Chapter 189: Red Horn’s Nest Is A Volcano

Leon let out a quiet sigh. ’On the path to power, there are times when you have to be ruthless. If Noira and Lamia hadn’t arrived in time... who knows what would’ve happened to me?’ he thought.

He then walked toward the old man one step at a time.

Earlier, Leon had assumed the older man’s strength was so high that he couldn’t even sense it. But after seeing the terror on his face, he realized the truth. The man wasn’t a fighter at all.

"Are you an alchemist?" Leon asked.

"Y-Yes..." the old man stammered, his voice trembling. "L-Look, I can refine the Solar Eclipse Pill for you. Just let me go."

He assumed Leon had come for the same purpose as Theo’s group. If that were the case, he would surely need the pill.

"What does the pill do?" Leon asked calmly.

"The Red Horn’s Nest is a volcano, but it’s unlike any ordinary volcano. The temperature inside is over a hundred times more intense. To obtain the Blood Dantian Pill, you have to descend deep into the volcano." The old man swallowed nervously before continuing, "The Solar Eclipse Pill grants complete fire immunity for three hours. That’s enough time to retrieve the treasure and return safely."

Leon nodded thoughtfully. "But I don’t need the pill." A faint smile appeared on his face. "So... you can die now."

He had already learned everything he wanted to know. Why would he need someone else to refine the Solar Eclipse Pill when he possessed the Blue Flame of Alchemy and the Great Scripture of Alchemy? More importantly...

Why would he need a fire immunity pill when he was already completely immune to fire?

Instead of worrying, Leon felt excitement surging through him.

’I wonder how much stronger I’ll become after absorbing and refining the flames inside that volcano.’

"D-Don’t kill me!" the old man cried as he desperately crawled backward. "I belong to the Great Solar Clan! If you kill me, they’ll hunt down you and your entire family!"

"Exactly." Leon’s eyes turned cold. "Whether I spare you or kill you, people from your clan will come after me anyway. So why should I leave an enemy alive?"

His claws flashed through the air without any more explanation.

Schlk!

The older man’s head rolled across the ground as blood sprayed into the air.

His eyes remained wide open, frozen in disbelief. Even in his final moments, he couldn’t accept that he would die in such a place.

Leon then turned toward Elena.

She hadn’t uttered a single word the entire time. She simply stared at Leon with fear-filled eyes.

Ever since the monster before her had arrived, this terrifying being had slaughtered everyone without hesitation.

Now...

She was the only one left alive. She believed her own death was only moments away.

But then Leon spoke. "Can I keep this herb?" he asked, raising the Crimson Rosemary. "I know it’s your father’s final keepsake, but I need it to save someone’s life. In return, you can keep all ten weapons Leon has forged. He won’t take a single coin from the profits. What do you think?"

Elena blinked in stunned silence. For a moment, she thought she had misheard the beast.

This terrifying monster... Was actually asking for her permission? It was even offering her a fair trade?

"Y-You know that weaponsmith?" Elena somehow gathered the courage to ask.

"Yeah." Leon nodded. He didn’t know what kind of trouble Elena might face in the future if she knew that the monster standing before her was actually Leon himself. He didn’t know how she would react to this either. So he decided to let Elena continue believing he was some mysterious beast that happened to know Leon.

"You... you’re really going to let me go?"

"Why wouldn’t I?" Leon replied. "You didn’t do anything wrong. Someone tried to steal what belonged to you, so I taught them a lesson. I know I may have gone a little overboard, but... could you let me have this herb? In return, as I said before—"

"Done! It’s yours!" Elena blurted out before he could finish. "I don’t want it anymore."

Right now, the only thing that mattered to her was leaving this place alive. Yes, the Crimson Rosemary was priceless. But if it could attract people like Theo... and an even more terrifying existence like the one standing before her...

Then she wanted nothing to do with it.

Besides, if this terrifying being truly intended to let her go... Didn’t that mean it had actually saved her life?

Forget one herb.

If she had ten of them, she would gladly hand over every single one to this terrifying... Yet strangely considerate monster.

"Are you sure?" Leon asked once more.

He knew exactly how frightening he looked at the moment. Elena was clearly terrified of him. He truly needed the herb, but he didn’t want to force her to give it up.

Otherwise...

What would make him any different from Theo?

"I am." Elena nodded firmly. "You saved my life. Even if you hadn’t offered those ten weapons, I would still have given it to you. Thank you... Thank you very much for saving me."

"No, no, it’s nothing. Hahaha..."

With his hybrid appearance of a wolf and a human, even his casual laughter sounded like the malicious laughter of a monster.

"Let me send you home safely," Leon said before calling out, "Noira."

Noira, who had been standing quietly in the distance while admiring her master’s overwhelming massacre of the villains, stepped forward. Even now, a trace of admiration lingered on her face.

"Take her back to her apartment."

"Yes, Master."

With a gentle wave of her hand, Noira tore open a spatial rift directly before Elena.

Elena’s mouth fell open once again. There had already been too many unbelievable events today. Everything felt like a dream.

"Come," Noira said.

After a brief hesitation, Elena stepped toward the rift and entered alongside her.

Just before the spatial rift closed...

She couldn’t help but glance back at Leon one last time.

And then...

The rift vanished.