Chapter 360: Chapter 360: The Traitor Cena, the Demon Wolf Thugs


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    "I know most of what I can tell you, but my strength is too weak, so I haven''t had ess to the higher-ups," Jackey said apologetically.


    "That''s enough. What you''ve told me is already very helpful," John replied gratefully.


    From the vige chief, John had learned that this continent was vast, with seven territories, each ruled by one of the Seven Great Kings.


    The exact strength of these kings was unknown to the old vige chief, but all of them were able to wield The Power of Laws.


    Even the soldiers of the seven royal cities and the guards of the towns were capable of wielding The Power of Laws.


    "First stop, Forest City!" John looked down at the crude map in his hands, one drawn from the old vige chief''s descriptions.


    Forest City was located in a dense, primeval jungle, and its lord, the King of the Forest, was brutal and vicious. His expertisey in absolute physical strength, and those who had fought him before had all been in in a single blow, without him even using The Power of Laws.


    The reason John chose this ce was simple: it was the closest to him.


    "John, are you sure you want to leave?" The old vige chief asked, his gaze heavy, wanting to convince him to stay.


    It wasn''t just for the sake of the vige, but also for his granddaughter.


    John nodded, speaking with conviction. "Vige chief, all good things muste to an end. Once I find the people I''m looking for, I''lle back to visit. The crystal cores I left behind, both you and Spoorate can use them. Refining them will help you both protect yourselves here."


    "Sigh... Alright. Tomorrow, I''ll arrange for you to head to the town and get your official identity," Jackey said with a heavy heart, before falling silent.


    Neither of them noticed, however, that Spoorate had been hiding by the window, listening to everything.


    ...


    The night was deep and quiet.


    The vige gradually fell silent, and the surroundings were pitch dark.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Howl!


    Suddenly, the quiet night was pierced by the haunting sound of wolves howling.


    Outside the forest, a cavalry force of more than thirty men appeared, mounted on fierce demon wolves.


    The leader, a man wielding a massive machete, had a hideous scar running diagonally across his face, almost splitting it in half. He looked vicious and brutal.


    He licked his lips, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked toward the vige in the distance. "Cena, is this the ce?"


    One man crawled over quickly, his face full of ttery. It was Cena, who had run away from Apricot Vige.


    He nodded eagerly and said respectfully, "Yes, my lord. This is the ce. But there''s a problem... the human here is quite powerful. These ferocious demon wolves were no match for him. He even tore them apart with his bare hands..."


    Cena nced at the demon wolves under the leader''smand, their eyes gleaming with malice. He involuntarily stepped back, swallowing hard.


    The brutal scene of John ughtering the demon wolves still haunted his mind.


    "Hmph, what''s the big deal?" The scar-faced man sneered. "These weak demon wolves are nothing. I can deal with them just as easily."


    "Yes, yes, of course," Cena quickly agreed, eager to stay in the man''s good graces.


    He had seen the terrifying strength of the scar-faced man firsthand, and with over thirty of them here, theirbined strength was no less than that of the human John.


    "Lord, could you leave that human to me?" Cena thought of the humiliation he had suffered, and he longed to dismember John piece by piece.


    "Fine," the scarred man replied, his voice cold as he brandished his massive de. "But if you''re lying to me, and they don''t have this many crystal cores, I won''t let you off."


    Cena swallowed hard and quickly reassured him, "My lord, when I left, that guy killed over two hundred ferocious demon wolves. They''ve definitely been busy these past few days. The number I''m giving you is only going to be more, not less."


    Cena knew the old vige chief well. He wouldn''t casually refine the crystal cores; he''d have been saving them up for the uing months to offer as tribute.


    "Make sure you leave none behind!" The scarred man barked themand, and immediately he urged his ferocious demon wolves forward, charging straight toward the vige.


    Howl...


    The wolf howls echoed through the night.


    Many of the vigers were awakened by the noise, but they didn''t think much of it. Ferocious demon wolves were known to roam the forest at night, but they rarely left the woods, let


    alone attacked viges.


    However, this time the howling seemed to be getting closer. It sounded as if it wereing straight for their vige.


    Inside his straw hut, John sensed something was wrong.


    "Enemies!" he shouted, quickly throwing on his cloak and rushing out of the hut.


    Jackey, on the other side of the vige, was also disturbed by the noise.


    Whoosh!


    A fire arrow shot through the air and immediately set one of the straw huts aze.


    John saw clearly now that the attackers were a group of cavalrymen riding ferocious demon wolves.


    "Magical Wolf Thugs!" Jackey shouted in horror, his face paling as he immediately rang the rm bell.


    Puff!


    Blood sttered everywhere as one man was caught off guard and swiftly cleaved in two by a merciless strike.


    These thugs were like demons, storming the vige, burning, killing, and looting.


    Many were in in their sleep.


    The vigers, terrified, scattered in all directions. Screams and cries for mercy echoed


    through the night as they were no match for the attackers.


    The old vige chief took out a longsword and shook Spoorate awake. "John, please look after


    Spoorate. I''ll buy you some time, you need to run."


    John furrowed his brows and said calmly, "I can handle this."


    Several vigers had always treated him kindly, and he had decided to take action.


    "Vige chief, may I borrow your sword?" John asked, and before the old man could respond, the longsword was already in his hand.


    Buzz!


    A hum of sword intent rang out as the de glinted with cold light. One of the thugs, along with his mount, was sliced in half in a single strike.


    The old vige chief wielded an Adamantine Sword, which was enough for him to fight with


    full strength.


    He shed into the wolf pack, his de shing coldly as he ruthlessly ughtered.


    In just one sh, more than a dozen men were instantly in by his sword.


    "My lord, that''s John!" Cena pointed at John, his voice trembling, unable to stop himself from


    taking a step back.


    "Hmph, he has some skill. But that''s all!" The scarred man sneered, shouting angrily as he urged his ferocious demon wolves forward. His long knife howled through the air, aiming


    straight at John.


    Buzz!


    The cold gleam of the de shed, and John''s figure passed by him in a blur.


    Boom!


    A deafening crash sounded behind him, and the scarred man tumbled to the ground, along with his ferocious demon wolves, rolling in a pool of blood that stained the surrounding


    earth.


    The scarred man, along with his mount, had been cleaved in two with a single strike.


    The surrounding area fell intoplete silence.


    The thugs, along with the vigers, stared in disbelief at what had just happened.


    "Bastard Cena, you lied to us!" One of the thugs shouted in rage, charging directly at the


    stunned Cena.


    John''s strength was far beyond what Cena had imed. With one sword strike, he had killed


    the scarred man- at least the strength of a first-tier Awakener was needed for that.


    "Th-That''s impossible..." Cena stood frozen, hastily trying to exin.


    He had witnessed John struggling to fight the high-level ferocious beasts like Saber-toothed


    Tigers just days ago.


    How could his power have grown so terrifying in such a short amount of time?


    Ssh!


    Blood sprayed into the air, and before Cena could even speak, he was instantly cut down by


    the angry thug.


    "Run!" The remaining dozen or so thugs, already terrified by John''s overwhelming strength,


    scrambled to flee.


    "Hmph, do you think you can escape?" John coldly remarked, his form shing like Bonnie''s,


    quickly catching up to one of the ferocious demon wolves.


    The cold gleam of his sword flickered again, and another thug was cleaved in two.


    These thugs were nothing more than prey in front of him.


    Screams echoed as John ughtered the thirty or so thugs and their ferocious demon wolves,


    leaving none behind.


    The vigers watched in stunned silence.


    Those who had mocked him before were now shaking in fear, their bodies trembling.


    In this world, strength held absolute power. If John decided to kill them, even the most


    powerful would be powerless to stop it.


    But he didn''t even care about these people.


    After finishing off thest of the thugs, John returned to the vige and handed the longsword


    back to Jackey. "Vige Chief, these people likely have quite a few crystal cores on them. You


    should have someone clean up."


    By killing these thugs, John''s Plunder ability had activated, restoring quite a bit of his


    attributes.


    As for the spoils from these people, he wasn''t interested at all.


    Jackey instinctively took the longsword, swallowing hard in shock. "John... did you... have you


    already mastered The power ofws?"


    "No, I haven''t," John replied casually. "I''ve just recovered some basic attributes. Dealing


    with these thugs was nothing."


    Basic attributes?


    Jackey was even more stunned. The power John had just disyed was no weaker than that of


    a first-tier Awakener. How high must his basic attributes be?


    He looked at John deeply but didn''t ask any more questions. Instead, he instructed the dazed


    vigers to clean up the battlefield.


    The thug attack had resulted in significant casualties, and even two of the hunters had died.


    "Damn Cena, he actually colluded with the demon wolf thugs to harm us!" One of the


    vigers spat angrily on Cena''s corpse.


    "Thankfully, Lord John was here, or we''d all be dead," several others remarked, their eyes now filled with admiration and awe as they looked at John.


    The vigers finished cleaning up the battlefield, but sleep had long left their minds. They


    were all submerged in grief.


    But it wasn''t all without gain.


    From the bodies of the thugs, they found over five hundred crystal cores, most of which were


    mid-tier or low-tier.


    Adding to the haul from the beasts John had hunted in recent days, they would no longer have


    to worry about tribute supplies for the next few years.


    "Big brother, will you take me with you when you leave?" The little girl, Spoorate, once again


    clung to John, her eyes full of admiration as she pleaded.


    "No, it''s too dangerous." He refused decisively. Although he liked the little girl, the outside world was fraught with unknown dangers, far


    beyond the weak beasts they had encountered so far. His strength was only enough to barely protect himself, let alone ensure her safety.


    "Why not?" The little girl pouted, looking displeased.


    "Spoorate, stop being troublesome," Jackey approached and gave her a disapproving look.


    "Hmph!" Spoorate huffed and ran back to her room.


    The old vige chief sighed helplessly as he watched her retreating figure, then shifted the


    topic. "John, after this incident, no one is in the mood to sleep anymore. We''ve decided to head out to Peach Town now to deliver the tribute."


    "Alright," John nodded in agreement.


    Although it was still dim outside, with him around, they didn''t need to worry about beast


    attacks.


    Soon, the preparations wereplete.


    In addition to the 100 low-tier crystal cores they needed to hand over, there were also some


    materials from the beasts.


    These could be exchanged for weapons, armor, and other items.


    The world''s circting currencies were beast crystal cores, spirit beast cores, and


    magical beast cores.


    However, crystal cores had to be handed over as tribute; they couldn''t be used for trade, only


    for bartering.


    Under the cover of night, a caravan set off.


    Apart from John and the old vige chief, there were three hunters.


    The remaining vigers stayed behind to protect the vige.


    At the vige entrance, Spoorate, noticing the others'' distraction, quietly slipped out of the


    vige and followed them stealthily.