Condensed to the extreme, the ochre-red light resembled shifting, flowing runes enveloping the surface of the knuckles.
"Bang!"
It was the dull thud of bone colliding violently with bone through layers of flesh.
Without the slightest resistance, the fist brimming with brilliant light slammed directly into the back of the beastman's head.
Possessing physical attributes far beyond those of an ordinary human, this powerful punch, driven by gravity, nearly knocked the beastman's stationary body off balance.
In the instant bone met flesh, Xia Nan could not see the beastman's expression, and naturally, he did not know if the opponent had regained a shred of humanity in the moment between life and death.
However, through the corner of his eye, he noticed the sudden tightening of the muscles in the back of the neck and the slight trembling of the cheeks; he could judge that the opponent had likely sensed the lethal aura permeating this strike.
The next second.
*Woom-boom—*
Ochre-red forcefield energy suddenly erupted from the surface of the fist resting on the beastman's skull.
Pure, stable, and possessing extreme penetration, the forcefield damage showed no mercy toward the flesh and blood before it.
The thick, swaying mane was shredded into debris in an instant. Skin tougher and harder than tree bark was squeezed and splashed to the sides of the fist like blood-red muddy water.
*Crack.*
This was the terrifying sound of a skull fracturing, a noise that would make anyone's blood run cold.
The fist, which had landed on the bear-man's head, suddenly sank several inches.
Immediately, among the blood splashing from the edges of the fist, a few streaks of viscous yellow-white appeared.
Xia Nan could clearly feel the sensation on the surface of his knuckles shift from initial hardness to a final, wet softness, as the hulking body beneath him suddenly convulsed.
The immense power previously stored in the beastman's muscles, now devoid of conscious guidance, surged through the body like uncontrolled electrical currents.
The lithe, towering body suddenly became rigid.
Like a walking corpse, driven by residual instincts before death, it took two steps forward before falling face-down.
It exposed the back of the head, more than half of which had been devoured by the forcefield energy.
Simultaneously, the thorn vines that had been surging toward Xia Nan like a wave of greenery across the field seemed to lose their life in an instant.
They froze in place like sculptures, stripped of their previous vitality.
Further away, the violent and cruel beasts surrounding Xia Nan suddenly saw their beastly eyes return to their former vacancy; their savage ferocity quietly ebbed away.
Some, intimidated by the momentum on the field, tucked their tails and fled in panic, while others, influenced by the thick scent of blood in the air and the hunger in their bellies, began to tear and kill one another.
His feet landed lightly on the ground.
Looking at the corpse of the beastman in front of him, which had completely lost its life force and was reverting to human form, Xia Nan felt a wave of relief.
Immediately after, the exhaustion from the high-intensity battle, coupled with the intense pain radiating from various parts of his body, surged from his heart straight to the top of his head.
The precise use of [Gravity Control] and the activation of [Heart-Leading Vision] at the critical moment had caused an excessive drain on his mental strength.
Now, simply standing on the ground, his vision began to black out and his head spun.
Sensing something was wrong, he knew that although the primary enemy had been defeated, the battle was not yet over; he still needed to handle the final cleanup.
In his current state, he could not guarantee he could repel the starving beasts as easily as he would have at full strength.
Having struggled so hard to survive until the end, he didn't want to trip up over these animals.
As his thoughts raced, his left hand swiped across his waist, and a bottle of healing potion appeared in his grip.
He quickly downed half the bottle.
25 Gold.
A sweet, refreshing taste lingered on the tip of his tongue. The cool liquid flowing down his throat into his body seemed to be infected by the pumping heart as it reached his chest, transforming into threads of warm currents that flowed through his blood to his entire body.
The original fatigue and pain gradually diminished, and a tingling sensation spread through the wounds on his arms and chest.
Xia Nan suddenly let out a deep breath, his hot body temperature condensing into a straight, distinct plume of white steam in the cold air.
Before it could fully dissipate, it was swept away by a wolf's howl, melting into the thick fog. Along with grass clippings and blood, it transformed into the shifting mane of an illusory wolf's head, howling as it rushed toward the spot where the longswords had fallen.
...
...
Having recovered some stamina through the healing potion, Xia Nan used the high mobility of [Fang Hunt] to quickly traverse the battlefield and retrieve the two longswords that had fallen during the fight with Mint.
Then, he forced himself to snap out of it and drove away the remaining beasts on the field.
With the beastman who had caused their frenzy now dead, this was not particularly difficult.
By merely displaying a bit of his strength and aggression and killing a few unlucky beasts as a deterrent, these cautious predators—who had regained their senses and survived in the danger-ridden forest—all retreated and vanished into the depths of the night.
"Huff... huff..."
For a moment, in the wide, silent clearing, only the sound of heavy breathing remained.
Xia Nan leaned forward, supporting himself with one hand against a tree trunk. Sweat dripped continuously from his jaw, soaking the soil at the roots.
From the moment he followed Kash and the others to this clearing until the battle ended, not even half an hour had passed.
However, the physical and mental energy he had consumed was far greater than that of clearing dozens of goblin nests.
First, the pincer attack from Kash and Vyris, then the frenzied bear-man Mint, all while dealing with those annoying thorns and the beast pack.
Having killed three teammates in a row, the intensity and pressure of the battle had been pushed to the limit.
Even with his Constitution/Endurance at a high "8" thanks to the effect of Dew, he was nearly at his breaking point.
Fortunately, the half-bottle of healing potion worked well, restoring much of his energy and preventing his combat capability from dropping too sharply.
Speaking of which, regarding Kash and Vyris, it was likely because he had hidden himself too well and used [Gravity Control] to catch them off guard, combined with the mental shock effect of [Gaze into the Abyss].
As a result, the total exchange between Xia Nan and the two of them lasted less than two rounds before he wiped them out; he didn't even know if they had time to use their full strength.
Conversely, the beastified Mint was much stronger than he had anticipated, far exceeding many newly promoted professionals.
Whether it was a professional combat skill or a racial talent of the beastmen, her ability to manipulate thorns, incite beasts, and even use decoys to absorb attacks, paired with her exaggerated physical attributes, made her exceptionally troublesome.
Moreover, this was the forest—the opponent's home turf.
It had made Xia Nan feel quite strained during the fight.
Aside from the [Coin of Fate], almost all his trump cards had been played; he had barely won thanks to a flash of inspiration at the end.
It was only because his battlefield reactions were fast—discarding his weapons and using his armor to tank a claw strike—that he earned the opportunity for victory.
But thinking back now, there were still lapses in the battle.
Xia Nan raised his left hand and looked at the sleek, dark arm-shield on his forearm and its sharp edge.
In the final moment, with both weapons out of his hands, he had chosen to use his fist augmented with [Gravity Etching] for the finishing blow.
This was a new application of a combat skill he had never tried or even imagined before, a result of the combat intuition that erupted during high concentration.
While the result was good, in reality, using the snake-scale arm-shield instead of a fist to release that final [Gravity Etching] would likely have been more secure.
But at that moment, given his posture, would he really have had the conditions to adjust his position mid-air and attack with the arm-shield?
Xia Nan reviewed the fight in his mind.
But just as his brain began to churn and the line of thought deepened, he called a halt to it.
He shook his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts.
Although the battle was over, now was not the time for a post-mortem summary.
In the misty forest at night, the scent of blood on the field could easily attract dangerous magical creatures.
He had to hurry and finish the final cleanup, then leave quickly to find a safe place to spend the night.
Once dawn broke tomorrow, he would look for a way out.
Engaging his core, Xia Nan stood straight. While remaining vigilant of the surrounding woods, he quickly checked his injuries and the extent of the damage to his equipment.
After drinking the half-bottle of healing potion, the pain in his chest had subsided slightly. Although there was still a slight stinging sensation when he moved, it was entirely within a bearable range.
Once he returned to town and rested for a few days, he should be fully healed.
The three deep claw marks on his right arm from Mint had stopped bleeding, though he could feel waves of pain emanating from them.
In terms of the injury itself, it was fine; the battle was over, and with his physical constitution, he would be mostly recovered after a few nights of sleep, without even leaving a scar.
The problem was the "Beastification Curse" that might have entered his body through the wounds.
If he didn't want to suddenly grow a furry tail or start drooling over raw meat, he needed to return to Rivervalley Town as soon as possible to see if he could use points to exchange for a magic scroll containing a "Remove Curse" spell, or spend a fortune to hire a caster who mastered similar spells to treat him.
—He had previously looked for purification potions for related ailments in the alchemist's shop within the Association but found none.
It would likely be a significant expense.
If his luck was bad, a single treatment could empty his savings.
Hmm... this plate-and-chain composite armor was also wrecked; the iron plate on the chest had been nearly torn open by one of Mint's claws.
Fortunately, the other parts were still intact. Perhaps he wouldn't need a new one; if he spent a little money to send it to the blacksmith for a major overhaul, he might be able to keep using it.
Suddenly, his savings of four hundred plus gold coins felt a bit meager.
Xia Nan's gaze swept over the several corpses on the field.
He hoped the rewards from this mission could offset his losses.
...
First was Vyris, who had been mentally countered by [Gaze into the Abyss], fallen into a state of shock, and been decapitated before she could even act.
This tall and slender Drow hybrid wore no obvious armor. Her Ranger class characteristics and the exotic aesthetics of the Underdark meant she wore only a set of light, tight-fitting, open-work leather clothes.
Although the two short daggers were not magical equipment, they looked high-quality and were well-preserved; they should fetch a good price at a blacksmith's.
In her waist pouch, besides some worthless trinkets, Xia Nan found 6 gold, 1 silver, and 3 copper, as well as some small medicine jars with no labeled purpose.
Regarding the former, having only this much money was normal; after all, very few adventurers, including himself, carried their entire net worth on them, bringing only a small amount for emergencies during a mission.
As for the latter, Xia Nan had personally seen her apply a greasy, paste-like substance from the jars onto her daggers; it was likely some kind of poison.
He didn't know the specific effects and didn't dare use it.
But perhaps Ms. Edwina of the "Green Grass Crucible" would buy them; if not, selling them cheaply to a general store was an option.
A bit regrettable was the oval, eye-shaped prop in Vyris's hand. After releasing the dark purple beam that triggered the [Gaze into the Abyss] effect, it seemed to have lost its efficacy, lying hard and lifeless on the ground.
He didn't know if it was still usable.
Xia Nan picked it up casually, wrapped it in several layers of gauze, and stuffed it deep into his backpack.
She was a proper professional, yet she didn't have a single item on her that could be sold for three-digit gold at a glance, which left him feeling somewhat dissatisfied.
Considering that assassins of this type often kept important items close to their skin, and worrying that a poison expert like a Drow might leave some disgusting trap on her body, Xia Nan focused his attention and remained vigilant.
From a distance, he shielded himself with his left arm-shield and gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand, using the tip of the blade to peel back the leather clothes on her body to check thoroughly.
He found nothing.
As for whether there were other psychological motivations during the check...
It could only be said that while the pressure of adventuring had led him to develop a few unspeakable habits, he wasn't so perverted as to be interested in a headless corpse that was still spurting blood from its wounds.
Next was Kash, who had similarly been decapitated and turned into a corpse.
Through [Gravity Control] and [Heart-Leading Vision], Xia Nan had caused the opponent to lose control during high-speed movement, leading him to crash directly into his blade.
The head had flown high and landed on the ground, while the body, due to inertia, had flown deep into the woods.
Xia Nan searched for a while along the trail before finding Kash's body beside a thick oak tree with cracks in its bark.
The fine scale armor, which he expected to sell for a good price, had been twisted beyond recognition by the terrifying impact, looking like a metal can that had been brutally pried open; the original shape of the armor was completely gone.
It had become a lump of scrap metal.
And Kash, inside the "can," was naturally nothing more than a pile of flesh that looked exceptionally gruesome and abstract.
Fortunately, the waist pouch was still tied to the body.
Xia Nan fished out 9 gold, 8 silver, and 2 copper.
Better than nothing.
But unexpectedly, Kash's weapon—that plain-looking, smooth, blue-grey stone spear engraved with ocean-like patterns—revealed a property panel with far more words than an ordinary weapon under Xia Nan's gaze.
...
[Tide-Surge Lure-Pole]
Type: Spear
Grade: Common (White)
Effect When the stone spear is inserted vertically into calm seawater, it will release an infrasonic vibration capable of attracting all small plankton within a 1-mile radius. The effect lasts for 6 hours.
Trigger Condition Use the spear tip to strike a living, healthy cetacean at a frequency of 60 times per minute for 10 continuous minutes without interruption.
Description Compared to a weapon used for killing, it seems more suited for patient anglers.
Note "You know, sometimes if you want to catch a big fish... you really need a few tricks." —Champion of the Black Reef Islands Fishing Competition, Beast-Shifter (Whale-man), Billbomb.
(End of Chapter)