endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 187

Unaware that they had been noticed, the presences in the surrounding area remained hidden even after Vahn entered a combat state. Vahn turned his head and saw two men behind him as a group of three appeared at the opposite end of the alley. Seeing their predatory eyes and attempts to appear intimidating, Vahn had no illusions that the men weren't enemies. He transformed into his Bih form and the men started laughing as the largest enemy in front of Vahn crossed his arms with an evil grin on his face.

The man was around 180cm tall and looked to weight around 230lbs of pure muscle. He had brown hair and purple eyes and his entire body was covered in battle scars. He looked at Vahn like he was appraising a piece of meat in the market and opened his mouth and said without a humorous tone, "So, this is the famou-" Before the man could finish speaking, Vahn had leaned forward and rapidly closed the distance and tried to sink his claws into the man's stomach.

Unprepared for the sudden attack, the man barely managed to cross his arms to receive Vahn's blow. He could feel the bones of his body creak and he was sent back several meters before he was able to regain his footing. He had a grim expression on his face as he prepared to threaten Vahn, but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw the sight in front of him.

After failing to incapacitate their leader, Vahn immediately attacked the two men that had been at the scarred man's sides. They were also caught unprepared by his sudden attack as Vahn gripped their wrists and crushed the bones as he twisted his body and slammed them into the walls opposite of where they previously stood. Vahn then crouched low and stared at the man that had blocked his previous blow with a cold and emotionless look on his face.

The scarred man immediately realized that Vahn wasn't the easy mark they had thought, but didn't lose his confidence as he unsheathed a knife and got into the stance of a veteran knife-fighter. He held his left hand out and low in a loose position while holding the knife near his hip to allow for an optimal thrusting angle. Staring at the tiger-like boy in front of him, he displayed a somewhat crazy expression as he threatened, "You'll pay for that, kid."

At this point, the other two men at the opposite of the alleyway had closed the distance between Vahn with short metal clubs in their hands. Vahn scanned his vision over the two enemies before turning his attention towards the roof where there were three more enemy signatures. He had marked everyone on his map and could easily track their location within 300m from his current position. Satisfied with the result, Vahn smiled at the scarred man before disappearing from the spot when the two men had tried to attack the back of his head.

All three men's eyes widened as the entered a cautious state, but they were still unable to respond to Vahn who had appeared from behind them. Even though he hadn't mastered Shundo, his increased agility and perception in his Bih form while having his domain active allowed him to cover short distances in an instant. The moment they tried to attack him, Vahn used Shundo and disappeared through the small gap between their bodies and used his superheated claws to reach forward and stab into the spines of the two assailants. They immediately dropped to the ground paralyzed and unable to even scream out from the intense pain.

Having dealt with four of the thirteen enemies, Vahn turned his attention back to the scarred man who had been too afraid to move forward after watching another two of his companions fall in such a cruel manner. Even though he was a Level 3, he had absolutely no confidence in being able to outmaneuver Vahn given the speed he had displayed. As soon as Vahn leaned forward slightly, he shouted out, "Don't fucking move another step unless you want those two cat bitches to suffer!"

The moment Vahn heard the man's words, his mind blanked and the cold feeling in his mind reaching an absolute low. Seeing Vahn's 'hesitation', the man showed a cruel smile as his confidence began to return. However, before he could even utter another word he felt Vahn's killing intent lock onto him as the burst of a golden aura spread throughout the area. Without being able to react in the slightest, the man felt a powerful impact through his back as he saw a resplendent golden chain pierce through his body and penetrate into the ground.