Chapter 311 (1/2)

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Crunch, chew, crunch—

A distinctive noise could be heard. It was a sound that one would hear when a bone was being chewed. It was unmistakable, too; when prey was hunted down and consumed in its entirety, bones and all, such a noise would often be produced.

“What kind of noise is…?” he thought.

He forced his eyelids to open. His vision was blurry and hazy. Crimson liquid blocked his view.

It was blood.

“Blood…?”

Why am I bleeding in the first place?

However, before he could answer his own questions, he managed to recall his and everyone’s current situation first.

“My…my subordinates…”

He tried to say something, but no sound came out.

The loyal retainers that followed him to this place, the brave and powerful therianthrope warriors, what happened to all of them?

It was right at that moment that his blood-soaked vision finally identified the source of the disturbing noise.

Crunch, crunch—

He saw a massive maw.

Then, he saw rounded teeth that seemingly lacked all semblance of sharpness, horns that pointed upward like a bull’s, a jaw that jutted out to the front, and, finally, eyes that were dyed in the colors of blood.

And, currently, inside the mouth of the creature possessing such features was one of the therianthrope warriors being devoured whole, someone who used to be his loyal subordinate.

Aaaaahk—!

Plop—

Talkun tried to get up and rush toward the monster immediately, but his body simply crumpled to the ground. Only then did he notice the state of his lower torso.

“My, my legs…”

They were gone—devoured away.

Talkun’s wide-open eyes landed on the monster next. The monster, still continuously chewing and devouring the now-dead subordinate, had its eyes locked firmly on Talkun.

“You…are…”

A deathly chill ran down on Talkun’s back.

The monster’s voice leaked from its mouth. Unlike how it looked, the voice was high-pitched, which resonated clearly, and carried a languid tone.

“The…tastiest…”

This creature was thinking of Talkun as nothing more than food.

Talkun quickly scanned his surroundings. Other than him with his lower torso gone, it seemed that the other warriors had already been devoured by now, as he could only see their traces remaining.

Meaning, he was the only one still alive.

“This monster, it left me until last.”

Talkun realized the reason why he was still alive.

“Because it thinks I’m the tastiest one.”

Gulp—

The monster finished chewing the dead subordinate and devoured it whole.

The one that got devoured just now was a warrior second only to Talkun within the ranks of the therianthropes. The monster seemed to have decided on the order of tastiness of its prey based on their strength.

And to enjoy the tastiest food to the fullest, the monster had chosen to let Talkun live until now.

“Huh, huhuh…”

Talkun could only chuckle hollowly.

Along with him, the king of the therianthropes, 100 warriors had set out together. They really believed that they could defeat the monster this time. That was why Talkun temporarily halted his lengthy training regime to step outside the village.

He called upon the powerful beings from his race spread throughout the land and intended to kill this monster even if it cost his life.

But even then…

“Just for a mere…”

Talkun stared at the flesh wound on the monster’s neck, the one that his claws managed to inflict.

“Just for a mere wound like that…”

Split—

The monster opened its maw wide.

Talkun stared at the maw of the giant “bull” and muttered in resigned acceptance of his defeat, “The future of our races has been—”

Crunch—!

The monster threw Talkun inside its mouth and began chewing away.

As befitting the title of the therianthrope race’s king, he didn’t give up fighting even until the end. The moment he entered the creature’s mouth, Talkun clawed and bit to try to tear into the creature’s inner flesh.

However, they were all for naught.

The monster savored all his bitter struggling as if it was savoring a delicious slab of fresh meat. It then bit down on Talkun, issuing a loud crunch, and devoured the king. However, it suddenly stood around in a daze before opening its mouth again.

“Something…even… tastier…”

The monster began moving again.

It still hadn’t had its fill yet.

And to be fully satisfied, the monster would have to go on to devour this world itself.

**

“The battle should have finished by now,” said one of the therianthropes in the village when Su-hyeun asked where the king and the 100 warriors had headed off to.

It seemed that they hadn’t returned yet.

“But why do you ask that? Could it be that you wish to lend them your aid?”

“Yes, I was thinking of doing so.”

“Just as Raboonta said, you are indeed a nice creature. My advice may sound funny or nonsensical to you, but listen, you cannot become an excellent warrior when you’re too nice.”

The therianthrope before Su-hyeun’s eyes was named Kariburn, a former warrior who had to retire due to his advanced age.

Kariburn had instinctively realized that Su-hyeun was an incredibly powerful being. For one thing, it was not Raboonta but Su-hyeun who had dragged the carcass of such a massive monster to the village.

“Thank you for your concern, but I can’t just sit by and let others die.”

“You only say that because you don’t know anything about our king.”

“That may be true, but—”

“Our king is strong enough to handle a hundred warriors of our race. No matter how powerful that monster is, there’s simply no way that it can deal with our king and 100 of our finest warriors at once.”

Kariburn’s words spoken with much confidence only elicited a soft sigh from Su-hyeun’s lips.

This guy said that he didn’t know anything about their king. He wanted to return those words right back at the therianthrope, though.

What did they really know about the monster, anyway?

“There’s nothing I can do if it’s already too late,” Su-hyeun thought.

He had already changed his mindset.

What if the king of all therianthropes and his warriors managed to kill the monster without Su-hyeun doing anything?