Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 109: Moving Across The World

Chapter 109: Moving Across The World

Accompanied by a tremendous impact, the shell of the mighty Nightmare Carapace cracked beneath a devastating blow. The hulking creature let out a shriek of agony as an armored gauntlet drove deep into its core, piercing vital organs and crushing its heart.

The monstrosity staggered before collapsing into a growing pool of its own blood. The murderous light in its eye slits flickered and faded as its life ebbed away.

[You have slain an awakened monster, Nightmare Carapace.]

Klaus drew back his bloodstained fist and gave it a swing, flinging off the creature’s foul fluids.

Somewhere behind him, the sound of cracking shells rang out. The battle had ended. Adrian and Seraphim were already extracting essence shards from the beast they had defeated.

He let his thoughts drift back, replaying the events that had led to this carnage.

Two weeks had passed since they left the cliffs and resumed their journey eastward — more precisely, toward the northeast. After uncovering the grim truth that a parasitic horror was infesting other monsters, staying behind any further was no longer an option and meaningless. Along the way, they had been drawn into a series of unavoidable skirmishes, though such encounters were inevitable.

On this day, their original plan was to lure the nightmare carapaces that they had been tracking them for days into the narrow passage, hoping to turn the monsters’ size against them. But things quickly spiraled out of control.

The clash drew the attention of both the scavengers and the strange centipede-like creatures, who had been locked in their own war with the carapace legion elsewhere in the labyrinth. Chaos erupted as all three factions converged. Amid the bloody slaughter, the group cleverly exploited the mutual hatred between the monster tribes and emerged as the sole victors.

In its aftermath, the path between two black protruding coral was littered with nothing but corpses. Not to mention, a mixture of blood and bodily fluids.

Turning his gaze elsewhere, the tamed beast was munching on the fresh of a slain centipede creature. Its lost arm had long grown back. Now, the nightmare carapace was tearing pieces of monster meat with its new scythe-limbs and vindictively devouring them.

...Well, it technically couldn’t be called a common nightmare carapace anymore.

Following its speedy recovery and emergence from Briar... no, Morgan’s Ether Sea, the awakened creature had somewhat evolved. Standing over four meters tall, it possessed a hulking yet grotesquely elegant frame cloaked in interlocking obsidian plates. Its armor was no longer purely organic. Instead, it was fused with an unidentifiable alloy-like material, making its hide impervious to most weapons and monster strikes.

Crimson sigils pulse faintly across its chitinous surface, etched deep into the carapace like runes of power. Unlike its predecessors, the monster has retained multiple limb configurations — six in total — four ending in scythe-like appendages and two shaped like gruesome and terrifying, barbed hands. Instead of a cluster of slits, its "face" was now marked by a single, vertical obsidian mask with a crown of thorns growing from the sides of its head. Behind the mask, a brilliant eye glowed intermittently.

More than just a physical transformation, the creature underwent a profound shift in behavior. It had become far more bloodthirsty, driven by a new hatred after nearly dying to the beast commander.

The succubus had given it a new name to match its more intimidating presence:

Crimson Slayer.

It was the first of its kind to evolve without advancing in rank. To avoid confusion, it was still classified as an awakened monster — just a different, far more dangerous breed of nightmare carapace.

Judging based on its performance during these past few days, he could confidently say it was much stronger than the Blackmane Stalker.

Upon seeing the creature for the first time, both Adrian and Seraphim turned pale, gripped by instant terror until Morgan casually introduced the uncanny beast as her "servant." Naturally, a flurry of questions followed, but she silenced them all with a simple, "It’s a secret," and refused to elaborate further.

Klaus narrowed his eyes, studying the beast intently, with a hint of suspicion.

Could its sudden transformation be connected to what happened back then?

Surely, a mere drop of his soul essence couldn’t have caused such a drastic change... right?

Even if he suspected that was the case, which he seriously doubted, Morgan wouldn’t say a word about it. Perhaps she had done something during that little experiment of hers, but with so little information, it was impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions.

He sighed.

Setting that matter aside, many things had changed, while others had stayed the same throughout the ordeal.

Traveling steadily from one high point to another, the group moved with far greater efficiency, thanks to the addition of the Crimson Slayer. Still, they made sure to scout the paths ahead before committing to any day-long journey.

With this approach, they could reach each new vantage point without risking exposure on the ground level after nightfall.

Their strategy for navigating the black labyrinth had also evolved. Previously, the group had tried to avoid monsters altogether, only engaging in combat when absolutely necessary. But the battle with the beast commander had made one thing painfully clear; they needed to grow stronger, and fast.

That was why they began to actively hunt the armored beasts, targeting only those that were isolated or moving in groups of no more than four. The idea of four Striders — basically — deliberately seeking out Chaos Beasts of the Awakened rank seemed nothing if not ridiculous, but somehow, they made it work.

Such an absurdity was only possible because they were unique, if not outright abnormal.

Donning the Shadow Shroud, Adrian wielded the spear and could manipulate the wind, making the blonde Strider a fierce foe against beasts and monsters. Along with him, Morgan was also present, a succubus in disguise, who could control people and monsters, accompaned by her servant, the Crimson Slayer. More importantly, there was Seraphim, who after receiving the Duskborne Armor, became a much more dangerous foe.

Needless to say, she was a bloody savage. Wielding a silver blade, the white-haired girl clad in black armor moved like an unstoppable force of nature. When she activated the azure flame, the surrounding space seemed to freeze still in awe or perhaps fear.

And last, but certainly not least, there was him.

The treacherous slayer donned in the Purgatory’s Shroud and armed with Bloodwulf. He wasn’t the most powerful Strider, but he was undeniably unique and different.

After all, what other Strider had slain an awakened tyrant and lived to tell the tale?

Sure, he had a little help from his soul bound companion, the succubus, but it was his razor-sharp instinct and reckless ingenuity that brought the foul beast down. Although his luck was absolutely rotten and cursed, some could even say that he was incredibly lucky.

He was still alive, despite the life-threatening wound that should have killed him. It was nothing short of a miracle and an absurd stroke of luck.

Even more extraordinary, he had somehow found two other abnormal Striders to travel with in this sunless void. Without them, it was unlikely he and the succubus would have made it this far or, worse yet, made it at all.

Additionally, all of them were rapidly growing stronger, empowered by the essence shards they absorbed with each monster they defeated. Every increase was barely noticeable, but with dozens of them added up together, the difference was apparent. The group were slowly approaching the thin line between the peak of human physical form and the threshold of superhuman prowess.

However, the drawback of working in a team was that those precious essence shards had to be divided among the party members. Strangely, he had noticed that the shards appeared to be only half as potent as they should have been, as if their original essence had been diminished.

Klaus didn’t know the exact reason behind this, but he suspected it was likely due to one of the Strider’s abilities or perhaps the succubus’ doing.

Of course, this was merely a speculative theory he had conjured. The young man had even gone so far as to ask the succubus about it and, as expected, she had no idea what she was talking about.

Throughout their time together as room buddies, Klaus had learned a great deal about the demon race. Apparently, there wasn’t much difference between humans and demons when it came to stage progression except for one key distinction: demons could house multiple essence cores within their bodies. This was thanks to their naturally resilient physiology, unlike humans, who were inherently a more fragile species.

Despite that, the act of stealing fragments of a creature’s soul essence was practically unheard of, even among demons.

Well, according to Briar... or was it Morgan? Klaus often mixed up her real name with her alter ego. Then again, that was just another trick of the human mind filled with limitations.

There was also untapped knowledge from the Book of Wisdom quietly flowing through his mind — present, yet just out of reach. He figured that if he ever advanced to the rank of Saint, he might finally be able to unlock it all and make sense of it.

But that was simply wishful thinking. What made him believe he’d ever reach the level of a Saint in the first place?

His Divine Echo? That was probably the source of his delusion. And considering his Fateless attribute of his Soul Name, he would be lucky if he reached the rank of Inquisitor.

Not that he was planning on dying anytime soon. If anything, he’d rather vanish into some secluded place where no one could reach him. With enough money — and he did have money — just about anything was possible. Power, protection, freedom... maybe even a harem of beautiful women, if he felt like it.

Wait... why the hell was he suddenly thinking about getting a harem?

It wasn’t a matter of morality, that wasn’t the issue here. Sure, his libido had been growing lately, and yeah, that was something to consider. But a harem? Seriously?

Everyone had their own needs, and those needs required money. Why would he waste his hard-earned cash on people he barely knew? He wasn’t that rich. The whole idea was downright ridiculous and completely unrealistic.

Wasn’t that the kind of thing you’d see in some over-the-top manga protagonist’s life?

Setting that thought aside, their individual progress remained more or less the same. But it was their teamwork that had truly evolved.

After countless battles fought shoulder to shoulder, Klaus, Adrian, and Seraphim moved with an unspoken rhythm, like instruments in a finely tuned symphony of war. Without needing words or signals, they moved as a single unit, coordinating their attacks, controlling the battlefield, and dismantling their enemies with seamless efficiency.

Of course, this included the succubus as well. Beyond growing stronger through the absorption of essence shards, her mind control abilities seemed to sharpen with each one she consumed. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she crossed into the next stage and became an Awakened Ghoul.

All things considered, they had transformed from a ragtag group of aimless wanderers into a seasoned, well-equipped cohort of battle-hardened survivors.

As long as they chose their battles wisely, victory was almost always assured.

Even their once-distant goal of finding the Fortress now felt closer and more attainable than ever before.

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