Slaughter (3)

Sensing that roughly a quarter of all the Soul's Boons had been used.

Most of the participants were battered and covered in wounds as well. Orsaga thought, Almost time...

With a forceful push of his feet, he leaped onto the branch of a tree ahead and began sprinting across the treetops.

Fortunately, Demonized Plants were far tougher than ordinary plants. Otherwise, supporting Orsaga's weight alone would have been a major problem. Standing over two meters tall and weighing far more than ordinary creatures of the same rank, he was simply beyond what normal plants could bear.

With his extremely high speed attribute and abundant mana, Orsaga moved with ease even through the dense, luxuriant canopy. His speed exceeded 360 kilometers per hour, enough for him to easily outrun a high-speed train on Earth. On the ground, he could go even faster.

Hm?

After covering about half the distance, Orsaga suddenly stopped.

He could clearly sense that a Soul's Boon had broken through the chaotic battlefield and was rapidly approaching his direction. Taking a rough look through Energy Vision, he found that the one carrying it was a demon whose strength was likely that of a Lower Demon, with at least several hundred demons pursuing him.

Should he fish in murky waters among several hundred demons, or among several million? Another choice lay before Orsaga.

The former gave him a better chance of obtaining the Soul's Boon, but if he chose the latter, there was no real need to fight over it. He knew perfectly well what he truly relied on.

A Soul's Boon might be the only shortcut for other demons, but he was different. He still had the Evolution System!

The millions of monsters locked in battle were all after the Soul's Boons, but he could simply choose a different target. As long as there were monsters for him to kill, that was enough!

Those powerful demons were focused on fighting over the Soul's Boons, so he could safely fish in murky waters. The monsters he normally had to search for one by one were now gathered together. He could slaughter large numbers of weaker monsters to accumulate Evolution Points. Whether he got a Soul's Boon as an extra or not was hardly important. As long as he had enough Evolution Points, advancing in rank was never difficult for him.

Still, letting a Soul's Boon delivered right to his doorstep go was not in his nature. It would make him feel like he had somehow taken a loss. The thing was right in front of him—how could he not try taking it? Could he even call himself a demon otherwise?

After some thought, Orsaga decided it would be best to first take a little advantage of this small group of monsters. If he could snatch it easily, he would take it. If there was no opportunity, he would head to the melee and pick on the weak.

Having made up his mind, Orsaga quickly clawed a Big Hole into the tree trunk with his hands and slipped inside, concealing himself as he waited to give the approaching target a big surprise.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5...

Using Energy Vision, Orsaga ignored the obstacles blocking his view and hid within the trunk, silently counting down the distance.

Bastards. You actually wounded me this badly. Once I recover, I'll definitely kill all of you...

Feeling the pursuers constantly closing in behind him, Gokulius was filled with hatred. Ever since advancing to a Lower Demon, he had never been in such a miserable state.

In a one-on-one fight, he could defeat any one of them. But they had never given him that chance. The moment they arrived, they attacked together and severely injured him. If he had not been fast enough, he would have lost his life long ago.

Soul's Boons were useful not only to Lesser Demons, but also to Lower Demons like them. They were especially valuable to someone like him, who was about to be driven out of the Howling Forest. His time in the Howling Forest was nearly up, and in a few days, he would be expelled. (P.S. Creatures in the Howling Forest are forcibly expelled once their strength exceeds that of a Lower Demon or once they have stayed too long.)

With his current strength alone, surviving in the Bottomless Abyss outside would not be easy. He had to seize every chance to strengthen himself!

Unlike Lesser Demons, who were practically mindless beasts incapable of thinking things through, Lower Demons possessed enough intelligence to consider many matters. Naturally, they also developed a fear of death.

The next second, an inexplicable force struck directly at his soul, making his head go numb!

Though it did not deal much damage, it still caught him off guard and made him stumble. He missed his footing, fell to the ground, and rolled twice.

The pursuers behind him did not know exactly what had happened, but the fluctuations emitted by the Soul's Boon on his body could not be faked. Without hesitation, they hurled all kinds of attacks at him!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A chain of explosions erupted, blasting a crater into the ground.

When the smoke dispersed, Gokulius, who had been alive and kicking moments ago, was already dead. Only half of his body remained!

The Soul's Boon had been blasted onto the ground nearby.

Every creature present instantly lunged for it with perfect unspoken coordination. None of them noticed that their number had suddenly increased by one.

Nor did anyone notice that among the demons charging toward the Soul's Boon, one deliberately stepped on Gokulius's body and stood there for a moment.

By the time he left, Gokulius's corpse had become a dried husk!

+477 Evolution Points

What a pity. His body was incomplete, and his soul had been shattered by the barrage of attacks. Orsaga felt slightly dissatisfied.

He charged toward the Soul's Boon at a deliberately slower pace. Along the way, he slipped behind a Lesser Demon, hit him with a Soul Impact that stiffened his body, then casually drove his arm through the demon's back and out through his chest, crushing his heart in one squeeze.

+89 Evolution Points

Though confident that he could defeat any Lower Demon one-on-one, Orsaga still had no intention of stepping forward and drawing attention. After all, he was merely an ordinary Lesser Demon. There was no need to show off. For now, it was enough to trade blows with monsters that matched his identity.

The ground looked as though it had been bombed by aircraft, riddled with craters everywhere.

Broken stones, shattered tree trunks, and splattered flesh and blood covered the grass.

"Hand it over! We can let you leave!"

Temple frowned as he spoke in a low voice to the demon before him, who was gasping wildly.

Only three demons were still standing: Temple, Solo, and Grimp.

Temple did not want to push his opponent too far. He was already exhausted. If the other party desperately inflicted severe wounds on him now, Temple was not confident he would survive.

All three were Lower Demons.

The first to be eliminated had been all the Lesser Demons.

They had been slaughtered together by every Lower Demon.

After the Lower Demons turned on and slaughtered one another, only three remained standing.

The four of them had been the strongest and most cunning among all the demons. But if there were only three standing, where was the fourth?

Naturally, it was Orsaga, who had already found a spot to lie down before they joined forces to slaughter the Lesser Demons!

Over the past few days, he had specifically evolved an ability to conceal his aura, all for the sake of sneak attacks.

What the hell are you babbling about? Hurry up and fight. If one more dies, I'll get up and kill all of you!

Lying amid the pile of corpses and listening to the three Lower Demons seem inclined to trade words, Orsaga could not help feeling irritated. He still wanted to head to the battlefield ahead and pick on some weaklings. He did not have time to waste with them.

10, 9, 8, 7...

Growing increasingly unable to restrain himself, Orsaga began counting down. If they still had not started fighting by the time he reached zero, he would get up and kill them all, even if it meant taking minor injuries.

Three half-dead cats had no ability to kill him. The only reason he did not want to act was because he wanted to conserve his strength for taking advantage of the massive melee.

Fortunately, they did not make him count to zero. The three failed to reach an agreement and started fighting again!

Orsaga's dissatisfaction sank back down, and he relaxed as he lay still once more.

But fate was not on his side. After exchanging a few more moves, the demon holding the Soul's Boon decided not to drag things out any longer. He hurled several balls of Venom to force back the other two demons, then actually turned and ran!

He wanted to flee directly!

How could Orsaga tolerate that?!

Before Solo could react to the two behind him, the four legs of his lower body were already racing as if drugged. After taking two steps, he immediately tried to use the escape spell he had been hiding all along—Swift Form—to leave them far behind.

Squelch!

Agonizing pain and the sensation of his body being pierced came from his waist. Before he could turn around to see who had ambushed him, a hand seized his neck, sharp Claws sinking deeply into his skin.

Rip! Rip!

It sounded like leather being torn apart.

Orsaga directly tore away Solo's throat bone along with a large chunk of flesh, while his tail pierced Solo's heart, leaving him no room to struggle.

"Wasting my time!"

After absorbing everything, Orsaga flung Solo's corpse away with one hand. With the other, he held the fist-sized Soul's Boon and looked at the remaining two demons who had charged before him.

"Hand it over!"

Temple stared at Orsaga, whose hands were covered in blood as he licked the flesh off his tail, and spoke in a low voice.

Though Orsaga was only a Lesser Demon and had relied on an ambush to kill a Lower Demon, Temple felt an ominous sense of danger. The other Lower Demon felt the same. His demonic instincts warned him that the opponent before them was dangerous, and he unconsciously moved a step closer to Temple.

"Hahaha... hand it to you?"

Orsaga opened his mouth and laughed softly as he watched the two demons warily staring at him.

Then, right before their eyes, he opened his mouth nearly to his ears and swallowed the Soul's Boon.

The system converted the Soul's Boon into Evolution Points.

+21000 Evolution Points