Chapter 140: No Prisoners.

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: No Prisoners.

Chapter 140: No Prisoners.

The thought made his expression grow even uglier, especially since he had begun to notice that the fireballs weren’t falling randomly across the encampment.

Instead, Osborne’s attacks always seemed to land near traffickers who were already in difficult situations, particularly those who were struggling to hold back the demonic beasts or had been forced into defensive positions by their companions.

It was a simple strategy, but one that proved surprisingly effective, as the men who were already having trouble defending themselves had little chance of avoiding an attack that came from above.

Osborne had no intention of wasting his mana on enemies who could easily dodge his spells, and by targeting those who were already occupied with the beasts, he could deal with several problems at once without having to expose himself to unnecessary danger.

After all, he wasn’t some heroic knight who would rush into battle simply because his enemies were struggling, and as long as he could achieve his objective without putting himself at risk, he saw no reason to make things more difficult than necessary.

Meanwhile, another trafficker found himself in a desperate situation as he used both hands to hold his sword against the savage maw of a demonic beast, preventing its sharp teeth from reaching his face.

The man had strengthened his body with aura, allowing him to withstand the beast’s strength, but even with that advantage, he could barely keep the creature at bay, and the strain on his arms was becoming increasingly difficult to bear.

His boots dug into the ground as he pushed back with everything he had, desperately trying to force the beast away from him, while the creature continued snapping its jaws with enough strength to make his sword tremble.

"Get off me, you damned beast!"

He roared as he struggled to maintain his position, unaware that a fireball was already approaching from above, its burning light rapidly growing brighter as it descended towards him.

The moment his vision turned a burning red.

His pupils widened in horror as he finally noticed the incoming attack, but by then, it was already too late to do anything about it.

Held back by the beast, he could only stand there in horror as the temperature around him rose, the intense heat from the approaching spell making his skin sting before the fireball even reached him.

BOOM!

The trafficker couldn’t even react before he was killed, as the fireball exploded beside his head and engulfed his upper body in flames, leaving the demonic beast to cry out in pain before running off into a corner, where it curled up while trying to escape the burning heat.

The man was no longer moving, and the only thing left behind was his burning remains, which slowly collapsed to the ground as the flames continued consuming what was left of him.

Scenes like this kept playing out, over and over again, as Osborne continued raining fireballs down upon the encampment, making sure to target those who were already struggling against the demonic beasts rather than wasting his attacks on enemies who still had enough freedom to dodge.

With every explosion, the number of traffickers who could still fight effectively grew smaller, and the men who had initially believed that they could overcome the situation through sheer numbers began to realise that they were facing an opponent who had no intention of allowing them to recover.

The demonic beasts were already causing enough trouble on their own, and with Osborne attacking from a position they couldn’t easily reach, the traffickers found themselves caught between two enemies, neither of whom showed any interest in giving them a chance to escape.

Their morale took a massive hit as more deaths piled up on their side, and even those who had managed to survive the initial attacks began questioning whether there was any point in continuing the fight.

They had entered the forest expecting to make money from their business, and although they knew that capturing demonic beasts came with certain risks, none of them had expected to end up fighting for their lives against an armoured man who could use magic in such a cruel way.

"Damnit, how are we supposed to fight something like that?!"

"Someone needs to get up there and stop him!"

"Then why don’t you go and do it yourself?!"

The argument quickly died down when another fireball landed nearby, forcing the men to scatter in different directions as the explosion sent dirt and burning pieces of wood flying through the air.

"I’m out of here! I don’t want to die like this!"

"I give up!"

Two of the traffickers finally turned their backs and fled, throwing away any thought of fighting as they rushed towards the forest, hoping that they could escape before the armoured man decided to turn his attention towards them.

"Same here!"

Another man followed his example, and soon enough, several others began abandoning their positions, their flimsy bond suddenly exposed as they chose their own survival over the lives of the people they had been working alongside.

It appeared that some of them had already given up on the battle entirely, fleeing towards safety without even bothering to check whether their companions were still alive, and the sight of their retreat only made the remaining traffickers feel even more desperate.

They had fought together when they believed victory was possible, but now that the situation had turned against them, none of them wanted to risk their lives for people who would likely do the same thing if their positions were reversed.

However, while their retreat would have brought satisfaction to an enemy who wanted to break their formation, Osborne didn’t feel the same way.

"ARRGHH!!!!"

One of the fleeing traffickers suddenly screamed as a fireball crashed into his back, sending him tumbling across the ground before the flames swallowed him, and before the others could even process what had happened, another spell descended upon a man who had tried to hide behind a tree.

The man barely had time to turn his head before the explosion tore through the tree and sent him crashing to the ground, leaving the remaining traffickers to stare in horror as they realised that even running away wouldn’t save them from the armoured man.