CHAPTER 81: ESSENCE OF BATTLE ART

Something clicked in Harry’s mind.

’Why did Wolfie ignore all the threats in exchange for killing his opponent?’

Harry knew the wolf wasn’t dumb enough to not realize that if he went all out on one raptor, the others would injure him.

It was planning fights based on his cards. Wolfie knew those injuries wouldn’t cost him much since he could heal faster. He just needed to ensure they weren’t severe or didn’t impact his vital organs.

"Is it... Is it the point that I was missing?"

With no time to waste, Harry helped Wolfie by cutting off the limb embedded in its torso.

The Soul Judgment Sword provided enough power for Harry to tear through the raptor’s tough outer layer. Wolfie turned its head toward another raptor, clawing its hand through their hide.

Harry now had what he needed.

Blood.

It was everywhere—on the ground, on the raptors’ bodies, in their mouths. Blood was everywhere.

Although piercing their tough hides with blood weapon was impossible, manipulating the blood in their already injured areas was much easier.

He controlled it while defending against the raptors’ strikes. He didn’t dare take a direct hit—one blow from a Level 6 beast could cripple him. Instead, he used Wolfie as a shield.

The wolf was also struggling from their first attack, but it had enough experience to play around its injuries.

"Dreee!"

The raptors cried out in pain as blood spikes ruptured and carved deeper into their already injured parts. This caused even more blood to flow, creating a vicious cycle.

Harry used Soul Pulse in between to stop them from fleeing. One raptor, driven mad by the soul attack, leaped off a cliff, while another was killed by Wolfie.

[+40,000 Exp]

[Exp: 206,400/417,600]

Harry gained experience points from the raptor that fell. Meanwhile, Wolfie collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Its fat was nearly burned away. There had been one Level 4 and three Level 6 beasts. Harry sent it to the beast space to recover and eat some meat.

Harry let out a sigh of relief. He was drenched in black blood. Controlling it with his element, he stored it inside a tank.

Now that he thought about it... he was acting creepy. Since when was storing blood normal?

Harry sighed. After killing so many beasts, he didn’t care anymore.

The Level 4 beast’s corpse had been destroyed in battle, so he didn’t know where to use Soul Eater. He tried using it on the remaining living parts, but it didn’t work.

He wasn’t sure if it was a limit of the technique or an exception like the previous raptor.

He used Soul Eater on the first raptor.

Disappointed.

Harry was frustrated by the quality and quantity of the soul compared to those of a Titan Behemoth.

He devoured both souls, but his plans to break through were still nowhere near succeeding.

Annoyed, he threw the corpse into the beast space. Taking recovery pills, he didn’t wait for his Qi to refill.

Looking down, he jumped onto the raptor’s corpse—the one that had given him 40,000 experience points.

Now, he was back to his original plan. Kill the Behemoths. Cross the volcano mountains.

His main reason for being adamant about going beyond was that on the opposite side of Ray’s shelter, there were no signs of any settlement for hundreds of kilometers.

That left only one option for finding his friends beyond the mountains.

Harry returned to the Behemoth group, facing some weaker targets along the way. They were Level 4 and 5 beasts, providing some good experience.

But now, he was back to the original group of Behemoths he had been stalking.

One member was already lost, yet the others remained nonchalant.

Harry pulled out his bow and summoned Wolfie. Calmly, he aimed his arrow at one of the Behemoths, piercing its eye halfway through.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Wolfie dominated in a one-sided slaughter while Harry focused on something else—figuring out battle art.

Watching Wolfie fight, he finally understood what he had been missing.

It wasn’t his technique. It wasn’t his use of elements.

Battle art was something developed through the integration of every part of oneself—every skill, every technique, every weapon, every movement.

Every time Harry obtained something new, he practiced it. That, in itself, was a battle art.

Battle art wasn’t just a technique for using a weapon. It was something deeper.

It was the culmination of everything one possessed—every skill, every style, every weapon.

Every bone in one’s body.

And in Harry’s case, even every drop of blood.

It was about connecting every bit of progress he had made—whether it was learning to wield a sword or using blood tactically.

But simply knowing what battle art was wouldn’t help him learn it.

He needed to carve his battle art into every fight—to combine his different abilities while adapting to various situations.

Harry launched himself into the group of Behemoths alongside Wolfie.

Minor injuries weren’t a problem—his skill and pills would heal them.

His second advantage was his aerial agility and quick defense.

Harry used Soul Pulse to distract the beasts, then cast space Barrier to climb on top. With that, he launched himself toward a Behemoth’s mouth.

It snapped its head with lightning speed, but Harry had already changed into shadows, reappearing beneath it.

With soul attacks, he dulled the Behemoth’s senses.

After that, it was all brute force.

Slash after slash, the beast lost every weapon it had to fight.

[+20,000 Exp]

Beast after beast.

[+20,000 Exp]

He killed two, while Wolfie took down the other two.

A smile stretched across Harry’s blood-drenched face. Drops of black blood dripped from his hair.

His Qi was depleted. His essence was depleted.

But he didn’t care.

If there were no more enemies, why should he?

But his confidence didn’t last long.

The ground shook.

Harry’s eyes widened as he saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance.

Shadows of massive beasts rampaged toward him.

One... Two... Three... Ten... Twenty...

Harry couldn’t even count them all.

Then, he palmed his forehead.

Why hadn’t he considered it earlier?

Why were these Behemoths so lazy yet still survived?

Why hadn’t other beasts attacked them?

And then, realization struck him.

He could see his death in that cloud of dust.