Don't Hurt George

Jabus needed blood—blood from a specific target.

Besides, the first syllables of George's and Jabus's names in this world were both pronounced "zhou."

Compared to "qiao," the first characters of Jabus and George's names were actually closer in pronunciation to "Zhou."

Hawkins had translated the first character of both names as "George" only because he thought it sounded more reasonable and pleasant, especially since the people of this world looked and were built more like white people.

Although surnames were not popular in this world, and only a few Lineages used their clan name as the beginning of a name, the concept of surnames had already begun to take shape.

For instance, the first syllables of Huo Blackblade's and Hawkins's names were identical: both were pronounced "kuo."

This showed that, while many people had no concept of a "surname," they still gave their children names that resembled their own.

Then could Jabus and George actually be related by blood?

After all, many nobles liked to secretly keep several illegitimate children. Some even cruelly allowed their bastards to wander the world as orphans, lest disaster strike one day and leave their bloodline extinct.

If that deduction was correct, then what was Hawkins's purpose in drinking the blood of his own descendants?

Half an hour later, Hawkins and the other two arrived at Negotiation Mountain.

Negotiation Mountain was actually an extension of the Vitalia Mountains. The Vitalia Mountains were fault-block mountains, characterized by straight mountain edges and steep slopes that became cliffs. There was no transitional terrain between them and the neighboring plains; they often dropped sharply and directly.

The cave Victor had mentioned was on the other side of Negotiation Mountain. That side was equally steep, and there was no path leading there. If he had not personally seen Jabus bring George into the cave, Victor would never have known that there was a cave there.

After finding the cave, Hawkins had Mark and Victor remain at the foot of the mountain on standby. Then he swiftly climbed along the mountainside, reaching the cave entrance after only a few leaps.

Mark and Victor were both slightly stunned. The mountain was over forty meters tall, with sheer and perilous cliff faces, yet Hawkins climbed it so quickly that it was as though he were walking on level ground.

At that moment, Hawkins entered the cave, his Curse Power swiftly extending into its depths.

He frowned slightly. He had scanned only one person.

No!

More precisely, there was not even one "person."

"That is... George?"

The cave was dark and damp, yet strangely free of any snakes, insects, rats, or ants. Instead, it was impossibly clean.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me..."

As Hawkins approached the deepest part of the cave, a broken voice drifted out from within.

Though he disliked some of George's behavior, Hawkins still saw him as a child. He sighed softly and continued forward.

Deep within the cave, a monster covered in countless long hairs and sharp horns was curled into a ball, trembling violently.

It buried its head between its thighs and cried like a child. The problem was that it was far too enormous—three meters tall even while curled up, and at least six meters tall if it stood.

This was George?

Hawkins stepped forward, inwardly surprised.

Suddenly, George raised his head. There was no fear on his tear-streaked face—only something exceptionally terrifying.

It had a pig's face, its body likewise covered in long hair. Compared to the other Long-Haired Demons, its body seemed even more bloated.

A pig-headed man?

Hawkins froze for a moment, unable to understand why the other Long-Haired Demons all looked alike, while George had become something entirely different after turning into one.

But now was not the time to think. The moment George saw Hawkins, it immediately stood up, and a horn on its back drove directly into the mountain wall.

"Don't hurt George!!!"

A vast amount of black mist appeared before Hawkins, instantly forming a round shield.

Boom!

A deafening crash rang out.

George slammed into the round shield, making the entire cave tremble.

If it had been an ordinary creature, that collision would have left it dizzy and disoriented. But George showed no signs of fainting or injury. Instead, it grabbed the round shield with both hands, while its tail swept toward Hawkins's ankles from below.

Hawkins stepped back slightly and smiled. "How about we fight outside?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he ran straight out of the cave. George wrestled with the round shield for a moment before it suddenly dispersed. It immediately let out a furious roar and rapidly chased after Hawkins.

Rumble!

The horn on George's back dug into the mountainside like an iron plow, plowing through the rock as it charged forward, leaving billowing dust in its wake.

Meanwhile, Mark and Victor stood at the foot of the mountain, both watching the cave. Suddenly, they saw Hawkins leap out of it, landing like a cannonball.

Fortunately, Hawkins had Curse Power protecting his body. Otherwise, even he would have broken bones from a fall of over forty meters.

Less than ten seconds after he landed, countless clouds of dust burst from the cave. Then a huge black shadow flew out like a cannonball, landing in the distant forest in the blink of an eye and making the ground quake.

"Anyone who wants to hurt George must die!!!"

George grabbed a tree and ripped it up by the roots. Waving the enormous tree, it stared at Hawkins in the distance and roared.

"Captain, what is going on?" Mark immediately ran to Hawkins's side and asked.

Hawkins exhaled a hot breath and said calmly, "Jabus is not in the cave. Only this fellow is inside, and it is highly aggressive."

"Is that it? It does not look very strong. It is just a Long-Haired Demon with a pig face. Captain, you—" Mark looked at George and began analyzing.

Before he could finish, Hawkins smiled. "Since it is not very strong, why don't you go try it?"

"I... I... Fine... I'll try it. Captain, you have to keep an eye on me. If I die, remember to revive me." Mark opened his mouth, then finally said with a bitter expression.

He had clearly been trying to flatter Hawkins. He had wanted to say, "Even with one hand tied behind his back, Captain could easily deal with it." How had things turned out like this?

Of course, if he really had to fight George, Mark was not afraid either.

After all, George had no Curse Power, and Hawkins possessed the ability to revive people. Even if Mark died, he could be revived.

Mark confidently walked toward George. George panted heavily, a thick tree trunk in its hands. Seeing Mark approach, it roared, "Don't hurt George!!!"

"Sorry, but I have to hurt you!" Mark clenched his fists and said with a smile.

The next moment, he charged at George. The Silver Wolf behind him swiftly grew sharp claws. When he came within five meters of George, a black shadow suddenly flashed past.

"Aaaaaah!!!!"

Mark's voice gradually faded into the distance as Victor stared, dumbfounded, at Mark turning into a star.

George had just swung the tree in its hands like a baseball bat striking a ball, sending Mark flying with a direct home run.

Victor swallowed, thinking in shock.

Hawkins, however, did not look particularly surprised. He had already discovered in the cave that George's body was incredibly hard, far beyond what ordinary Long-Haired Demons could compare with. After all, being able to collide with the Eternal Spirit without injury required exceptionally high physical qualities.

When two objects collided, force acted both ways.

When an egg struck a stone, the egg was the one that shattered. That was the simplest and most obvious truth.

Though Hawkins's Eternal Spirit was less hard in its mist form than in solid form, it was still extremely hard. If conditions allowed, it could even easily grind diamonds away.

Yet George had not been injured when it rammed into the Eternal Spirit. Not even a tiny wound had appeared at the point of impact.

That was truly terrifying.

Even an iron block striking the round shield would only end up like dough forced through the small holes of a noodle press, becoming strands of noodles.

After understanding this, Hawkins put away his contempt. That was also why he had shifted the battlefield.

There were too many factors unfavorable to him in the narrow cave. If it collapsed, the situation would become even more dangerous. The more confined the space, the more disadvantageous it was for him.

At that moment, he slowly walked toward George. The Eternal Spirit swiftly transformed into mist, coiling around George like ropes.

George was highly sensitive to danger. This was probably an obsession left over from before its death. The instant the Eternal Spirit approached, it threw the tree at it and quickly ran around in a circle.

At that moment, Hawkins made a new discovery.

Although Mark was somewhat naive, he was still a professional Curse Caster. How could he have been sent flying so easily?

But when George attacked for the second time, Hawkins sensed through the Eternal Spirit a flash of Curse Power on George's body that vanished in an instant. That Curse Power differed from both his own and Mark's.

The feeling was difficult to describe. It was like water: Mark's and his were purified water, while George's was seawater.

There was a difference, but Hawkins still could not determine what that difference meant.

"Don't hurt George!"

George ran around the trees, but rather than moving away from Hawkins, it kept drawing closer to him.

It nearly simultaneously grabbed two trees with both hands. With tremendous strength and momentum, it uprooted both trees, then abruptly stopped and hurled them at Hawkins.

Such a straightforward attack posed almost zero threat to Hawkins.

He easily dodged George's attacks and said calmly, "It is time to end this."

If he merely wanted to kill George, he could have opened a passage to Eternal Space at the cave entrance. Once George entered the passage, it would be equivalent to death.

But considering that George differed from the other Long-Haired Demons, as well as the fact that Long-Haired Demons would die once they left Vitalia Island, he hoped to capture George alive.

In an instant, the ground exploded apart, and streams of black mist enveloped George's legs.

When George discovered that black mist had enveloped its legs, it immediately roared and repeatedly stomped down on the black mist. But after the mist formed chains, lifting one leg immediately tugged the other, and its massive body crashed to the ground.

"Don't hurt George!"

It struggled wildly, digging both hands into the ground and rapidly crawling away from Hawkins.

But after crawling only a few steps, black mist enveloped its hands as well. It could only wriggle its body forward like a caterpillar.