Chapter 96: Facing A Formidable Foe
“What is that?”
Xilutiya stopped, lowered her hood, and tried to discern the faint sounds coming from the distant mountain forest.
Was someone encountering a powerful monster? She stood for a long time, but unfortunately, no other sounds came from the distant mountains. She could only shake her head and continue forward.
On the other side, Mike had finally caught up to Jieluo’s squad’s progress, but what lay before him was an incredibly tragic scene.
Someone was dead.
He looked at the scattered miscellaneous items on the ground, the torn clothes stained with blood and flesh, and the broken sword blade, a chill running down his spine.
Where was Brother Jieluo? He scanned the surroundings anxiously, but fortunately, he didn’t find any armor or weapons resembling Jieluo’s.
He walked to a corner of the scene and picked up a blunted, bent weapon from the ground, mentally estimating its power.
Such a powerful enemy was able to directly twist and break an iron sword, and beside it was a shattered half-piece of armor, revealing the tragic state of its wearer. The person inside the armor must have had half their body crushed.
Brother Jieluo is a powerful warrior; he wouldn’t die easily here, Mike told himself. He had completely lost the desire to participate in the assessment and only wanted to quickly find his former teammates and help them escape danger.
He silently searched for tracks and set off again along the faint traces.
…
After about half a day, he finally found a marker and traces in a hidden mountain hollow.
Rushing in, he was attacked before he could even call out his companion’s name.
A black greatsword slashed down along the mountain wall, smashing into the rock beside him, sending sparks and white marks flying, startling Mike.
Only then did he get a clear view of everything inside the cave.
Jieluo stood in the cave, covered in blood. His legs trembled, his lips quivered, and his thick arms gripped the greatsword, but he recoiled timidly like a child.
“You… you don’t come any closer.” He shook his head vaguely, backing away step by step, then tripped over a bag behind him and fell to the ground.
“Brother Jieluo, it’s me, it’s me, Mike,” the young boy called out anxiously, opening his hands and slowly walking closer.
“No, don’t come any closer.” Jieluo seemed unable to recognize the young man before him, only answering fearfully, swinging the greatsword wildly.
Why was this happening? Why couldn’t Brother Jieluo recognize him? Mike’s gaze searched, and he noticed white ash from tobacco residue on the ground.
Was it ‘Shaking Sun Grass’ again? It was said that consuming too much of this substance could cause hallucinations.
With a clue, he scanned the cave for remaining traces and indeed found a lot of ‘Shaking Sun Grass’ ash.
It was said that this tobacco could suppress pain and relieve tension, but its side effects were addiction and hallucinations. Consuming too much would cause a person to become gaunt and thin, so those who usually used such things were mocked as cowards in bars.
While calming the frightened Jieluo, Mike spoke to him, waiting for the drug’s effects to wear off.
Time slowly passed in agony. By the time Mike had firmly grasped Jieluo’s hand and convinced him to put down the sword, two hours had already passed.
“Brother Jieluo, what exactly happened?” Mike looked at Jieluo, whose temperament had drastically changed, and asked anxiously.
“I, I can’t remember,” Jieluo seemed particularly averse to recalling the events of the past few days. He lowered his head, his hands occasionally covering his head, as if afraid to look at Mike, who was slightly smaller than him.
“Brother Jieluo, you must remember. You escaped all the way from over there; you must remember,” Mike asked anxiously again, desperate to know the whereabouts of the others.
“No, no…” Jieluo lost the ability to speak again, only able to repeat these words.
Facing such a Jieluo, Mike was filled with disappointment. Why had the powerful, reliable, and admirable Brother Jieluo he once worshipped become this way?
Even if he was afraid of death, it wouldn’t reach this extent, and besides, they were safe now.
He couldn’t understand, and even felt a pang of disappointment.
However, with Jieluo remaining silent, he had no good options. He could only stand up again, leave the cave, and search for other traces.
…
In the mountains, Iona held two Black Steel Daggers and looked up at the tall Ogre before her. The creature had thick, tough grayish-green skin, no hair on its head, and rough, wrinkled skin on its brow, making it look quite ferocious.
This Ogre was around the First Order, but it was tall. The wide beast bone it wielded was like a giant hammer; when it swept past, it carried a strong gust of wind, easily shattering the rock where Iona had been standing.
Race: Ogre （ Low-level ）
Status: Healthy （ Bloodthirsty ）
Talent:
Brute Force 【 Excellent Grade 】: Ogres are naturally strong, and their tall stature and physique grant them power far exceeding that of creatures of the same order.
Fate Card: 【 Wilderness Ogre 】 （ First Order · Blood Law ）
‘Ogres have enormous appetites, and all living flesh they see is difficult to escape their consumption. In the Ninth Epoch, the most common and abundant living flesh is human.’
–
Effect: 【 Brute Force Body Lv.4 】, a talent from their bloodline, granting them innate strength and physique, making even rhinos playthings in their hands.
Ability Card:
【 Blood Devouring Technique Lv.2 】 （ Blood Law ）: Digests consumed flesh and blood, converting it into their own ‘Blood Law’ nature power.
【 Tough Hide Lv.2 】 （ Blood Law ）: Tough skin, like thick leather armor, defends against damage.
【 Deterrent Aura Lv.2 】 （ Blood Law ）: After slaughtering numerous creatures, you gain an aura that deters other life forms, causing them to lose all will to fight and not dare to resist.
Facing this powerful Ogre, Iona darted through the forest like a hornet, dodging the creature’s whistling beast bone attacks.
Trees fell one after another. She leaped among the treetops, and as she reached the highest point, she plummeted down. The sword blade in her hand shone with a dazzling golden light, piercing directly into the Ogre below.
…
The golden light flashed and a thick beast bone swept through, erupting into fierce combat in the forest.
Half an hour later, Iona leaned against a tree, panting. Her once neat gold and red hunting outfit was covered in blood and dirt, and one of her arms was bruised and difficult to move. Behind her lay the tall Ogre, its eyes pierced, its chest and abdomen bearing several gruesome wounds. Foul-smelling blood flowed out, emitting heat. Occasionally, flies landed on the exposed internal organs, feeding on the dried blood.
She had defeated the Ogre, but the cost was not small. At least one arm was temporarily incapacitated and would likely recover by tomorrow.
However, the arduous battle had yielded some results. She had now completed her first and second objectives, with only the final ‘Blood Strange Flower’ left to find.
Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, Xilutiya also encountered a terrifying opponent.
It was a giant Ogre with two heads. Its skin was dark red, like magma, and it wielded a thick iron rod in its hands. The hot air exhaled from its nostrils blew away the fallen leaves on the ground as it looked down at the tiny figure before it.
Behind this tall Ogre, a cliff jutted out from the mountain peak, and a strange blood-red flower bloomed quietly, emitting an incredibly alluring sweet fragrance.
This was the final objective of the assessment, the ‘Blood Strange Flower’ （ Second Order · Blood Law ）.
