Chapter 37: Legacy of God [1]

Noah’s subordinates dealt with the other Rabid Moles, which were around E rank or E? rank, while he focused on the E+ rank Rabid Mole that was on the verge of advancing to the next rank.

Fortunately, Noah himself was at E+ rank. Still, fighting a Rabid Mole of the same rank wasn’t going to be easy, especially considering how dangerous the monster was.

Not to mention, the monster had already been injured by Sofia, yet it didn’t seem weakened at all.

That was why his two subordinates, Sid and Chris, were trying to distract the monster, buying him enough time to prepare his strongest attack.

’Now!’

Noah dashed toward the monster, closing the distance between them in less than a second.

The Rabid Mole immediately turned to strike back, but Noah was ready.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing against the monster’s fangs echoed through the wilderness as Noah exchanged more than twenty blows with the beast.

Finally, he found an opening.

Noah swung his sword, sending a lightning slash toward the Rabid Mole from the tip of his blade.

The beast attempted to block the attack with its fangs, but the lightning slash struck with tremendous force, shattering them on impact.

Even the weapons of an E+ rank monster couldn’t withstand the destructive power of the young man’s black sword for long.

The slash struck the Rabid Mole’s body, cutting deeply into its flesh.

Yet, strangely enough, no blood came out of the wound.

The Rabid Mole screamed in pain and prepared to charge forward, but Noah had already moved.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside the defenseless beast and swung his sword.

Its head was severed cleanly from its body.

The massive creature collapsed to the ground, dead.

Sofia immediately drank the low-rank healing potion she took out of her storage ring as soon as she got the chance.

The effects were immediately visible.

The pain in her ribs gradually subsided, and the bleeding wound on her forehead began to close. A warm sensation spread throughout her body, soothing some of the aches left behind by the Rabid Mole’s attacks.

However, the potion couldn’t completely heal her injuries.

Her ribs still hurt whenever she moved too abruptly, and her exhausted muscles hadn’t recovered their strength.

Sofia frowned as she examined the empty bottle in her hand.

’Low-rank healing potions really are limited.’

She had purchased several of them before entering the Spirit Realm, knowing that injuries were inevitable. However, she hadn’t expected to consume one so soon.

At this rate, she would run out of potions before her journey was over.

She put the empty bottle away and glanced at the armored Awakeners surrounding her.

They had resumed their formation after defeating the Rabid Mole, with several soldiers keeping watch while the others examined the monster’s corpse.

Noah approached her a moment later.

"Feeling better?"

"Somewhat."

Sofia straightened her back, trying to conceal the discomfort on her face.

Noah noticed her movement but didn’t comment on it.

"You should head back," Noah said. "You’re pretty far away from the nearest safe zone, and the deeper you venture into this area, the more dangerous the monsters become."

Sofia frowned.

"Safe zone?"

Noah looked at her as though he had just realized something.

"Wait. You don’t know?"

"Know what?"

He studied her for a moment before sighing.

"The Sword Saint’s forces have established several temporary camps throughout this region. They’re not completely safe, but at least the surrounding areas have been cleared of most dangerous monsters. Awakeners can rest there, recover their strength, and exchange information before continuing their exploration."

He pointed toward the distant horizon.

"Our camp is about an hour away from here. If you head in the opposite direction, you’ll eventually reach one of the other camps."

Sofia glanced in the direction he had indicated.

She had been exploring the Sword Domain for three days, but she had spent most of that time wandering through forests and hunting monsters. She had barely interacted with other Awakeners, let alone gathered information about the region.

As a result, she knew very little about the arrangements made by the Sword Saint’s forces.

’It seems I’ve been too careless.’

She had assumed that as long as she remained alert and avoided monsters that were too powerful, she could explore the Spirit Realm at her own pace.

However, today’s encounter had made her realize how naive that assumption was.

Even after identifying the Rabid Mole’s weakness, she had been unable to overcome the difference in their physical capabilities.

Without Noah and his subordinates, she might already be dead.

"By the way, I heard one of your subordinates mention something about ’coordinates.’ What was that about?"

She had asked out of curiosity, but the moment she noticed Noah’s expression change, she realized she probably wouldn’t get an answer.

His brows furrowed slightly, and the casual expression he had worn moments earlier disappeared. His gaze grew cold and guarded, as though she had unknowingly touched upon something she shouldn’t have.

Before Sofia could say anything else, Sid, who had been passing by them, suddenly stopped.

"Oh?! Those were the coordinates we’re using to search for the Sun G—"

"Sid!"

Noah’s sharp shout cut her off.

Sid flinched, her large black eyes widening as realization—and then fear—washed over her face.

She immediately lowered her head, biting her lower lip so hard that blood began to seep from it.

Her long black hair concealed most of her expression, but Sofia could still sense her fear.

"I-I’m sorry, sir."

Noah continued glaring at her for several moments before finally turning his attention back to Sofia.

"You should go back," he said coldly. "And don’t mistake this for advice. It’s for your own good."

At that moment, Sofia felt the atmosphere around her change.

A suffocating pressure descended upon her as Noah released the full force of his E+ rank mana core.

At the same time, more than ten Awakeners from the Storms clan surrounded her, each releasing their own mana pressure. Although most of them were only E or E? rank, their combined presence was enough to make the situation dangerous.

Sofia wasn’t foolish enough to believe she could take on all of them by herself and walk away unscathed.

’It’s better to back down for now.’

What would Lorenzo have done if he had found himself in this situation?

Before she even realized it, her thoughts had drifted toward the man she hated more than anyone else in the world—perhaps even more than anyone in either world.

’He would probably torture them, just like he did to those terrorists.’

Sofia could vividly imagine Lorenzo doing exactly that. She could picture the cruel smile on his face as he made his enemies regret ever crossing him.

But she wasn’t Lorenzo.

She knew better than to act recklessly when the odds were stacked against her.

If she wanted to survive in the Spirit Realm and eventually gain the strength to take revenge, she couldn’t afford to let her emotions dictate every decision.

For now, retreating was the wiser choice.

"As you wish, great warriors of the Sword Domain."

Sofia lowered her gaze slightly before turning around and walking away from the group of Awakeners.

She didn’t look back.

Behind her, Noah watched her departure with a suspicious expression.

Something about the encounter bothered him.

He couldn’t tell whether Sofia had genuinely asked about the coordinates out of curiosity or whether she had somehow learned about their objective.

Either way, he wasn’t willing to take any chances.

"Contact Master Ron immediately," he ordered.

One of his subordinates nodded and quickly moved away to carry out the command.

Meanwhile, Sofia continued walking across the vast grassland of the Spirit Realm.

The wind brushed against her face as she replayed Sid’s words in her mind.

She had heard enough to make a reasonable guess, but not enough to be certain.

After walking for a while, she finally muttered to herself.

"Was she trying to say the Sun God’s legacy...?"