Taking Action

The insectoid beast in the distance was enormous, and it was faster than an ordinary person, easily outpacing the three of them.

At this rate, the beast would catch up with them soon. The consequences went without saying.

Thinking this, Arthur hesitated no longer and quickly stepped forward.

To the three people across from him, it was astonishing that Arthur didn't flee. Instead, he walked in their direction.

They instinctively wanted to shout for him to leave, but after running so hard, they could barely speak. Even their earlier warning had taken a great deal of effort.

They were all drenched in sweat, heat rising from their bodies. They looked as if they'd been running for a long time and were close to exhaustion.

A cool breeze swept past them as Arthur's figure flashed by, reaching the space behind them.

Clang!!!

A sharp metallic clash rang out.

At the critical moment, under their horrified gazes, Arthur raised his sword and met the insectoid beast's swinging claw with a precise strike, stopping its attack.

Watching this, all three felt a chill of lingering fear.

If no one had blocked that blow, the beast's strength would have left them with only one fate: being torn apart.

Ahead, Arthur stood still, frowning slightly as he looked at the insectoid beast.

He knew exactly how much force he'd put into that strike. Yet when his Black Rui Steel sword clashed with the beast's claw, he hadn't managed to cut it off. He'd only caused slight damage.

Its toughness was simply unbelievable.

But his feat seemed even more unbelievable to the three others.

"What kind of person is he? He actually... actually managed to stop an adult Kewa Insectoid Beast head-on!"

One of the three, a middle-aged man, stared at Arthur, who stood between them and the beast. Still shaken, he spoke in amazement, hardly able to believe what he'd seen.

But what happened next was even harder for them to believe.

As they watched in shock, Arthur charged forward again. His terrifying speed left them able to make out little more than a blur.

Clang!!!

Another crisp clash rang out. Sword in hand, Arthur burst forward with incredible speed.

His speed had long since surpassed the limits of the human body. Even though he wasn't using his full strength, no ordinary person could possibly follow his movements.

The enormous insectoid beast in front of him barely had time to raise its claw before Arthur crashed into it with a fierce strike.

With a little added force, Arthur cut the beast's entire claw off.

A tremendous force surged toward him. The moment its claw was severed, the insectoid beast reacted and slammed into Arthur.

Arthur didn't dodge. His eyes fixed sharply ahead as he kicked straight at it.

The three behind him couldn't bear to watch any longer. They shut their eyes, seemingly already imagining Arthur's gruesome fate.

The beast stood two meters tall and stretched more than three meters long. Its whole body looked terrifyingly strong; it was no opponent for an ordinary person.

A tremendous crash echoed around them, but no scream followed.

They opened their eyes with a faint hope that he'd survived, only to see something they could hardly believe.

Arthur was still standing unharmed, his short sword in his right hand. He looked so imposing there.

In front of him, a huge insectoid beast had been sent flying, letting out a series of low, mournful cries.

"Its strength is around three..."

Feeling the force of the blow, Arthur analyzed it calmly.

This insectoid beast wasn't particularly fast. Judging by what he'd seen earlier, it was only a little quicker than an ordinary person—not especially impressive. Its strength, however, was terrifying, almost equal to Arthur's before he activated his Life Seed.

The sky outside was growing darker. Low cries sounded from time to time, creating an increasingly dangerous atmosphere.

Arthur sensed that dangerous things were lurking outside the surrounding buildings, quietly hiding in corners instead of coming closer.

Thinking this, he tightened his grip on his sword. A faint green glow shimmered along the Black Rui Steel blade.

He charged straight at the beast. Before it could react, he brought his sword down on its massive body.

Heavy Slash!

Faint Life Energy flowed through the sword, forming a blade of light that struck the beast with tremendous force.

Crack!!

A huge fissure appeared in its carapace. Its sturdy defenses shattered, and dark fluid seeped out.

Even so, the beast didn't die immediately. It lay on the ground, making a series of low insectlike cries.

Arthur wanted to go over and finish it off, to see whether killing an insectoid beast like this would grant him that unknown power.

But the sky had grown even darker, and the low sounds around them had grown louder, reaching a crescendo.

He sensed a huge living creature approaching from afar, so he didn't dare waste any more time there.

"The smell of the insectoid beast's fluids has attracted other things!"

The moment the sounds rose around them, the three people ahead paled. Without daring to look behind them, they ran straight ahead.

Seeing them move, Arthur didn't hesitate. He followed behind them toward a building up ahead.

To Arthur's surprise, they were running to the very building he'd been in earlier.

They hurried inside, and only then did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

It was only then that they noticed Arthur behind them.

The moment they saw him, the three instinctively exchanged glances, each seeing the same amazement in the others' eyes.

It had already grown dark outside, and they'd been too far away to make out Arthur's appearance. They'd assumed he was a tall, burly man.

Arthur looked only thirteen or fourteen. His features were handsome and gentle, and he wore an intact black robe. His appearance was so perfect that it naturally inspired goodwill.

A child so young seemed nothing like the burly warrior they'd imagined fighting the insectoid beast. Unless they'd seen it with their own eyes, who could have imagined he had such terrifying strength? Their surprise was only natural.

At the same time, though, they couldn't help but feel relieved. They were no longer as afraid of him as before.

The world's order had completely collapsed, and in times like these, people's morals couldn't be trusted. If a powerful, terrifying warrior like him decided to do something to them, they'd be powerless to resist.

But Arthur looked like nothing more than a child. Just looking at him was enough to inspire goodwill, and he didn't seem at all like the kind of person they feared.