"Where do you think you're going?" Rowan spoke with his entire figure covered in shining yellow aura.
Now, the group of adventurers forming a formation around him had scattered, because like the snake, they could perceive danger, one that signified death.
It was also at this moment that the snake knew…it had f*cked up!
But Rowan had no considerations as he blasted towards it, leaving a yellow blur in his wake.
The snake, feeling death getting closer, wrapped its body in a circular way as it hid its head at the center.
But like before, this was a terrible mistake. A futile act was exactly what it was.
The next moment, Rowan appeared in front of the snake's coiled body and swung his greatsword.
From the sword, we see a vivid line of shining yellow form as it passed through the snake's body at once.
Time seemed to slow down, when…
*CRAACK!*
The ground underneath the snake trembled as it split apart slightly, the mark of a sword embedded clearly for all to see. Then it stretched onto the snake's body before splitting it into two equal halves.
Now, there was no doubt.
The snake was completely and utterly dead.
"We…actually did it!"
"The beast is dead!"
"It's finally dead!"
The adventurers rejoiced at the sight of the beast that seemed inviolable having finally been laid to waste.
But as they rejoiced, a sound broke them out of their reverie.
*Clang*
It was the sound of Rowan's greatsword falling from his hands onto the cracked floor as Rowan himself knelt on the ground, using both hands to support himself, when suddenly-
*Puhaak*
-he puked out massive amounts of blood and fell limply on the ground.
"Admiral?!"
"Something's happened to Sir Rowan!"
A few adventurers hastily made their way to his side with panicked voices as they checked his condition.
Rowan was lying down in a small pool of his own blood. His armor looked pitiful, if anything, and the greatsword had broken in many places and darkened like it was thrown into a bag of charcoal. With one look, anyone could tell that the sword had lost almost all its luster. With a few more swings, it would be rendered useless.
But they also understood that Rowan's last attack was not an ordinary one, and that, in exchange for such firepower, he must have suffered a great deal.
What it was though, they didn't know. Only that the Admiral had now become a liability.
He wouldn't be fighting any more battles today, if he could even wake up in the first place.
As some wondered how they would treat the Admiral.
The other adventurers that stayed in place were having completely different thoughts.
Like the first few, they knew Rowan was practically useless on the battlefield after using whatever technique that was.
But instead of worry, their hearts pounded as they rejoiced inwardly, their minds reeling in with a realization.
'He must have suffered something terrible after using that technique'
Which means…
'He's basically a sitting duck right now'
So...
'Since I helped with the attack, that means I own part of the bounty!'
And the bounty was…
'Man, an A-rank beast, with special abilities too! Just one of its scales could give me enough money to buy a farm and, with a little work, settle down'
And if just one scale was that good…
'If I could just get twenty of these things, I'll be set for generations!'
Not for life, but for generations to come! From this alone, one could see just how much value it had.
Then he looked at the numerous scales shed from the snake's body littered all over the place and had a thought…
'Man, there are so many! They won't make a fuss if I just take five of them right? And since I helped in the attack, it's not stealing'
Clouds of greed began permeating in the minds of the adventurers.
They had instantly forgotten that, without Rowan's help, they would have surely died, but instead, began shamelessly commenting on how they also helped.
Some took it a step further as they thought…
'The heart of an A-rank beast is enough for me to become a noble'
'Those eyes can be used to forge artifacts of Dark-Gold rank at least. And with a rare ability like hypnosis, it is bound to sell for a fortune!'
'The beast's core will sell for thousands of gold. I have to get it!'
Each one began to make calculations as they checked their swords, gear, and most especially, the face of the other adventures.
Everyone was out for blood.
It was a known practice throughout the three continents that the person who killed a beast was eligible to pick any three or more parts of the beast depending on the person's contribution.
It was a rule even the worst of scum applied by.
That isn't to say no one broke it, on the contrary, many did, but you had to make sure that no one saw you.
Such an act would tarnish any form of dignity and reputation one had in the eyes of the masses.
That is, unless one wielded enough power to easily sway public image by mixing lies with truth and spreading rumors.
Even then, there was always some form of damage, no matter how small.
So, most times, whoever did so would kill every other person present to make sure it was never known, else one's life had basically ended.
But unique cases such as the current situation existed.
A situation where everyone wanted to plunder, and because no one had enough confidence in their strength to kill all others, there was only one thing they could do.
They would leave the continent and start a new life with a new identity on another. For small-time adventurers like them, it was their only option.
But they also had to tie up loose ends as much as they could.
The materials of an A-rank was something higher powers would go to war for depending on how rare it was.
Should Rowan mention their visage to the authorities, they would be chased down by assassins across all continents after being given a sketch of their faces. A bounty, which would only increase as time passed, would also be placed on their heads.
To prevent such a hellish experience from coming to light...
'We need to take care of him while he's down'
Rowan needed to die.
They then looked at the few adventurers looking after him.
'They also need to die'
Letting such types of goodie-two-shoes leave would certainly bite them back in the future.
Everyone had similar thoughts as they gazed into the eyes of each other, before nodding.
No words were needed. They knew what they had to do.
So, five people with short daggers detached from the group as they moved towards the unsuspecting party that was looking after Rowan.
But before they could get in striking range.
"What the heck are you guys doing?!"
Ilyon appeared with a bang as he landed in their midst.
