Chapter 60: Killing

In just one short night, the open area became covered as if with decades’ worth of debris—dead leaves blanketed the ground, and the entrance to the cave showed signs of age and wear.

Rod’s appearance naturally caught the attention of Fen Tian and that magical beast. Upon seeing Rod, Fen Tian seemed to relax instantly, letting out an excited growl, while the magical beast couldn’t help but take a step back!

The human before it posed an even greater threat. Although it could sense that this human was only at the mid-level of the Imperial rank, not even reaching the later stage, it still felt a strong sense of danger from him—a palpable killing intent and a faint scent of blood. With its keen animal instincts, it sensed all of this. Its intuition told it it must leave immediately, away from this dangerous man, or it wouldn’t be able to escape later.

Thinking of this, it secretly rejoiced that it hadn’t attacked earlier; otherwise, things wouldn’t be like this now. Though reluctant to give up on the prey it had been waiting for all night, it had no choice but to leave for its life.

“Flame Lion! Heh, I never expected to run into you here!” Rod approached Fen Tian, gently stroked its head, nodded in satisfaction, then looked ahead and saw the magical beast retreating cautiously step by step. He couldn’t help but smile and speak to himself.

Indeed, the magical beast before him was none other than the Flame Lion! The one he had encountered in Tielan Town. Back then, thanks to the Flame Lion, both he and Nightingale had been on the brink of death, almost losing their lives! It was only after a fierce battle that they managed to win by sheer luck. Rod still remembered that battle vividly—how could he forget this creature? To think he ran into it here again—true to the saying, enemies often meet again. Although he had been cultivating inside, he was fully aware of what was happening outside. If it weren’t for Fen Tian keeping this beast occupied, who knew what it might have done?

“Hehe, since you’re here, don’t leave!” Staring at the Flaming Lion and watching it retreat, Rod sneered. That’s how battle works—take advantage of your weakness to strike while you’re down; never give you a chance. At this moment, the Flaming Lion had already started to back off, showing it had no confidence to continue fighting! Under such circumstances, both its fighting spirit and overall strength were far inferior, so Rod naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity!

It had been a long time since the last battle, and he had made significant progress during that time—this was the perfect chance to test his abilities!

Roar… Hearing Rod’s words, the Flaming Lion seemed to understand their meaning. It opened its mouth wide and roared angrily, then glared resentfully at Rod and Fen Tian beside him. As a high-tier magical beast, a quasi-saint-level existence like the Flaming Lion, whose strength was no less than that of early-stage saint-level beasts, it had never felt so frustrated. Being intimidated by an imperial-class serpent was one thing, but now an imperial-class human wanted to hunt it down—it felt utterly wronged.

But with a resentful look at Rod and Fen Tian, driven by its strong instincts, it turned around and quickly tried to flee.

“Want to run? That’s not so easy!” Seeing this, Rod was momentarily stunned before snarling coldly.

He couldn’t afford to miss such a great opportunity. Besides, the Flaming Lion could still be of great help to him—these were all factors Rod couldn’t ignore. So the moment the Flaming Lion tried to escape and turned around, Rod let out a loud roar and rushed after it like a rainbow.

In midair, the Dark Dragon emerged, leaving behind a black-purple glow and a crisp sound as it moved. Emitting an excited buzzing, the newly emerged Dark Dragon began searching for prey. Now, it was becoming increasingly intelligent and bloodthirsty.

“Autumn Wind!” With a low growl, the Autumn Wind Sword appeared, charging toward the Flaming Lion ahead with the force of autumn wind sweeping leaves, lifting dust and debris while emitting sharp sword energy and killing intent.

Feeling the danger behind it, the Flaming Lion running ahead groaned inwardly. Its situation was hopeless—facing humans, it had to flee, never expecting to be chased in such a humiliating manner.

The killing intent forced it to dodge to the side. Humiliation, resentment, and anger surged within it, triggering its beastly instincts. After letting out a loud cry, it turned and glared angrily at the humans behind it.

Rod paid no attention to the Flaming Lion’s angry glare. From the pursuit just now, he could tell that his speed and strength were now on par with those of the Flaming Lion. Coupled with his combat skills, tactics, and Fen Tian’s support, killing this guy was not a problem at all, so he wasn’t nervous or worried in the slightest.

“Not running anymore?” Rod snorted coldly as he stared at the Flaming Lion, which had stopped and was snarling at him.

Immediately afterward, he dashed forward and unleashed his “Break Heaven” technique! With a single sword strike, he brought devastating force—shattering the heavens and shaking the earth! He charged at the Flaming Lion with unstoppable momentum.

In an instant, Rod transformed into a red streak, while the Dark Dragon in his hand turned into a black streak and disappeared between heaven and earth. Seeing this, the Flaming Lion roared deeply, looking uneasy ahead, then turned to flee to the side.

But it was too late—Fen Tian had already seen its intention and blocked its escape route!

Trapped like a cornered beast, the Flaming Lion was now surrounded, with only Rod’s relentless attacks awaiting it.

Perhaps truly enraged, after all, desperate dogs leap over walls, and desperate rabbits bite—let alone a high-tier magical beast like the Flaming Lion. Under such pressure, it roared furiously and spat out an intermediate fire spell as it rushed forward.

Following that, it continued to roar and unleash several more spells—fireballs, firestorms—turning the entire land into an ocean of fire. Pure fire elements were transformed into powerful spells to launch attacks.

Since “Break Heaven” had already been unleashed, there was no way to retract it. Faced with the Flaming Lion’s wild magical assaults, Rod maintained a calm, cold smirk on his face.

The Flaming Lion was panicked and completely disoriented, as evident from its chaotic attacks. How could it take such messy attacks seriously? Though troublesome, they were still entirely manageable. Such chaotic attacks were merely an opportunity for him—a chance to kill the Flaming Lion even easier!

With a loud roar, his speed surged once again as he swept aside the three magic balls attacking him, turning them into sparks. Passing through the fireballs, he arrived right in front of the Flaming Lion.

“Break Heaven” was thrust forward in an instant, now right in front of the Flaming Lion. The killing intent grew intense at that moment.

A roar shook the heavens as the Flaming Lion glared at Rod in defiance. With a leap, it swung its front claws at the Dark Dragon. Rod merely snorted coldly and lifted his sword, shouting, “Leave something of you behind!” A scream followed—the sharpness of the Dark Dragon’s claws was evident, capable of cutting through iron like mud. Though the Flaming Lion was confident in its own claws, this time it was wrong. Rod’s strike left a deep wound on its front paw, severing the bone and leaving only a layer of skin attached. Stumbling, the Flaming Lion barely managed to stay upright after landing. Seizing this opportunity, Rod followed his “Heaven-Shattering Sword” strike with the “Shadow Sword.” Instantly, eighteen figures appeared around the Flaming Lion, denying it any chance to breathe. Before it could react, the eighteen figures attacked again simultaneously! More screams echoed, followed by a dragon’s roar. At that moment, Furnace Sky also attacked the Flaming Lion. The screams lasted less than a second before abruptly stopping. Everything returned to calm. Furnace Sky circled quietly behind Rod, while the Dark Dragon had already returned to its sheath. Rod stood there calmly, letting the breeze gently touch his hair, his expression serene. “This is your fate!” he murmured, looking at the Flaming Lion lying on the ground, trembling slightly. Indeed, with just two moves—“Heaven-Shattering Sword” and “Shadow Sword”—he had killed the Flaming Lion without giving it a chance to fight back. It all happened so quickly and violently. Now, the Flaming Lion lay in a pool of blood, trembling with fear and defiance, its eyes gradually losing focus until, in a final groan of reluctance, it ceased to move, its life coming to an end. Looking at the Flaming Lion’s corpse, Rod sighed. Just months ago, he and Nightingale had barely managed to kill it after a fierce battle. Now, alone, he could do it effortlessly—his progress was obvious. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but think of Nightingale, wondering how she was doing. A gentle smile appeared on his lips. After a moment, Rod snapped out of his thoughts. Seeing the chaotic scene and the faint scent of blood in the air, he frowned. Time was running out. He quickly knelt down to deal with the Flaming Lion’s corpse. They didn’t have much time; otherwise, other magical beasts might be attracted by the smell of blood, causing trouble.