Ethan looked up, seeing Lynx and Gloria fighting on edge.
"Or should I summon Ork Chief and Black Knight?" Ethan thought.
"No… if I do, those old guys will suspect something," he muttered.
BOOM!
Ethan leapt with all his strength, propelling himself 50 meters above ground. He grabbed a humanoid beast like it was a stuffed toy and hurled it at a drone.
BOOM!
The drone exploded, sending the humanoid beast crashing into a bus.
"Eh, suckers. They obviously didn't see that coming," Ethan chuckled, chasing after the ten humanoid beasts pursuing Lynx and Gloria.
Sensing something terrifying, the beasts turned back. They could feel Ethan's maximum mana output and it terrified them.
Drawing his sword, Ethan performed Star Sword Technique. The Death Blade hummed with hunger as it emitted a sinister pressure toward the beasts.
Ethan passed through them like a breeze. A second later
Slash! Boom!
Their bodies were dissected into perfect portions. Ethan's Star Sword Technique was mysterious; its strokes connected like stars forming constellations in the night sky.
Luckily, no one saw that. Anyone who did would've been terrified.
Lynx and Gloria weren't even looking back they just kept moving forward, trying to lose the horde.
Ethan vanished, carrying Freddy on his back. "The potion should take two minutes to heal him completely. I should give one to the other girl too," he sighed, rushing after Lynx and Gloria.
Ethan knew he couldn't save everybody, but he could at least try.
Freddy and Gloria turned to look back only to see the beasts sliced to pieces.
"What happened?" Lynx asked, shocked. Three seconds ago, those beasts were full of vigor, ready to tear them apart. He only turned when the battlefield went silent.
Looking at Ethan, who was running with Freddy on his back, Lynx froze.
"Oh my God, I think we should run! I saw a blur just now and sensed a formidable presence," Ethan said, pretending to look shaken.
"Yeah, right. Let's keep moving forward," Gloria said, just as shocked but unwilling to stay another second.
After a few minutes of running, they reached what looked like a government building made of marble. Ethan gently laid the girl on the floor and secretly fed her a health potion.
They were outside the building, hesitant to rush in blindly.
"Okay, quick heads-up we can't be running around like fools. We came here to kill beasts, not to run from them," Ethan said.
Those humanoid beasts were only at the Nightmare Level, equivalent to mutant beasts. Ethan could crush them easily but what about the others? Humanoid beasts were three times stronger than normal ones.
"Although an awakened could beat a normal mutant beast easily, not everyone's that lucky," Ethan said. "These assholes… I'm sure there'll be a high casualty rate in this trial."
"It's easy," Lynx suggested. "We find and lure the beasts, kill them, earn points, and leave."
"No," Ethan shook his head. "It's harder than that. My guess? Every beast in this trial is a humanoid type. They won't let us off easy. Even if we use that tactic, they'll eventually adapt."
"Then what do you suggest?" Gloria asked.
"We kill the bosses," Ethan said. The group drew in a sharp breath.
The minions were already that hard to beat what about their leaders?
"We have no choice. Every humanoid beast type has a boss. Once we kill it, their command structure collapses," Ethan said.
He was still baffled at how the military and Axion Guild managed to contain these beasts here.
"Fine. I still have a few trump cards I can use. Once we've got our hundred points, we're leaving," Gloria said.
Lynx and Ethan exchanged glances, clearly sensing there was more to that sentence.
"Oh, come on. Are you really willing to risk your life for the top 100? I can't believe this," Gloria shrugged.
"Guys, let's move into the building and regroup," Ethan said, kicking open the marble door.
It was dark inside, and when they walked in they saw it.
A black humanoid beast was chewing the head of an awakened. Around it lay the others from the earlier group, their guts, blood, and bones scattered everywhere their figures barely recognizable.
In a corner, a male awakened sat rocking back and forth, whimpering in shock.
Ethan smelled the thick stench of blood and tensed. He hadn't seen something like this since the time he entered a Rank 6 dungeon in his past life.
He circulated his breathing technique, steadying his mind.
Gloria threw up it was her first time witnessing such horror. Lynx stood calmly, as if he had expected this.
"Damn you… you cursed being!" Lynx shouted, lunging and throwing a rock at the beast.
The beast caught it and crushed it to dust.
"I guess this one's at the Abomination Level. Watch out," Ethan warned, drawing his Death Blade again.
Ethan lunged with speed. "Quick! Gloria fireballs, distract it!"
The beast turned toward Ethan, a huge grin spreading across its face.
"You smug fuck… time to meet your maker," Ethan growled, laughing.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The humanoid beast dodged Gloria's fireballs with ease and threw a punch at Ethan. This one was much faster than the earlier beasts it had to be the boss.
"Eh, your movements are lacking," Ethan said, throwing the First Dragon Subduing Palm.
BOOM!
The beast screamed as it stumbled back, surprise flashing in its eyes. Its arm had exploded, leaving only bone and torn flesh.
"You're a fool to take my palm head-on," Ethan mocked.
Within three breaths, the beast regenerated another arm.
"Die! Die! Die!" Lynx roared, appearing above it with an axe, aiming for its head.
"No!" Ethan shouted.
The beast dodged and grabbed Lynx by the leg.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
It slammed him into the ground repeatedly before tossing him aside like trash.
"Damn you!" Ethan appeared before it.
BOOM!
He shattered its jaw the mocking grin gone for good.
It staggered, clutching its face in shock. Before it could heal, its head was already separated from its body Ethan had decapitated it.
The beast's head spun in the air, the last thing it saw being Ethan smashing it under his foot.
Ethan immediately dug out its soul core.
Lynx recovered, kneeling on the ground as he looked at Ethan. "Why can't I keep up with this B-rank aspect user?" he thought.
*********************
In a distant room, three mysterious figures sat before a massive screen, watching the trial unfold. Some were already discussing which candidates they would take in as disciples.