Chapter 299: The Beastmaster’s Wrath
The arrival of General Vargr wasn’t an entrance; it was a natural disaster compressed into the shape of a man.
He landed on the floor of the dical bay with a weight that defied physics. The steel deck plates buckled under his boots, sending a ripple of distortion through the carriage. The air, already freezing from Maria’s awakening, instantly grew heavy with the tallic tang of bloodlust.
He stood seven feet tall, a mountain of muscle wrapped in the pelt of a White Alpha Wolf. His skin was scarred and weathered, looking like cracked leather, and his eyes—yellow, slit-pupiled, and brimming with malice—swept over us like a searchlight.
In his hand, the red weirwood spear pulsed with a heartbeat of its own.
"Finally," Vargr rumbled. His voice was a grinding tectonic shift that vibrated in my teeth. "I was getting tired of knocking."
He looked at Maria, who stood amidst the shattered remains of her stasis pod, encased in a faint aura of diamond dust. Then his gaze slid to Selena, crouching in the corner, her nails digging into the tal floor.
"Two little birds," Vargr sneered, revealing teeth that had been filed to points. "Freshly hatched. Filled with golden juice."
He took a step forward. The pressure of his aura—a suffocating, red mist—washed over us. It was heavy, hot, and reeked of wet fur.
[System Alert: Enemy Rank Assessnt]
[Target: General Vargr]
[Rank: A (Demon Warrior/Lord Variant)]
[Aura: Blood Frenzy (Active)]
[Danger Level: Fatal]
"Don’t move," I whispered to Leon, though my own legs were trembling. "He’s A-Rank. The gap between B and A isn’t linear. It’s exponential."
Leon didn’t listen. He couldn’t. He was the Shield of Arcadia.
"Get back!" Leon roared.
He stepped between the girls and the Beastmaster, raising his battered tower shield. He slamd the [Breaker’s Hamr] against the tal plating.
"You want them? You go through !"
Vargr looked at Leon with mild amusent, like a wolf watching a puppy bark.
"Brave," Vargr murmured. "Stupid. But brave."
He moved.
I didn’t see him move. My [Quantum Analysis Mind] was active, pushing my perception to the limit, but even then, Vargr was a blur. One second he was standing by the hole in the roof; the next, he was in front of Leon.
He didn’t use his spear. He used his backhand.
WHAM.
It sounded like a cannon shot.
Vargr’s fist connected with Leon’s shield. The enchanted alloy, which had survived dungeon acid and golem strikes, folded like wet cardboard.
Leon was launched. He didn’t fly; he was deleted from his position. He smashed into the far wall of the carriage, denting the steel paneling inward by a foot. He slid to the floor, gasping, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Leon!" I shouted, trying to raise my dagger.
Vargr didn’t even look at . He spun the spear in his hand, the red wood humming.
"Weak," Vargr spat. "Is this the best the Human Kingdom has to offer? A tin can and a cripple?"
He turned his attention to Maria.
"Maybe the ice doll has more fight in her."
Maria didn’t flinch. Her matte blue eyes tracked him with machine-like precision.
"Hostile engagent imminent," Maria stated calmly. "Threat level: Maximum. Initiating [Absolute Zero] protocol."
She raised her hand.
The air around Vargr froze instantly. It wasn’t just ice; it was a vacuum of thermal energy. The moisture in the air crystallized into microscopic needles, converging on the Beastmaster to turn him into a statue.
CRACK-SNAP.
Ice ford over Vargr’s boots, climbing up his legs, thick and clear as diamond.
Vargr looked down at the ice encasing his legs. He smirked.
"Cute."
He flexed his thighs.
SHATTER.
The diamond-ice exploded. It didn’t lt; it was physically shattered by the raw output of his aura. Shards of ice flew across the room like shrapnel, embedding themselves in the walls.
Maria tilted her head slightly, a flicker of calculation—not fear—crossing her face.
"Calculation error," she monotone. "Physical resistance exceeds projected paraters."
"I’m not magic, little doll," Vargr laughed, stepping closer. "I’m muscle. And muscle breaks ice."
He thrust his spear.
It was a casual strike, ant to impale her shoulder, to pin her to the wall.
Maria tried to dodge. She moved with the fluid grace of an elental, her body turning into mist for a split second.
But Vargr twisted the spear mid-thrust. The red aura flared, disrupting her elental form.
THWACK.
The shaft of the spear caught her in the chest.
Maria was thrown backward, crashing into the remains of the dical console. Sparks flew as equipnt shattered. She slumped to the floor, clutching her chest, a spiderweb of cracks appearing on her skin like broken porcelain.
"Maria!" I lunged forward.
I knew it was suicide. I had no mana. My ribs were broken. I had a silver dagger against a monster who shrugged off diamond ice.
But I couldn’t stand there and watch.
"Hey! Ugly!" I scread, feinting left and slashing at his exposed neck.
Vargr caught my wrist.
He didn’t look. He just reached out and grabbed my hand mid-air. His grip was like a hydraulic press. I felt the bones in my wrist grind together.
"And you," Vargr said, looking down at . "The Tactician. The Carrier."
He lifted off the ground by my wrist. I dangled there, kicking uselessly, the pain blinding .
"I slled the Void on you earlier," Vargr mused, sniffing . "A dangerous scent. But now? You sll like nothing. Empty. Spent."
He squeezed.
"ARGH!" I cried out, the dagger dropping from my numb fingers.
"The Master wants you alive," Vargr said, bringing his scarred face close to mine. "But he didn’t say you needed all your limbs."
He raised his spear, aiming the butt end at my knee. He was going to shatter my leg.
"Let... him... go."
The voice ca from the pile of scrap tal against the wall.
Leon pushed himself up. His helt was gone. His face was a mask of blood. One of his eyes was swollen shut. But he was standing.
He gripped the handle of the [Breaker’s Hamr].
"I said..." Leon wheezed, blood bubbling past his lips. "Let him go."
Vargr paused. He looked at Leon, genuinely surprised.
"You’re still standing?" Vargr laughed. "A cockroach indeed."
He threw aside. I hit the floor and rolled, gasping for air, clutching my crushed wrist.
Vargr turned fully toward Leon.
"Fine," the Beastmaster growled. "I’ll finish the Knight first. Then I’ll peel the girls."
He walked toward Leon.
Leon raised the hamr. His legs were shaking. He had nothing left. No mana. No stamina. Just sheer, stubborn refusal to die.
Vargr raised his spear for a killing blow.
"Goodbye, Hero."
The spear ca down.
But before it connected, a shadow moved in the corner of the room.
It wasn’t Maria. It wasn’t .
It was the one Vargr had ignored.
SCREEEEEE!
A sound tore through the carriage—not a human scream, but the shriek of a wild animal.
Selena Leafwalker, who had been crouching in the shadows, launched herself across the room.
She didn’t use magic. She didn’t use a weapon.
She moved on all fours, faster than a wolf.
She intercepted Vargr.
She didn’t block the spear. She caught the shaft with her bare hands.
Her fingernails, now three-inch crimson talons, dug into the weirwood. Her muscles, rippling under her skin, bulged as she stopped the A-Rank attack dead in its tracks.
Vargr’s eyes widened. "What—?"
Selena looked up.
Her eyes were gone. In their place were two pools of glowing, crimson light. Her teeth had elongated into fangs. The veins on her face were pulsing red.
She wasn’t the shy, half-elf girl anymore. She was a vessel of Primal Vitality.
"GET."
She wrenched the spear to the side, throwing Vargr off balance.
"AWAY."
She slamd her other hand into Vargr’s chest plate.
"FROM."
The impact cracked the bone armor. Vargr stumbled back.
"MATE!"
Selena roared.
From the floor beneath her, the crimson roots exploded upward again. But this ti, they didn’t form a shield. They ford a silhouette behind her.
A massive, spectral avatar of a wolf made of blood and vines rose behind Selena, its jaws opening wide.
[System Alert: Target [Selena Veylan] - Awakening.]
[Ability: Blood Moon Avatar.]
[Status: Berserk.]
Vargr looked at the avatar. For the first ti, the Beastmaster took a step back.
"A Spirit Avatar?" Vargr hissed. "Here? In the Silence?"
Selena didn’t answer. She lunged.
The Hunt had begun.
(To be Continued)
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