Chapter 210 ~ Predator

Words : 1924 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

Chapter 210 ~ Predator A cold wind blew through the main hall, slipping through the gaps in the barricade and washing over the last 42 surviving men of the Death-Spreading Brigade The main hall was the most spacious part of the cave system, so it was commonly used as a dining area. However, it was now an emergency stronghold. This series of caves — the sellswords’ hideout — was centered around this long and narrow hall. Several smaller caves radiated off along its sides, and they were used as personal rooms, armories and food storage. They had upended their crude tables and stacked up boxes to form a simple barricade. After that, they had strung up several chest-height ropes between the entrance to the main hall and the barricade, in order to ward off anyone who might try to charge the barricade. Once the enemy ran into the obstacles, the defenders could avoid being drawn into a melee. Almost everyone was arrayed behind this defensive formation, holding their crossbows as they waited in the center, left and right wings. It was a simple battle array, but it could hold off an enemy force larger than them. It would be sufficient... it had to be. Then... disquieted looks began appearing on their faces. Their chain shirts quivered along with them, producing the rustle of links sliding over other links. Just now, peals of laughter had rung from outside. And due to the echoes within the cave, it was transformed into a shrill, sexless laughter, which was what had chilled them to their bones. They believed that since the strongest man in the Death-Spreading Brigade — Brain Unglaus — had sortied, there was no need for them to build a barricade or the like. That laughter had shattered their conviction. The fact that someone could fight Brain and still laugh like that could only mean one thing. Everybody knew it, but nobody dared to say it. All they could do was look silently at each other. The eyes of everyone gathered here went wordlessly to the entrance of the hall — in the direction of the rest of the cave. The tension in the air thickened, and then— A girl appeared from the shadowed darkness. A beautiful little girl. Her long, silver hair, though shrouded in darkness, glimmered from the little light illuminating it. She walked gracefully, each step resembling that of a dignified lady of nobility who embodied grace and elegance. Nobody spoke as the click and clack of her heels echoed harrowingly throughout the jagged stone walls. Their eyes widened in shock as a wave of heart-stopping coldness accompanied sight. For they had finally realized who produced the harrowing laughter. “Good evening, everyone~ My name is Shalltear Bloodfallen. Oh, but please don’t mind remembering my name, for none of you will live much longer to remember it either way~” She giggled merrily, seemingly amused by this. Shalltear lowered her head and laughed. She laughed... and laughed... and laughed, her silver hair shrouding her face. As the mercenaries gasped at the sight before them, Shalltear’s laughter grew ever louder. “Ahahaaahahahahahaaaahahhahahahhh!!” Her full-bellied mirth echoed through the hall as the girl slowly raised her head again. And it was then that they saw the face that made them feel like their hearts were being crushed in their chests, and that ice water was filling their veins. That face was no longer beautiful. The color flowing out of her pupils had dyed her eyes completely red, and the two neat rows of white teeth in her mouth now resembled a set of delicate syringe needles, like a shark’s gaping maw. A lewd pink glow leaked from her throat as transparent saliva drooled from her mouth. “Ahahaaahahaahaahahaa!!!” Shalltear bared her fangs and grinned, so wide that the corners of her mouth almost touched her ears. She laughed several dozen times, like the tolling of an off-key bell. Whimpers of despair filled the air of the hall. Though they were in a cavern, it seemed as though even the air could not bear it and joined in with the resounding echoes. A girl? A monster? A fiend? It was none of them. This was terror incarnate. Despite the distance between them, they could scent blood on her breath. Due to the intensity of the stench, it seemed as though even the air was turning red. “Uwaaaaaah—!” “Ahahahahahahah~!” Shalltear laughed, and a vile, predator's snarl appeared on her face. She took a step forward, and then she leapt. The ceiling was about five meters above the cave floor. The girl jumped high enough to reach out and touch it easily. She sailed gracefully through the air and landed on the other side of the barricade. She turned towards the mercenary nearest to her, his face pale as if blood had drained out of every orifices of his body and his sword hand trembling like an old tree branch in the middle of a typhoon. She stepped forward... and punched. She did not even put her back into it. It was simply a casual punch. However, it possessed extraordinary speed and its destructiveness was beyond all of their comprehension. Her hand pierced the body of the mercenary she had punched, sending him flying into the barricade. With a heaven-shaking crash, the wood of the barricade disintegrated, spraying splinters everywhere. Only the silence of wood chips falling to the ground could be heard in the silence that filled the hall. The shouted commands had been pared down to the bare minimum, and everyone swiftly reacted to them. The warrior at the lead unlimbered his large shield and took a defensive stance. He averted his eyes, looking instead at Shalltear’s chest and belly. During this time, the female warrior behind them had taken up the weapon passed to her by the warrior in front and began applying something to it. An unpleasant odor wafted into Shalltear’s nose. It was alchemical silver. It was a sticky salve made by alchemists, a magical substance meant to be spread and applied across the weapon in a thin membrane to grant it properties as though it was made of silver, a vampire’s weakness. Wielding weapons which now radiated a silver gleam, the group moved to stave off their foe as they fell back. Their fighting withdrawal was an impressive display. The party seemed to be like a single organism as they fell back in an orderly manner. “My Lord, O God of Fire—” “Enough with the useless stuff, hurry up and cast a defensive spell!” The arcane magic caster restrained the cleric — who was planning to raise his holy symbol — and then began casting a spell on the frontliners. The cleric followed suit. “[Anti-Evil Protection].” “[Lesser Mind Protection].” The two magic casters laid their spells upon the frontline warriors. Seeing their actions, a vague sliver of respect bloomed in her overexcited mind. Although these spells were of the lowest tier, they were still the most suitable magic for their current situation. They were unlike those sellswords who lashed out thoughtlessly. Still — no matter how hard they struggled, meaningless actions were still meaningless. Against a foe who was so overwhelmingly superior to them, nothing they did could possibly mean anything. Their adorable show of resistance was the last straw that broke the back of Shalltear’s wavering self-control. “I can’t... I can’t take itttttttttt— I can’t hold back any moooore~!” With a cry like she had torn free of her bindings, Shalltear stepped forward. Her steps were light and easy, like a dancer’s. However, to the people before her, she moved faster than the wind. She thrust out a spear hand. It pierced her victim’s shield, shattered his armor, ignored his magical protections, ripped straight through his skin, muscle and bone, and closed around the heart which had been beating just a moment ago. And then — she tore it out. As she stood over the body of the collapsed warrior, Shalltear held up the reddish-black mass of tissue — deformed in her grip — before the others. The female warrior whimpered in fear, while the priest’s face twisted in anger. “—Retreat’s going to be hard! Attack!” “Oh!” The cleric panicked. Perhaps the others had been influenced by that, but one of the warriors swung at Shalltear. “My Lord, O God of Fire, repel the unclean!” The cleric held up his holy symbol, which emitted a burst of divine power. Of course, it had no effect on Shalltear. “Ahhhhahahahahaahaha!” Another carnage ensued. It was no longer a battle. But a one-sided massacre, not unlike the butchering that happened just a few minutes ago within the bloody cave. Not even their silver weapons were capable of hurting her in the least. Soon enough, only her dessert (the female warrior) was left. She was flailing wildly at Shalltear’s body with her sword while she wasn’t paying attention. It did not hurt or even bother Shalltear, and it was a meaningless gesture. The only effect it had was opening up holes in her clothes, but as long as Shalltear herself was fine, the magic clothing would automatically restore itself. “Now theeeeeen~ desseeeeeerrrrrtttttt~! Let’s eeeeeeaaaaatttt~!” As the female warrior met Shalltear’s crimson gaze, the female warrior realized that she was the sole survivor, and stumbled back, eyes glistening with tears. She scrambled at her waist pouch, fishing around inside for something. Shalltear leisurely savored the blood-dimmed world before her. She seemed curious about what the woman was doing. Soon, the female warrior pulled out a bottle and threw it. Shalltear narrowed her eyes at the bottle tumbling through the air, and smiled coldly. Although the female warrior had hurled it with all her strength, the speed at which the bottle traveled seemed almost unbearably slow to Shalltear. She could have easily dodged it, but her pride as one of the strong did not allow her to avoid it. In addition, she wanted to see the look on the woman’s face when her final trump card crumbled before her eyes. Having made her decision, Shalltear swatted aside the flying bottle. The force of swiping at the bottle caused the crimson fluid within it to spill from the bottle’s mouth and splash on Shalltear’s skin. And then — there was a faint stinging pain. The insides of Shalltear’s mind went white for a moment, and her bloodlust was instantly extinguished. She looked at the place from which the pain had come, which was the hand which had batted the bottle aside. An acrid odor and a wisp of smoke boiled up from the place where the liquid had touched her. Shalltear turned to look at the fallen bottle. Its mouth was open, and a faint, sweet scent came from it. Shalltear was very familiar with that container. It was a potion bottle of the kind commonly used in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The liquid within should have been a low-tier healing potion. Since healing items could damage the undead, it was probably why Shalltear’s skin had been slightly dissolved. “Impossible!” Her roar shook the very air. She grabbed the slender throat of the female warrior, holding back tremendously as to not accidentally crush her throat and windpipe. She pulled her towards her face, her eyes glowing red as she activated her [Mystic Eyes of Charm] skill, and brought her under her control. “Tell me about this potion! Who did you get it from?!”

Chapter 210 ~ Predator

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