Revenge

After a brief discussion, the two decided to split their forces: Thisalee would remain on the high ground to pin down Etherix's offensive, while Kalei would take Big Black off the plateau, circling into the shadows to track down and eliminate the heavily wounded Ordos.

Initially, Thisalee worried for Kalei's safety and wanted him to handle the distraction while she transformed into a Black Raven to hunt for Ordos.

But Kalei rejected the proposal; determined to uncover his father's whereabouts, he insisted on dealing with Ordos himself.

Seeing his resolve, Thisalee stopped trying to persuade him and could only wish him luck.

Kalei immediately drew his staff and called to the somewhat weary Big Black, climbing down a gentle slope behind the plateau. Though exhausted, Big Black perked up at its master's call, its eyes flickering with the predatory light of the hunt.

The cavern was pitch black, devoid of light or sound, and Kalei had no idea where Ordos was hiding.

But this was no challenge for Big Black. This powerful magical Saber was the keenest hunter in the night; the moment it had struck Ordos, it had firmly locked onto his scent.

Though powerful spellcasters often used magic to mask their own scent, it was useless against the sharp nose of a Saber.

Guided by Big Black, Kalei moved silently through one crevice and hole after another, drawing ever closer to his prey.

At that moment, the battle on the high ground erupted again as Etherix summoned two more hounds to launch an assault.

The whistling of Shadow Bolt and the chanting of Thisalee's spells echoed through the cavern.

Kalei heard the intensifying sounds behind him but did not stop; at this point, he could not afford to.

He had to find Ordos as quickly as possible; only by finishing this wretch could he return to help Thisalee deal with Etherix.

Fortunately, his wish was soon granted. Big Black, walking in front, stopped and flicked its front paws, ears pricked in alert, its body crouching low in a ready-to-strike stance.

Familiar with Big Black, Kalei immediately understood that Ordos was hiding in the stone forest ahead.

Kalei took a deep breath and made an unexpected move: he used his staff to release a orb of green light.

Under the illumination of the green light, he saw Ordos hunched over, sneaking toward him.

The wretch's body had clearly recovered significantly. He had likely sensed someone approaching in the dark and intended to play along, using his claws for a sneak attack, never expecting to be exposed by Kalei's light.

Ordos's skin was thicker than a city wall; seeing his position revealed, he felt no embarrassment, simply standing up and laughing loudly: "The boy of the Nightdew family, you've come!"

Hearing him call out his surname, Kalei's face darkened. "It really is you, Ordos. You traitor, actually siding with demons and leading a Satyr to raid the village! Where have you taken my father?"

Ordos chuckled: "You want to know your father's whereabouts that badly? Fine, come here and I'll tell you!"

Kalei spat: "Ordos, you don't think I'm stupid enough to believe you, do you?"

Ordos sneered: "Is that so? It seems you aren't stupid, at least much better than your brainless, spineless father..." As he spoke, he suddenly flung a Shadow Bolt at Kalei, and at the same time, two hounds that had been hiding in the shadows lunged at Kalei from left and right.

This caught Kalei off guard. He hadn't expected Ordos to be this shameless and cunning, having hidden two hounds in advance and using his words to distract him for a sneak attack.

However, though Ordos had calculated everything, he underestimated Kalei's methods.

In the moment of crisis, Kalei suddenly used Blink, appearing behind Ordos, and immediately drew the short sword at his waist to plunge it into Ordos's back.

Ordos, fully expecting his treacherous scheme to succeed, was already imagining how he would mangle Kalei's corpse and dig out his soul to satisfy his filthy desires, never expecting to be ambushed by Kalei's Blink.

By then, he had already dispelled the shadow shield he had cast on himself, and in such a short time, he could not cast any new defensive magic.

In his desperation, he could only gather all his shadow energy into his back, attempting to block the blade.

Unfortunately, Kalei had already anticipated this; as the sword pierced him, he simultaneously injected nature energy, neutralizing the shadow protection.

The foot-long blade sank into his back without resistance.

Ordos felt a sharp pain in his chest, hurriedly clutched it with his claws, let out a cry, and collapsed to the ground.

He struggled to get up, but the agonizing pain in his chest left him immobile, and dark green blood gushed from the wound, staining the ground.

Looking at the blood, a chill and a sense of dread flooded his heart. He tilted his head, eyes wide as he stared at Kalei.

He never imagined that one day he would fall at the hands of that dim-witted son of Malka.

He fixed his gaze on Kalei and cursed in a weak voice: "You... you actually know magic? You... you are a heretic!"

"What, you, a traitor who sided with demons, are calling others a heretic?" Kalei said, feeling both angry and amused. As he spoke, he released the dagger, stepped on Ordos's back, and simultaneously cast vines to bind the two hounds that had chased after him.

Ordos, run through by the dagger and severely wounded, was now pinned to the ground. He felt deep humiliation but had no intention of yielding, gritting his teeth as he cursed: "Damn brat, don't get cocky. One day you'll fall into my hands, and then I'll make you wish you were dead."

Kalei said flatly: "We'll see about that. Now, how about it? Can you tell me my father's whereabouts?"

Ordos spat and remained silent.

Kalei sneered: "It seems you old dog still have a stiff mouth. I don't believe you won't talk." He first killed the hounds with Big Black, then walked over to Ordos, grabbed one of his long claws, and snapped it with force. With a crack, the claw broke in two. The intense pain radiating from the claw made even this half-demon cry out.

Kalei broke another of Ordos's claws and asked again: "How about now? Can you talk?"

Ordos gasped for air, then sneered: "Is that it? I thought you had some real tricks up your sleeve. Is this all you've got, you fledgling?"

Kalei said: "Fine, old dog, keep being stubborn. Let's see how long you can hold out."

But what followed was completely beyond Kalei's expectations. As a half-demon, Ordos displayed astonishing resilience; no matter how Kalei tortured him, the wretch refused to reveal the whereabouts of Kalei's father.

Kalei tossed aside Ordos's last claw, seeing that he was breathing his last, and frowned: "You really won't talk? Are you not afraid of death?"

Ordos bared his teeth, whispering with a mocking tone: "Death? What is death? I've already died once. I only regret not killing all of you before I did!"

Kalei shook his head and sighed: "I have to say, you traitors are truly insane. There's no saving you!"

"Yes, insane, insane... No, it's not me who's insane, it's the whole world that's gone mad. Hahaha... ahahaha..."

Ordos muttered, his body going completely limp, the light in his eyes gradually fading. Only then did he finally realize he was truly dying. Before the end, he thought of how he had betrayed his race, betrayed his friends, and sided with filthy demons, only to end up like this. He suddenly felt so unwilling; he was not willing to die like this.

But the hand of death had already gripped his throat; there was no way for him to escape. Just as he was about to collapse, he suddenly raised his blood-stained claws and plunged them into his own eyes.

Kalei saw his bizarre movements and heard him muttering incantations, realizing the fellow was up to no good, so he hurriedly cast a spell to interrupt him.

Unfortunately, although his movements were fast, Ordos was faster. A sinister, otherworldly power descended upon him. Under the influence of this evil force, his eyes instantly lost their luster and transformed into two beams of black light, which, as if possessing a life of their own, shot straight toward Kalei!

The two beams of black light were as fast as lightning. Kalei had no time to dodge and could only watch helplessly as the black light burrowed into his body. A bone-chilling cold instantly spread throughout his entire frame, making him shiver uncontrollably, though he soon returned to normal.

However, Kalei knew that these two beams of black light were definitely not that simple. He used Blink to put some distance between himself and Ordos, shouting, "Damn it, Ordos, what did you do to me?"

Regrettably, Ordos was already at the end of his rope. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence before closing his eyes for good.

Seeing that this fellow felt not a shred of remorse even at the moment of death and had resorted to a sneak attack, Kalei had to admit that he was truly a loyal dog of the demons.

Kalei brought Big Black over to Ordos's corpse and examined it carefully for a few moments.

Ordos was clearly dead beyond any doubt, but the spell he had cast before dying left him with an ominous feeling.

He looked at Ordos's hollow, pitch-black eye sockets and felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him from the void.

"You piece of filth, still causing trouble even as you head to hell!" Kalei cursed, firing several missiles at the corpse in quick succession.

Purple energy erupted upon the body, blasting the remains into smithereens.

Big Black, standing nearby, was startled by his desecration of the corpse, fearing that he had been corrupted by dark forces, and let out a low growl.

Kalei smiled, "It's fine, I'm perfectly alright. Have you ever heard of an art form called grinding bones into dust? This is it!"

Big Black shook its head, completely failing to understand such behavior, and could only conclude that the societies of humanoid races were far too complex for their panther kin to comprehend.

Kalei blasted Ordos's corpse into tiny fragments with a few more Arcane Missiles, feeling much better, yet the sensation of being watched from behind did not vanish.

Unable to find the cause for the time being, he had to set it aside and head off to support Thisalee, intending to ask her what exactly was going on when they met.