Chapter 154

"Ugh... Ugh...!"

With its mouth firmly pinned down by the leather boots Lord of the Hunt could barely utter a complete sound, but it still conveyed its meaning—it was furious! The fury of the bear-man!

The Ursine are fearless!!

Chen Ce's response to this was...

"You're really making a racket, you bear leg of Volibear."

Click!

With the slightest exertion, the sound of bones breaking immediately came from beneath his boots.

It's shattered. The Lord of the Hunt's cheekbone is shattered.

And this was just an appetizer—compared to those Hearthblood who were brutally killed by the bear-men and left without even a complete corpse, this minor injury was truly a drop in the ocean.

"You soulless sword tombs are truly disgusting..." Chen Ce shifted his feet slightly.

Then he stomped on it again, harder than ever before.

Snap!

This time the sound was louder, and the fractures were deeper.

The Lord of the Hunt's jawbone shattered along with his left cheekbone, and his mouth, full of sharp teeth, drooped limply, looking like he was cosplaying a slit-mouthed woman from a certain island nation.

"Ugh... Ugh...!" The roar that came from his throat was tinged with a hint of scream.

All of this happened too fast.

From the moment Chen Ce charged in front of the Lord of the Hunt until he stomped on the man's face, only ten seconds had passed.

Those bear-men who had already charged a distance didn't even have time to run back to "rescue" their prey.

By the time they realized what was happening, Ashe had already begun her attack again.

"Attack!" An ice crystal arrow officially ignited the battle between the two sides.

Avarosa's scouts roared and charged forward, unleashing a barrage of weapons at the damned bear-men.

Ashe's Frost Crystal Longbow was a bit lacking against top-tier powerhouses like Aatrox and Rhaast, but it was more than enough to deal with these ordinary bear-men.

In no time, the nearly ten bear-men at the forefront were frozen into ice sculptures.

Perhaps there are even more bear-men hiding beneath the cave, but it doesn't matter anymore.

With Chen Ce guarding that area, no bear-man could encounter an Avarosa.

"Kill them!"

"Avenge our fallen brothers and sisters!"

"Damn monster! Die!"

The warriors of Avarosa fought against bear-men many times their size. Though outnumbered in strength, they were in no way inferior in spirit.

With the added advantage of numbers and Ashe's ability to one-shot enemies, the battle was close but they still held the upper hand.

Chen Ce glanced over there briefly, deciding to first help his people eliminate the threat from the bear-men before returning to properly torture this arrogant and domineering Lord of the Hunt —sacrificing even one member of his people in a battle of this magnitude would be a tremendous waste.

But just as he moved his foot away and was about to turn and leave, the Lord of the Hunt, whose face had been trampled, suddenly grabbed his ankle.

"Don't... go...!"

"Hmm?" Chen Ce looked down and saw that the distorted face was rapidly recovering—it could even speak again.

"Your self-healing ability is impressive, even stronger than I expected... I should have been more ruthless earlier. Anyway, as long as I keep you alive, I can wait until you recover to the point where you can speak before interrogating you."

Extraordinary self-healing ability is one of the characteristics of the Ursine, but such a strong self-healing ability is still quite surprising.

This is considered top-tier even among the Ursine.

"Since you enjoy being beaten so much, then take as many as you can."

Chen Ce placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist again, the sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard was subtle yet sharp.

The next moment, a cold glint flashed.

Way of the Wanderer: Steel Tempest.

The sword technique, similar to a draw slash, brought the speed and power of the Muramana to their limits, severing the Lord of the Hunt's only remaining arm in the blink of an eye.

Then came the legs.

And the nerves in the spine.

Clang... A gust of wind gathered on his sword intent, and this time Chen Ce turned around to face the group of bear-men with peace of mind.

But the moment he turned around, the Lord of the Hunt behind him roared again, "Don't... go...!"

Chen Ce looked down on these pathetic creatures who were no different from being dead.

And as it turns out, he seems to have no choice but to "take care" of this poor wretch.

Boom--!

A loud explosion suddenly rang out in the semi-sealed cave.

A blinding white light suddenly filled the entire cave, so bright that it was impossible to open one's eyes.

It's... lightning.

Thunder, a symbol of primal power.

The power that gave humanity its first spark.

Chen Ce turned his head and saw, in a blinding white light, that the Lord of the Hunt, who had been on the verge of death, had stood up once again.

And there wasn't a single wound on his entire body.

Its human body began to transform into a beast, becoming indistinguishable from other bear-men—even larger and more hideous.

This is its true nature.

No one who received Volibear's "gift" could retain their original appearance.

If you want power, you have to pay the corresponding price.

Even if it's a shortcut.

"Mortal...!" it spoke in an avalanche-like voice, as if a thunderstorm had seized his throat and turned him into language.

Thunder endowed it with inhuman power; arcs of electricity coursed across its massive, twisted body, much like the legendary Volibear.

Of course, it wasn't the real Volibear Volibear; it had simply received Volibear's most direct blessing—the lightning bolt from earlier hadn't originated from within it, but rather fell from the outside, which was Volibear's gift.

Walbel's lightning struck it, granting it immense, ferocious power.

"How dare you insult the messenger of the gods...! How dare you challenge the power of the gods...!"

In an instant, thunder roared.

Boom! A dazzling white light once again filled the entire cave. The fully formed Lord of the Hunt was like the legendary "Beast Thunder God," able to summon thunder with a single gesture.

Chen Ce was struck directly by the violent lightning, and the terrifying heat instantly scorched his clothes and skin.

The Lord of the Hunt seemed to be seeking revenge for some deep-seated grudge. Even after "electrocuting" its opponent, it refused to stop. Swift arcs of electricity shot out from its hands continuously, as if it wouldn't dare to stop until it had blasted Chen Ce into dust.

Under such violent power, it was impossible for the others in the cave to come forward to help Chen Ce —even the bear-men of his own kind dared not approach the Lord of the Hunt's lightning.

This represents the power of the ancient, barbaric era.

"All those who defy the gods will be punished with death...!"

Finally, after nearly half a minute of lightning bombardment, the Lord of the Hunt, panting heavily, gave up—the power granted to it by Volibear was not limitless, and such a high-intensity attack could not be sustained for long.

"Lowly humans are nothing but food for the bear-men...!"

"The great Volibear will grant you evolution...!"

"Wildness, war...!"

The Lord of the Hunt glanced haughtily at the thick smoke; the smell of roasting meat made him absolutely certain that the arrogant mortal had been electrocuted to a crisp.

The bears let out excited roars.

The warriors of Avarosa were instantly filled with despair—electrocuted like that, even if Mr. Chen Ce was incredibly strong, he would be dead.

The smell of barbecue is already wafting out...

The strongest human was dead, but the Ursine gained a terrifying new fighting force, and the battle situation seemed to have been completely reversed in an instant.

The morale of the crowd was low.

Only Ashe remained smiling.

At first, she was a little nervous—after all, the smell of barbecue was really creepy. But now, she was certain that Chen Ce was safe and sound.

Because of her extraordinary eyesight, she spotted a familiar figure in the thick fog.

A figure like a demon...

"I never expected... that I'd need to use Darkin power to deal with a bear-man of your caliber..."

A hoarse voice, like that of a dry well, rang out in the dust and mist, causing the Lord of the Hunt, who was about to turn around and attack the other humans, to freeze in his tracks.

It turned around in surprise, its four distorted eyes fixed on the eerie figure in the dust and mist.

It saw it... that wasn't a human figure...

It was enormous and bizarre, with a pair of curved horns on its head... It was definitely not human.

Like... like a demon.

The "demon" described in any drunken tale you hear in any tavern in Freljord.

"You're not human either..." The Lord of the Hunt bared its sharp fangs, like a threatened beast. "You're just like me... You sold your soul..."

"You're the only one who's wrong." A disdainful voice rang out, and Chen Ce lightly swung the Darkin Scythe in his hand.

As the smoke cleared, his half-demonized body was revealed to everyone.

His bones had also stretched to some extent, making him nearly three meters tall. He also grew a pair of demonic horns on his head, and his body was covered with unique pieces of hard armor... but he was still clearly humanoid.

Its form is very different from when Rhaast borrowed the body before.

He is currently only borrowing Rhaast's power, rather than directly giving his body to Rhaast.

It's a kind of semi -Darkin transformation.

"Now, you will all die."

As soon as the words were spoken, all the bear-men roared angrily at the same time—their arrogant attitude greatly displeased them.

"Roar--!" More than a dozen bear-men roared and charged forward, ignoring everyone else and only wanting to tear Chen Ce to pieces.

Chen Ce simply stood there quietly.

Once all the bear-men were close, he calmly raised the giant scythe above his head.

Then, it begins to rotate.

[Counter Strike]

The spinning giant scythe can not only block all physical attacks like a spear, but its sharp blade can also kill any bear-men who dare to approach it while it is spinning.

Puff puff puff--!

The sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh echoed continuously, and in almost a single breath, half of the bear-men were killed.

Other bear-men who were lucky enough not to be killed on the spot by the scythe also met the same fate of being stunned, and Ashe's ice crystal arrows followed.

Clearly, they've messed with the wrong people.

"Damn demons...!" The Lord of the Hunt was enraged as he watched his men being slaughtered.

Another bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, landing directly on its massive body—as if it were charging up.

It received Volibear's blessing once again.

Its entire body was crackling with lightning, even its eyes gleamed with terrifying arcs of electricity. It stretched out its hands, and a fierce arc of electricity shot out instantly.

Human speed cannot match that of lightning.

Even Chen Ce was no exception.