CHAPTER 80: CURIOUS CAT (2)

Harry squirmed in pain, twisting his body sideways, but he hadn’t had time to relax.

The adrenaline rush made him neglect the pain. He used Shadow Steps to run into the distance.

The beast let out a piercing sound and with it the rubble of stones started floating as if synchronizing with the voice.

Harry summoned barrier after barrier behind him—he lost count of how many he had cast. The number was beyond a hundred.

He knew that if he survived this attack, he would have a chance to escape.

He had almost burned all the essence he had on those barriers. He could feel his Shadow Step being undone. He didn’t have enough energy left to keep using it.

With a thump, all the stones shot toward Harry, who was already hundreds of meters away.

Crack.

Crack.

The sound repeated one after another, indicating breaking barriers.

Harry was already out of the shadows, his essence depleted.

In less than a second, half of the barriers shattered, and the stone projectiles showed no sign of stopping.

Harry couldn’t use soul energy on the Behemoth. Although his soul energy had been refined by the Soul Condensing Technique and the Trial of Regret, making it more lethal.

But the difference between level 1 and level 9 was too vast to bridge. On top of that, these Behemoths had Supreme Souls, stronger than any other beast of the same level.

He checked everything he could do, but he realized there wasn’t much left. In the end, defense was his only option.

The projectiles had already shattered most of the barriers. Their speed had reduced but had not stopped.

Seeing the stone boulders approaching, Harry gathered all his soul energy.

"Soul Barrier."

A dense black wall, mystical in appearance, materialized before Harry.

The technique’s impact had improved after breakthrough, his soul energy had become refined and condensed.

Before, the technique had looked illusory, but now, it was more real than anything.

Harry barely made it in time. The tens of stone boulders struck against the Soul Barrier.

Misty soul energy rippled on impact. Their speed, already reduced by the space barriers, finally halted. The impact created sparse areas in the soul energy, but more energy rushed in to fill the gaps.

Harry didn’t look back and dashed toward the opening. He couldn’t see the Behemoth anymore, but he heard a screeching sound from behind.

He was out of essence, which meant he was unable to use any elemental skills.

He was about to make his way out when a stone spike shot toward him. It had appeared out of nowhere. Harry didn’t have time to deduce where it had come from—he immediately called out to Wolfie.

Harry held the beast’s body in front of him. The spike tore through Wolfie’s skin, coming out the other side.

Wolfie winced in pain, cursing Harry in every language he knew.

Harry felt sorry, but he didn’t care—his first priority was survival. He knew Wolfie would heal in no time.

The impact from the spike sent Harry flying out of the cave. He spat a mouthful of blood.

He sent Wolfie back into the beast space and ran in the opposite direction of the cave opening.

He was afraid. If the beast came out of the cave, he would have no chance of survival.

Surviving a single attack from the Behemoth had taken all his essence and soul energy, and he had been forced to use Wolfie as a shield.

He couldn’t imagine a way to deal with another attack.

As if the gods had heard his prayers, the Behemoth didn’t come out. It was hesitant to leave the cave.

After the Trial of Regret, he had thought he would never regret anything. It was true—he didn’t regret it. But one thing he had confused himself with was the difference between having no regret and facing no consequences.

If he made certain decisions, he might not feel regret, but he couldn’t escape the consequences.

He needed time—time to regain his strength.

Just as he was about to sit near a stone cliff, the ground shook.

Harry’s heartbeat raced, sensing something strange.

His eyes locked on the ground below. He was sitting on a cliff, and a group of Titan Behemoths was marching past on the right side.

He sighed, the image of the level 9 Behemoth still fresh in his mind.

The group passed by, unable to notice Harry. He had chosen this place because it was high up and hidden from the Behemoths’ sight.

These creatures rarely looked upward.

Hemostasis helped him regain his strength faster.

Time ticked by. Harry couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but his essence had barely reached the halfway mark when his eyes slid open.

"You filthy creatures," Harry cursed, seeing a group of Ironclad Raptors.

The place wasn’t accessible to ground beasts, but Raptors could fly.

Harry summoned a long black sword. His soul energy was low. The Raptors, seeing him alone, rushed at him with momentum.

Harry was already aware of their tactics—quick, short flights, tough defenses, and hit-and-run attacks.

He was ready. He cast a Soul Barrier in front of him. All four Raptors struck against it.

Their speed came with the downside of poor control. Even if they wanted to dodge or halt their attack, they couldn’t. All four slammed into the barrier, headfirst.

The barrier shattered, and with it, soul energy seeped into their bodies, attacking the very foundation of their existence.

All four beasts cried out at the top of their lungs. Their souls had suffered significant damage.

Harry flanked behind a Raptor, driving his sword through its neck.

[+10,000 EXP]

The beast dropped to the ground, lifeless.

It was a split-second kill, but the other Raptors had already recovered from the soul attack.

Harry was on edge. One slip, and he would fall deep into the canyon.

It wasn’t deep enough to kill him, but he was scared. Who knew when the next batch of Behemoths would pass by?

Harry called for Wolfie. He didn’t have control over whether Wolfie wanted to go in or not, but he could force him out of the beast space.

With no time to waste, he summoned Wolfie before him.

Harry prepared his sword, now encased in Qi and soul energy. The Raptors’ souls were already damaged—he just needed to amplify the impact.

Wolfie saw the three remaining Raptors before him and licked his lips. With powerful momentum, he decapitated one of them instantly.

Wolfie had killed one Raptor, but the other two used their agility to land counterattacks.

One sank its teeth into Wolfie’s leg, while the other pierced through his skin with its long limbs, driving straight through to the other side.