Deep within the Bloodstained Mountains.
BOOM!
The Blackglow War Spear slammed violently into the ground. A dark-gold Obsidian Golem Sigil flashed across Raine's arm as brutal force surged down the spear shaft and into the earth, instantly rupturing the organs of an Elite-rank shadow beast that had tried to ambush him.
[Killed Elite-rank Shadow Beast. Bloodstone +1800]
The notification flickered past.
With a thought, Raine opened a more detailed personal panel.
[Host: Raine · Valeri]
[Rank: Elite Lv.1]
[Talent: Blood Devourer]
[Bloodstone: 52,920]
[Skills: Obsidian Golem Codex, Blood Pact, Bewitching Eye, Riftpierce Thrust, Windflow Step, Mighty Force Technique]
After an entire night of nonstop hunting, Raine had pushed deep into the Bloodstained Mountains. Most of the enemies he encountered were only Formal-rank alien beasts.
The bloodstone gains were average, but through relentless combat, he had thoroughly integrated his newly acquired abilities.
Riftpierce Thrust and Windflow Step were now fully mastered. Combined with the brutal strength of the Obsidian Golem Body and the piercing edge of the Blackglow War Spear, he could often kill with a single strike!
At the same time, a faint sense of unease surfaced in his mind.
He had ventured this deep already—so why hadn't he encountered any truly powerful existences?
...
On the other side of the mountain range.
By an emerald-green lake.
More than twenty figures had surrounded a lone woman at the center.
She wore a silver uniform torn in multiple places, revealing wounds so deep that bone was visible. Lightning arcs and corrosive energy clung to the edges of the injuries, preventing them from healing.
Her left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle. A penetrating wound ran through her abdomen, blood seeping out without stop.
She knelt on one knee, supporting herself with a dimly glowing cruciform sword. Her azure eyes still burned with unyielding fire.
The hunters closed in.
At their head stood a powerfully built alien youth whose pupils flickered with lightning. Destructive electric arcs crackled violently around his body.
Behind him were shadowclan figures with indistinct features, flame demon descendants whose skin was cracked like molten lava, and members of the firewing clan with blazing wings on their backs…
Cruel smiles—like cats toying with a mouse—played on their faces, while their attacks grew sharper and more vicious with each exchange.
BOOM!
A silver lightning pillar blasted the woman away again, hurling her hundreds of meters as blood sprayed from her mouth.
"Still struggling on the brink of death, Arlis?"
The lightning-scaled alien youth stepped through the air toward her.
"To escape all the way here from me is already something to be proud of. But now—the game is over."
The shadowclan, flame demon descendants, and the rest swiftly sealed off every escape route.
To personally end the life of a human prodigy upon whom their race had placed great hope—this was an immense honor and achievement to them!
At this moment, the woman's vision blurred, her ears ringing.
She relied purely on indomitable will to forcibly condense the Nex within her body.
Biting through her tongue, she poured every last bit of strength into the cruciform holy sword in her hand.
The blade erupted with a dazzling golden sword light, briefly forcing back the nearest enemies.
Seizing the chance, she plunged into the dark forest behind her, completely suppressing her aura, moving like a shadow among the towering trees and tangled vines.
"Heh! She's at the end of her rope—she won't get far!"
The thunderclan youth transformed into a streak of silver lightning and was the first to chase into the forest.
The remaining pursuers spread out their mental perception, launching a carpet-style search.
...
Deep in the mountains.
Raine suddenly noticed that the number of Elite-rank alien beasts ahead was increasing!
And they seemed to be fleeing outward in panic, as if something terrifying lurked deeper within.
"Something's wrong."
Raine frowned, tightening his grip on the Blackglow War Spear.
Yet instead of retreating, he accelerated and continued sneaking forward.
Just as he passed through a low-lying basin—
THUD!
A blood-soaked figure fell from above and smashed heavily into the ground.
Raine instinctively prepared to thrust his spear and kill!
At that moment, the figure struggled to lift her head.
She saw the standard patrol armor on Raine's body and, using the last of her strength, spoke:
"Patrol… run—"
Before she could finish, her head tilted to the side and she lost consciousness completely.
"Hm? How could there be a human this deep inside?"
With golem-gold patterns spreading across his body, Raine approached cautiously.
He had never heard of any human stronghold in the Bloodstained Mountains. This place had always been a forbidden zone for humanity.
So where had this person come from?
Despite his doubts, he immediately checked her injuries—and they were horrifying.
The residual energy within the wounds was violent and sinister, absolutely not something ordinary alien races or alien beasts could inflict.
"Run…"
Arlis murmured unconsciously in her coma.
Almost at the same instant—
A terrifying pressure filled with destructive intent slammed toward the area!
Leaves rustled and fell in showers; even small stones on the ground began to tremble and hop.
"Did she lead them here?"
Raine didn't hesitate. He scooped the unconscious Arlis into his arms.
WOOOOM!
With a savage, piercing screech, the massive Infernal Griffin appeared!
Raine leapt onto the griffin's broad back with the girl in his arms and barked, "Go!"
The Infernal Griffin beat its wings violently, transforming into a black-and-crimson streak of light that tore through the forest and shot into the sky!
WHOOSH—!
A sonic boom exploded behind them.
Raine didn't know what kind of existence was chasing them, but from the aura alone, he knew it was terrifyingly powerful.
In such a situation, hoping to evade their detection was nothing short of idiotic.
So Raine made almost no effort to conceal his presence, pushing the griffin at full speed toward the edge of the forest!
"Where do you think you're running?!"
A cold shout rang out from the distance!
A bolt of silver lightning tore through the sky, chasing straight after Raine!
Where it passed, massive trees were charred black and snapped apart.
"So terrifying—get out of this area!"
"Did a Beast God get enraged?!"
Countless alien beasts fled in madness the instant they sensed the lightning.
RUMBLE—!
Deeper within the forest, several equally terrifying auras erupted in succession!
A Blackhawk with a wingspan over thirty meters shot into the sky.
A jet-black gorilla the size of a small mountain charged forward with earth-shaking strides.
A venomous spider covered in bizarre patterns darted rapidly through the forest.
And a two-headed lion roared thunderously, shaking the heavens.
Four Master-rank alien beasts closed in from four directions, forming a deadly encirclement around Raine!
The Infernal Griffin was incredibly fast, but faced with a four-sided pincer, the available space shrank rapidly.
"Hmph, human ant—you can't escape even with wings!"
The Tempest Blackhawk screeched sharply.
The Twin-Headed Lion spewed frost from one mouth and fireballs from the other, sealing off the path ahead.
The black gorilla hurled a massive boulder, wrapped in terrifying force.
The Shadowvenom Spider spat out a dark-purple web, trying to slow the griffin's movement.
Meanwhile, in the distance, the silver lightning drew closer, a figure within it becoming faintly visible.
Under Raine's control, the Infernal Griffin barely managed to evade most of the attacks—but the web and wind blades still struck it.
Raine could feel the blood energy sustaining the griffin drain away in an instant.
"Oh? It didn't die?"
"Wait—this is that human recently put on Crimson City's bounty list, isn't it?"
Below, the Shadowvenom Spider hissed hoarsely.
"Lucky us. Not only do we get to deal with this human brat, it seems we also get a rather nice human gift on the side!"
"She's mine!"
At that moment—
A rumbling voice rolled in from the distance, carrying absolute authority.