Chapter 64: The Plan Is In Motion (Patreon)

Thirty minutes later

"And my daughter Calista, oh you must meet her!" Vilhelm bellowed, swaying tipsily as he gestured toward a plain-faced girl across the village square. "A true beauty, ripe for the picking! Strong hips, perfect for bearing many sons. You won't find a better bride in the region, I tell you!"

The old man laughed uproariously, as if he'd just told the most hilarious joke in history. Slifer nodded along politely, only half-listening as he tore into a juicy beast leg coated in savoury sauce. Slifer loved food but dry meat was the bane of his existence.

As for the drunken villager’s ramblings or his daughter, Slifer had zero interest. Mortals were often quiet in the presence of cultivators but a drink or two was enough to change that. 

Best to simply let the man prattle on.

Most of Slifer’s attention was focused out beyond the edges of the village, where his spiritual sense tracked the multiple figures closing in through the darkness. Nine to be precise, they surrounded the village from all directions. And their cultivation...Core Formation at least.

Slifer's eyes flicked to Morvran, and with a subtle tilt of his head, signalled for his companion to take no action yet. Morvran gave an almost imperceptible nod in response. They would wait for the other party to make the first move.

"A fine strong lass, my Calista!" Vilhelm rambled on, oblivious to the silent exchange happening right in front of him. " Sturdy, obedient, and skilled in all the womanly arts-"

A blood-curdling scream tore through the air. The music and chatter died abruptly as all heads turned toward the cry. Vilhelm blinked sluggishly, wine sloshing from his cup.

"Eh? What's all this then?"

He peered at the seat beside him, only just realizing it was now empty. That strange immortal who'd been there moments before had vanished. And his grim bald sidekick too. Odd, very odd.

Brom and Oliviare exchanged tense glances from where they sat nearby.

“I warned you these immortals would bring trouble," Brom grumbled.

"We don't know that father. Don't be so quick to judge." Oliviare shook her head but her voice lacked conviction. Her father did have a point, whenever immortals visited the village, trouble seemed to follow. Always.

"Humph, stay close to me, girl," Brom ordered, standing protectively by her side as they began carefully making their way back to their house.

***

Meanwhile, on the far side of the village, the screams had come from a young woman who had decided to leave the feast early, she now cowered behind the corner of a building.

Before her stood a hulking black beast, it had the sleek fur and feline features of a panther. Violet, predatory eyes gleamed with bloodlust as it stalked towards the frozen girl, razor fangs bared.

With a guttural snarl, the beast sprung forward, lethal claws extended to tear through flesh and bone. But faster than a blink, a blinding arc of silver flashed through the air, blood sprayed and the panther's headless body crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, its severed head rolling away into the shadows.

Behind the corpse stood an elderly man in orange robes, face grim as he flicked the residual gore off the blade.

The young woman looked up at the old man, she tried to say something, her mouth was working but no sound emerged.

Slifer wrinkled his nose at the stench of voided bowels.

Always unsightly business, that.

"Go inside where it's safe," Slifer instructed before shifting his focus back to the matter at hand.

Ding!

You Killed A Core Formation Beast

25 Karmic Credits Gained

Ding!

Save The Villagers

Reward: 100 Karmic Credits

Current Progress 4/9 Beasts Defeated

Slifer’s spiritual sense rapidly swept the area, taking stock of the situation. There were five panther-like beasts left, Morvran was making quick work of them.

Slifer recognised the beasts from the original’s memories, they were known as Pantherions. They typically hunted in groups, known as prides. The pride that was attacking the village were at the Core Formation realm.

Slifer's eyes narrowed in consideration. These beasts were clearly more cunning than the average wild animal. They had been patiently stalking this village, waiting for the right moment to strike. The scent of roasting beast meat from tonight's feast must have lured them in prematurely.

In truth, this surprise attack aligned perfectly with Slifer's own intentions for the night. He had known the panther beasts were lurking nearby and planned to draw them out in order to display his strength and protection to the villagers. Now they could witness for themselves what would have befallen them without the cultivators' intervention. A necessary step to softening old Brom's stance against the sect taking in his precious daughter.

“But Core Formation beasts attacking a simple village…”

Typically only Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment creatures would actively hunt mortals. Those at Core Formation and above required the rich spiritual energy found in cultivator cores to advance.

The Pantherions were stealthy, opportunistic hunters, but mortals were essentially useless to them so why were they here?

The chilling sound of a low, rumbling growl snapped Slifer from his musings. Whirling around, he saw another Pantherion creeping from the shadows. It moved cautiously, muscles tensed as it sniffed the air. Its eyes landed on the headless corpse of its fellow panther and widened in shock.

"Oh good, you're finally here. I was starting to think you got lost on the way to the feast." Slifer waved his blood-stained sword in a beckoning gesture.

The Pantherion tensed, fangs bared threateningly. But it hesitated to attack.

Slifer’s cultivation level was only at Peak Foundation Establishment after all, by all rights these Core Formation creatures could make short work of him. Yet this human exuded an air of absolute confidence, even eagerness for battle.

It was...strange.

The Pantherion paced, its eyes locked onto the human. The prudent thing would be to retreat for now. But its pride stung at abandoning its fallen comrade so easily.

Sensing its indecision, Slifer laughed. "As much as I'd love to play with you all night, I've more important matters to attend to."

With that, Slifer lunged forward and swung his sword towards the Pantherion’s head. The beast yowled in surprise and narrowly dodged the attack, leaping aside at the last instant. Its eyes lit up as it realised that the human was slower than it expected. Perhaps it had overestimated this human.

It pounced, claws extended, and fangs bared as it aimed for the vulnerable flesh of Slifer's neck.

But Slifer's face showed no hint of fear at the incoming assault. Instead his lips pulled back in a fierce, mocking grin just before the killing blow could land.

"Gotcha."

In the next instant, the panther's claws and fangs passed harmlessly through Slifer’s body as though it was an illusion. Its eyes went wide with shock as it stumbled and slammed into the ground where the human had stood only a heartbeat ago.

Before the disoriented beast could react, Slifer’s form solidified behind it and neatly slashed through the vulnerable back of its neck with a precise swing of his sword. With a final snarl, the light faded from the beast’s eyes and its lifeless body collapsed to the dusty ground.

Ding!

You Killed A Core Formation Beast

25 Karmic Credits Gained

"Heh, love that trick," Slifer chuckled to himself as he flicked the blood from his blade. The phase technique was incredibly useful. And if he was being honest, it made him feel pretty badass too.

If only I could spam it like Obito did...

Just as Slifer got caught up admiring his handiwork, his spiritual sense picked up a powerful aura and it seemed to be heading towards Oliviare’s house.

“Shit!”

***

As Oliviare stepped inside the house, Brom quickly shut the door behind them and slid the iron bolt securely into place. He doubted such measures would stop a rampaging beast, but the action provided some meagre comfort nonetheless.

"There now, we should be safe enough here," Brom said, attempting to inject confidence into his voice. Inside, his heart pounded against his ribs.

"Do...do you think everyone else is okay, father?" Oliviare asked softly, voicing the worry gnawing at both their minds.

Brom chose not to voice the bleak thoughts swirling through his mind. The others likely weren't okay. When beasts attacked settlements this small and remote, rarely did anyone escape with their lives. Instead he merely grunted, settling on a stool by the hearth and attempting to project a calm demeanour. He had to be strong for his daughter.

"All we can do is wait here for now and pray," he rumbled wearily, removing a chunk of wood and a small paring knife from his vest. Fighting against these beasts would be suicide and he would not risk his daughter’s life. Focusing on the familiar task of whittling would help settle his nerves.

The rhythmic rasping of blade on wood filled the heavy silence as he carefully shaved curling strips from the block clutched between calloused fingers.

“That man – Hughie’s master - he seemed kind," Oliviare said after a while. "Surely he would help protect the villagers."

Brom's steady strokes paused briefly at the mention of the white-bearded stranger. "Hrmmph...or he and his portly companion ran at the first sign of danger," he muttered darkly.

Before Oliviare could offer any rebuttal, Brom's head jerked up, the hairs on his neck and arms standing on end. The air had changed - grown heavier somehow.

It was here.

Oliviare gasped softly as she too sensed it, eyes darting fearfully between the door and her father.

Together they rose slowly from their seats, Brom placing himself between his daughter and whatever lay in wait beyond that feeble wooden barrier. His palms grew slick around the grip of his carving knife. Memories of the last time monsters had visited their village flickered through his mind, bringing bile to the back of his throat. His wife…she…no, he would not let that happen again.

A floorboard just outside the door creaked under some tremendous weight. Brom's breath stalled in his lungs. Silence hung for a torturous moment. Then with an ear-splitting crack, the barred door exploded inwards, shredded by claws longer than a man's arm.

A huge Pantherion stalked inside, lips peeled back to reveal jagged teeth capable of crushing bone. Hot saliva dripped from its maw as violet eyes focused on the cowering mortals. Powerful limbs bunched, ready to pounce and tear these humans apart in an instant.

But quick as a flash, Brom lunged forward with a wordless cry. Years of handling sharp tools had honed his reflexes and precision.

But the resistance of a mortal was futile.

Massive paws batted Brom aside as easily as one might a bothersome fly. The old carpenter flew across the room and hit the far wall with bone-jarring force before crumpling limply to the floor.

"Father!" Oliviare cried, dodging around the thrashing monster. She fell to her knees at Brom's side, desperately pressing her apron against the deep gashes torn across his abdomen by those razor talons. Blood seeped hot over her fingers no matter how hard she tried to stanch the flow.

Seeing the brute turn towards them, Oliviare curled over her father's body protectively. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable as the Pantherion towered over her.

Hughie's master, where are you?