Chapter 33: Slaughter
"Do you want to take it? Then you have to come here and take it with your own hands." Carl smirked and shrugged.
Some robbers started to emerge from the darkness and behind the rocks. One of them spoke up in a vile voice.
"Well, a rich boy from a rich family. Guess you came here to prove your strength or honor to your parents? You’re going the wrong way, boy. I’ll take all your jewelry and then tear you apart."
"I assure you, the most horrific things you’ve not ever experienced in your whole life."
Carl raised an eyebrow in amusement and drew his sword from his belt, smiling.
"I’m looking forward to it."
All the robbers surrounded him from every direction, leaving Carl no way to flee. They all fell into stance, ready to strike the moment Carl made his move—or at the signal from one of themselves.
"All foolish." Carl chuckled and pulled his invisibility cloak over his body. In the blink of an eye, he vanished as if he had literally ceased to exist.
"What the hell? Where did he go?" a robber grimaced, looking around while trying to use his [dragon sense] skill.
"Everyone, search for him. I suppose that’s one of his treasures, but a spoiled boy could never use it properly."
All of the robbers nodded and scanned the area in detail, not letting even an insect escape.
Rolling their eyes in every direction, just trying to find a trace, they wandered here and there.
Until a painful yell rang out from somewhere nearby.
"Aahhhhhhhhhh!"
Everyone immediately focused on the source of the shout and stared at the unlucky robber in dumbfounded shock. He had been stabbed through the chest by a sword, and in just half a second, the weapon pulled out of his body and vanished into the air.
Not only that—somewhere nearby, a blaze of flames screamed toward him, engulfing him in endless agony.
The roar of the flames overlapped with the unfortunate guy’s own scream, and just half a minute later, he utterly collapsed, leaving behind only a corpse of ash.
"Damn! Watch out, everyone... Fire at him!"
A dozen robbers quickly stepped back and triggered their [Flame Breath], shooting toward the unlucky guy who had just died a half minutes ago.
...But it was all effortless for Carl, merely wasting their mana.
Another robber frowned, moving his eyes in hope of spotting any trace of the rich boy. Several seconds later, a slow smile crept across his lips when he noticed a golden ring lying by the edge of a stone.
The gleam of the jewelry was far too seductive for him to ignore. He glanced around and crept closer, careful to keep a ten-step distance.
...
"Luckily for me, I got you." The robber smiled with delight and glanced around again while slowly putting his jewelry in his pocket, but...he suddenly felt a cold shiver run over his arm, and a sharp pain shot up his nerve to his brain.
’AAHHHHHHHHHHH!’’
He exploded into sobs, clutching his stumped arms in full pain. But his yell was quickly torn and silenced by a sharp, ironic piercing in his throat.
His eyes rolled chaotically, and then his vision was instantly covered by the blaze.
’’You two!’’
Carl chuckled and, without wasting a single thought, moved to another spot, ignoring the nearby robbers who were thrown into chaos as their comrade was about to die.
He glanced up at the system screen and smiled in satisfaction after that.
’G-Good!’’
[System]: Target offered no resistance.
[System]: Soul Devoured: 20%
[System]: Soul Devoured: 50%
[System]: Soul Devoured: 70%
...
[System]: Soul Devoured: 100%
Carl clicked his tongue as he scanned the place. In reality, there were too many robbers; he couldn’t handle them all. But right now, he felt a strange emptiness when he thought that escaped this place without killing everyone.
"Should I use it?" Carl took five mana bombs from his inventory. This was his reward, one he hadn’t had the chance to use yet.
"Well... although it feels like a waste if I use it, I... have to get stronger."
Carl raised a corner of his lips, revealing his sharp teeth, and climbed onto a rock. He watched all the robbers below and smirked with a mix of amusement and pity.
"Our lives won’t be wasted... become my nutrients." Carl took a deep breath and hurled the five mana bombs into the center of the crowd.
He just had five seconds before the mana booms triggered. He wouldn’t let this chance slip away. Carl then grabbed five mana potions and poured them all into his mouth, preparing for his special, most powerful skills.
Boom!
The bombs exploded, annihilating everyone within range, while forming a storm of destructive flames engulfed the area.
The crimson blaze devoured everything, silencing the chaotic cries of the wretched robbers. There was no way for them to flee—or survive.
Haha, They just made a wrong choice when picking Carl as their target. Now, they had to regret their decision, but it was too late to choose again.
[Soul-Devouring Flame activated!]
Carl activated his skill and unleashed his blue flames to merge with the crimson blaze below. Since he had used all his mana potions, he didn’t need to worry about how much mana he was spending; he just let everything he had loose.
He kept the blue flames going for two minutes before closing his mouth, sitting down, and enjoying the unfolding outcome.
Ting!
[System]: Target offered no resistance.
[System]: Soul Devoured: 20%
...
[System]: Soul Devoured: 50%
[System]: Soul Devoured: 60%
[System]: Soul Devoured: 70%
[System]: Soul Devoured: 80%
[System]: Soul Devoured: 100%
Carl licked his lips and checked his status.
[Soul Rank]: ★★ Dragon (Progress: 0.00% -> 32%)
’32%?...’ The corner of his eyes twitched as he stared at the system screen.
"I was hoping for a lot more than that." Carl scratched the back of his head and looked down at the corpses in the storm of flames, evaluating them.
"Hmmm... more or less a hundred one- or two-star dragon souls. I guess that’s valuable enough."