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Chapter 288: Slaying the High-Rank Nightclaw
🕑 Added 2024-10-04 05:20:04 +0000 UTCUnder the darkened sky, with the cold wind howling, the soldiers' hair was blown into disarray, but their steps remained firm as they marched steadily toward Poz Peak, now hidden in the distant night.
An hour later, the night had deepened, with nebulous clouds drifting across the sky. Rhett, leading a few hundred soldiers, had already drawn close to Poz Peak.
To avoid causing too much noise, Rhett had brought only a small number of troops, as their mission was to act as bait. They did not suppress the sound of their thundering footsteps.
Finally, after crossing a small stream, the group of several hundred was "successfully" detected by a Nightclaw patrol.
More precisely, it was Rhett who first noticed the Nightclaw patrol. The patrol was led by a fifth-rank Nightclaw and consisted of over twenty lower-ranked Nightclaws, moving stealthily through the darkness. If not for Rhett's extraordinary mental strength, even other superhumans of the same rank would have struggled to sense these creatures, naturally adept at night stealth.
Initially, Rhett considered wiping out the entire Nightclaw patrol, but then he remembered that they were supposed to act as bait. It was not the best time for such a move; instead, letting these Nightclaws report back might serve their purpose better. Additionally, with only a small force under his command and himself being a new face, he decided to disguise himself as an ordinary intermediate magus, refraining from delivering a fatal blow to the Nightclaw.
During the chase, Rhett deliberately slowed down, signaling with a few prearranged hand gestures to feign pursuit while allowing the Nightclaws to escape and report back.
"Mrowl, mrowl!"
The cries of the Nightclaws echoed in the cold wind as they were struck by the earth knights and mages' long-range attacks. However, following orders, the soldiers did not wipe them out.
The group of several hundred pursued the Nightclaws across the desolate plain, deliberately slowing down to allow the creatures to slip further away. Eventually, as they passed through a chaotic rocky valley, the Nightclaws managed to "escape" by using the terrain to their advantage.
"Damn, they got away!"
Vidas, standing beside Rhett, stomped his foot in feigned frustration, kicking a few jagged stones and cursing angrily.
Rhett pretended to be concerned, scanning the surroundings with a wary eye. The black rocks around them formed various bizarre shapes, resembling clawing demons. He acted as though he hadn't sensed the fifth-rank Nightclaw hiding in a crevice between two rocks, quickly sweeping his gaze past before turning to address his troops:
"We're too close to Poz Peak now, and our forces are insufficient. It’s too dangerous to stay any longer. All units, retreat along the original route!"
The troops immediately obeyed the order, turning and jogging back the way they came.
A few minutes later, as they left the rocky valley and the terrain flattened out again, the hidden Nightclaw grew anxious. Fearing that the humans might fully retreat, costing them a chance for their reinforcements to counterattack, it let out a loud cry.
"Mrowl!"
Hearing the Nightclaw's call echo from the rocky valley behind them, Rhett halted his troops, pretending to be puzzled as he gazed back, seemingly unable to see the Nightclaw.
However, with his mental senses, Rhett could detect the two Nightclaws still hiding behind a large boulder, trembling slightly.
Feigning ignorance, Rhett called out again in a "naïve" voice:
"Judging by the sound, that Nightclaw must be injured and hiding in the valley. We need to search the area thoroughly!"
Under Rhett's orders, the troops re-entered the valley and split into several smaller groups, beginning a search of various suspicious locations.
These areas were carefully chosen by Rhett, avoiding the actual hiding spot of the fifth-rank Nightclaw while directing his troops in the opposite direction, spreading them out.
In the darkness, the concealed Nightclaw curled its lips into a cold smile. Its pitch-black eyes, deep as onyx, gleamed with icy malice as it observed the human superhumans, brimming with murderous intent.
It waited patiently, and after several minutes, the Nightclaw hiding behind the boulder suddenly felt a hand on its back. A chill ran down its spine, causing its fur to stand on end. Someone had approached without it noticing.
Instinctively, the Nightclaw's combat reflexes kicked in, prompting it to lash out with its claws.
But it was too slow. Before it could move, the hand on its back pressed down firmly.
The familiar touch immediately reassured the fifth-rank Nightclaw, and a wave of relief and joy washed over it.
It opened its mouth, ready to call out to its superior, but as it turned, it saw the cold, indifferent eyes of the figure before it, and its joy quickly turned to fear. The figure shook its head in silent disapproval.
The fifth-rank Nightclaw instantly fell silent, nodding to show its understanding. It then pointed toward a gap between the rocks, where the flickering light of elements and light-based combat energy could be seen, illuminating the ground.
The newly arrived Nightclaw leader, a high-rank Nightclaw, also peeked through the gap, revealing a sinister grin as it extended its claws, which grew longer and sharper.
This high-ranking Nightclaw was the commander of the Nightclaw forces stationed at Poz Peak. Although it had been out on a mission earlier, it had encountered the returning patrol and learned about the situation. Hearing that only a few hundred, mostly low- to mid-rank superhumans, were involved, it had rushed over without hesitation.
In its mind, if these humans were so weak, it could deal with them on its own in the dark.
Of course, it had ordered its other forces to follow, but they were lagging behind, needing more time to arrive and clean up.
Yes, clean up. In its mind, these human soldiers would soon be nothing but corpses...
However, none of the Nightclaws noticed that a human superhuman was deliberately approaching their position while the rest of the soldiers slowly moved back toward the valley's entrance.
The Nightclaws had yet to detect the soldiers' unusual movements when a swirling vortex of quicksand suddenly formed beneath their feet. The rocky ground turned into a yellow sandy "fountain," pulling them down with a powerful force.
"Mrowl!"
The fifth-rank Nightclaw realized the danger too late, letting out a cry of alarm before being sucked into the ground. The power of the Principle of Vibration was unleashed, and the night echoed with the faint cries of a dying Nightclaw, its bones reduced to dust.
A moment later, the sound of scattering rocks filled the air. The high-ranking Nightclaw had reacted just in time. Sensing the earth element's abnormality beneath it, it struck the ground with its powerful limbs, shattering the rocks and using the recoil to leap into the air.
In that brief moment of respite, its eyes locked onto Rhett, who was gazing up at it from the ground, filled with disbelief.
What was going on? Wasn't this supposed to be a group of fifth-rank magi at most? How had this one suddenly unleashed the power of a Grand Magus?
One question after another flooded its mind, but the high-ranking Nightclaw was intelligent enough to realize that it might have fallen into a trap set by the humans.
Having fought humans for years, it knew all too well their penchant for cunning schemes. Instinctively, it leaped to the highest peak, silhouetted against the moonlit sky.
From this vantage point, it scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of another high-ranking human superhuman.
"Could they have only sent one Grand Magus?"
The high-ranking Nightclaw looked down at Rhett, blinking. It seemed that this was indeed the case, as it could detect no other high-rank superhumans. A gleam of excitement flickered in its eyes. A lone Grand Magus posed little threat to it, and in a one-on-one fight, it might even have a chance to kill him. If it succeeded, the rewards would be great, and it would surely be richly rewarded upon its return!
Filled with fervent anticipation, the high-ranking Nightclaw's gaze on Rhett burned with intense killing intent.
Suddenly, the air shimmered with the movement of earth elements, and three sand wolves formed out of the ground, agile and swift, leaping toward the Nightclaw.
The high-ranking Nightclaw sneered at the approaching sand wolves, dismissing them as insignificant. In the next instant, it vanished from sight, as though it had completely disappeared into the night, leaving no trace behind.
Even Rhett could barely sense the Nightclaw as it landed on the ground, circling around behind him in preparation for a sneak attack.
Playing along, Rhett pretended to be cautious, turning in place as if searching for the hidden threat.
Sure enough, the high-ranking Nightclaw seized the opportunity, suddenly reappearing like a black streak of lightning, charging straight at Rhett's back. Its claws gleamed in the darkness, cutting through the air with a sharp, lethal sound.
Thud
A faint noise echoed in the night, but it was not the sound of claws tearing through flesh or piercing a heart. Instead, it was like a knife slicing through a sandbag—a soft, almost inaudible sound.
The high-ranking Nightclaw, who had been expecting victory, was momentarily stunned. How was this different from what it had imagined? Why did the human's body feel so strange?
Then, something even more incredible happened. Rhett's neck twisted at an unnatural angle, turning to face the Nightclaw with a cold smile.
In the next instant, a stone spike shot up from the ground, passing through Rhett's flowing sand-like body and emerging stealthily from under his armpit to pierce the Nightclaw.
Simultaneously, the power of the Principle of Vibration exploded, blowing apart half of the Nightclaw's body.
The high-ranking Nightclaw had no time to react before its body was torn to shreds, its blood spraying across the ground, steaming in the cold night air.
Rhett's strategy of using himself as bait proved effective not only in luring the high-ranking beast into a trap but also in turning the tide of the battle in an instant.
"Mrowl!"
"Mrowl!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the night sky.
A few hundred meters away, the soldiers finally snapped out of their shock. The battle had been so swift—from the first Nightclaw's death cry to the severe injury of the second—that it had only taken a few seconds!
They stared in awe at Rhett, their newly appointed commander, who had nearly defeated a high-ranking beast right off the bat.
At this moment, their gazes toward Rhett were filled with reverence and admiration.
The next moment, the distant night was illuminated by a barrage of elemental and combat energy. Wind blades, fireballs, stone spikes, and light arrows—all shot toward the heavily injured high-ranking Nightclaw.
The battlefield was suddenly bright as day.
Though gravely wounded, the high-ranking Nightclaw was far from helpless. With one leg braced against the ground, it leaped with incredible speed to another peak, dodging the onslaught. Blood still flowed from its wounds as it glared down at Rhett with venomous hatred. It wanted to hurl curses, but three sand wolves were already scaling the peak with astonishing speed, forcing the Nightclaw to flee in desperation.
Not long after, the reinforcements reached Rhett's position, with Ledros leading the charge. Seeing the heavily wounded high-ranking Nightclaw fleeing across the peaks, bleeding profusely, his eyes lit up in surprise!
He hadn't expected to find such a pleasant surprise—Rhett had already severely injured a high-ranking Nightclaw!
Ledros let out a roar of approval, "Well done, Rhett!"
He drew a massive bow, nocked an arrow, and channeled a torrent of water-based combat energy into it. The arrowhead glowed a pale blue, then compressed under the intense energy, transforming into an icy arrow. With a swift release, the arrow shot through the night, piercing the high-ranking Nightclaw's shoulder and pinning it to a boulder.
The force of the impact shattered the boulder into pieces, and the arrow's momentum carried the Nightclaw into a small hill before it finally came to a stop.
Rhett then signaled to Tuck, who immediately understood. Accompanied by Rhett, Tuck approached the pinned Nightclaw and, using the cover of Rhett's Stone Light Shield, swiftly delivered the final blow, completing the kill.
Ledros, who had arrived just in time, had no objections. The Nightclaw was already gravely wounded, and even without Tuck's intervention, it would have died within minutes from its untreated injuries.
【Family member surpasses fourth rank to slay an enemy. Destiny points +4】
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