leaning against the cold stone pillar, panting heavily, her eyes filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.
Gebu stepped forward and checked his condition. His magic was almost completely depleted, and his body was exhausted, but his spirit was incredibly high. He looked at the charred manticore carcass, then at his teammates beside him.
The swordswoman's collarbone was pierced by a poisoned needle, and the wound was still bleeding, but magical protection prevented the poison from spreading. She had been bruised in the chest and was breathing rapidly.
Thornton had three bloody scratches on his chest and his antlers were completely broken, but he still stood straight with sharp eyes.
Dulin was so frightened that he sat on the ground, his face pale, but apart from being frightened, he did not seem to be seriously injured.
"We did it—" Geb muttered to himself, a forced smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Yes, we did it." The woman replied listlessly, her voice filled with an unprecedented sense of relaxation.
Geb took out the last two bottles of minor healing potions from his dimensional bag, gave one to the female warrior, glanced at Soton, hesitated for a moment, and then put the last bottle away.
The beastman didn't celebrate. Covered in wounds, he silently walked to the manticore's tail, drew his scimitar, and carefully sliced open the monster's charred tail, removing the thick, still-dripping venomous stinger intact. He glanced at it, then carefully put it away. After removing the stinger, the half-deer man wasn't finished. He crouched down and laboriously cut open the manticore's belly along the wound, rummaging through its stomach with his arm. The manticore's stomach acid corroded his skin, but he didn't care.
Geb watched in silence as Soton pulled the resonant crystal out of the manticore's belly.
The crystal was covered in filth, but Gebu could sense that after reacting with the wild magical energy, the entropy inside had exceeded the crystal's capacity, making it irreversible—in other words, the battery had burned out, could no longer be recharged, and was now a useless piece of junk.
Thorton glanced at the goblin, and seeing that he didn't protest, he thought for a moment and then threw the crystal on the ground.
Oh dear, he saw through me. Seeing that I wasn't trying to steal it, he knew the crystal wasn't worth much.
Gebu was filled with regret—if he had known earlier, he would have pretended to argue with him, and maybe he could have gotten some compensation out of him.
"How are you now?" The woman with the sword drank the potion, clutched the wound on her collarbone, and walked to Gebu's side. She looked up and glanced warily at Soton.
Thorton pulled the half-sword from the manticore and held it in his hand. The swordswoman and Geb tensed up instantly.
"Pugnas ut materfera, pro prole sua." Soton raised his eyes and whispered to the woman.
"Speak like a human," the swordswoman replied bluntly, her hand reaching for the dagger at her waist.
"When you fight, you're like a mother animal protecting her cubs, woman."
After saying this, Soton held the half-sword horizontally in his hand and tossed it to the swordswoman with one hand. The swordswoman caught it swiftly in mid-air, shook off the blood, and then sheathed the sword at her waist.
"Your praise means nothing to me, you beast that shoots black arrows," Doffin replied coldly, showing no sign of friendliness. "Take your stinger and get lost."
"What if I were to avenge your betrayal?" Thorton said grimly, his tone laced with threat. "You brought no gold, goblins, only death."
After the battle, his body visibly lost its beastly features and reverted to a human form. His chest, back, and sides were all bleeding and covered in scars. His antlers were broken off miserably, and even his breathing was a hissing sound like leaking air.
"My hometown values chivalry—though you are unworthy, I will not bully a severely wounded man. You fought this guy without holding back, you fulfilled your duty. Leave, beastman, I will not make things difficult for you."
Upon hearing what the swordswoman said, Geb remained silent, but simply made way for Thorton to leave.
The beastman took one last look at the dead scorpion lion and sighed almost imperceptibly. His companion's body was still in the room, but he didn't look at them, perhaps out of indifference, or perhaps out of reluctance.
The last scorpion lion in the kingdom's forest.
The last remaining inhabitants of the Giant Horn tribe.
The fate of wild beasts may be to die alone.
Thorton walked out of the half-open stone door with a series of wobbling steps, never looking back at anyone. He passed through the silent hall, stepped out of the doorway, and walked into the canyon. It was dawn, and the diffused mist settled in the valley. The pale light of day shone through the mist onto Thorton's face, making his blood appear as an indistinguishable black, like mottled tree shadows.
At that moment, he thought of the immortal forest in his hometown, where a hundred mountain owls circled among giant trees a hundred meters high, and the wind rustled through the leaves.
That was the whisper of the wind fairy.
He closed his eyes, feeling the shape of the scorpion's stinger in his arms; it still carried the scorpion's body temperature, warm and comforting.
That was the temperature of hope. As long as I am here, the flame of Angsal will not be extinguished.
He opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
Whoosh.
An arrow flew out of the mist and pierced the chest of the beastman.
Before he could react, the second, the third.
Then a figure rushed toward him. Thorton was powerless to resist and could only watch as the armored knight raised his longsword and slashed it toward his neck.
A muffled, wet sound.
Sheriff Matthew pulled his sword from the beastman's throat and whistled behind him.
One figure—two figures. Six or seven figures emerged from the mist. They were travel-worn, and the soldiers' armor still bore the marks of their battle with the manticore.
"Who is this guy?" a knight asked.
"I don't know—but judging from the looks of it, the manticore is not far away."
The soldiers looked timid, and no one dared to speak, but they were all thinking the same thing.
"What are you afraid of? The fact that he came out alive means either the Manticore is dead or seriously injured. Want to make a name for yourself? Today is the day!" Matthew said viciously. "Remember, we killed this Manticore, not some Rose Knight, and certainly not some beastman!"
"What if the Rose Knight is still alive?" a soldier interjected.
"You'd better pray she's dead, Jimmy," Matthew wrinkled his nose. "Otherwise, you'll get nothing but honor."
"Set off!
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