Chapter 180: Beastification and Elf

The bright and full silver moon hung quietly in the night sky, and the cold night wind whistled across the open space.

In the air, there was the faint rot peculiar to the slums, and the foul-smelling blood brought out from the sewer.

And the low, heavy, and dangerous growl like a beast.

Baku stood still in place, his body covered and shrouded in moonlight, expanding and growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And around his body, the blood-colored airflow drawn from the blood in his body, circling his body like a vortex, was also using the curse of "Beastification Syndrome" as a threat, driving away all enemies who dared to approach and intended to interrupt this process.

Gripping the Decapitation Longsword tightly with both hands, the iron-grey sharp glint on the edge of the blade appeared even sharper under the illumination of the moonlight.

Xia Nan watched the burly middle-aged man not far ahead, whose body was rapidly beastifying.

He was not a villain in various works of his previous life who watched the protagonist break through in battle without stopping him.

He naturally would not just stand still, waiting for the opponent to finish strengthening before starting the battle.

It was just that the airflow in the air currently filling around Baku's body, carrying the blood in his body, was like a mop that had just cleaned the bathroom, possessing a very strong deterrent force.

Although there were no obvious wounds on Xia Nan's body, who knew whether this blood-qi would seep into the body through skin pores after close contact.

If he were infected with "Beastification Syndrome" because of this, it would be troublesome.

And he himself was a close-combat style that emphasized flexibility and mobility, lacking long-range attack means.

While pondering, his left hand swept across his waist.

Two fire oil bombs had already come to his palm from his waist bag.

Since the first time he saw Wood use it during the Fire Garlic Vine mission more than half a year ago.

This extremely convenient throwing prop had become one of his essential supplies before setting off on a mission.

Now that he had come to Niumu from River Valley Town, he naturally had a few on him.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Aiming at the target, his arm exerted force, and two pitch-black fire oil bombs were thrown fiercely at Baku by Xia Nan.

The speed was extremely fast!

The strong force even caused these two round black balls to make a sharp piercing sound.

His body expanded, and Baku, who was in a state of stiffness, only had time to raise his right hand to block in front of him.

The next second, pitch-black, lightless grease and dense, turbid dust stuck to the surface of his arm and burst forth suddenly with sporadic firelight.

Boom—

Like a torch, the orange-red, scorching flames swallowed his entire right arm in an instant.

Along with the blood-colored airflow that had originally circled his body in a regular and stable manner, it all fluctuated in disorder.

Of course it was useful!

The fear of fire, since the birth of life countless years ago, had been deeply imprinted into the blood instinct of living things.

Especially for beast-men who were gradually losing human rationality and becoming beasts.

And just when Xia Nan thought his attack was effective and intended to take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack,

the moonlight suddenly brightening on Baku, reflected in his pitch-black eyes, made him stop his steps.

Strands of gentle moonlight from above the firmament favored this hairy believer like a beast on the field.

The fire that ignited the fur, swallowed the arm, and spread rapidly along the shoulder toward the chest was like encountering some kind of natural nemesis.

The moonlight just circled around, and the burning flames were easily extinguished, leaving only a few wisps of green smoke.

Even those long hairs and skin that had already been scorched and pitch-black recovered to their original state and healed in a breath.

Seeing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel even more troublesome.

His brain raced, thinking of countermeasures.

And just at this time, a man's voice, as if trying to endure great pain and trembling slightly, suddenly came from ahead:

"You were sent by the Association, right?"

Dense brown long hair was growing rapidly all over his body, and the outline of his muscles expanding and writhing could be vaguely seen underneath.

Baku watched the adventurer with black hair ahead, his gradually cooling beast eyes turning slightly, his gaze sweeping over the fine chain mail and longsword on his body.

"Thinking about it, a small gang like the Grey Badger Gang usually only bullies ordinary people; how could they afford to hire a professional?"

Xia Nan did not answer, nor did he have the mind to talk, just staring at the figure expanding like a balloon ahead, searching for possible flaws.

"Hehe, I didn't expect that I would have such a day, to be able to face a big shot like you who has obtained a professional level."

The tearing expanding muscles and coarsely deformed bones, mixed with the howling night wind, formed a strange and distorted noise in the air.

"Do you know, actually I am very grateful to the Adventurer Association." Baku lowered his head, his burly and robust body casting a huge shadow on the ground under the moonlight, "Even now, it is still the same."

"I have heard many people complain, saying that the Association takes away too much profit, the mission information given occasionally differs from the actual situation, and even suspect that the Association deliberately gives dangerous missions that do not match the reward to control the number of adventurers."

"But I know in my heart, if there were no Association..."

"Then I would only be able to spend my whole life like my father, my grandfather, and even countless generations before them, spending my whole life in the farmland, working hard, working hard all year round but not even being able to fill my stomach, for a small bag of wheat, even being able to smile and lick the tax officer's shoes, seeing no hope."

"Instead of like now... like before, marrying a beautiful wife, saving enough wealth to raise children decently, and owning a small house of my own in the Niumu City District."

"This is a life I didn't dare to think about before."

Baku suddenly raised his head.

The facial features that could still see human characteristics had been completely beastified, and coarse, dense hair covered the last bit of blank space on the skin.

Saliva dripped naturally, and the cold glint of fangs was faintly revealed in the narrow and sharp mouthparts.

"Even if there was a problem with the business, making the whole family carry a debt that couldn't be paid off after decades of normal work, during those darkest days, I didn't give up hope."

"Because I knew, even if life would become difficult for a short time, at least Sarah, Kelly, and little Daphne could still accompany me."

"And as long as I took a few more missions, earned a little more money, even if the source wasn't so clean, all the suffering would eventually pass."

"Ten years is fine, twenty, thirty years doesn't matter, one day, I would be able to return to that beautiful life I once had."

"But..."

The upper ear edges had long exceeded the height of the simple bungalows on both sides, his nearly bloated burly body suddenly trembled violently, and deep in his beast eyes was a ferocious blood-red that even the most experienced hunter would feel fear upon seeing.

"That beast, Da Ben, in order to survive, left me in the camp."

"Facing the attack, my first reaction at the time was even to cover for him, to fight for time for the team."

"Thinking about it now, it's really ridiculous."

"Then, it's the Grey Badger Gang..."

His voice became increasingly coarse, and his words gradually became blurry, like a beastly low howl.

"That night, Sarah and the others should have gone back to their grandmother's house, the little ones had been begging for a long time, at least a week before coming back."

"But it just so happened that a few Grey Badger Gang cubs were making trouble in the tavern, injuring the coachman I had hired before."

"Two days, just two days late..."

Baku's body pressed forward, crawling, two claws already covered with brown-grey long hair touched the ground, and the face covered by dense hair could not see any expression.

"They... heh..."

"All deserve to die!!!"

Roar—

In the silent night, the manic and fierce beast roar suddenly exploded!

Completely absorbed, the silver-white moonlight sticking to the whole body like water turned into broken stardust and collapsed and dissipated in the air.

The blood-colored airflow that had originally protected his beastification transformation also dissipated into nothingness in the sound wave that blurred the air.

Like a small meat mountain, on the shoulder peaks crossing the eaves on both sides, the brown-grey mane, stiff as needles, rose and fell, and the five parallel hooked claws only exerted a little force, leaving deep claw marks on the earth and stone ground;

The fat piled up between his neck surged and trembled under the thick, tough fur, the pitch-black eyeballs completely swallowed by beastliness were deeply embedded in the skull's depression, and viscous saliva dripped slowly from the surface of the sharp fangs.

This was a giant brown bear whose claws were bigger than an adult's head and whose body size was comparable to the dilapidated bungalow on the side of the field!

The only remaining rationality had also been swallowed by hatred, remorse, and anger, and the brightest moonlight of the year on the night of the "Moon Feast" became the best catalyst.

Making Baku's mind completely fall.

Completed the final transformation of the beast-man, becoming a ferocious beast driven by desire and instinct.

Roaring, he rushed toward the only living person on the field, the direction where Xia Nan was.

The ground trembled slightly due to the opponent's overly heavy footsteps, and there was a high-pitched bear roar in the air that made the eardrums ache.

Reflecting the burly figure rushing over like a small tank in his pitch-black eyes.

Xia Nan's face had no obvious emotional ups and downs, calm and cool.

He naturally heard the words Baku said just now, and thus knew the cause and effect of the whole thing.

Sympathetic psychology... couldn't say it was completely absent.

But it was far from reaching the degree that could affect his expression, or even change his action plan.

Adventurer, while enjoying the generous income and superior status, what is the price that needs to be paid...

Even he, who had been in the industry for less than a year, had long understood.

As a senior adventurer, how could Baku not know?

It was just that his brain was controlled by beastliness, and he didn't think clearly for a while, perhaps... it was just that the other party was instinctively avoiding this problem.

From a certain level, Baku, who was infected with Beastification Syndrome during the adventure and killed his own family, was essentially no different from those adventurers whose brains were smashed by goblins.

Even if he had already obtained a professional level, he was just an adventurer on a mission right now.

Ang—

A long wolf howl accompanied by a biting wind like a knife suddenly sounded on the field.

In the blink of an eye, Xia Nan's body was wrapped in a gale and disappeared from the spot.

In the night, one could only vaguely see a ferocious, roaring, blurry wolf head, and the iron-grey cold glint fleeting within it.

Baku, in order to absorb the power of the moonlight, lured Xia Nan out of the sewer and finally completed the beastification in the moonlit night.

But to a certain extent, it did not bring his strength closer to Xia Nan, nor did it make his own situation safer.

Leaving the sewer space where he was restricted everywhere and filled with brick walls and stone walls, he came to this open space.

Without environmental restrictions, Xia Nan, who could freely cast 【Tooth Hunt】 and 【Spinning Slash】 and bring his own mobility to the limit.

The improvement in combat power was far greater than that of Baku, who had not yet become a professional.

"Clatter!"

Sharp claws as hard as steel sank deep into the ground, lifting fine powder at the edges.

The target that suddenly disappeared from his line of sight made this brown bear, which had completely lost human rationality and only had beast instincts left, subconsciously slow down its pace.

Clumsily twisting its head, trying to find where the enemy was.

And the response to it was only the ferocious wolf head lunging and biting from the blind spot behind its side.

"Swoosh!"

The iron-grey sword blade pierced into the thick fur, and while blood splashed, there was not the slightest lingering.

Just feeling its meat quality slightly, it pulled back fiercely.

And along with the wolf howl sounding again, it disappeared from the spot.

Causing the huge bear paw that fell subsequently, which could easily break steel, to only slap into the empty air.

"ROAR!!!"

Pitch-black eyes calmly watched the brown bear roaring in anger due to the severe pain coming from its back.

Xia Nan flicked away the blood beads remaining on the sword body casually.

Pretty good combat talent, and rich combat experience far exceeding adventurers of the same age.

Just one simple probe, and how he should fight next became clear in his heart.

Baku after complete beastification, undoubtedly, obtained defensive ability and physical strength far exceeding the past.

——The thick, tough skin covered with mane, and the thick fat layer and hard muscles underneath, were almost natural armor.

And at the same time, Baku, who had lost his human body, also had a significant weakening in speed and flexibility.

In the case that his defensive ability could not reach the point where he could not be broken at all.

This kind of enemy was the type Xia Nan was good at dealing with.

In just a few seconds, he had even thought of his own actions for the next few rounds.

First, use the mobility given by 【Tooth Hunt】 to feign attack for a few rounds, consuming the opponent's patience while probing the bottom cards again to ensure safety.

Then find the opportunity to use 【Gravity Control】 to increase the opponent's gravity.

No need to control for too long.

Half a second, or even shorter, he would be able to pierce a small half of the Decapitation Longsword into the opponent's back neck.

Then trigger the ochre-red light patterns attached with 【Gravity Etching】 on the sword body to blow up the opponent's head.

Of course, he had to be careful not to get injured during the whole process to avoid being infected with Beastification Syndrome, so he needed to have spare energy to ensure that at any point in time, he could release 【Tooth Hunt】 again to move away quickly.

While pondering, his lower leg had already accumulated power again, and 【Tooth Hunt】 was ready to go.

And just at this time.

Extremely abruptly.

On the edge of the field filled with manic beast roars and gale howling, a subtle but weirdly clear sound of footsteps suddenly sounded.

His gaze subconsciously followed the direction the sound came from.

What came into view was a slender figure, staggering and familiar.

Under the night curtain, one could vaguely see the golden long hair swaying on both sides of his cheeks, and that pair of pointed, slender, fair ears.

"Elf?"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 181 =====