Chapter 23: Butler Butcher Chapter 23: Butler Butcher "Did he run away from another door?" As Leo as guessed, Arnold was waiting to ambush him in front of the main door. Arnold tried touching his chin and the slash wound. "Arghh--" He groaned from the throbbing pain that was permeating all over his face. "Fuck, I don’t think I can see from my right eye even after healing magic. How can a newly awakened beast master move like that? Is he really a common soul as Zolton said?" After checking the surroundings once again and not spotting Leo or Lily, he decided to back away since a few people had started to arrive at the scene. He signalled the wolf to retreat; even the wolf had lost one eye when Shyra had attacked it at the critical moment. They stepped into the darkness of the alleyway, trying to bandage the bleeding wound, while the wolf remained vigilant to sneak attacks. swiss! "Ahhhrrg... fuck that bastard" Arnold tightened the wrapping. Swooss swoss "And that wench. Just let me prepare thoroughly next time, I will incapacitate that asshole and rape her in front of him. Haaa Fuck!" He tied the knot tightly behind his head. Swoop! Leo was practically blinking from one place to another, being more than 10 times faster than an average man, he was moving at the speed of nearly 75 m/s. He spotted a blood trail that led to a back alley. He smiled and activated his stealth skill. Maybe it was his luck, but the wind today was in Leo’s favour; it flowed in the opposite direction to where he was going, making it impossible for the wolf to smell him. He soon spotted Arnold busy tying the bandage. He closed in, in lightning speed, with his presence nearly erased from their senses. He slashed. Fwip! Pop! Arnold was in the middle of cursing Zolton when suddenly he heard a pop and a tearing sound near his knees. Before he could process it, he crumpled to the ground, unable to bear his body weight. "ARGHHHH---!" Arnold screamed in a shrill voice as the pain kicked him. The unaware Windbreadth Hound suddenly got startled by Arnold’s scream, and turned only to see his master lying on the ground with blood flowing from his knees. "YOU IDIOT DOG! DO SOMETHING!!!" Arnold screamed as dread filled him. The wolf panicked as he tried to look for the assailant, but to no avail. With the skill advancing, it was impossible to see Leo in the darkness unless other senses were involved. But to the wolf’s dismay, today the wind was not in its favour. Grrr-- Clank! Leo tried to attack the wolf from the side of its injured eye, but the wolf noticed him and snapped his jaws on knife. Leo’s attack was caught mid-motion as the wolf caught the blade with its jaws, growling angrily. The beast flipped him to the other side as he lost his hold on the knife and sent staggering back on the other side trying to regain control; then, again activating the skill, he disappeared. Mana: 132/400 Leo was getting low on mana, and he needed to finish this quickly. Behind, Arnold was trying to stand, but whenever he got up, he fell hard, and a searing pain assaulted him. "AHHH, What the fuck did you do! Why can’t I STAND! It’s just 2 cuts mfker!" He screamed as he wasn’t able to understand why was he not able to stand. Leo had precisely aimed at his hamstrings near the knees, tearing them apart. This is a grade 3 injury in his dictionary, from which no one would be able to walk properly for months. Do they not teach biology here? That was what Leo thought before reappearing and trying to punch the wolf, but missed. Tch, A peak 1-star beast is still a peak 1-star. The beast then started firing crescent-shaped wind blades randomly anywhere he found his presence. "Shit!" Leo tried dodging frantically as he sidestepped, dived and rolled. But one blade managed to graze his chest, making his T-shirt start turning red. "GOOD! Keep going, you foolish dog!" Hope finally appeared in Arnold’s eyes as he started directing the wolf to attack in perfect spots by guessing Leo’s next destination. Wild Beasts usually follow their instinct and attack, which makes them easier to be tricked and hunted by intelligent species. So, being under a capable Beast Master, even a low-star beast could go against higher ones if conditions are right. Leo was accumulating damage as time passed, failing in his attempt to close in on the beast and attack it. Now he could only wait for the moment when the beast’s mana was expended. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶 He was also low on mana, with only 62 mana left, he couldn’t waste activating his skill for nought. Time passed and he lost a ton of blood, slowing his movements. The whole area was blood smeared, from both Leo and Arnold. "Haak!!" Leo suddenly heard a gurgle sound from beside, only to spot Lily driving the sword straight through Arnold’s chest. Then— Arppp-! The wolf was attacked by Shyra, now making it completely blind in both eyes. Lily proceeded to twist the sword. Arnold had a horrified expression on his face as he looked at Lily, as if asking to be spared. "How dare you hurt my Leo this much!" Lily had a fierce expression on her face. And Leo could swear he saw her eyes glow in a pink hue as her rage intensified. Lily exerted a surprising amount of force for a non-awakened individual as she ripped from Arnold’s chest to straight up his face, freeing the sword as it split his skull into two. As if not satisfied, she gave a clean cut across his neck, effectively making him a 3-piece. 2 skulls and 1 body. With Arnold’s death, it was as if the Beast received a backlash, as it staggered, giving Shyra the opportunity to bite its neck in full force to stop its breathing and killing it at the same moment. [Beast Master Arnold(Great Knight) killed - low 2-star - 1000xp] [Additional 1000xp for killing an opponent of an immediate higher rank] [Windbreath Hound killed - peak 1-star - 200xp] [Additional 50xp for killing a comparatively higher-ranked beast]