Fear and Resolve

Ye Chen's expression changed drastically when he saw that the Alpha Ape had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a snowfield in disarray and pools of Ape Blood.

He had clearly never expected that during the brief moment he had lost focus because of Goda's ghost, the giant ape whose heart had been completely blown apart would not only retain its breath, but rise from the ground and move again, even fleeing with the three Beast Traps clamped onto its body.

Where would it go?

Ye Chen's first guess was the hill where the Guard Squad was stationed. When he raced back to the fractured hill, he immediately saw the cunning monster toss one of the Guard Squad members into its mouth.

Crack, crunch.

The sounds of shattering bones and tearing flesh rose and fell from the giant ape's gaping maw. Human blood sprayed from its sharp fangs, dyeing the snow a vivid red.

Ye Chen swiftly swept his gaze across the scene and found that the only visible survivors were two vacant-eyed Guard Squad members who showed no reaction whatsoever to the Alpha Ape, along with the Guard Squad captain, who had been thrown aside by the Alpha Ape earlier and lay unconscious on the ground.

As for the others, only bloodstains remained. Their bodies were nowhere to be seen; they had clearly all perished in the ape's jaws.

"You beast!"

A flicker of anger crossed Ye Chen's heart, but as a Hunter, he immediately used reason to suppress his emotions. Rather than attack rashly, he carefully observed the Alpha Ape's abnormalities.

Then, Ye Chen discovered that as the Alpha Ape fed, the great hole Blood Blade had pierced through its chest was rapidly being filled and repaired by the Abyss Matter in its fur, as though it were creating a second heart on the spot.

At the same time, the remaining Abyss Matter transformed into countless tiny tentacles that coiled around the three Beast Traps on the Alpha Ape's body. Within only a few exchanges, they corroded the iron tools completely, leaving not even a trace of iron residue before absorbing everything into the creature's hide.

This monster tainted by the Abyss was devouring living beings to continuously regenerate its body!

Realizing the severity of the situation, Ye Chen immediately charged at the Alpha Ape's back with his blade raised. Yet, warned by the black sludge on its surface, the Alpha Ape instantly sensed Ye Chen's approach.

Without hesitation, it reached out and grabbed another Guard Squad member standing blankly in place, then dove and rolled away, barely avoiding the youth's slash.

Then, the Alpha Ape crouched and leaped, landing directly below the hill before fleeing nonstop into the depths of the forest. It left behind only pools of mingled human and ape blood flowing silently at Ye Chen's feet.

Seeing this, Ye Chen did not rush after his prey. He understood that his own legs alone could not forcibly catch up to a beast born in the forest.

Ye Chen quickly walked over to the Guard Squad's two remaining members and asked the one standing there with a vacant expression about the situation.

"Are you all right?"

However, the man ignored Ye Chen. He merely stared into the empty air before him, muttering something incoherent under his breath.

"I'm sorry, Ponsen, I'm so sorry."

"It was all my fault that you ended up like this."

"I'm coming to join you now! I'm coming to atone for my sins!"

With that, the member raised the hunting rifle in his hands. Ye Chen thought he had been bewitched by the Abyss and was about to shoot him, so he immediately stepped aside. Instead, the man opened his mouth around the barrel and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

After the gunshot, blood and flesh splattered before Ye Chen's eyes. The member collapsed with his head blown apart, brains smeared across the ground, his death gruesome beyond words.

"..."

Looking at the corpse beneath his feet, its mind completely destroyed, Ye Chen took a deep breath and clenched his fingers tightly. Then he walked over to the delirious Lloyd, crouched down, and forcefully slapped his cheeks.

"Lloyd, wake up."

After several slaps from Ye Chen, the Guard Squad captain quickly regained consciousness.

"Outsider? So you didn't run away..."

Lloyd clutched his aching cheek and stared blankly at Ye Chen for a few moments. Then he noticed that the nearby snow had been soaked in blood, while the headless corpse of a companion lay beside him. He immediately began screaming in terror.

"Ah!? Wh-what happened here--!?"

Ye Chen had originally worried that Lloyd would kill himself as soon as he woke up and had been ready to stop him. But seeing how frightened Lloyd was now, it was clear that his mind had not completely collapsed like the others'. At least he could still be saved.

"The others... the others... they're all dead--!?"

Faced with Lloyd's grief-stricken question, Ye Chen silently nodded. Lloyd's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Lloyd had once believed that as long as everyone united, they would eventually be able to deal with that man-eating monster, just as the Guard Squad had defeated every powerful enemy they had faced while defending the village.

But this time, everything was different...

Once their enemy became entangled with that strange, black, viscous sludge, everything was different...

Reality instantly became cruel and hopeless, leaving Lloyd unable to see even the faintest glimmer of victory.

But just as he was about to lose all heart, the youth's calm voice rang out like a tolling bell, stirring Lloyd's frozen heart once more.

"Get up, Lloyd. The hunt isn't over. I wounded the Alpha Ape, but it escaped into the depths of the forest. If you don't want your companions to have died in vain, lead the way for me."

"Huh?"

When he learned that the Alpha Ape, which even poisoned arrows and gunpowder could not harm in the slightest, had actually been wounded badly enough to flee, Lloyd's expression stiffened. He slowly raised his head and looked at the youth standing before him.

Then he saw a pair of unwavering blue eyes, utterly free of fear and hesitation, fixed firmly upon him.

"You mean that... seriously?"

Lloyd asked in a trembling voice.

"That's right. Otherwise, that monster would have had no reason to leave you behind and disappear. I scared it away."

Ye Chen spoke calmly, without the slightest boastfulness or pretense. He was merely stating the facts.

After hearing Ye Chen's reply, Lloyd's teeth and lips began to tremble violently.

On one hand, his close encounter with the Alpha Ape had left his mind severely traumatized. Although Lloyd was still relatively sane for now, the fear the Alpha Ape had planted in his heart had already taken deep root.

Lloyd never wanted to see that terrifying beast again, nor did he ever want to appear within its sight again. At this moment, he only wanted to flee to the ends of the world and hide in some secret cave. Even if he had to spend the rest of his life eating leaves and drinking muddy water, he never wanted anything to do with that creature covered in black sludge again.

Yet on the other hand, he could not ignore the sacrifices of Ponsen and the many others. The villagers of Cold Wind Village, along with his own wife and daughter, needed someone to stand up and protect them.

The sense of responsibility forged over the years kept Lloyd from abandoning everyone. He wanted to protect the villagers and his family. He did not want them to be torn apart one by one by the Alpha Ape's sharp fangs, nor did he want them to meet the same inhumanly cruel end as his fallen companions.

He truly never wanted to see anyone else thrown into that ape's mouth and greedily devoured in such a bloody sight again. The thought of his wife and daughter suffering that cruel fate was even more painful and despairing than his own death.

"Make your decision quickly, Lloyd. Are you coming or not?"

Ye Chen glanced at the pocket watch in his hand. More than a minute had passed since the Alpha Ape vanished. If Lloyd truly refused, Ye Chen could only follow the Ape Blood and search for it himself. The longer they delayed, the more the prey would recover, and Ye Chen could not afford to waste time.

"..."

"I..."

"I..."

Lloyd furrowed his brow. At last, in a trembling voice that sounded as though he might burst into tears, he painfully forced out his answer through clenched teeth.

"Count me in!"

Lloyd's resolve ultimately overcame his fear. Struggling to his feet, he let out an angry roar, then seized the hunting rifle and bow that had fallen to the ground. His eyes red, he shouted to Ye Chen:

"Follow me. I know where that beast will run to heal its wounds!"