Chapter 114: Battle

Facing them, the crowd of 60 awakened individuals and 10 F- and E-Rank beasts summoned their weapons.

They all shot forward, charging toward them at high speeds.

"Fight carefully. If you’re overwhelmed by the sheer number of them, wait for me. I’ll take care of their leaders," Zaid whispered.

"I’ll go fight them!" Erick said immediately. "I’m the strongest; it’s only natural that..."

"Listen to me. Stay here and help John. Also, watch your backs. The perpetrator might be hiding."

Zaid didn’t let them speak again and ran off at great speed, driven by a strength and agility unusual for someone of Rank F.

He caught up to the main group in no time, dodging those who were coming after him.

"You don’t have to look for an opponent—I am your opponent."

His daggers glinted in his hands, and his movements became even faster in an instant; he stomped the ground, creating a cloud of dust that concealed him.

Behind him, the tall Rank E Leader and the other three Rank E fighters waited alongside the most powerful beasts. They were looking for an opportunity to attack or simply stayed to watch.

However, when they were confronted by Zaid, who had managed to evade the other attackers, they were taken by surprise.

However, the leader didn’t wait. He knew this guy was almost as strong as he was; letting him go even for a moment would be a death sentence for his comrades.

That’s why he attacked him.

Clank!

The sword and the two daggers clashed. The attack was so powerful that it sent the Rank E leader crashing through the floor.

"Pretty strong..." he admitted honestly, though his tone was mocking. "But not stronger than me."

"Are you sure?" Zaid curled his lips into a malicious smile.

Behind him, his attack had struck the two most powerful beasts.

[You have killed two Rank F Night Wolves: Level 9.]

[+ 10 PE]

[+ 10 PE]

[Congratulations, you’ve leveled up!]

[Level 10 > Level 11...]

[Congratulations, you’ve advanced to Rank E!]

[Your body is getting stronger!]

[+ 10 Stat Points added to all your stats.]

[+ 20 PE]

[+ 10 ME... + 10 ME... + 10 ME...]

[From now on, all Rank F Beasts will no longer grant you PE.]

His smile widened. His happiness knew no bounds. Not only had he leveled up, but he had confirmed that his body didn’t have to rely solely on Scavenger to grow.

Other talents could help him, too!

The bandit leader swallowed hard when he saw the deaths of his two companions.

"Impossible." The anger in his gaze was evident in his actions.

He regained his composure and counterattacked. His sword swept horizontally, aiming for his opponent’s head. At the same time, the others noticed and attacked as well.

One of them leaped up into a tree, where he hid.

The others attacked with spears and swords, aiming for Zaid’s body. However, Zaid ducked to dodge an attack and then struck at the leader. His dagger pierced through the leader’s defenses, wounding him.

The leader was pushed backward. Zaid thought about striking him to kill him, but he had to take a step back and look up.

A flaming arrow fell right where he had been standing just a moment before.

"Archer... What a pain."

For a moment, they had him cornered. But just when they thought they were winning, Zaid’s daggers began to dance once more.

He had gained a lot of combat experience recently, and although his Talent with daggers was already starting to lag behind, it was enough to handle these guys.

His daggers sliced through the necks of the weakest ones and severed one of the leader’s arms in a single strike. His footwork was exquisite, and in the end, he positioned himself behind the leader.

"W-what!"

The leader tried to attack from behind, but failed.

"Valia." Zaid called out to Valia just as his attack against the leader landed. The leader died, but three arrows were coming after him.

At that moment, Valia finally appeared. Her body burst into flames instantly, and her claws struck both arrows.

The force and momentum carried her straight toward the archer.

When he saw her, he panicked and tried to flee further away. However, his heart was pierced by feline claws that possessed the strength and power to make his blood evaporate.

He froze in the tree for a second before falling lifeless to the ground.

"Master, there’s one hiding. He’s weak."

"I know. Leave him there. Someone else should take care of him."

Zaid turned his attention to the group fighting behind him. Some had realized they’d lost their leaders; others continued to fight.

In less than 5 minutes, Zaid’s sheer power and full capabilities had rendered a group of Awakened powerless.

"Rank F vs. Rank D with an S-Rank Talent is still too much," Zaid smiled and attacked alongside his friends.

He deliberately left the Rank F beasts for John, who killed them pretty quickly. He had fallen behind recently, but he would soon catch up.

In less than 30 minutes, 50 people and 10 beasts had died.

Erick and John stood there dumbfounded, staring at the perpetrators of such a massacre.

Zaid, who was supposedly a "freighter," and a flying cat... Erick knew who that cat was. More than once he had petted it at home... More than once he had thought it was a harmless kitten.

He swallowed hard. Fortunately, he never scolded him. He felt he owed his life to his kindness toward animals.

"Zaid..." He tried to speak, but Zaid ignored him.

With a blank expression on his face, Zaid walked into the woods and soon returned with someone who was trying to run away.

He threw him down in front of John.

John frowned. "I suspected as much, but I didn’t think it would actually be you, Fernando."

Fernando was trembling with fear when he heard John and looked up. "J-John..."

John looked at Zaid. "Can you hand him over to me?"

Zaid nodded. "It’s your own revenge. I told you I’d help you, didn’t I?" He tossed John a token, which John caught, looking confused.

"I think they’re on the same side."

John stared at the token and recognized some patterns. "The Shawn family..." he muttered.

Zaid nodded at him. "I think they’re an affiliated organization, right?"

"They are—it’s one of their branches that does the dirty work," John confirmed.

Zaid and Erick then decided to leave him alone to deal with the traitor.

John put the token away and crouched down in front of Fernando.

"F-forgive me..." Fernando murmured, his body trembling.

John laughed and snorted. "If I were in your shoes, would you do it?"

"They... forced me."

John nodded. "I believe you. That’s how the world works these days. The truth is, this world no longer has laws. The strongest reigns, Fernando. If you’d chosen to live your normal life, you wouldn’t have to die today... Or maybe you would have died sooner? We can’t know. But since you chose to betray me and didn’t complete your mission, there’s no place for you here with me."

With terrifying coldness, as if he weren’t looking at a longtime acquaintance, he plunged a sharp weapon into his heart and tore it apart. He didn’t look away, and Fernando, seeing him like that, stopped begging. Perhaps it was because his mouth filled with blood, or because he’d lost all hope.

"My brothers died at the hands of the Shawns... And now you, too. It’s a shame," he said; strangely, a tear rolled down his cheek and fell to the ground. "All that’s left for me is to kill them to complete my revenge..."

Fernando let the blood spill from his mouth when, finally, in his last seconds of life, he decided to speak.

"Take revenge on the Shawns? Heh... you’re... crazy."

"Maybe I am crazy. But when your revenge aligns with that of someone so talented, who could deny that it’s possible?"

Fernando glanced sideways, and his head fell forward. "He’s just... a useless Zachary... What can he do?"

Finally, John burst out laughing. "After seeing all this, do you still think he’s useless? Thinking that way is what will cause the Zacharys themselves to fall."

His words echoed softly in Fernando’s ears... But they didn’t sink in. He died before he could finish speaking them.

"Too bad... you won’t get to see me carry out my revenge."

With a long sigh, he stood up and walked back to his group. The sharp object from earlier was Zaid’s dagger, so he handed it back.

"Thank you," he said.

Zaid turned to look at him and tried to read him. "You’re shaken, but you’re good at hiding your feelings. Don’t hold back so much. Sometimes life throws us surprises we never imagined, and we have no choice but to face them to move forward."

John sighed again. "It’s just that the people closest to me have all left already. To have another one leave... it’s hard."

Erick didn’t want to get involved, but seeing such a rude thug made him want to say something.

He cleared his throat and said, "Life was already complicated before the portals. With their arrival, not only did complexity and human strength increase, but so did betrayals and misfortunes. Some have already left, but you’re still alive, aren’t you? You can still make new memories that might last longer than the others. They won’t replace them, but they’ll help you remember the others with a nostalgic smile, thinking, ’He surely would have liked him...’ Isn’t that the way of life?"