"Not so fast…" Lukas gritted his teeth and mobilized the Star Energy, taking one step forward to launch himself toward the nearest Cometfang Wolf.
A female wolf with a slender build—its eyes locking onto Lukas' charging figure with bloodthirst in them. Purple electricity danced around her figure, intensifying. Crackle.
Lukas ignored this and allowed Gravity Pressure to show its full glory.
Immediately the area of a hundred meters around him suddenly pressed downwards. The grass, which had been standing proudly for who knows how long, was pressed downward as if some gigantic beast had rested here.
The female Cometwolf, who was about to jump toward Lukas, suddenly fell downwards when Gravity Pressure hit her—completely taken off guard.
This is my chance! Lukas' eyes shone. Thick starlight converged in his palm.
Whoosh! A three‑foot blade of Star Energy shot out, directly slicing through the female wolf's body.
All of this—from Tommy's first appearance to the female Cometfang Wolf—happened in three seconds.
A good portion of time to allow the sensed hunters like Cometfang Wolves to react fast.
Next moment, the remaining two wolves opened their maws, crimson red light sizzling deep in their throats.
Lukas looked at this scene and coldly snorted. "Too late."
Following his words, a thick green smoke appeared, springing across the two wolves' bodies. It was the Poison Cloud.
The toxic smoke immediately choked the two wolves, halting their momentum. Without hesitating, he fired one more Star Energy slash to chop the head off the second wolf.
Blood spilled like a fountain, dyeing the green plains crimson.
Hidden under the skeleton mask, Lukas' face turned pale as a sheet of paper. His Star Energy reserves were dwindling rapidly; the runes on Astral Vanguard's figure were also dim after using the Star Energy Slash twice.
To finish off the third Cometfang Wolf, he could only punch its head again and again. His two skeleton‑covered fists rained down on the third Cometfang Wolf like hammers.
Outturned its eyeball to bits, shattering the monster's sharp fangs.
Lukas' hands were drenched in crimson blood, with bits and pieces of flesh covering his entire figure.
Thud! He continued to punch until the wolf fell to the ground, its body unmoving.
Fusion of Life and Death deactivated. The skeleton exoskeleton covering Lukas' body removed itself piece by piece, forming Tommy's figure some distance away.
The soul flame in Tommy's eyes flickered, seemingly concerned about Lukas' safety.
After all, using multiple skills one after the other in a brief amount of time had depleted all of his Star Energy reserves.
If the fight had continued for a few seconds more, the outcome might have been completely different.
Huff! Huff!
Lukas took rapid deep breaths, his chest rising and falling with each.
He was not physically exhausted, but the mental strain was real.
It was only after a couple of minutes that he finally felt slightly better.
There was not much time. The bloodshed was bound to attract other Cometfang Wolves in the area. He needed to do his things and get out fast.
With that thought in mind, he commanded Tommy to assimilate the Cometfang Wolf's skull while he himself took the iron knife out of his pocket, slitting open the stomachs of the two headless Cometfang Wolves, searching for their beast cores.
Beast cores were special organs all Star Beasts had to store Star Energy, just like how humans had stars.
Lukas was not going to miss some cash. The beast core of a First‑Rank Epic‑grade monster could be sold for a good amount of money.
After fiddling around, he quickly located crimson fist‑size crystals attached to multiple root‑like veins.
Lukas quickly slashed them with the knife and yanked the beast core out. After cleaning it with a cloth, he placed the beast core in the inventory.
He repeated this process again, taking the beast core out from the second Cometfang Wolf as well.
Just as he was placing it in the storage bag, a notification hit him.
[Ding! Your skeleton Tommy has assimilated the skull of Epic‑grade Cometfang Wolf.]
[You have learned First‑Rank Epic‑grade Passive: Meteor Momentum.]
[Description: Speed increases with continuous forward movement.]
"Nice, nice!" Lukas' face instantly lit up. All the risk had been worth it. Lukas cheered after going through the information that had appeared in his head.
Just like the description said, while running his speed would continue to increase to the point where his body would not break. If he had a strong enough body, he might even achieve the speed of an Awakener at the Blood Transfusion stage. Of course, this was only in theory.
While Tommy stood guard, Lukas finished extracting the last beast core while humming a happy tune.
After a few minutes, he was done—and now it was time to leave.
…
"Damn, this is incredibly fast…"
With each step he took, Lukas' figure shot forward like a bullet. He was moving so fast that Tommy was unable to keep up with him. Considering how little time he had, dismissing Tommy was the only option.
With each step, the endless green plains were left behind.
After using Meteor Momentum for some time, Lukas made an unusual discovery. Compared to all other skills he had, Meteor Momentum, instead of using Star Energy, seemed to be using his stamina.
This was even better! Although passive skills themselves only used a little amount of Star Energy, this was for the best. Now he could use Meteor Momentum without any concern at all.
Before nightfall, Lukas finally managed to find another abandoned cave to take shelter.
With Astral Bone Vanguard Tommy guarding the entrance, Lukas meditated the whole night, only stopping when rays of the morning sun hit his face.
Today it was time to hunt his last prey—a hunt for a healing passive.
Verdant Monarch, another Epic‑grade monster living at the border of the inner and outer Iron Tree Forest.
Any beast living that close to inner region was bound to be terrifying, this was also the reason why the monster was last on Lukas' hit list.