Free Web NovelChapter 4: Battle Without Victory
The monster suddenly smiled. A smile like it was thanking for seeing a free meal.
That scene was so unnatural that for a moment, even Lian’s brain could not react.
Blood dripped from the creature’s huge fangs and fell onto the black stones below the valley.
Its breaths were heavy and uneven. Every time its chest rose, a muffled sound like bones crushing could be heard from inside its body.
But despite all those wounds, it was still alive. And it could still tear him apart.
Lian did not move. His black eyes moved across the monster’s body.
Its left leg was limping.
Its side had a deep tear. Its neck had three sword wound marks. Heavy bleeding. And more important than anything, the speed of its breathing.
"This thing... should be dead." Even if this monster did not die right now, it did not have much life left in it. At most, it would die in a few hours.
What could have brought this monster to such a state? Based on the sword marks, it was clearly the work of a sword user. But someone from this world’s possible inhabitants?
Or one of the 25,000 summoned?
The monster suddenly let out a deep growl from its throat. The valley shook. And then it moved. It only took a moment.
Its huge body jumped toward Lian like a bloody shadow. Lian’s eyes widened, and he threw himself to the side.
BOOM!
Where he had been standing exploded. Black stones were thrown in all directions.
The shockwave dragged Lian’s body across the ground.
"Damn it...!" He barely kept his balance and ran without looking back.
The sound of the monster’s heavy claws echoed behind him.
TAK!
TAK!
TAK!
Every step of that creature shook the valley.
Lian moved through the mountain of corpses. Several times he almost slipped on blood and flesh.
The stench filled everything. The sound of the monster’s breaths got closer every moment.
Suddenly he saw something by his foot. A broken sword. Without thinking, he picked it up and turned. At that same moment, the monster jumped out of the red mist.
Lian threw the broken blade toward the creature’s eye. The monster moved its head a little. The blade did not even enter its eye. It just broke on the bone next to its face.
But that moment was enough. Lian threw himself behind a pile of carcasses.
BOOM!
The monster crashed straight into the mountain of corpses. A wave of flesh and blood sprayed into the air.
Lian, breathing heavily, crouched behind a huge carcass. His heart was pounding like crazy. He had no chance in a direct fight.
None. Even the monster being wounded did not change the truth.
He was just a normal person. No awakening. No mana. No power. If he took even one direct hit, he would die.
The monster’s angry growl sounded again. And then...
Silence.
Lian frowned. Why wasn’t it attacking? A drop of blood ran down from his forehead. His eyes slowly scanned the area.
And at that moment, he realized the monster was searching by smell. Its bloody eyes moved unsteadily. Its pupils had no focus.
"Its eyesight is weak..." It had probably lost too much blood. That had affected its full ability and its senses.
"If that’s the case... maybe I can test him." Remembering a spot in this valley, an idea came to his mind.
But he was not sure if it would work or not.
Lian slowly moved back. Then suddenly he threw a large piece of bone to the other side.
TAK!
The monster immediately turned and attacked toward the sound. The ground shook. Lian used the chance and ran.
His eyes wildly scanned the area. He was clearly looking for a place. A place where he could find a way to kill that thing... that monster.
And then he saw it. Part of the valley wall was cracked.
A huge bone was stuck between the rocks. The entire upper part looked unstable.
Lian’s eyes narrowed.
"There it is."
The monster’s roar echoed behind him. The creature had realized it had been tricked. Lian ran straight toward the wall.
The sound of the monster’s claws got closer and closer. Their distance was less than ten meters.
Five meters.
Three meters.
He could feel the creature’s hot breath on the back of his neck. Just before reaching it, Lian threw himself to the ground.
And the monster jumped.
BOOOM!
Its whole huge body hit the cracked wall.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then the sound of breaking came.
CRAAACK—
The monster’s bloody eyes widened a little. And then the whole wall collapsed. Huge stones fell down. The giant bone was freed and fell from above like a white spear.
The monster let out an angry roar and tried to move back. But it was too late.
The bone went straight through its side. Black blood sprayed out like an explosion.
But at that same moment, the monster’s claw swung forward. With all the strength it had left, it pulled itself forward. And something hot entered Lian’s body.
His eyes shook. For a moment, he did not even feel the pain. Then he looked down.
The monster’s broken horn had gone straight through the middle of his chest. Blood spilled from his mouth.
His body fell to the ground. Breathing suddenly became hard. Very hard.
The monster staggered a few steps. The sound of its bones cracking echoed in the valley.
Its bloody eyes were still locked on Lian. As if even while dying, it wanted to make sure its prey died with it.
Then it finally fell.
BOOM.
Lian lay on the ground. Warm blood spread under his body. His breaths were short and broken.
His eyes slowly became blurry.
".So this is how I die..." He gave a weak laugh.
Honestly? It was a ridiculous end. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
His whole life, he had been rejected by the world. And now he was going to die like a nameless sacrifice inside a forgotten realm.
Worse than that, his death would not matter to anyone. Well, except maybe his best friend.
"But maybe this is not bad either..." he whispered with a weak voice.
Before dying, at least he had killed a monster. Yes, with trickery and a plan. And more importantly, the monster itself was almost dead. But still, he had managed to kill a monster.
This could count as a somewhat good ending.
But suddenly a strange pulse twisted inside his chest.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Lian’s eyes shook. An unnatural heat was entering his body from the blood around him.
No... it was being pulled. All the monster’s blood. All the essence scattered in the air. Everything was being pulled toward his body.
And then glowing screens appeared.
[Ruined Heart Activated]
[Beginning Third Awakening Attempt]
Lian’s body shook.
A wild pain passed through the depths of his existence. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
[Awakening Failed]
[Subject Not Registered Within The System]
Blood spilled from his mouth.
But the messages did not stop.
[Fourth Attempt Initiated]
His heartbeat became stronger. A sound like chains breaking echoed inside his body.
He felt like his bones were being crushed. Like his soul was being torn apart.
This pain was thousands of times worse than his chest being pierced. Hundreds of thousands of times worse than any pain he had ever experienced.
It was as if his body, or whatever was deep inside him, was forcing him to become an Awakened.
[Ruined Heart Activated]
The entire valley shook for a moment.
And then
[Awakening Successful]
