BXBX NOVEL Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Piercing Strike
When they saw Charles stand up again, all the surrounding bandits were dumbfounded. How was this kid like an unkillable cockroach, taking two of Bradley\'s attacks and still standing unscathed?
Seeing Charles unharmed, Bradley came to an abrupt halt, his eyes filled with confusion.
Charles, of course, noticed Bradley\'s bewilderment.
Bradley would probably never understand in his lifetime that Charles\'s [Storage Space] was filled with a vast amount of recovery miracle drugs. As long as he wasn\'t killed in one blow, he could quickly recover.
Charles smiled lightly, "Since I withstood your full-strength attack, how about experiencing mine next?"
"Hmph, your body is stronger than I thought, but it\'s just the final struggle before death!" After a brief moment of shock, Bradley activated his skill [Poisonous Fang Sting].
If brute force couldn\'t kill him, then he would poison him to death!
Black mist materialized in the air, transforming into two one-meter-long poisonous fangs that shot towards Charles.
Seeing the poisonous fangs, Charles didn\'t dodge. Instead, he removed his defensive armor.
As he took off his [Divine Scale Armor], he instantly felt as light as a feather.
During the past half-month of training in the ferocious beast mountains, he had been wearing this close-fitting armor weighing hundreds of kilograms. Now, with the burden removed, he felt almost like he was flying, even his muscles seemed to swell.
He could clearly feel his strength and attribute energy manipulation abilities surging!
"Bestial Soul Merge!"
Charles shouted, and in the distance, Max and Mousie, still fighting, turned into streams of energy and merged with him.
The surrounding bandits and the members of the Seventh Squad all looked puzzled.
To them, Charles removing his armor in battle seemed like a death wish. Using Bestial Soul Merge at this moment only added to their confusion.
Wouldn\'t that put him at an even greater disadvantage, facing a 4-on-1 situation?
"You actually used Bestial Soul Merge. Do you think that will help you defeat me?" Bradley sneered mockingly.
"Then you can try," Charles said, gripping the Fire Supreme Spear tightly. His eyes were cold as he stared at Bradley, the spear\'s tip glowing with an intense blue and red light, more dazzling than ever.
As Charles spoke, the ice and fire elemental energies around them began to surge violently, converging into the Fire Supreme Spear, forming a vortex of energy.
With the continuous influx of energy, the Fire Supreme Spear in Charles\'s hand started to grow restless, emitting a sharp metallic hum as if it might break free from his control at any moment.
"It looks like some kind of charged attack. I can\'t let him continue!" Bradley sensed something was wrong, though he wasn\'t too worried.
The gap between a Level 2 Beast Master and a Level 3 Beast Master was like a galaxy apart. To him, Charles\'s movements seemed like slow motion: "Do you think with your speed, you can hit me? Unless you can teleport."
"Congratulations, you guessed right!"
As Charles\'s words fell, he vanished right under Bradley\'s nose, reappearing in the shadow behind Bradley in a breath:
"Let me show you the power of my Fire Supreme Spear, enhanced tenfold—"
"[Puncture Thorn]!"
With a loud shout, Charles unleashed the Fire Supreme Spear from his hand. It shot out, carrying a storm of extreme cold and heat, aiming for Bradley\'s heart with unstoppable force!
Bradley\'s focus had been on the rubble in front of him. When Charles suddenly teleported behind him, Bradley was stunned.
As the Fire Supreme Spear shot forward, even the space around it seemed to distort. Watching the spearhead hurtling toward him, Bradley\'s pupils contracted sharply until they were mere pinpoints...
At such speed and close range, there was no possibility of escape!
"Bone Cutting Claws!"
Reflexively, Bradley\'s hands transformed into the hardened pincers of the emperor scorpion, acting as shields in front of him.
A crisp sound echoed as Bradley barely had time to react. The Fire Supreme Spear had already pierced through his claws.
Such terrifying piercing power! Bradley, as a Level 3 Beast Master, couldn\'t confidently achieve this, yet Charles had done it: "You actually…"
Before Bradley could finish speaking, the Fire Supreme Spear had already pierced through his chest, leaving a hole the size of the spear\'s shaft in his body.
With a spurt of blood, Bradley fell to his knees in front of Charles, blood gushing from the crimson hole.
"This…"
The bandits and the members of the Seventh Squad, who had been fighting, all stopped. Even the mystical beasts on the battlefield stared in disbelief at the destructive power of Charles\'s strike.
There was no explosion, no smoke or fire, but everyone was stunned by the sheer piercing power of the attack!
Those with good eyesight craned their necks to see the direction where the Fire Supreme Spear had disappeared. A deep hole extended from Bradley\'s chest, penetrating dozens of trees before vanishing. Some even saw light from the other side of the hill...
One strike to annihilate the enemy, a Fire Supreme Spear that pierced through the mountain!
Everyone\'s eyes were filled with fear as they looked at Charles. He was just a recently promoted Level 2 Beast Master, who not only withstood a full-strength attack from a Level 3 Beast Master unscathed but also counterattacked and killed his opponent?
Such a thing was unheard of, and everyone\'s faces involuntarily twitched.
They all stood there, staring at Charles in silence, until a minute later, the Ice and Fire Supreme Spear flew back into his hand from the air.
A strong sense of dizziness swept over Charles. That piercing strike had almost drained all the energy from his body. When physical exhaustion reached a certain level, even taking regenerating potions had no effect.
He knew that in a normal fight, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn\'t possibly be a match for Bradley.
The only way was to enrage Bradley, making him leave the protection of his three mystical beasts, and when he reached that shadow, using [Darkness Cloak] to launch a sneak attack. This was his only chance!
Removing the Divine Scale Armor and using Bestial Soul Merge—this was the strongest attack Charles could muster as a Level 2 Beast Master!
Whether it worked or not, he had left it to fate!
Looking at Bradley, half-kneeling on the ground just a few meters away, Charles took a step forward, intending to finish him off. But as soon as he stepped out, a strong sense of powerlessness enveloped him, a side effect of [Darkness Cloak]\'s [Weakness].
That full-strength [Puncture Thorn] not only drained all the ice and fire elemental energy around but also exhausted all of Charles\'s own power.
Using the Fire Supreme Spear to support himself, he tried to stand up but ultimately lost consciousness.
...
It felt like he was in endless darkness, but suddenly there was a faint light. Charles vaguely sensed that he was lying on a fragrant, soft bed. He reached out and seemed to touch something incredible.
"Charles! You\'re awake!" came a woman\'s exclamation from beside him.
Charles\'s eyes snapped open to find himself in a light pink tent, with Aurora sitting next to him, her face flushed as she stared at him. Charles quickly withdrew his hand.
Seeing the pot of mushroom and beast meat soup simmering nearby, he realized Aurora must have been taking care of him while he was unconscious. He gave her a grateful look.
"By the way, is Bradley dead?"
"He seemed seriously injured and was taken away by his men. When you passed out, Mr. Fletcher had us retreat quickly to keep you safe... But you were amazing! That was a Level 3 Beast Master!" Aurora recounted the battle between Charles and Bradley from her perspective, not without some exaggeration of his feats.
"Cough, cough, I\'m not that great," Charles said, his face twitching slightly. He checked his phone and saw that he had been unconscious for three days and nights.
Sitting up in bed, Charles said, "Thank you, Aurora, for taking care of me while I was out. It\'s getting late, I should head back."
"It\'s so late, why don\'t you just stay here…" Aurora started to say, then quickly realized how that sounded and blushed deeply. "Charles, I didn\'t mean it like that. I meant you could sleep in my tent, and I\'ll find another girl to bunk with…"
"No worries, I can set up my tent quickly!" Charles smiled gently and left Aurora\'s tent.
While setting up his tent, Charles couldn\'t help but sigh softly, "I have to say, these girls are really quite adorable."
In his previous life in the business world, Charles had seen too many hypocritical people and dealt with those with deep, calculating minds. Now, in this transmigrated life, spending his days with pure-hearted youths made him feel younger.
"Was I really too reckless?" Lying comfortably in the bathtub after setting up his tent, Charles couldn\'t help but recall the battle with Bradley three days ago, still feeling a bit of lingering fear.
This time, he managed to succeed with a lucky sneak attack using [Darkness Cloak], but it was a pity he couldn\'t kill Bradley. The next time they met, Bradley would surely be on guard.
Bradley\'s mystical beasts were just a bit over Level 20, yet Charles had struggled so much. He couldn\'t help but worry. In the ferocious beast mountains, there were Level 6 ferocious beasts, and if he encountered one, he would have no chance of survival.
However, this battle also made Charles understand why the alchemist profession held such a high status in Genosha.
During his fight with Bradley, it was those continuous recovery miracle drugs that allowed him to quickly recover after withstanding two of Bradley\'s attacks.
"I remember I got two alchemy recipes from the ancient tomb in the Bloody Pool last time. Since we\'re starting the mid-layer training in the ferocious beast mountains tomorrow, I should replenish my stock of miracle drugs tonight!"