The eyes of the Tapir turned red with pain and anger.
It twisted its body to shake off the weapons that pierced through its thick skin.
Unfortunately for the Tapir, the weapons embedded in its body were sharper than it thought. The little movements it made caused the weapons to cut through even more of its flesh and inner organs.
Just before it could make any threatening moves, Brown jumped forward and beheaded it.
Thud!
Its head fell and rolled a few yards before it stopped. Its eyes were still red and filled with pain.
Blood splurted out of the headless corpse.
"That was easy."
This was what everyone thought. They had imagined that it would take them great effort to finish the beast. However, it wasn't so.
The knights frowned as they processed what had just happened.
All of them were very much aware that their easy and successful hunt was because of the type of weapons they had in their hands.
Though they were told it was made to be sharp and durable, even better than most irons on the market, they never thought it would be to this extent.
They had even been sparing with these Marc Steel weapons.
At the moment, every one of Marcus's knights understood the weight of what they were carrying. They immediately took these weapons as prized possessions, never to be loaned out.
"Get the buckets and fetch its blood! Try to get as much as possible." The young lord's voice cut through their reverie. "Brown, locate its heart and take it out quickly! The rest of you, slice it into pieces. We're taking as much of its meat as possible!"
The last part of Marcus's orders made his knights shiver. None of them wanted to consume the meat of a Beast; nonetheless, they immediately sprang into action.
While they moved, Marcus activated his Rippling World, letting it stretch as far as he could support it.
On the surface of the water, almost six hundred meters away, hundreds of beastly auras caused ripples to appear.
Marcus's eyes opened wide as he quickly deactivated his technique.
"Take everything and leave now! Leave the area! Logail, get Bradley! Everyone else, run as fast as you can!" He shouted urgently.
Unaware of what was happening, his knights only paused for a second, unable to understand why the young lord's orders had changed.
But they could all hear the urgency in his voice.
Out of the twelve buckets they had brought, only four of them had been filled up.
Hanging two buckets of Tapir blood on the edge of a bamboo stick, Asad got on his toes and ran.
Right behind him with two more buckets was Oner.
As for the remaining buckets, some held Tapir meat, and one carried its heart.
The knights abandoned the mission and began bolting back the way they came, leaving a half-butchered Tapir Beast in their wake.
Marcus was the last to leave.
Just a few seconds after they left, the area where the Tapir Beast had been killed began shaking.
Loud and heavy footsteps, alongside the sound of trees being felled, filled this small area of the forest.
"Roar!"
It didn't even take a minute; more than three hundred Tapir Beasts, some with auras even more powerful and menacing than the one Marcus's knights slaughtered, appeared.
They stomped the area, charging every tree in their path.
The Tapir Beasts are a very close-knit herd. Seeing that one of their own had been murdered filled all of them with rage, whether they were weak or strong–elderly and younglings.
Out of rage, they formed groups and spread out within the forest, felling everything in their path.
The sound of trees falling only got louder as Marcus and his men ran for safety.
Lucky for them, the Tapirs didn't think to run towards their direction.
Maybe because they didn't believe that any predators were living down there.
The knights all ran with their hearts in their necks. With their speed, they exited the forest in less time than it took them to travel to hunt Tapir.
Even after running out of the forest, they didn't stop. They ran past the camp they set, even leaving their horses behind.
Only after they had crossed a few kilometers, and couldn't hear the sound of trees falling, nor feel the tremors on the ground, did they stop running.
Their chests heaved up and down heavily as their hearts pounded hard against their rib cages.
"That wasn't… enjoyable," Joshua said between bated breaths.
Some of the knights turned and threw accusatory gazes at him.
He chose the target!
Even though everything went well, it could easily have gone south if the young lord hadn't sensed that something was off.
"What?" Joshua muttered, a bit confused.
As for Marcus, he continued to survey their surroundings. It was only after a while that he ordered their return to the camp.
After returning to the camp, they packed their things and retreated a bit further away from the entrance of the forest.
Marcus used his Rippling World to scout their surroundings again, making sure that the coast was clear.
Only then did his heart and mind settle.
The knights collapsed at the new campsite, chests heaving heavily. Marcus gave them a moment before speaking.
"Bring the blood, and a bath." He ordered.
His knights quickly moved to do as he requested.
He asked them to pour all the blood into the wooden bathtub, and then he personally went to pick up the beast's heart.
The heart was as big as an adult's head. It was still warm to the touch, as though it had just been freshly gutted out.
A dormant energy, hard to detect, was within the heart. Marcus could only feel it slightly.
He took in a deep breath and slowly recalled the information about the Blood Bane Arts.
For beginners, the process was very simple and straight to the point.
Bask in the blood essence of the beast and let its nature, power, and essence permeate throughout their being.
While at the same time, chanting a mantra that wasn't in a language Marcus knew.
Nonetheless, this mantra was a very important aspect of this process. And each level of the art had a different mantra.
I wonder how one comes about discovering such things.
Taking a few seconds to once again marvel at the art, Marcus turned his gaze towards Chase and Lesley.
"The art we are about to publicize amongst our people is known as the Blood Bane Arts. An ancient art that was used to cultivate. As for how old it is, I have no idea.
It might even come from a forgotten era. As powerful and easy as it is, this art comes with its own drawbacks.
The first being that one could lose themselves under the influence of the beast's blood essence and energy, running mad in the process."
He paused to take in their expressions, but this didn't seem to shake up the two knights.
"Using the beast's blood would mean that you will have to spend some time purifying your blood after successfully using the blood." Marcus turned and faced his other knights.
"The second drawback… is death. Your body might implode due to the energy coming from the beast's essence. It's a fifty-fifty thing."
"So… Chase, Lesley, which one of you would like to go first? Have this at the back of your mind, though: this blood and essence might only be enough for one person. In other words, we will have to hunt another beast for the next person."
Both of them raised their hands at the same time.
Death? Drawbacks? Even madness?
As long as it also had a chance of success, boosting them towards the next rank, then they were willing to take the risk.
This is the paradox of strength… the chase for more power.
"Milord, I'm older than Lesley. As a senior, I would like to go first." Chase quickly said.
Lesley frowned upon hearing this.
For someone who always argues that age isn't important, you're quite quick to use it to your advantage!
Hypocrite!
"Milord, despite being a few months younger, I have a more resilient mind than Chase. My patient nature is my evidence."
Chase squinted his eyes at Lesley, knowing that the man was secretly throwing insults at him.
Marcus sighed, "Brown, you make a pick for me. Which one of them should go first?"
Milord, why drag me into this? He complained in his mind, but made sure not to let his expression portray his thoughts.
"Chase, Milord."
The knight, Chase, hid his smirk as he glanced at Lesley.
"Mainly because he clings to life too much. It will be hard for him to die to the beast's blood… as for insanity." He paused, letting his silence speak for him.
Suddenly, Chase was filled with mixed feelings. He had gotten what he wanted, alongside more insults.
"Fine, Chase. Let's start with you. Strip to your underwear and get into the tub." Marcus ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Without wasting time, he stripped and sat in the tub.
"Now, after draining the heart of its blood essence, I will recite a mantra, and you are to repeat after me."
Marcus suddenly gripped the heart with his two hands and squeezed it hard.
A dark crimson shade of blood flowed out, bringing along steam as it touched the blood in the bucket.
"Repeat after me."