Chapter 171: The Story of Andemuge (Part II)

(This is a side story written by a book friend. I was in a rush when I posted it and didn't change the chapter settings; the previous part is at the end of the free chapters.)

Healed by the beer, Andemuge felt he had recovered extremely well, and Andemuge equipped the gear that old Desi had organized for him.

The gear of a Longbeard veteran counts as a rare gem in this Dwarf community.

I am ready! Elder.

Go quickly and return quickly, little Ande, protect yourself well. Use your weapons well, and keep this Amulet safe.

In the name of the ancestors, thank you, respected Elder. I will return safely.

Hoo—ha—hoo—ha, Ande breathed in oxygen in large gulps, leaning against the back of a tree, recovering his stamina as much as possible, but the soreness coming from all over his body affected his nerves every single moment. Before him was a Great-horned Bull among the Minotaurs, its momentum like a rainbow, preparing to launch a destructive charge.

This is terrible, Ande, truly terrible. Trapped in such a situation, with his stamina so severely depleted, and before him still a Minotaur raring to go and preparing to charge. In such a predicament, Ande cracked the corners of his mouth, breathing in oxygen in large gulps, forcing himself to relax as quickly as possible to find a way.

Before this, Andemuge's entire body was a terrifying tapestry of crisscrossing blood, as if he had just run out of a pool of blood; his armor was severely damaged, and his Battle Axe still possessed a rare sharpness. The marks on the Amulet were even deeper.

Upon first entering the Black Forest, Ande tried to remain as cautious as possible, but soon discovered it was a futile effort. They were everywhere, these damned beasts, ready to launch a sudden attack at any moment. After hacking and smashing a few scattered Ungors, Ande made up his mind to simply face these scumbags head-on. Killing his way all the way to that damned beast. Battle! Constant battle!

After one arduous battle after another, Ande no longer knew how many Gor heads he had chopped off. On the only path leading to his nemesis, there was a narrow trail. Ande saw a squad of Gors charging toward him. Incredibly, they were marching in a line. This group of Gors had obeyed the Great-horned Bull's command; after a round of infighting, they had decided to initiate a champion duel to prove who was the most powerful Beastlord.

If it is a blessing, it is not a disaster; if it is a disaster, it cannot be avoided. Ande silently recited the Zhendan culture he had heard from the Elder.

After a long time had passed, the air was filled with an unbearable stench of filth and blood. On this battlefield, only one Dwarf still stood proudly. Even though his armor had quite severe damage, and even though he was bathed in the blood of his enemies, he still had to stand proudly and strike an attack stance.

After Andemuge slaughtered a squad of Gors like a Slayer, the true boss of this area, the Great-horned Bull, found him!

When Ande saw this monster, the deeply hidden grief overwhelmed him. Just as Ande was about to be buried by the pain, the Amulet flashed with light. A treasure crafted by a Rune Smith for the Mother Goddess Valaya in ancient times still exerted its effect after the long passage of time. After a fleeting moment, Ande moved his body. "Thank you, I know everything now. Come, you damned monster, beast, bastard." Filled with rage, Ande prepared to meet the Great-horned Bull.

After several exchanges, Ande realized that the Great-horned Bull, with its immense strength and heavy momentum, was merely tickling him, whether it was the impact of a Jump Cleave or the staggering caused by a Shield bash. After dodging several times, evading the sharp headbutt of the bull's horns, and slipping past one collision after another, every time he dodged, he would retaliate in kind, attempting to counterattack. But the results were minimal.

Leading to the terrible situation now.

The Great-horned Bull was about to charge again, stepping forward in preparation, intending to destroy the bearded thing before it.

Damned bastard, you think you're invincible, don't you? Very well. Ande struck a pose again, but this time, it was neither defense nor offense—it was a charge!

After dodging several times, Ande's stone brain grew angrier the more he thought about it, abandoning the dodge-and-counter strategy Elder Desi had reminded him of.

He decisively and boldly launched a charge at the Great-horned Bull; his father's aggressive combat techniques were a reaction carved into Ande's bones, and violent rage flowed through his blood.

Ande raised his Shield forward, rushing toward the Great-horned Bull, and gathered his final strength to slam into it.

Perhaps the Goddess of Luck favored him, or fate accompanied Ande; the Great-horned Bull could not understand no matter what: how could this short-statured Dwarf before it have the strength to counterattack?

Face me, bastard. You damned beast scumbag! Ande roared in an extremely resonant voice.

He quickly raised his axe, swinging it toward the Great-horned Bull's head. Fate accompanied Ande once more; the bull's head went straight into the axe. He slightly sidestepped to deflect the horn strike, backhanded the Shield, and smashed it fiercely into the Great-horned Bull's face. Very well, Ande was certain this charge had definitely severely wounded the Great-horned Bull, and dirty, ugly blood splattered all around. A large gash opened on the Great-horned Bull's left cheek.

He turned and pulled out his Firearm. Go to hell, bastard. The sound of thunder flew rapidly toward the Great-horned Bull.

Facing the roar of thunder, in the blink of an eye, it could not resist and could only take this roar with its ugly body!

Hmph hmph hmph? Ahhhhhhhh, I will take your skull to please the Dark Gods, you damned short-statured thing! You Troll-like bearded thing! A coward who only knows how to use a Firearm like a Human shrimp! You must be torn into eight pieces today!

Ptooey, the thunder roared, revealing the axe blade! Ande gripped the gun body tightly; he had urgently prepared the axe blade before moving. Mother's Firearm had been modified many times. Thinking of this, Ande cracked the corners of his mouth.

Having been suppressed for so long, Ande could only wait for the right moment to act, looking for an opportunity. Now, he had finally snatched back the initiative.

Ha, you damned beast thing, the one who will be torn into eight pieces today is you!

Ande lunged forward, closing in on the side of the Great-horned Bull. With the bull's unreasonable strength, a single moment of negligence would mean death on the spot.

But Ande feared none of this; at this very moment, it was either you die or I live.

Ande exerted his absolute limit, the axe blade stabbed in, swung out, and smashed in again. Bathed in blood, Ande couldn't care about so much. The bull turned, Ande dodged, the axe blade stabbed into its ribs; the bull threw a punch, Ande quickly pinned the axe blade into the bull's thick right arm, flipped and pulled it out, backhanded the axe blade into its chin. The bull lowered its head for a horn strike, exposing its back to Ande. Ande let go of the Firearm, rolled forward, turned around, and directly had a confrontation with the Great-horned Bull with his hard helmet. The Great-horned Bull's attack didn't hurt Ande but instead caused itself to fall into a predicament; the Firearm on its chin went in a bit deeper. Ande pulled out his only remaining Flying Axe, "Hoo," made a move to rush forward, jumped, and a Jump Cleave smashed into the Great-horned Bull's chest. Axe after axe, they formed a storm-like offensive, booming against the monster before him. The monster before him couldn't understand: it was clearly just a cat playing with a mouse a moment ago, so why was he now the beef and the other the butcher?

The bull still wanted to launch a final resistance; it knew that if it didn't do something, it would really become beef, the kind that smells delicious when roasted. The bearded thing before it was also at the end of its rope and on the verge of death, if only it could get up!

Ahhhhhhhhh! The bull let out a final roar.

But all of this was useless; Ande decisively and quickly pulled out a Grenade and fed it to the bull before him.

Face me, bastard. The bull still wanted to spit it out, but Ande threw another punch, sending the Grenade into the monster's body, and then used his last bit of strength to roll away to avoid the explosion.

The explosion centered on the bull sent Andemuge flying.