Chapter 32: Monster stampede, Aftermatch

Pain.. My body was writhed with pain after the surge of adrenaline and excitement left my body. I wasn't even able to gather enough energy to take the 'Nightmare' outside the body of the dead 'Dire Wolf' in front of me.

My wounds that had been caused due to the attacks from the Monster were reminding of the barbaric battle that had just taken place here. I was able to kill the monster in front of me but it had also left me injured, almost every part of my body was riddled with bloodied wounds.

"Wasn't a good idea." I thought to myself before exerting the remaining energy and every ounce of willpower on my body to absorb the Nightmare within me, letting it rest and refine itself. 

It was of great help as usual. If I hadn't activated both runes inscribed on it while the monster snapped its jaws, my whole hand might have been devoured by the monster, rather than just three fingers. The seconds of time these two runes, working in tandem, provided me with were the reason I was able to withdraw my hand in time.

It was fortunate that I hadn't managed to take the Nightmare outside at that moment, nor had I considered absorbing it then. If, by chance, I had done either of those things, I might have been the one lying dead on the ground instead of the monster in front of me.

The 'Rune of Blood' was overpowered as hell. I've got to give credit to this specific rune for my victory because being able to kill opponents without even touching them, just through your will, showcased its true power while defeating the monster. I had actually been able to negate its vitality, draining its blood and killing it in the process.

The 'Dire Wolf King' that was overpowering me in terms of everything, be it strength, agility, defense, or vitality was now lifeless, lying in its own blood because I was able to destroy it from within.

Even elites weren't able to properly heal from internal injuries, it was something worth taking note of because I might need to deal with other 'Elite warriors soon if I were to really return to the town of 'Lumia' after some time.

It could be a possibility if the monsters escaping from the dungeon weren't cleared by the lord of that town, requiring adventurers from other towns to help them.

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Plop….

I sat on the ground, bathed in the blood of the monster, before taking a long, deep breath, trying to control my breathing. Although the battle was still going on, the area where I sat had been cleared by both monsters and adventurers. The battle between me and the monster was chaotic, forcing those around us to clear the area, for both of us were powerful enough to crush any monster or adventurers if necessary.

I only dared to take a moment of respite because of the same reason. Although the wolf king was dead, the aura it exuded still lingered in the air, causing the monsters weaker than it to refrain from approaching its lifeless body.

" It might be the panacea for these monsters but the aura of its body wasn't something they could handle. And I was also present here, restraining the monsters from coming near me. The aura of strength was revolving around me, marking the area. They couldn't enter even if they wanted to."

As for human adventurers, although they could see my bloodied figure riddled with injuries, none dared to come near me. Some were afraid of me because I had slain one of the most powerful monsters within the stampede all by myself, while others were respectful of me as I had significantly lessened the burden on their shoulders.

Without their king, the dire wolves battling other adventurers seemed like headless flies, lacking the leadership of their army's commander in this stampede. This provided several adventurers with the opportunity to finish off the wolves they were engaged with and support their comrades in dealing with other monsters.

"This is all because of strength," I thought, looking at the adventurers who regarded me with a mix of reverence, fear, and respect. I could sense about five powerful auras targeting me—three hostile and two friendly. It wasn't hard for me to guess who were the ones that were checking on me.

It took me about five minutes to regulate my breathing before I was once again ready to join the fray. The injuries that were left on me were also slowly healing, with almost every wound on my being stopping to bleed. They were already showing signs of getting better.

"No wonder I couldn't injure the monster," I thought. "Even my vitality, which ranked among the transcendent, was so powerful. Then someone whose all attributes had reached the level of elites definitely wasn't some weak character that could be injured just with brute strength. 

After twenty more minutes, all the wounds on my body had stopped bleeding, and they were clotted with blood, giving me a somewhat scary appearance. However, I wasn't too bothered by these superficial injuries that would heal on their own with time. Even regaining the amputated fingers wouldn't be a problem if I was willing to invest some contribution points within the guild.

" Was I going to heal my amputated fingers though?"

It was the question that could intrigue others.

" No."

I wasn't going to do so for now, as I was broke with only about twenty contribution points on my person right now. And even those contribution points were lost because they were inside the body of the wolf in front of me.

Well, I wasn't too bothered by my amputated fingers, as I had already been familiar with the world of warriors for a long time. Such small injuries were deemed insignificant to adventurers. The only prerequisite for adventurers was to have a body that could function as per their needs. Having amputated body parts was a norm for any adventurer who didn't have great backing or an extreme amount of wealth they could use to heal their amputated body parts.

Even having wealth wasn't going to guarantee them the healing potions they required. At least, I hadn't heard of such potions in any town I had traveled to before residing here.

Some kept the battle scars as their pride while some deemed them as their failure.

And I kept them as I was freaking broke to heal them.

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It took about one hour before almost all the monsters were killed by us, adventurers guarding the town.

Two more tier-3 monsters lost their lives in the battle before the monsters retreated along with the heavily injured tier-3 monster, The rampaging bull.

One monster was killed by the guild master of the 'Adventurers Guild,' who decapitated it with one swing of his blade coated in a crimson-red aura. He made it look easy, but I knew the reason he could slice through the monster effortlessly, for I had battled with a monster equally as powerful as it was.

As for another monster, it was obliterated by the lord with a turret in one shot, leaving nothing behind of what was once the most powerful monster in the whole flock. Among the four tier-3 monsters that had attacked our city, only one remained alive. Even it was at its last breath, having been shot by magic bullets from other turrets that were being handled by warriors.

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Monster: The rampaging bull

Tier: 3 (elite)

Skill(s): [Iron Body] [ Earthly spikes] [ Razor Horn]

The true epitome of brute Strength. Be aware of its iron-clad body and razor-sharp horn that can puncture your body like a balloon.

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" Haha…. Run you freakers."

" Never leave your forest. Or else, become ready to get killed."

The atmosphere was filled with happiness as everyone looked toward each other, tears of joy in their eyes. Several brave warriors were killed by the monsters while battling them, and even more were left injured to varying degrees. It was devastating to look at the number of survivors on the battlefield.

There was pain in the hearts of several adventurers, having lost their comrades, lovers, and partners. Despite this, everyone was smiling, knowing that their fallen partners had died protecting their town like true warriors, becoming heroes remembered by the entire town.

Everyone was cheering each other on, helping the injured ones while praying for the souls of those who had been killed in this stampede. Those who were alive were collecting the bodies of warriors that at least bore some semblance to their previous selves and could be identified by looking at their bodies.

These collected bodies would later be claimed by the relatives of these adventurers. As for those who didn't have anyone in this world, the guild would take care of them as their only family.

As for those that were mangled beyond recognition, they were collected into a different area and would later be cremated to prevent their bodies from decaying or being eaten by scavengers. There were several who didn't even have mangled bodies, as they had been torn apart and already consumed by the monsters.

I looked at everything happening in front of me with nonchalant expression but my mind wasn't calm.

"Will there be anyone to cry for me?" This question constantly echoed in my head, almost mocking my status as an orphan. Though my eyes trembled with emotion, I managed to control myself and not show it on my face.

Fwoosh…

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my mind and control my emotions that were on the verge of spilling out in front of others.