Chapter 534: Blighted Cut (1/2)

The enormous feline had become utterly enraged by Zac's attack, and it even seemed that the shallow wound had emboldened it, making it think that was the limit of Zac’s capabilities. It shot forward over and over, its claws trying to rip through his armor. However, the cat couldn’t get through the thick plating, allowing Zac to completely focus on his quest.

His abyssal eyes were trained at the nimble form, his eyes clearly seeing the vibrant life-force rousing in the beast’s body to combat the virulence of his strike. It was like witnessing the clash between white blood cells and a virus with his own eyes. However, he was actually able to impact the battle with his mind.

A small headache throbbed in his head as he pushed his concentration to the max, and it look like a surge of death stormed toward the innards of the beast. The cat stumbled on the ground, thrashing in pain from the invasion. Zac felt adrenaline in his body spike, but he still kept his eyes peeled on the animal.

There was some hesitation in Zac's heart about subjecting such a stunning animal to such cruel treatment. However, Zac quickly pushed those discordant thoughts out of his mind as he knew that this thing was anything but a docile house-pet. He had seen carcasses of almost a hundred animals as at the edge of this thing’s domain.

Their bodies had been utterly mutilated before they were left to rot. The cat seemed to enjoy hunting and torturing animals for sport, even when it didn’t require food. This, along with the fact that it was at least level 85, was why Zac marked it for death the moment he would start trying to complete his quest in earnest.

Most of the kills until now had been for training, whereas Zac saved the beasts that met the requirements of his quest for when he felt he had made enough progress to try for the quest again. He found this animal three days ago, and he would immediately have executed it if it wasn't because he needed some more practice first.

However, the shocking cruelty that this cat had displayed toward its prey wasn’t something unique for this specific E-grade beast, though it was a bit more excessive than most. Beasts seemed to grow more ruthless and aggressive as they evolved, with even herbivores gaining a thirst for blood.

Things on Earth would probably be a bit chaotic over the coming years. A second wave of bloodshed would assault Earth’s settlements with aggressive beasts trying to take everyone out through starting beast tides like the ones that the System sometimes conjured as a quest. The forces who had survived until now thanks to not having any close-by Incursions to worry about would probably fall by the wayside, while powerful warriors would emerge from the surviving towns.

Things would calm down when D-Grade beast kings emerged, as they were intelligent enough to not mindlessly attack human settlements. They instead set up their kingdoms deep in unclaimed territories, where no humans would dare enter. Even better, they kept their subjects in check, lessening the number of beast tides.

Only at that point could Earth be considered to have been fully integrated; when the energy infusion of the planet was finished, and a balance between races, forces, and beasts had been reached.

But for now, there could be no peace with the animals. If Zac didn’t take out this beast now, then it would probably target the people who moved to the town next to the volcano. It had already been determined that the volcano itself was a unique natural treasure that produced something that calrin called an Earth-Fire, a spiritual flame that was extremely beneficial for craftsmen.

Blacksmiths in particular would be able to both increase the quality and quantity of their crafts with the help of the volcano, and it was no coincidence that the zealots nurtured the massive insignia inside the magma itself. If Zac could set up a bunch of smithies here then it was just a matter of time before someone like the Craftsman Brazla would emerge within his sphere of influence.

So all potential threats to this area had to die for the future of his force.

Zac pushed his energy more and more, though it felt just as frustrating as during the Dao Discourse. It was like he was trying to move the clouds with his bare hands, and it was slow and arduous work. However, the cat had entered a frenzy from the pain, discarding its survival instincts in favor of taking Zac down with it.

Sparks flew across the area as the beast slammed into his armor over and over, and trees toppled as the air itself was split apart from its attempts to tear him apart. Some puncture wounds even started to appear across Zac's body as the beast managed to bite through his sturdy armor, but Zac didn’t care as he did everything in his power to boost the corruption.

Finally, he succeeded in what he had tried so many times before. The corrosive energy managed to take hold in the cat's heart, and its heartbeat rapidly started getting erratic before the whole organ ruptured. The beast yowled on top of its lungs from the pain before its survival instincts finally overrode its bloodlust.

It tried to flee into the jungle, but it had lost its coordination as many of its muscles had turned into a rotten mess by now. A deep thud echoed across the jungle before Zac felt a surge of cosmic energy. However, he wasn’t happy with the result as the stupid thing had actually gored itself on the trunk of a tree it had felled earlier.

Zac quickly opened his quest screen and sighed in relief when he could confirm that the quest actually had been completed even with the abrupt end to the cat's life. He guessed the System passed him because the thing was just a walking corpse with its heart being ruined, and there was no way it would survive even a minute longer.

He wouldn't look in the mouth of a gift horse though, and Zac instead smiled with anticipation as a fractal appeared on his left forearm.

[Blighted Cut] actually took the exact same spot as [Rapturous Divide], though the Skill fractal itself obviously looked completely different. He immediately activated it since he was in a perfect spot to try it out, and he was surprised to find that it was a toggled skill just like [Deathwish] or his mental defense skills.

A small but constant stream of energy entered the Skill Fractal, and he looked around to see what the skill did. He didn’t feel stronger at all, and no avatar appeared to fight for him. But he soon heard a corrosive sizzling on the ground, and he found that his axe was slowly dripping a grey liquid that seemed to seep out of the weapon itself.

The scene made him worried for Verun, as the Tool Spirit had shown some apprehension to some of his skills before. However, there were no complaints from the spirit tool at all, meaning it wasn't hurt or uncomfortable. In fact, the same was true for when he used [Vanguard of Undeath].