The trial was finally complete. The Infenic mountain range stopped trembling as Terro wearily stretched its body within the magma. The chains siphoned away its power, transferring a portion of it into the boy. The process was truly agonizing. It was even worse than what it had endured a hundred years ago.

  It saw Thane still standing there calmly, the boy’s eyes shining with clear awareness. Truly astonishing. Thane had succeeded flawlessly. Unlike the madman from before, this time the “challenger” had managed to keep his mind intact.

  “How is this possible? How could a mere human endure such unbearable pain?”

  Terror was doubtful and confused, countless emotions surging within it. Watching another absorb its power was an extremely unpleasant sensation. It could faintly sense a familiar energy within the magma pool. That thing had certainly helped the boy remain conscious.

  “You have quite a lot of backing, boy.”

  Terror said after a moment of contemplation. It was a lord of exceptionally high intelligence. Though not as powerful as the “Ancients”, it had lived long enough to know many things. And the one standing before it might be someone who would affect the very operation of this world. Ever since the “Ancient Covenants” were established, it had never seen anyone truly succeed without going insane.

  Thane excitedly examined his own body. The scorching winds of the volcano now felt as cool as a summer evening breeze. After thinking for a moment, Thane plunged his hand into the magma pool before him. The magma that once melted his body now felt as warm as a hot spring where the elderly often soaked to relax.

  Thane stared curiously at the path leading toward the mountain peak. Unlike before, desire had been replaced by fear. His instincts warned him that above lay mysteries he was not yet qualified to know.

  “Do not be curious, boy. There is nothing up there.”

  Terror roared a warning, as if sensing Thane’s intention. It also did not wish for a portion of its power to be wasted due to the stupidity of its wielder.

  “You have completed the trial, boy. It is time for you to leave.”

  Thane nodded. He slowly backed toward the steps, his eyes never leaving Terror’s movements. Clearly, he did not believe Terror would let him escape so easily. Thane feared that the moment he turned his back, its claws would instantly crush his body.

  “…” Terror remained silent.

  It understood the boy’s actions but was too lazy to explain. Its three heads sank into the magma pool as it sought rest to recover part of the power it had lost. In the future, they would surely meet again, if Thane could succeed once more. Then it might escape this imprisonment and return to the freedom it so deeply desired. But for now, it was not enough. The boy still had a very long road ahead.

  Thane stepped out of Terror’s domain. The Cerberus now lowered their heads to him like a true king. Unlike the bows from the wolves of BloodHill, the Cerberus here truly revered him. The flames they took pride in could no longer harm his body. They parted to either side, opening a wide path.

  This was the path of the strong, wide, solitary, and surrounded by countless who held fear and reverence.

  “You.”

  Thane pointed at a massive Cerberus that had lowered its three heads deeply. He remembered clearly that this was the one that had chased him most fiercely, its claws nearly tearing into his flesh on several occasions. Thane was not a good person either. He had a bad habit. He held grudges for a very long time.

  “You think bowing your head means I will forget everything you did?”

  Fire elemental energy danced around Thane’s body. He did not intend to kill the Cerberus. But while the death penalty might be spared, living punishment was hard to escape. The unfortunate Cerberus could not avoid a brutal beating.

  ...

  Thane rode atop the Cerberus, its body covered in bruises and wounds. One eye was darkened and swollen, blood pooled beneath it, and its fangs were shattered. The boy named it Rush. Rush might not have been the strongest Cerberus, but it was quite intelligent and seemed to understand what Thane wanted.

  “Go back.”

  The distance was already close. Thane did not want Rush to cause a disturbance near the town. He could walk back slowly on his own. The boy lightly patted the Cerberus with his foot and whispered something strange. The hound roared and swiftly ran off, one of its three heads occasionally glancing back.

  Even after the Cerberus had gone far away, Thane remained standing still, waiting. He knew he was being watched. Sure enough, from within the bushes, a rugged bearded man with a vicious scar across his face slowly stepped out.

  Terax had been lingering around the Inferic region for a very long time. Such violent tremors could not escape his notice. After all, he had once been a member of SilverFang before choosing to side with Net. Terax could not accept it. When Allblak was set ablaze, the first person he cared about was Ullar, and she had vanished.

  Based on clues and accounts from the soldiers, Terax was certain that the one who had ruined him was a brat who had once appeared alongside Voga’s nephew. If that person were Most’s subordinate, there would have been no reason to save Ullar at all.

  “So it really is you. You’ve ruined me completely.”

  Terax now looked no different from a beggar, his clothes filthy, his eyes bloodshot, his beard patchy and unkempt. The aura of a Battle King erupted from him, pressing down on Thane’s body. The sudden pressure forced the boy to his knees, but he quickly adapted and managed to withstand it.

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  “Is that all?” Thane sneered. His body was no longer what it used to be. It was incredibly powerful. Despite the two rank difference, he still wanted to test himself.

  “Oh?”

  Terax was truly astonished. He had not expected a Warrior to withstand his aura. Without another word, Terax flashed to Thane’s side and delivered a powerful kick. The blow sent Thane flying, rolling across the ground, yet it made Terax frown. The density of that body was astonishing, perhaps even stronger than that of an ordinary Warlord.

  Thane spat out a small mouthful of blood. The injury was far lighter than he had expected. This did not frighten him. Instead, it ignited a fierce fighting intent. Thane truly wanted to fight a Battle King two ranks above him.

  Thane’s fighting intent felt like an insult to Terax. After all, Terax was a general in Golden’s army, a powerhouse, an outstanding figure. Now he was being provoked by a lowly brat who dared to dream of defeating him across ranks.

  Terax threw off the cloak draped over his body, rolled his shoulders, and cracked his neck. His gaze toward Thane was filled with killing intent and cruelty. He did not want the boy to die easily. He wanted him to suffer endlessly until he begged for death.

  Crak.

  The sound of bones shattering rang out once more. Thane did not know how many bones in his body had already been broken, but he did not care. As he fought, he continued to move closer to Infernic. The denser the fire element became, the faster his recovery speed grew. Fortunately for Thane, Terax had no intention of finishing him off. He toyed with the boy like a cat with a mouse, confident that everything was under his control.

  At first, Thane could only defend passively. Terax was far too fast. Attacks carrying mana shattered the bones within his body, causing Thane to scream in pain. However, Terax did not know that his rhythm had already been grasped by Thane. Moreover, out of habit, Terax seemed to favor his right leg over his dominant one.

  “It hurts, doesn’t it? You’re suffering, aren’t you?”

  Terax’s twisted nature was laid bare. Hearing Thane’s screams excited him. He tormented the boy relentlessly, not realizing that an ordinary person would have long since lost consciousness from the pain.

  Before long, they reached the edge of the Cerberus territory, where fire element was dense and the ground was cracked and scorched.

  “Hm?”

  Only then did Terax stop his assault, suppressing his perverse pleasure as he observed the surroundings. A sense of unease rose within him. With a normal line of thinking, they should have tried to flee toward Silver Town, where they could seek the protection of Two Hands. But Thane had chosen the opposite direction.

  “He deliberately led me here,” Terax thought.

  “How refreshing.”

  Thane stepped barefoot onto the scorching red ground. Fire element surged rapidly into his body, strange runes flickering across his skin. His injuries healed at an astonishing speed, and more than that, the look in his eyes toward Terax was filled with contempt and mockery.

  Thane calmly twisted his broken, mangled arm back into place. His face was cold and emotionless, all traces of fear and terror gone. The decisive action enraged Terax even further. So the boy had been acting all along.

  “So this is your hobby? Watching the weak suffer? How vulgar.”

  Thane spat onto the ground, his fighting intent dropping noticeably. There was no glory in defeating such a despicable man.

  The BloodClaw insignia emitted a faint glow. Thane’s body flushed red, muscles and veins bulging violently as terrifying explosive strength surged forth. Thane charged and threw a heavy punch at the stunned Terax.

  Boom.

  Terax gathered mana into his arm to block the punch, but his body was still forced backward. His arm trembled in pain. He was truly injured. A Battle King wounded by a Warrior. Terax could not believe his eyes. Even though the injury was minor, it was an undeniable fact.

  “Impossible. Who are you?”

  “You are not worthy to know.”

  Thane’s gaze was icy cold as the side effects of the BloodClaw insignia began to manifest. Excitement, madness, fury. Intense emotions intertwined as he plunged into close combat with Terax like a savage wolf. They exchanged blows without restraint.

  Thane was like a machine that felt no pain. His wounds healed rapidly, and the longer he fought, the more ferocious he became. In contrast, Terax grew weaker with each exchange. Minor injuries accumulated into severe ones, and fear steadily crept into his heart.

  “Impossible. Impossible. This cannot be happening.”

  Terax roared as mana coursed through his body, forming a strange pattern that gathered at the tips of his ten fingers.

  “Howling Gale.”

  Terax unleashed his ultimate skill. Both arms tore through the air, creating a raging storm of razor sharp mana that blasted Thane away. The gale was like hundreds of blades, mincing the boy’s body, the wounds cutting all the way to the bone.

  Thane slowly stood up, blood pouring from his body like a spring. Yet even that was still not enough to finish him off. His body gradually recovered once more. This was the power of Terror. Within the Infernic region, it was undying and unending. As long as he was not killed by a finishing blow, he could recover endlessly.

  “Monster. You are a monster.”

  Terax was horrified. Thane was like an immortal corpse. No matter how many times he struck him down, the boy would stand back up again. What Terax did not know was that his own stupidity and contempt for his opponent were the true reasons this situation had come to be. If he had gone all out with his Ultimate Skill from the very beginning, he could have killed Thane.

  Now Terax was exhausted, compounded by sheer terror. His defeat was already inevitable. He unconsciously stepped backward. He had the intention to retreat.

  It was unwise to fight an immortal monster like this. He did not need to risk his life. He could simply flee. A Battle King fleeing from a Warrior was truly disgraceful. But Terax did not care. Risking his life to kill Thane offered no real benefit. He was still a wanted criminal, while Most continued to sit comfortably and enjoy what he had left behind.

  “Trying to run? There is no way.”

  Thane’s hoarse voice dragged Terax back to reality. The mangled body recovered yet again. The boy’s eyes were blood red, yet Thane still retained his sanity. Thane let out a sharp whistle. Massive Cerberus appeared simultaneously. At some point unknown to him, Terax had already been completely surrounded with no escape.

  A huge Cerberus covered in wounds growled at Terax. It was Rush. Long ago, it had caught Terax’s scent and reported it to Thane. Truly, master and servant alike. It seemed Rush held grudges just as deeply as its master. Perhaps Terax had injured it in the past. No one knew for sure. But it was precisely because of that that Thane had been able to set up this perfect encirclement.

  With no path of retreat, surrounded by an entire pack of massive Cerberus, creatures that only appeared deep within Infernic, Terax knew he was doomed. Dense white spikes grew across his body. This was the special ability he gained upon advancing to Battle King. The white spikes increased both Terax’s attack and defense. When combined with his Ultimate Skill, the damage would multiply many times over.

  Terax truly regretted it. He regretted not using his full strength from the very start to kill Thane. Now it was too late. The mana within his body was nearly depleted, not enough to cast his Ultimate Skill even once more.

  Terax lunged toward the Cerberus pack like a cornered mad beast. Even at the very end, he sought only to escape rather than face Thane directly. The hounds’ claws tore apart his flesh, chunks of meat ripped away by the monsters. Terax grew weaker, yet at the same time more exhilarated. He suddenly realized that death was not so frightening after all. The blood of SilverFang within him had never disappeared. It had merely slept beneath Terax’s cowardly nature.

  “Was I wrong?”

  Terax’s body was engulfed in flames, burned by the breath of dozens of Cerberus. He carried that question with him into hell. In the end, he would never know the name of the one who killed him. And Thane would never speak of him as a proud achievement either. Because he was not worthy.