Bloodstar System: Infinite Evolution Through Beast Slaughter

The off road vehicle stopped in front of the entrance to a half collapsed underground garage.

Any farther and it would become a live target. The Voidbeasts around here had hearing sharper than radar.

Evric and the bald Arlen jumped out first.

They moved fast, dragging several dusty, mold spotted camouflage nets from the trunk and throwing them over the vicious looking vehicle until it was fully covered.

They had done this countless times.

In the wilderness, a vehicle was life.

Come back and find it torn into parts by Voidbeasts, and the only choice left was a march of dozens of kilometers on foot.

Then wait to become something else’s dinner.

Joren stood nearby with his sling bag over one shoulder.

He did not help.

Not because he refused, but because there was no need. This kind of work required experience. If he stepped in, he would only get in the way.

Evric clapped the dust from his hands and shot Joren a sideways look.

"If your legs go soft later, remember not to crawl under the car. Chassis is too low. Won’t fit that precious ass of yours."

Joren ignored the mockery in his voice.

His gaze moved across the walls around them.

Deep claw marks covered the concrete.

Some large Voidbeast had left those behind.

After checking the camouflage, Tavian turned around. His lone eye glinted coldly in the dim light.

"Target is in an abandoned commercial district three kilometers out. Late stage Rank One. Ironclad Lizard."

"That bastard has thick hide. Regular bullets will not pierce it. We have to smash it down with heavy weapons."

"When we get there, Evric keeps watch. Arlen and I take the front."

"As for you, 1047..."

Tavian paused. His voice turned grim.

"Your job is simple. Make some noise and draw it out."

"If you run too slow and get eaten, do not blame me for leaving you."

The lowest role.

The most dangerous one.

The one with the highest chance of death.

Joren nodded.

His hand slipped into his sling bag, and his fingertips brushed the cold handle of the boning knife.

The group began moving on foot.

The silence of the wilderness was torture.

A rotten smell hung in the air.

Tavian walked at the front, holding a heavy alloy combat blade.

Arlen carried his modified spiked club on the left.

Evric gripped a dagger on the right, back hunched, eyes watching every shadow.

Joren walked at the rear.

Like a forgotten shadow.

Then a faint rustle came from the bushes ahead and to the side.

The sound was tiny.

In this dead quiet, it hit like thunder.

"Stop."

Tavian raised a hand sharply.

Everyone tightened at once.

Whoosh.

A gray shadow burst from the bushes.

Fast.

Too fast.

"Windwolf!" Evric growled, and his voice shook.

It was a giant wolf the size of a calf. Gray white fur covered its body, stiff as needles. Its green eyes were full of cruelty and hunger.

Bits of some unknown creature’s organs still hung from the corner of its mouth.

It had clearly been feeding.

Only early stage Rank One.

But with its speed, it was a nightmare to kill.

Once it tangled them up, the noise could easily draw other Voidbeasts nearby.

"Arlen, hold the front!"

"Evric, cut off its retreat!"

Tavian gave the orders quickly.

The wolf was clearly starving. In this state, its aggression would be several times worse than usual.

But it did not pounce at Arlen, who looked the strongest.

It did not bother with Evric, crouched near the wall either.

Its eyes locked onto the back of the team.

The thinnest prey.

The easiest bite.

Joren.

"Grrr!"

With a low growl, the Windwolf kicked off the ground with its hind legs.

Its body turned into gray lightning.

It shot past Tavian and Arlen in the front, opened its bloody jaws, and lunged for Joren’s throat.

Too fast.

Tavian tried to turn back.

The distance made it impossible.

Shit.

Done.

The thought flashed through Tavian’s mind.

The sharp fangs were less than half a meter from Joren’s neck.

Then Joren moved.

His right hand drew the boning knife from the bag at a speed that almost did not make sense.

Clang!

A clear, piercing ring cut through the air.

Talent, [Bladeborn Frame].

Effect activated.

[Great Strength].

[Vibrating Blade].

The muscles in Joren’s right arm swelled in an instant. A faint green sheen seemed to rise beneath his skin.

The blade crossed the air in a blur almost too fast to see.

Pure speed.

Pure force.

Like a hot knife through butter.

No resistance at all.

The Windwolf’s skull, hard as iron, was as fragile as tofu beneath that strike.

The blade entered through the center of its brow.

And came out the back of its head.

Thud.

The force of its momentum dragged the huge wolf corpse two meters across the ground before it stopped right beside Tavian’s boots.

Blood poured from the clean cut and spread across the floor.

Tavian’s pupil shrank hard.

He could not hide what crossed his face.

One slash?

Just one?

Even if he went all out, killing that beast would still take work.

And there was no way he could do it that cleanly.

Every gaze turned stiffly toward the young man standing in the shadows.

Joren flicked the blood from the boning knife without any expression.

Casual.

As if he had just butchered a chicken.

He lowered his eyes to the system prompt flickering across his retina.

[Killed early stage Rank One Windblade Wolf. Gained Bloodstars: 20]

Joren frowned slightly.

The reward did not seem to satisfy him much.

Then he looked up and met the frozen stares around him.

He pointed at the corpse on the ground and asked calmly,

"Who gets this thing?"