Chapter 41: Shattered Resolve

What a terrifying attack!

There wasn’t a moment to react.

In the split second before the sword’s light grazed his body, Third-Stage Awakened Honggang felt every cell in him scream.

Instinctively, his pupils contracted into deadly needles.

If that sword connected, he’d be dead for sure!

Third-Stage Intermediate? Third-Stage Advanced!?

Which super-strong opponent had struck from behind?

There was no time for further thought.

In his near-panic as the sword’s gleam passed by, he only heard three soft sounds of shattering before that dread pressure, capable of tearing apart everything, vanished.

Thud, thud…

The three-headed mutant’s corpse split into pieces, slowly collapsing to the ground.

A gust of wind stirred up a cloud of dust.

It all felt like a dream as everyone stood there, stunned.

Everything had happened too fast – they were still a bit dazed.

A burly man grappling with a Blood Bear on the ground collapsed, his face drained of color.

Unlike the aura sensed by their commander, he had seen that streak of light slice past his nose at a razor-sharp angle!

It was terrifying! Up close to the Sky Rift Radiance, he felt like he’d just strolled through the gates of hell.

After a moment, an Agility Type Awakened suddenly shouted as he looked toward their leader.

“Sir! Our creature!”

Snapped back to reality, Honggang broke out in a cold sweat, finally recovering from the shock.

He quickly glanced at the tiger-beast before him and then at the other two mutants. One second later, an enraged roar tore through the air.

Fuck!!

Looking at the three-headed mutant, now split into six pieces on the ground, he realized—even with his delayed reaction—that the attack had been aimed at stealing their loot!

After enduring hardships and a thousand-mile trek, their hard-earned reward had been snatched right from under them!?

In his intense anger, it was as if a thought had struck him.

His eyes scanned the surroundings warily, and one second later, before any subordinate could speak, he waved his hand authoritatively:

“Let’s move! Get out of here now!”

Ever vigilant, everyone remained on high alert.

His anger was real – he almost wanted to tear his enemy’s heart out. Yet, recalling that earlier strike, his fury was instantly doused.

Although they hadn’t identified the attacker, that blow proved the opponent’s strength was at least Third-Stage Intermediate. Had that adversary intended to kill him, Honggang might not have survived!

“Commander!? Which Third-Stage is he?! Why would he do that?!”

It was beyond comprehension.

A few awakened followers trailing behind gulped nervously, feeling that today’s turn of events was utterly baffling.

A super-strong enemy—one even mightier than their commander—had been following them and striking in secret!

Even stranger, the enemy had picked his angle so precisely that he didn’t even leave room for a First-Stage kill reward!?

“Forget it for now! Let’s get out of here! Maybe it was just a passing strong guy messing around…”

It was equally incomprehensible.

As Honggang fled while scanning his surroundings, he could only try to reason with himself in the face of such bizarre events.

Losing the loot was better than losing his life! Who knew if that hidden super-strong foe would target him next!

Out of the corner of his eye, his pupils suddenly widened.

He saw a figure, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, flash by where they’d just been.

It stood out strikingly against the deserted ruins.

After a brief moment of confusion, Honggang dismissed it.

Although the timing of the youth’s appearance was odd, there was no way he could be Third-Stage.

Pushing the thought aside, after what felt like endless flight, Honggang finally found a safe spot to pause.

Noticing the commander’s grim expression, one subordinate couldn’t help but whisper:

“Commander? Is that it for us?”

“Sir, is it possible that someone from the Tianfeng Security Zone was behind this?”

“They’re from the Military. They don’t want conflict but were eager to grab the advantage…”

His eyes gleamed briefly.

Recalling the vast armies and fighter jets he’d seen along the way, Honggang’s expression shifted before he angrily declared:

“It’s possible! Being this close to Tianfeng, they even have Third-Stage members among them!”

Anger welled up as he thought of how he’d painstakingly done all the work for someone else – a bitterness he couldn’t swallow.

After a moment, his expression turned cold:

“If it’s someone from Tianfeng, there’ll be an explanation!”

Without hesitation, he immediately contacted several trusted Third-Stage allies to back him up.

…….

Beside the mutant tiger’s corpse, Yenir swiftly extracted one of the mutant’s eyeballs and then made his escape.

Though not a system-dropped material, tissue from a peak Second-Stage mutant could still fetch a tidy sum. This level of material, lacking system attributes, was essential for many potions – with the right buyer, it could sell for 700 or 800 Credit Points.

After securing the two eyeballs, which were as large as luminous pearls, he departed without hesitation.

He was in high spirits.

Glancing at the completed mission info on his panel, a grin spread across his face.

He’d lucked out – he hadn’t expected to snag a Second-Stage mutant too.

Once he bought the wings and completed the Will Mission, he’d officially become a Second-Stage Awakened – one whose combat power would skyrocket immediately.

The only downside was that the experience from the three-headed mutant had been divided away, especially that of the mutant tiger.

Even though he delivered the final blow and claimed the loot, the experience was significantly lower. With the level cap in effect, the three-headed mutant only netted 2 free attribute points.

Mounting his motorcycle, Yenir didn’t hesitate to head for the coordinates of the Will Mission.

On the way, he eagerly examined the rewards he’d just received.

“Ding: Overkill on a Second-Stage Mutant Blood Bear grants extra spiritual energy experience. Overflow has been converted to attribute points.”

“Ding: Killing a First-Stage Mutant Corpse Dog yields spiritual energy experience, with overflow converted to attribute points.”

“Ding: Overkill on a Wind Tiger…”

“Ding: Acquired Mutant Material: Dog Tooth (Enchanted White), Equipment: Giant Bear Helmet (White), Item: Frenzied Blood (White)…”

“Acquired Equipment: Resentful Tiger Gauntlets (Blue)”

After a quick glance at the white equipment and materials, Yenir casually dumped the junk into the trade channel.

A Giant Bear Helmet with +1 Constitution meant nothing to him; its clunky design only got in the way of his vision.

As for the other materials, he was too lazy to craft them into gear.

Since his goal was to quickly ascend to Third-Stage, all lower-level equipment was just temporary.

Yet, he couldn’t help but be pleased with the pair of black, metallic wire gloves in his hand.