Chapter 117: 117 Achievement Unlocked

Chapter 117. Achievement Unlocked

When Ronin bent down to scoop up the tiny beast nestled in the grass, a sudden, searing sense of danger surged through his mind.

He snapped upright, eyes icy as they swept the surroundings—but no movement stirred.

“What is it, Lord?”

Elron’s heart clenched instantly; he began scanning the area.

The others froze for a heartbeat, then reacted—could that massive creature still be lurking nearby?

The air grew thick with tension.

Among them, Ronin, Elron, and Aelin possessed the strongest mental energy—and thus, theoretically, the keenest perception. Yet after a thorough search, none of them found a trace.

Was it an illusion?

Intuition was elusive, even to Ronin himself.

His fingers traced invisible sigils in the air, weaving threads of mental force and magic to etch the runes of Wind of Perception.

As the elemental winds responded, he activated his Elemental Sight the moment the spell took hold.

Amid the whispering ripples of air, he detected a faint breath—two hundred meters to the right front. So quiet, so subtle, it would never reach human ears.

Yet when he opened his eyes and stared at that patch of tall grass, he saw only stillness—no sign of concealment.

Beasts were often savage, but all living things carried maternal instinct. This creature had just given birth. Unless it had absolutely no hope of saving its young, it would not abandon them outright.

Ronin made no further hesitation.

He unleashed a wind blade, slicing toward the grass.

Too distant. The spell’s power had decayed severely by the time it reached two hundred meters—it nearly vanished before impact.

“Oooh~”

Though the blade missed the grass, its trajectory spoke volumes.

The hidden beast let out a howl and burst forth—not with mere roars to scare them off, as before.

This time, it became a gray blur, hurtling toward him at terrifying speed.

Aside from Thunderwind Steed, this was the first other beast Ronin had encountered since his transmigration. To see such a colossal creature charging him head-on sent a jolt through his soul.

“Protect the Lord!”

Elron roared, immediately weaving the Light Bind spell, attempting to restrain the beast.

The knights beside him—Dandi and the others—assumed battle stances.

But did Ronin need their protection?

Among them all, he was the strongest. Likely the only one capable of standing against this monster.

In his grip, the Flowing Flame Sword ignited as martial energy surged into its blade, wrapping it in roaring flames.

Simultaneously, his entire body was sheathed in crimson armor, shimmering like living fire.

After so long of sparring and learning, he longed for real combat.

The moment had arrived.

He charged forward, tracking the beast’s motion, intercepting it mid-stride.

“Hah!”

His sword swept horizontally, trailing a long, blazing arc—amplified by the Flowing Flame Sword, it became a tidal wave of fire!

Yet the beast paid no heed.

It bared its glinting claws and slashed outward, releasing razor-thin beams of light that tore clean through the inferno.

It burst through the flames, jaws wide, fangs gleaming, aiming to pierce Ronin’s throat.

Ronin’s heart lurched.

The beast’s fur had passed through the fire unscathed—was its defense truly this formidable?

He stomped his toe hard against the ground, retreating even as he gathered martial energy into his left palm—and slammed it forward.

A gale of wind-energy erupted, slamming into the beast’s body like a battering ram.

Its forward momentum shattered. It crashed to the ground, skidding backward.

Ronin used the recoil of the Gale Palm to create distance.

“Indeed. This creature is no weakling. Its defense is brutal.”

He stared at the beast’s unblemished gray-black hide. Even the close-range Gale Palm had left no mark.

At that instant, tendrils of light erupted from the surrounding space, wrapping once more around the beast’s limbs.

“Lord, I can hold it for two or three seconds!” Elron shouted.

The beast, having felt the binding before, tensed its body the moment the light gripped it—and with a single surge of power, it ripped the tendrils to shreds.

Two seconds? Even one was a stretch.

Ronin, who had been about to cast a Fireball, halted his incantation.

The beast was charging again.

This time, he noticed—its speed had increased.

“So fast!”

Ronin retreated in a blur, casting Lightness upon himself. His body grew feather-light, his velocity surging—

Yet still, it paled beside the beast’s.

“Ssshh!”

The beast crouched low mid-run, coiled for an instant—then exploded forward.

In the blink of an eye, it stood before him, claws outstretched.

Ronin swung his sword in reflex—but the clash between blade and claw rang like steel on steel.

The impact wrenched his sword off course.

The beast’s other claw came down—toward his shoulder.

It was larger than a human hand.

“Slish!”

The claw struck his shoulder, shredding the martial armor beneath, tearing through his tunic.

The force hurled Ronin backward.

Just before he crashed into a tree, he twisted midair, planting his feet against the trunk.

The tree shuddered violently—but Ronin used the recoil to stabilize himself, landing firmly on the ground.

He turned his head to glance at his shoulder.

Thankfully, the rebound from the first strike had already created distance—so the second claw had not delivered its full force. Otherwise, it might have carved through flesh.

Ronin’s breath tightened.

He reformed his martial armor, his mind sharpening.

His blade had left no wound on the beast’s claws.

The moment its paws touched earth, its eyes glowed with cold, murderous intent.

It howled—and charged again.

Faster than before.

Speed. Strength. Defense. This beast was not to be faced head-on.

Ronin did not retreat.

As the beast reared its forelimbs, preparing to sweep him aside, Ronin dropped low—barely evading the strike—and slashed upward at its belly.

“What?”

He froze.

There—a wound.

Already healing, but not yet closed.

The beast was injured.

Yet even wounded, it moved with such speed.

“Slish!”

The belly’s defense was naturally weaker—and weakened further by the wound.

Ronin’s blade pierced through, drawing a crimson arc.

With a tragic shriek, the magical beast lashed its long tail like a steel whip, striking Ronin squarely.

With a resounding crash, Ronin was sent flying by the colossal force, his battle qi armor shattering as he tumbled across the ground.

"My Lord!"

Seeing Ronin repelled, the crowd rushed forward instantly, eager to slay the wounded beast.

Yet, though blood streamed from its underbelly, the beast still lunged and parried wildly, its sweeping tail hurling back everyone who dared approach.

"Brother Ronin, are you alright?" Irene ran over and hastily helped Ronin up, her eyes swimming with tears.

It was a pity that novice mages were far too weak, possessing scarcely any lethal magic.

"I am fine, merely took a blow."

He moved his left arm; it was only a bit sore, nothing serious.

Seeing that the knights, though outmatched, were doing their utmost to drain the beast's stamina, Elrond unleashed a second Light Binding spell, which clearly held for a longer duration this time.

"Elrond, cast the magic once more."

Ronin knew that this battle was essentially won; all that remained was to wear the creature down.

"As you wish!"

Elrond invoked the spell again.

Meanwhile, Ronin focused intently on tracing the magical lines of the third-tier spell, Pyroblast.

Along this journey, though he had not yet unleashed the Pyroblast, he could already trace nearly eighty percent of its pattern, needing only to complete the final few nodes to succeed.

The moment the final magical node was finished, the fire elements of the surrounding world surged violently toward him.

With a roar, a colossal fireball spanning a full two meters in diameter coalesced before him.

This spectacle left Dandy and the others utterly stupefied; feeling the destructive aura radiating from the fireball, they dreaded to imagine the result if it struck them.

"The Lord Protector is actually this powerful?"

Tomas swallowed hard; he had heard Dandy mention that the Lord was a mysterious mage, but he had never witnessed him cast a spell.

Seeing it today, he was thoroughly awed by Ronin.

He wondered how they had ever found the courage to follow Slane against Purple Fruit Village, and then flee with Mamu...

"My Lord, it is ready!"

While the crowd remained in shock, Elrond shouted, the Light Binding spell taking hold once more.

By now, the beast was utterly exhausted, no longer able to break the shackles as easily as before.

Yet right then, within everyone's sight, its massive form began to gradually dissolve, vanishing from their vision like blue smoke.

"What is happening!"

Everyone stood in stunned bewilderment.

But Ronin sharply caught the sight of a drop of blood falling to the ground, and he understood that this creature was capable of concealment.

"Everyone, get back!"

He shouted fiercely; even if it was concealed, the opponent's physical form was still there, and the effect of the Light Binding remained.

Whoosh!

The massive flame flew out rapidly, and the Pyroblast struck that patch of air with terrifying force, exploding into a fierce blaze despite hitting seemingly empty space.

The magical beast revealed its true form once more, collapsing to the ground under the continuous, violent blasts of fire elements.

[Achievement "King of Slaughter" unlocked, Attribute Points +200, Energy Essence +400]

Ronin stood in utter shock; the magical beast he had slain was actually a fourth-tier beast!

"I actually killed a monster above my rank?"

He could hardly believe it; truth be told, he did not think himself capable of slaying an enemy of a higher rank, especially since higher-tier beasts were far more difficult to kill.

"Perhaps this beast was already injured, which gave me the opportunity."

Clack-clack-clack!

From outside the forest, the urgent thud of hooves echoed, for McCann had finally arrived at the battlefield.