Rocky thrust his sword through the Demon Core of the Grayrock Demon from behind, completely killing the fearsome creature…!
A thunderous boom echoed as the Demon Core was pierced, and the Grayrock Demon’s colossal body collapsed with a crash, breaking into variably sized rocks, which turned into the Greyrock Stones that Liliya had mentioned before.
The hunt—successful!
As they witnessed the Grayrock Demon crumble into rubble, Rocky and Liliya exchanged a glance and smiles spread across their faces simultaneously.
They had won!
They had truly slain the Grayrock Demon!
The tough and perilous battle had exhausted them both, so as soon as the Grayrock Demon hit the ground, they were immediately overwhelmed by an immense fatigue and couldn’t help but sit down on the ground to catch their breath.
To be honest, even though Rocky had made ample preparations beforehand and had even undertaken an intensive week of training with Liliya, the real encounter with the Demon, especially the combat, made him understand the kind of pressure one had to bear in the face of a Demon.
Therefore, even though the Grayrock Demon had become nothing more than real stones, the memory of the recent fight still left Rocky with lingering palpitations.
“That was really close, just now…”
Leaning against what had become a boulder—the Grayrock Demon—Rocky couldn’t help but express his amazement.
Although he and Liliya weren’t gravely injured, it didn’t mean the battle hadn’t been dangerous. In fact, had they not been together, had their equipment not been sufficiently good, or had the Beastmen not fought a vanguard role prior, they might not have won at all.
“You did well,”
said Liliya, seated next to Rocky, as she glanced at him and revealed a knowing smile.
Rocky’s performance had far exceeded her expectations. It was, frankly, unexpectedly good.
Because Liliya knew Rocky best, she knew he hadn’t really fought before; at most, he had engaged in some inconsequential training with her. But no matter how much training one does, it could never compare to real combat.
Therefore, before this point, including during the battle, Liliya had been worried that Rocky wouldn’t be able to endure—not physically, but mentally. Intense and dangerous battles can easily crush the unstable at heart, yet Rocky had managed, and he had done quite well.
“Haha!”
Hearing Liliya’s praise, Rocky laughed heartily, naturally feeling especially pleased.
As they joked and laughed, they alleviated the fatigue from the fight, but they soon got busy with a pressing task.
Though they had slain the Grayrock Demon, one mustn’t forget they were still in the midst of the forest, still on land.
In this day and age, land was undoubtedly the most dangerous place in the world, so after achieving their objective, they didn’t dare to relax and immediately set about collecting the body of the Grayrock Demon, which was the Greyrock Stones scattered about.
These Greyrock Stones were their spoils of war, and extremely valuable at that. These seemingly ordinary stones would instantly sell out once put on the market, bringing a steady flow of wealth to Rocky and Thunderhawk City!
Under these circumstances, Rocky took out the bags he had prepared beforehand and, together with Liliya, gathered up all the Greyrock Stones, not leaving a single scrap behind.
Rocky had done something similar at the research institute before, so he was quite experienced.
“Liliya, how much do you think these Greyrock Stones will sell for?”
asked Rocky as he collected the stones from the ground.
“That’s hard to say. We’ll know when we ask Aileen back home, but as far as I know, Grayrock Steel is one of the best steel materials and it sells by the gram on the market, so we’re definitely going to make a good amount of money this time,”
replied Liliya.
“That’s great, hehe!”
Rocky felt much relieved by Liliya’s words. After all, he had risked his life hunting Demons to earn money.
But just as he was gleefully stuffing the Greyrock Stones into the large sacks, Liliya suddenly stopped and stood up, clutching her Longsword.
“Liliya, what’s…”
After glancing at Liliya, Rocky found her staring intently behind him and quickly turned around, only to see a person standing in the forest behind him!
This person had only one arm… it was the Beastman from before!
This guy hasn’t run away yet?!
Surprised to see the Beastman again, Rocky immediately gripped his side sword.
Was this fellow planning to swoop in like a mantis stalking a cicada, with the oriole following, to steal the spoils of battle?
It was no wonder Rocky thought this, for strictly speaking, the Grayrock Demon was actually the Beastman’s prey. Not only had the Beastman discovered it first, but he had also fought with it for a long time, and during this fight, the Beastman had even cracked the Grayrock Demon’s skull. The relatively easy victory Liliya and Rocky had over the Grayrock Demon owed much to the Beastman’s efforts.
Because of this, it was not impossible for the Beastman to want a share of the spoils or even to attempt to snatch them by force.
And when both Rocky and Liliya had turned their attention to the Beastman, who, despite having lost an arm, still held a broadaxe in his other hand, he also took a step forward, walking toward them.
“Stop, don’t come any closer.”
When the Beastman came within a dozen meters of Rocky, Liliya stepped forward to shield Rocky behind her, her long sword pointed directly at the Beastman, ordering him not to come any closer.
Liliya knew all too well how strong the Beastman was; even with a severed arm, he was by no means an easy opponent, so she couldn’t allow him to get too close.
However, to the surprise of both Rocky and Liliya, the Beastman actually stopped in his tracks. Not only that, he then raised his broadaxe and slowly loosened his grip, letting the broadaxe fall to the ground.
In the culture of the Beastmen, laying down one’s weapon in front of an opponent was equivalent to surrendering!
“You two, I mean no harm.”
After setting down his broadaxe, the Beastman spoke up.
His voice was somewhat muffled yet very loud, giving the impression of distant thunder.
“If you have something to say, you can say it from there.”
Liliya, though the Beastman had laid down his weapon, didn’t relax her guard one bit. She still gripped her long sword tightly, not allowing the Beastman to come any nearer.
The Beastman seemed a little helpless at her intense caution and began to regard Rocky with even greater importance since he could clearly sense that Liliya was protecting him. Not to mention, Rocky’s Void Magic Armor made it obvious that he was no ordinary individual.
Thus, standing still, the Beastman inquired, “My lord, you are not Demon Hunters, are you?”
“No.”
Realizing the Beastman was addressing him, Rocky nodded.
“My lord, are you from Sky City?”
Once the Beastman was certain that he and Rocky were not of the same profession, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and followed up with his question.
“Yes, what do you want with that?”
“My lord, I hope you could take me to Sky City, I…”
“Need treatment.”
It was only when the Beastman spoke these words that Rocky remembered the other was severely injured!
Despite appearing still majestic, the Beastman’s left arm was completely gone, the stump tied roughly with hemp rope to stem the bleeding, and the injury was evidently very severe.
This was indeed the real reason why the Beastman had returned. Although he had initially fled taking advantage of the fight between Rocky, Liliya, and the Demon, such a serious injury was beyond him to handle, so after a simple dressing, he was compelled to come back, resulting in the scene before them.
And upon hearing his words, before Rocky could even respond, Liliya suddenly turned around and whispered in his ear, “Take him back with us and try to keep him in the city!”