"Ugh…"
Jin's expression twisted as he groaned in pain. He felt a sudden jolt of hotness before his senses numbed.
The tip of the metal sword, now dyed crimson, protruded from his chest.
He stared at the glistening sword in disbelief. For a brief moment, he couldn't even understand what was happening.
Following the sword, he found his chest impaled.
Even so, he didn't react.
Instead, he slowly rolled his eyes behind.
His eyes dilated as he found the opponent he had underestimated holding the hilt of the sword that passed through his chest.
His lips quivered as he tried to speak something, "You…"
Those were the last words that left his mouth before he collapsed.
Even though he had killed him, there wasn't even a shred of delight on his face. Instead, what lingered on his face was cold ruthlessness.
Even after the Leo-kin stopped breathing, he didn't let go of the sword. For a moment, he continued to push the sword as if the opponent would break free just as he stopped exerting his power.
Though his gaze flashed with coldness, his expression was one of suffering.
"He's dead," Thran said, wiping the residual blood from his claw.
Just as he heard those words, he loosened the grip on his sword. Then he kicked the corpse, freeing his sword.
Thud!
The corpse of the Leo-kin fell with a thud, blood gushing out of the hole carved in his chest.
Frowning, Valen stared at the corpse, unwilling to meet Thran's gaze.
"I'm sorry…" He apologized, his tone grim.
You're sorry?
Thran wanted to scream at him. For what he did earlier, it would have put their entire group in danger. The whole purpose of this mission would have been meaningless had the others noticed them.
Yet, it was all he could say?
Thran wanted to knock some sense into his brain.
But seeing his pained expression, he couldn't bring himself to lash out.
Though he was still dissatisfied with his antics, he kept his cool as he answered, "Be careful next time… You aren't just fighting for yourself here."
Then, he crouched down and began to run his hands all over the corpse, finding whatever he could from them.
He stripped the corpses of their armor, taking whatever he could find from them. He didn't even mind the blood and the unpleasant odor oozing from the corpse.
Even the pieces of meat jerky stashed in their pocket weren't spared.
"Haha… look at this… It's like the size of an apricot…"
Loid chuckled as he stripped the corpse of one of the Leo-kin warriors.
The other wolf-kin stretched his neck to take a peek. He was curious just how small it was.
"Yeah, it's like that of a child…" He, too, burst out in laughter.
Having travelled here with limited rations, the wolf-kin had to make use of everything they could find, and leaving this Leo-kin untouched would have been plain ignorance.
Hence, the wolf-kin warriors took whatever they could find from the corpses of the Leo-kin.
"Silent!" Thran's commanding voice cut through the air.
How could these morons laugh in such a dangerous situation? He could never get used to their carefree attitude.
Just as they heard his voice, they went silent.
But still, Loid and the rest couldn't help but chuckle.
"If it weren't for the mission, I'd have skinned these idiots alive…" Thran grumbled as he continued to go through the corpse.
Finally, as he finished looting the corpse, he stood. He grabbed the leg of the Leo-kin warrior he was looting.
"Let's dispose of them…" Thran began to drag the corpse.
Leaving this naked corpse here might expose them to danger. Hence, he wanted to dispose of these corpses elsewhere.
The group then dragged the corpses to a secluded place in the forest.
"Is it far enough?" Loid asked.
"We don't have time. For now, it should do…" Thran said while wiping his hands on his robe.
Just as he finished disposing of the corpse, Thran's ears perked up. The others around him were still chatting, unaware of the sudden sensation he felt.
His focus peaked as he sensed something wrong.
Rumble! Rumble!
It was faint, but he sensed the ground underneath trembling.
"Quiet!" He grunted.
Loid and the others, upon hearing him, stared at him with their eyes blinking. They couldn't tell what was happening, but Thran looked quite serious.
Did something happen?
The group was aware of Thran's heightened senses.
Hence, the group became alert upon seeing the look of seriousness on his face.
If he was acting like that, then it must mean he had sensed something. The group trusted Thran's intuition, and hence, the wolf-kin assumed a defensive stance.
Valen was just as clueless. Nonetheless, he assumed a defensive stance, as well.
In a short while, the rest of them felt the tremors as well. Startled, they looked underneath. The fallen leaves and the twigs were shaking as if an earthquake was taking place.
"The ground's moving…"
One of them exclaimed in shock.
"What's going on?"
Confusion spread among the group as the tremors became violent.
Then a bright red light shot forth from an unknown location, splitting the clouds apart and sending shockwaves rippling through the surface.
The night sky glowed an ominous red, lightning flashing.
"WHAT!"
Their gaze jolted to the direction of the light.
In the distance, a bright streak of crimson had split the clouds open as if a volcano had erupted.
Thunder rumbled as streaks of lightning flashed alongside.
The shockwave swept dust and whatever stood in its path, pushing them outward.
The group soon felt the shockwave as well.
A gust of violent breeze akin to a storm threatened to sweep them away. Shielding their eyes, the group, however, persevered against the violent tempest.
No one could tell what was taking place.
But for some reason, the wolf-kin couldn't help but feel a looming sense of fear gnawing at them. Their complexion paled as fear gripped their heart.
Thran, himself, felt a looming sense of dread.
Valen, however, stood as if he knew something. His gaze revealed rage instead of dread. Perhaps he was aware of something others weren't.