"Something's wrong?"
Roy led Winter quickly forward, reaching a high vantage point upwind to observe.
In the camp, Pimier had somehow awakened and was throwing daggers, killing his companions.
They were the followers who had previously played the role of the pursued, weak in strength, and were easily dispatched with just a few daggers.
The other three intermediate apprentices turned in fear, only for Pimier to activate his sleeve darts, streaks of dark blue light flashing by—poisoned projectiles.
They couldn't dodge in time and soon all fell to the ground, trembling from the potent poison.
"Pi... Pimier!"
"You... you... why?"
Their faces bore expressions of disbelief, as if they couldn't fathom that this long-time companion would turn on them.
Pimier looked at them expressionlessly, drew his sword, and slowly advanced.
"Why? Senior Olen made a pact with us to hunt corpses, you know that.
Now, fewer and fewer apprentices come to Gale Hills. If I don't kill you, how else can I make up the numbers easily?
Moreover, the reward for this mission is enough for me alone. You bunch of good-for-nothings would only hold me back, utterly useless!"
"But we've been friends for years!"
"After all the care I've given you! You're inhuman!"
Paralyzed and unable to move, they could only curse.
Pimier's face stiffened, but he still swung his sword, cutting down his former companions.
One, two, three...
He killed several in a row, his face smeared with blood, ferocious as a demon.
...
"What kind of Magical Potion did you give them? Why would they turn on each other?"
Winter trembled all over, shrinking back from the hiding spot, and asked in shock.
"Don't blame everything on me. You've also fallen for my trick, have you gone mad too?"
Roy glanced at him, annoyed.
Not only had Winter been affected by this potion, but Roy himself had once fallen victim to the Nightmare Serpent Fruit.
The mechanism of the potion was all too clear.
He speculated to himself: "It must be that someone, startled from a nightmare, accidentally injured a teammate.
With the atmosphere already tense, Pimier decided to go all the way..."
In that case, he bore some responsibility too; the Orchard Curse had disturbed their minds, somewhat like 'morning grumpiness.'
But to say it was his fault, that he should take the blame, Roy would never admit to that.
This potion didn't have the power to change hearts; it wasn't that miraculous.
Just then, Pimier seemed to sense something and quickly gave chase.
"So it's you, Roy!"
He leapt onto the high slope, his eyes bloodshot, gleaming with dangerous light.
As he spoke, he pulled out a strange object the size of a fist, covered in purple tumors, from his pack.
Roy was slightly surprised: "Fire Tumor Crystal?"
It was the high-energy explosive made from certain Demonized Organs that he had seen in Botning's notes!
He sensed a dangerous aura from it.
Winter was so frightened he trembled, hiding behind a tree and shivering.
"Pimier, don't be impulsive, that thing isn't cheap..." Roy retreated while trying to persuade him, only stopping after putting more than 20 meters between them.
Pimier asked in a deep voice, "Did you see what happened earlier?"
"Indeed," Roy admitted frankly, "You dared to do it, why fear others seeing?"
Pimier glanced at the trembling Winter and sneered coldly, "I can't be bothered to waste words with you. Hand Winter over to me."
Upon hearing this, Winter's body trembled, and he looked at Pimier in disbelief. "Me?"
Pimier replied, "Exactly. I've already killed the others. What's the point of leaving you alive alone? You might as well join them in the pool and earn me an extra reward!"
"You... you're a devil!" Winter cursed in despair.
Pimier remained completely unmoved.
At first, he had hesitated and felt a twinge of guilt, but once he started, he felt nothing.
As for Roy, he knew very well that he wasn't an easy opponent.
It was better to save some effort.
However, he didn't notice that the Levitating Magic Orb had detached from the magnetic mechanism in Roy's hairband and floated behind his head, entering a combat-ready state.
The moment their mental connection was established, the orb's energy condensed, quickly passing over Roy's head, transforming into a bolt of lightning that shot out with incredible speed.
The spell, with a power level of 10 degrees, unleashed a powerful beam of electricity that struck fiercely.
Pimier's flesh was instantly torn open!
Before he could recover, he saw the fist-sized tumor in his hand suddenly pulsate, expanding and contracting like a living heart.
The latest novel is first published on 69shu.com!
Pimier's pupils dilated in shock.
Boom!
In the violent explosion, flesh and blood splattered, and smoke filled the air.
Roy had already run far away, hiding behind a tree. After waiting for a while, he peeked out, secretly amazed.
"It's far more effective than I expected...
This treasure gathers Wizardry Energy at an incredible speed, much faster than the chants during the apprentice stage!"
The Thunder Demon Eye truly lived up to its reputation as a treasure from Chalkland. The Arcane Objects crafted from it were indeed powerful.
Its performance in actual combat was extremely satisfying.
As for the explosion of the Fire Tumor Crystal, it was an unexpected bonus.
He hadn't anticipated that the Fire Tumor Crystal would be so dangerous, exploding upon being struck by the Lightning Beam.
A large crater now marked the ground, with Pimier lying severely injured inside, wailing in agony.
"You... you dare ambush me!"
He struggled to stand, only to find, to his horror, that his right arm was gone.
Gritting his teeth, he fled at full speed.
"This guy has such tenacious vitality!"
Roy watched his retreating figure with a hint of seriousness, choosing not to pursue.
He had just sensed an unusual surge of Wizardry Energy.
Pimier had somehow used a secret technique or treasure to withstand the explosion's force, avoiding being blown to pieces.
"Pimier..."
Winter, looking utterly dejected, peeked out from his hiding spot on the other side, watching the direction Pimier had fled, unsure whether to feel relieved or sorrowful.
Roy glanced at him and called out, "Let's go down and take a look."
They then went down to check on the others' conditions and found several fist-sized chunks of Chalk Soil, which filled Roy with both surprise and confusion.
"Did you gather these earlier?"
But there seemed to be no Inherent Essence inside, and the translucent panel hadn't appeared.
"How strange!"
He felt a bit puzzled.
But since things had come to this, he decided to take these items as spoils of war and try dissolving them with the Blackening Art!
The effect of [Blackening] was to dissolve various substances, reducing them to a black Original Broth.
According to the knowledge in my mind, it was already capable of properly handling most organic substances such as flesh and bones during the apprentice sta
ge, and it could also effectively dissolve magical energy.
If it reaches a higher level, it might even be able to dissolve materials like glass and metal in the future.
Could Chalk Soil also be considered a form of flesh and blood?
(End of Chapter)