Chapter 53: 53 Listen to Me and You Won't Go Wrong

The footsteps of eight black-robed figures echoed through the stone walls; after entering the cave, it was pitch black, yet no one lit a torch or cast a light spell, as if the darkness had no effect on them whatsoever.

A few minutes later, Lacus, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped.

Under the shadow of his hood, his nose twitched slightly; in the air here, besides the scent of blood, there was an added smell of wild beast musk.

Moments later, Lacus let out a light chuckle.

He had seen through the prey's trick at a glance, yet he paid it no mind.

"Clever tricks indeed, but this isn't some true no-man's-land; what kind of demon beast could..."

While muttering, Lacus rounded the last corner and saw a giant bear standing before them, fully two stories tall, squinting its eyes as it stared at them while slowly rising to its feet!

"Lacus... my lord?"

A hesitant voice came from behind; Lacus's mind raced.

This giant bear looked familiar, but he couldn't recall what breed it was for the moment.

But judging by its size alone, it shouldn't be too weak.

The Holy Scripture must be found; otherwise, forget the promotion ceremony, he would even face severe punishment.

This cave had no side passages; that little thief must still be hiding somewhere inside.

After all, this was wilderness near human activity areas, not true wilds or the deep layers of a dungeon; the demon beast's level shouldn't be too high.

My own LV40 level, plus seven subordinates...

While Lacus was still trying to analyze the relative strength of both sides, the giant bear could not wait.

Normally, encountering so many people might make it hesitate, but now, an unnamed rage swirled in its heart; it wished to kill these intruders who disturbed its sleep immediately!

Roaring, the giant bear raised both paws high, then slammed them down heavily, unleashing its skill.

【Gravity Field LV6】

In an instant, a weight nearly double their body weight pressed down on the black-robed figures present; caught off guard, everyone stumbled.

The signature skill made Lacus cry out in shock: "Tyrant Bear!?"

However, Lacus quickly regained his senses.

Under the Gravity Field of a true adult Tyrant Bear, he and his subordinates could not possibly stand so "easily"!

In other words, this two-story-tall giant bear was merely a cub?

Realizing this, Lacus immediately spoke up to stabilize the morale shaken by the three words "Tyrant Bear."

He had already spotted one fellow planning to slip away; later, he would definitely deal with him!

"Do not panic!

This is merely a cub or a subspecies; unleash your strength and you can kill it!

Do not forget, returning empty-handed means no one gets off easy!"

Lacus's words took effect; the black-robed figures finally managed to calm down somewhat and prepared to counterattack.

Snap—

The black-robed figure on the far right, who had just raised his staff, was slapped into a meat patty by the giant bear.

Although the LV6 Gravity Field could not crush them directly, it did rob several of their agility.

Those with greater strength could still move positions while enduring the gravity, but mages like this used all their strength just to stand, let alone dodge the giant bear's palm.

The team that had just organized fell into panic again after one member was instantly killed.

Some, eyes red, charged forward recklessly; others tried to retreat and avoid battle; the one who had wanted to run earlier actually sprinted out with all his might!

"A bunch of trash!"

Amidst his curses, Lacus transformed into a bat wrapped in black mist and instantly flew behind the fleeing black-robed figure.

Returning to his original form, he grabbed the man's head from behind and bit down on his neck.

The man tried to push Lacus's head away with both hands, but under the gap in strength, he could not move it at all.

The resistance grew weaker and weaker, ending only with a drowning-like whimper.

With his mouth full of blood, Lacus flung away the fellow who had already turned into a dried corpse.

"Attack me! Anyone who takes another step back, I will kill!"

His unquestionable command crushed the last shred of hesitation in the others.

With no choice, even as another unlucky soul was slapped against the wall, becoming a groaning mass of rotting flesh, the remaining few forced themselves to rush forward recklessly.

Lacus was not idle either; with a wave of his hand, he drew the fresh blood from the bodies of his dead subordinates; as for the half-dead one, naturally, he died once the blood was drawn.

A sphere of blood gathered in his hand, then condensed into cones that shot toward the giant bear; each one exploded into a bloody hole on the bear's body.

Compared to the giant bear's massive body, these injuries could only be considered superficial wounds.

As the battle continued, his subordinates fell one after another, leaving only Lacus and Avina, who was not skilled in close combat.

Forced, Lacus could only rely on repeatedly transforming into a bat to grapple with the already bloodied giant bear.

Dodging a bear paw once more, Lacus turned all the remaining blood in his palm into a spear, dove from mid-air holding it, and thrust the spear into the giant bear's eye!

"Die, you beast!"

"My lord, be careful!"

Lacus, whose eyes were already red with killing intent, did not notice Avina's warning at all.

Severely injured, the giant bear used an acceleration skill; this strike filled with hatred landed on Lacus before he could react, sending him crashing into the wall like a cannonball.

After one palm strike, the giant bear could no longer support itself; it let out two mournful cries before collapsing heavily to the ground.

"My lord, are you alright?"

Avina hurried over to check Lacus's condition; if the commander died, the subordinates would face great trouble.

Unexpectedly, from the rubble, an arm thrust through Avina's heart.

"Hah... you..."

Lacus, his face twisted into a grotesque half-bat visage, forced his upper body to move, pinned the severely injured Avina down, and began to drink her fresh blood in great gulps.

His injuries were too severe; if he did not replenish himself with fresh blood rich in life force, he would die.

As a subordinate, Avina should sacrifice her life for him in such a situation!

Only after he had sucked the last drop of blood from the person in his arms did his broken spine barely reconnect.

Now, his strength was less than twenty percent of his peak...

Gazing at the cave filled with the scent of blood but devoid of any living soul, Lacus, dragging his weakened body, extracted the fresh blood from the giant bear, then scattered it into countless tiny blood blades that shot outward in all directions.

After a brief but dense series of clashing sounds, the entire inner wall of the cave was covered with fine scratches.

Scanning the area, Lacus found nothing unusual.

He was not skilled at tracking, but eating Avina just now was truly a matter of necessity.

That damn human likely slipped out during the chaos!

After unwillingly searching once more, Lacus could only roar and transform into a bat, flying away.

He now had to seek more living human blood to heal his wounds...

Silence fell over the cave once again.

Not until the sun rose outside did something the color of a stone move within a crack between a rock wall and the ground.

Dylan, who had returned to his original color and lay motionless for half a day, crawled out from below, half-dead.

"I... I survived..."

Although he was lucky enough not to be directly hit by the attack, the gravity field affected him just the same; his old bones were nearly crushed to pieces.

Thanks to Mimicry leveling up to LV3, it was perfect for a noob like him!

【Listen to me, and you will definitely survive.】

Looking at the little book beside him seeking praise, Dylan wanted to say something.

Those black-robed figures, or rather, demons led by a vampire.

They fought the giant bear just to find him?

How could... how...

Dylan's gaze, fixed on the book pages, gradually grew hazy—

Maybe... it really was to find him...

Thanks to this book's help, he was able to escape with his life.

【Lift me up, and I can still help you.】

This time, Dylan did not hesitate; he simply picked up the yellow-covered book and held it aloft.

Faint sounds of wind and wailing came from around the cave, but apart from the noise, Dylan felt nothing.

Then, a surge of power flowed from the book into Dylan's body.

After a brief shiver, Dylan actually regained his stamina!

No!

It wasn't just recovery; it was even better than before!

Though not much, it felt like his attributes had increased!

"Amazing..."

【Of course, as long as I am here, you can become even stronger!】

"Become... even stronger..."

【Yes, now we just need to find a secluded place where even if someone dies, it won't draw attention, such as】

"Such as a dungeon!"

【...】

【Ah, yes.】

【A dungeon will do.】

Under the sunlight, a vibrant Dylan walked out of the cave's exit.

After checking the direction, he tucked his loyal companion, the yellow-covered book, close to his body inside his clothes, and headed toward the dungeon.

(End of this chapter)