A few minutes after the little behemoth left, Veronica got to the border gate.Seeing the broken metal gate, she frowned. “Who damaged the entryway?”Even the stone arch that the gates connected to suffered some cracks.“A-A little behemoth careened out of control and blundered out through the gates, Commandant,” the superior guard bowed before her.“Was the merchant’s daughter present on that unicorn cart?” Veronica coldly asked.“W-We couldn’t get a closer look,” the guard replied.“You fools!” Veronica slapped his cheek with the back of her hand. “You couldn’t even stop a single beast from rampaging through the city gates. None of you are fit to guard these gates.”The guard lost one tooth, but he didn’t complain. Instead, he apologized to her again. The other guards also begged for mercy.However, Veronica’s expression only grew bitter. “For four fortnights, you all will reflect on your mistake in the arenas. If you don’t survive there, then it means you were only meant for that m

TRUPP~!The arrowhead bloomed—the metal swelling into a glistening silver sphere, its surface rippling like a drop of mercury suspended in the air.Thin lines of light raced across it, branching into intricate patterns before the entire tip burst apart.Thousands of tiny metal shards erupted in every direction.The fragments spun, twisted, and flashed through the cramped compartment, filling the air with a delicate, almost musical tinkling as they struck wood, metal, and everything in sight.Then the screaming began.A shard had sliced across a man's cheek. Another had buried itself beneath his jaw.Several punched through another man’s throat before he could even raise his hands. Another man jerked backward, his body striking the cart wall as a spray of blood splattered across the curtain.Vernon had thrown himself over Lasya.Multiple fragments struck his back and shoulders. Even though he had used aura to shield himself, his body convulsed. He gritted his teeth, tightening his arms

Gunnar returned to the cart that had stopped 300 paces away.Vernon was treating the injuries of others, ignoring his own wounds. Brando also helped him.Nobody in the cart was in a good position except for Lasya, so she told the carter to hurry and reach the town.It would be dangerous to stop in the middle after all.Gunnar sat down next to Lasya. “Do you know anyone named Johnson? Johnson the Broken.”Lasya shook her head.“He’s a mercenary,” Brando said, his expression serious. “He’s got a serious reputation as a mercenary, but his personality makes him inapproachable. Why are you asking about him?”“Those archers gave me his name,” Gunnar replied.“And you believed them?” Brando quickly said. “They must just be trying to make us fight Johnson. That guy is deranged. He breaks the limbs of anyone who messes with him. Though he doesn’t have an arm, he’s still a master cultivator and has probably experienced countless battles over the years. Even if all of us fight him, there’s no ch

It was still night time.The stone beast statues looked old and dull due to the amount of dirt covering them. They did not look attractive anymore.But they caught Gunnar’s eyes right away.As he approached the border wall, he noticed a faint brownish glow in the eye sockets of the beast statues.Out of their open mouths, bullets were shot.Gunnar’s eyes widened. He swiftly moved out of the way and dodged all four bullets that hit the ground behind him and put holes in them.“H-Hey, who’s shooting?!” Gunnar shouted.“The defense system activated on its own,” a voice reached Gunnar.It took him a few seconds to find the source of that voice. He eventually spotted a tiny figure sitting on top of the head of a leopard stone statue.“Ah?” Gunnar rubbed his eyes and looked again.This was a person, but he was so small he could fit in Gunnar’s hand.“A tiny human?” Gunnar couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Are you using magic to look smaller?”“I’m not a human,” he snorted. “I’m a dwarf.

The sword went for Gunnar’s shoulder.THUD!Before it reached his right shoulder, his left hand caught it.The woman’s expression visibly changed. Her eyes broadened because Gunnar did not even use aura to catch the sword. Yet, he managed to stop it.She immediately twisted her wrist and pulled the sword out, expecting to slice his fingers off.But that didn’t happen, either.“External arts cultivator, are you?” she poured thick aura into her sword, making it buzz. “But I don’t sense any aura from you even though you clearly used it just now. That means you’re either very exceptional at concealing it, or you’re a soul cultivator. Given your age, it’s the latter. Why does a young soul cultivator want to meet my uncle? I can’t think of anything but revenge.”“What kind of a shitty life did your uncle live for you to think like that?” Gunnar asked. “I’m just here to meet your uncle and then decide whether he needs to get his ass beaten or not.”She smirked. “Forget about my uncle. You're