Chapter 305: The Cat Says Calm Down

Leon scowled as he pulled away from his prey, avoiding a splash of blood and brain matter that would have splattered on him. Swinging the poleaxe, he brought it down upon a large turtle hiding in its shell.

Boom!

The shell broke apart, and the creature’s head burst open under the weight and sharpness of the weapon.

Leon smiled coldly, then glanced at the Vaelari zombies reaching towards him with their long, sharp claws.

’Killer Zombies, huh?’

He suddenly blurred, reappearing behind them. Before they could turn to face him, he chopped their heads in half. Taking a step back, he avoided being covered in dark blood.

More creatures rushed towards him, using different abilities without caring whether they injured one another.

Leon’s expression hardened, and he immediately rushed forward to meet them. Rather than retreating, it was better to break their momentum before they fell into a steady rhythm.

Letting his armor tank most of the attacks, he dodged the most dangerous ones and reached them in no time.

Bang!

A horse with sharp canines was sent flying as the poleaxe slammed into its chest. Along with a loud, agonized neigh, it stumbled back by a few steps.

Leon didn’t let it go. He swung his weapon again, crushing half of its head.

[You have slain a Level 49 Tier One Parasitized Mutated Horse!]

[You cannot level up!]

[Progress has been stored!]

Ignoring the messages, he turned around, swinging his weapon with the motion. Three heads burst apart, splashing blood on him.

Leon felt a little irritated, but ignored the feeling. Now that he was surrounded, there wasn’t much he could do to protect himself from being covered in blood.

Realizing this, he dropped all restraints and fought without caring about what splashed on him. His expression remained calm, and he gracefully moved between the creatures, dodging their bizarre attacks and killing them off one after the other.

It was a complete massacre. After all, there were no creatures strong enough to threaten him among their ranks.

It simply felt like an adult bullying children.

Laughing coldly, Leon at himself and scowled again. His whole body was covered in blood and gore, making him look like a devil.

However, something irritated him about it. There wasn’t enough blood on his armor. His palms still felt dry.

He wanted to be covered in more blood. He wanted to bathe in...

Meow...?

Hearing that sound, Leon snapped out of it. He looked at his feet, realizing the cat had somehow appeared on the battlefield, sitting by his side. On its tail, a golden crescent shape like the moon lit up, radiating an aura that seemed to soothe his mind.

Leon shifted his gaze from the cat to the creatures still surrounding him. Unlike before, they weren’t attacking.

Instead, they simply stood and relaxed. Some even had their eyes closed, as if enjoying the evening sun.

Leon blinked in surprise, then looked at the golden glow in the cat’s tail again. ’This is...?’

Selene soon appeared beside him, her expression strained. She stared at the cat with an incredulous expression, then looked at the dormant creatures surrounding them.

"It’s calming them?" She asked.

Leon nodded, releasing a faint sigh. "Not just them. Me too."

He looked at the poleaxe he was holding, then immediately dashed at the nearest creature.

"Let’s wipe out the rest before they snap out of it!"

Selene nodded and followed, swinging her sword and cutting down one head after another.

The cat was left alone again, feeling abandoned. Still, it didn’t move from the spot, as no parasite tried to approach it.

Leon and Selene decimated the horde, killing several of the creatures before they could react.

However, before they could celebrate, the glow in the cat’s tail began to wane, and the parasites regained their senses. They ignored the cat and rushed at the two humans.

Selene and Leon didn’t mind. With their backs to each other, they fought like experts, cutting down anything that came their way.

They couldn’t afford the luxury of crushing their opponents’ head, but they could still cut them down at least.

In this manner, they battled for over an hour, slaughtering their parasites that mindlessly threw their hosts at the duo.

However, after almost two hours of fighting, Leon noticed something. The parasites attacking them were too weak. They could be easily cut down, and posed no threat to them at all.

’Where are the stronger ones? It can’t be that they’re dead already, right?’

Selene also seemed to have noticed, and she looked around warily. Soon, her gaze found a figure standing not far from the battlefield.

It stood on eight legs—four from horses and four from insects. Twelve Vaelari arms with twitching fingers jutted from the sides of its body. Above the body was a single horse head with too many eyes.

Selene shivered, remembering the abomination she had seen on Staten Island.

"Leon...? It’s like... it’s like they’re fusing..."

The young man turned sharply, following her gaze. Seeing the chimera, he felt his blood boil.

’Finally! A worthy oppo—ugh!’

He bit his own tongue, snapping out of the effect of the weapon.

’This cursed poleaxe. I better end everything quickly and drop it, goddamn!’

Shaking his head, he spared the chimera a glance again as he cut down the parasites surrounding them.

More creatures were approaching the chimera, merging with it in a disgusting way that made his skin crawl.

’Yikes! That thing has to die before it grows even stronger.’

The blue crystal on its forehead was already enough. He didn’t want a green soul crystal popping up on the creature’s head.

"Let me handle it."

Saying this to Selene, he forced his way through the encirclement and rushed at the chimera.

It turned to look at him, its several eyes flashing with malice. Leon responded with a growl, then swung his poleaxe straight at its chest.

To his surprise, a semi-transparent defensive barrier flared around the creature.

Its eyes flashed with contempt while he sneered in disdain.

BANG!

The poleaxe slammed into the barrier and stilled for a moment, then shattered it completely.