Chapter 222 Battlefield Harvest and the [Tide-Surge Lure Pole]

Condensed to the extreme, ochre-red light enveloped the surface of his knuckles like flowing, shifting runes.

"Bang!"

It was the muffled thud of bone violently colliding with bone through flesh and skin.

Without the slightest hindrance, the fist glowing with radiant light smashed directly into the back of the Lycanthrope's head.

Driven by gravity and physical fitness far beyond that of an ordinary person, this ferocious punch nearly knocked the firmly planted Lycanthrope off her feet.

In the instant bone and flesh collided, Xia Nan could not see the Lycanthrope's expression, nor did he know whether she had regained a shred of humanity on the boundary between life and death.

But from the corner of his eye, judging by her suddenly taut neck muscles and the slight tremor in her cheeks, he could tell she had sensed the fatal threat imbued in his strike.

The next second.

Boom—ochre-red force field energy abruptly erupted from the fist planted against the back of the Lycanthrope's head.

The pure, stable, and highly penetrative force field damage showed no mercy to the flesh and blood before it.

Her thick, swaying mane was instantly shredded, and skin tougher than tree bark squeezed and splattered to either side of his fist like blood-red mud.

"Crunch."

It was the terrifying, blood-curdling sound of a cracking skull.

The fist resting against the bear-person's hindbrain suddenly sank a few inches deeper.

Immediately after, viscous yellow and white matter mixed into the blood splattering from the edges of his fist.

Xia Nan could clearly feel the massive body beneath him suddenly convulse as the sensation against his knuckles shifted from initial hardness to a wet softness.

The majestic power accumulated within the Lycanthrope's muscles lost the guidance of her consciousness, darting wildly through her body like a stray electrical current.

Her tall, robust physique abruptly stiffened.

Driven by residual pre-death instincts, she stumbled forward two steps like a walking corpse before falling straight down face-first.

She exposed the back of her head, most of which had been devoured by the force field energy.

Meanwhile, the thorny vines that had surged toward Xia Nan like a wave of greenery across the clearing seemed to lose their life in an instant.

They froze in place like sculptures, completely stripped of their former vitality.

Further away, the brutal and ferocious beasts surrounding Xia Nan suddenly saw their eyes return to their previous ignorance as their berserk bestial nature quietly drained away.

Some were intimidated by the commotion in the clearing and fled in panic with their tails between their legs, while others, driven by the thick stench of blood and the hunger in their bellies, began to bite and slaughter each other.

His feet landed lightly on the ground.

Looking at the Lycanthrope's corpse ahead, which had completely lost all signs of life and was slowly reverting to human form, Xia Nan felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Soon after, the exhaustion of high-intensity combat, wrapped in the intense pain radiating from all over his body, surged from his heart straight to the top of his head.

The precise use of [Gravity Control] and the activation of [Heart-Guided Vision] at a critical moment had excessively drained his mental energy.

Just standing on the ground now, his vision uncontrollably darkened and his head spun.

He felt things were bad. Although the main enemy had been defeated, the battle was not over yet; he still needed to wrap things up.

In his current state, he couldn't guarantee he could easily fend off starving beasts like he could at his peak.

Having barely survived until the end, he didn't want to trip up on these animals.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, his left hand wiped across his waist, and a Healing Potion appeared in his grasp.

He quickly chugged half the bottle.

-25 gold.

A sweet and refreshing taste lingered on the tip of his tongue. The icy liquid that slid down his throat seemed infected by his pumping heart as it reached his chest, transforming into threads of warmth that flowed through his body along with his blood.

His fatigue and pain gradually lessened, and bursts of numbness radiated from the injuries on his arms and chest.

Xia Nan suddenly exhaled deeply, his scorching body heat condensing into a straight, distinct trail of white smoke in the freezing air.

Before it could completely dissipate, it was swept up by a wolf's howl and melted into the dense fog. Together with grass clippings and blood, it transformed into the fluttering mane of a phantom Wolf Head, howling as it charged toward where his longsword had fallen.

Having recovered some stamina through the Healing Potion, Xia Nan utilized the high mobility of [Fang Hunt] to rapidly traverse the battlefield, retrieving the two longswords that had been sent flying during his fight with Mint.

Then, he forced himself to perk up and dispersed the remaining beasts in the clearing.

With the Lycanthrope that had driven them mad already dead, this wasn't too difficult.

He merely displayed a bit of his strength and aggression, killing a few unlucky beasts as a warning. These cautious predators, having regained their senses and accustomed to surviving in the dangerous forest, all retreated and vanished into the depths of the night.

"Hah... Hah..."

For a time, only his somewhat heavy panting remained in the open, silent clearing.

Xia Nan rested one hand against a tree trunk, his body leaning slightly forward. Sweat dripped endlessly from his jaw, soaking the dirt at the roots. From the moment he followed Cash and the others to this clearing until the end of the battle, not even half an hour had passed.

But the physical and mental energy he had expended was far greater than what it took to wipe out dozens of Goblin Lairs.

First came the siege from Cash and Veris, then Mint, who had gone berserk and transformed into a bear Lycanthrope, all while simultaneously dealing with those annoying thorns and the beast pack.

Having killed all three of his teammates, the combat intensity and pressure were pushed to their absolute limits.

Even with his Constitution endurance resting at a high of 8 points thanks to the Dewdrop's effects, he was barely holding on.

Fortunately, that half bottle of Healing Potion had a good effect, restoring much of his energy so his combat effectiveness wouldn't plummet too drastically.

Speaking of Cash and Veris, perhaps it was because he had hidden his abilities so well earlier, using [Gravity Control] to catch them off guard combined with the mental deterrence of [Gaze into the Abyss].

This allowed Xia Nan to wipe them both out in less than two combined exchanges, leaving him wondering if they had even managed to use their full strength.

Mint, on the other hand, was much stronger after her Lycanthrope transformation than he expected, far exceeding many newly advanced Class Holders. Whether it was her professional combat techniques or her Lycanthrope racial talents, her ability to manipulate thorns, provoke beasts, and even use decoys to absorb attacks—paired with her frankly exaggerated physical fitness—made her exceptionally troublesome.

And they were in the forest, her home turf.

It made Xia Nan struggle considerably during the fight.

Aside from the [Fate Coin], he had played almost all his trump cards, barely managing a victory through a flash of inspiration at the end.

It was only thanks to his quick on-the-spot reactions, discarding his weapons to tank her claw strike with his armor, that he earned the opportunity to win.

However, thinking back now, there were still flaws in his fighting.

Xia Nan raised his left hand, glancing at the sleek, dark Arm Shield on his forearm and its sharp edges.

In the final moment, with both weapons already out of his hands, he had chosen to use his fist imbued with [Gravity Etching] for the finishing blow.

This was a new use for a combat technique he had never tried or even imagined before, born from a burst of combat inspiration when his concentration was at its peak.

Though the result was good, in reality, replacing his fist with the Snake-Scale Arm Shield to release that final [Gravity Etching] would likely have been safer.

But given his posture at the time, would he really have had the conditions to adjust his body position mid-air and attack with the Arm Shield?

Xia Nan reviewed the fight in his mind.

But his brain had just started working and his thoughts hadn't gone deep before he abruptly stopped them.

He shook his head, tossing aside those distracting thoughts.

Though the battle was over, now was not a good time for reviews and summaries.

Standing in the Misty Forest at night, the scent of blood from the corpses on the field could easily attract dangerous monsters.

He had to hurry and finish the clean-up, then leave quickly to find a safe place to spend the night.

He would look for a way out once dawn broke tomorrow.

Channeling strength through his core, Xia Nan stood straight. While remaining vigilant of the dense woods around him, he quickly checked his injuries and the extent of the damage to his equipment.

After chugging that half bottle of Healing Potion, the pain in his chest had slightly eased. Though movement still brought slight twinges of pain, it was entirely within a tolerable range.

He should fully heal after resting in town for a few days.

The three deep scratches Mint had left on his right arm had stopped bleeding, and he could feel waves of pain radiating from them.

The injury itself was actually fine. The battle was over, and with his Constitution, he'd be mostly recovered after a few good sleeps back home, not even leaving a scar.

The trouble was the "Lycanthrope curse" that might have already invaded his body through the wounds.

If he didn't want to suddenly sprout a furry tail or drool over raw meat...

He needed to rush back to Rivervale Town as soon as possible and see if he could use Points to exchange for a magic scroll storing the "Remove Curse" spell, or spend a fortune to hire a Spellcaster who knew a similar spell to treat him.

As for disease-related items like Purification Potions, he had already checked the alchemist's shop in the Association and found nothing.

It was bound to be a hefty expense.

If his luck was bad, it might drain his savings all at once.

Well... the Plate-Chain Composite Armor he was wearing was also ruined, its front iron plate nearly torn open by Mint's claw.

Fortunately, the other parts were still intact. He might not need a new one; spending a little money to have it overhauled at the blacksmith's shop might leave it usable.

He suddenly felt his savings of over four hundred gold coins seemed somewhat stretched thin.

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the few corpses in the clearing.

He hoped the profits from this mission could cover his losses.

First was Veris, who had suffered mental backlash from [Gaze into the Abyss], falling into a state of shock and getting decapitated before she could even strike.

This tall and slender Drow half-blood possessed no obvious armor. Her class traits as a Rogue and the exotic aesthetics of the underground meant she only wore a light, form-fitting cut-out leather suit.

Although the two Short Daggers weren't Magic Equipment, they looked nice and were well-maintained; they should fetch a good price at the blacksmith's.

In her waist pouch, aside from some worthless odds and ends, Xia Nan found 6 gold, 1 silver, and 3 copper, along with several small, unlabeled medicine jars.

Regarding the former, it was actually quite normal to only have this much money. After all, very few adventurers, himself included, would carry their entire net worth on them. At most, they brought a little for emergencies during a mission.

As for the latter, Xia Nan had personally seen her smear a sticky, oil-like paste from the jars onto her daggers, so it was likely some sort of poison.

He didn't know the exact effects and was hesitant to use them.

But perhaps Lady Edwina at the Green Grass Crucible would buy them. If not, selling them cheaply to a general store was also an option.

It was a bit of a pity that the oval, eye-shaped item in Veris's hand seemed to have lost its effectiveness after firing the dark purple beam that triggered the [Gaze into the Abyss] effect, now lying stiffly on the ground.

He didn't know if it could still be used.

Xia Nan casually picked it up, wrapped it in a few layers of gauze, and stuffed it deep into his backpack.

She was a proper Class Holder at any rate, yet she didn't have a single major item on her that could obviously sell for a three-digit sum of gold.

It left him feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Considering that assassins of her type generally kept crucial items close to their bodies, and worrying that a poison expert like a Drow Elf might have left some nasty trap on her person...

Xia Nan focused his attention, remaining vigilant.

From a safe distance, shielding himself with his left Arm Shield, he gripped his hilt with his right hand and used the tip of his sword to pry open her leather suit, inspecting her thoroughly.

He found nothing.

As for whether he harbored any other peculiar thoughts during the inspection...

He could only say that although the high stress of his adventures had fostered a few unspeakable habits...

He wasn't perverted enough to have thoughts about the headless corpse in front of him, which was still spurting blood from its wound.

Next was Cash, who had also been decapitated and reduced to a corpse.

Through [Gravity Control] and [Heart-Guided Vision], Xia Nan had caused him to lose control during a high-speed maneuver, crashing straight into his sword blade.

His head had flown high into the air and landed on the ground, while his body was carried straight into the depths of the forest by momentum.

Xia Nan followed the trail for quite a while before finding Cash's corpse next to a thick oak tree with cracked bark.

The Fine Scale Armor that he had expected to fetch a good price was so warped by the terrifying impact that it looked like a crudely pried-open metal can, completely unrecognizable as armor.

It was reduced to a lump of scrap iron.

And Cash inside the "can" was naturally nothing more than a pile of exceptionally horrifying and abstract minced meat.

Fortunately, the waist pouch was still tied to him.

Xia Nan dug out 9 gold, 8 silver, and 2 copper from it.

It was better than nothing.

But unexpectedly, Cash's weapon—the seemingly unremarkable, perfectly smooth Blue-Gray Stone Spear engraved with oceanic patterns...

...revealed an Attribute Panel under Xia Nan's gaze that had far more text than ordinary weapons.

[Tide-Surge Lure Pole]

Type: Spear Grade: Ordinary (White)

Effect:

When the stone spear is inserted vertically into calm seawater, it releases an infrasonic vibration capable of attracting all small plankton within a 1-mile radius for 6 hours.

Trigger Condition:

Use the spear tip to repeatedly stab a live, healthy cetacean at a frequency of 60 times per minute for 10 consecutive minutes without interruption.

Description:

Compared to a weapon for slaughter, it seems more suited for patient anglers.

Note:

"You know, sometimes catching a big fish—really does require a few little tricks."

Black Reef Archipelago Fishing Competition Champion, Shifter (Whaleman), Bilpom