His screams gradually quieted down as the creature tossed his body into the air before devouring it.
"Shit!"
Adrian cursed out loud as he watched all this with a tense expression. He knew that it would soon be his turn. Only he and Bryce were left.
However, Bryce was hiding behind a boulder, busy gathering the rest of his Qi in order to prepare for a lethal attack. Having used the gale slash earlier, it required a bit of time to prepare it again. This was the only reason why he and Daniel were trying to distract the beast.
Looking at the beast that had turned its attention towards him, he shouted while running
"Dammit, this thing is about to kill me. If I die you'll be next, so get the f*ck out here!"
He managed to avoid the charge of the beast as he charged towards the right after noticing a figure climbing on top of a boulder.
The beast turned its head towards him, unknowingly leaving itself open. Bryce had crept up on its left side. Its left eye was injured, which created a blind spot for the beast. Coupled with the fact that most of its injuries were on that side, it made it the perfect target.
Bryce leaped from the top of a boulder while slashing his sword down. A similar scene of the tornado appeared again around his sword, but this time, it was bigger. Bryce had consumed a few Qi replenishing pills while he was hiding in order to accelerate the recovery of his Qi.
The huge gales were a welcome sight for Adrian as he continued to retreat.
The beast's acute instincts sensed the danger coming from its side, causing it to falter in its chase of Adrian. The danger it felt awakened its primal sense of death. A faint trace of fear even appeared in the beast's eye as it was struck down again on the same spot.
The previous assault had left its bones exposed, so the gales crashed into them without hindrance.
Bryce didn't hold anything back as he poured all he had into this attack. He understood that if this didn't work, then they were dead.
The impact sent the beast sliding for several meters. Luckily for them, the gales managed to sever the beast's neck after facing a bit of restriction. It wasn't a clean cut as part of its neck was still attached, but it had severed more than half. The only thing still attaching its head to its body was just a bit of muscle.
A trace of fear appeared in Adrian's mind as the beast slid in his direction. However, after noticing the beast not moving, relief washed over him.
The beast was dead. Bryce ran over after seeing the beast not moving. His exhaustion couldn't mask the excitement on his face as the full weight of the situation crashed onto him. He had killed a Rank 3 beast.
Sure, he did it with the help of others but it was his slash that ended the beast's life. Staring into the beast's dead eye, he suddenly burst out into laughter. His thoughts were racing from the amount of money he could sell the beast for to all the bragging he did.
However, his laughter was cut short as a dagger was suddenly plunged into his back. He looked down to see his clothes dyed red. Countless questions and confusion filled his mind as his vision faded into darkness.
Adrian stood behind Bryce plunging a dagger he had retrieved deep into the back of Bryce. His cold gaze watched the body fall to the ground.
This plan had been brewing in his mind since they decided to face the beast. Since he wasn't a part of their team, even if he helped them deal with the beast, he would not receive any share of the rewards.
In fact, they would probably decide to kill him after the whole ordeal was over. So he decided to strike first. However, to his pleasant surprise, the Stoneveil Crocodile had already helped him deal with most of his problems leaving only a severely exhausted Bryan for him to face.
After dealing with Bryan, Adrian didn't relax but rather rushed over to where Lily had collapsed. Staring at her unmoving body, he noticed the faint rising and falling of her chest.
"She's not dead," Adrian exclaimed in his mind in surprise. Normally, a strike from a beast at that level should have been enough to end her life considering the immense difference in power.
Like him, Lily was also in the fifth level of the foundation establishment realm. However, she didn't possess his powerful body, so withstanding such an attack was surprising.
However, he didn't dwell on it too much. A quick plunge of his dagger into her heart made sure she would never wake up again. The fact that she was a female didn't influence his decision in any way. He wasn't a fool. He wasn't going to spare her just because she was a girl.
Now, Adrian was truly alone. He immediately stored the corpse of the Stoneveil Crocodile as well as those of the other disciples.
Then, he rushed towards the lake, where he saw Robert's body as well. After swiftly storing it, he swiftly dug up a cave near the lake.
After entering it and sealing its entrance, Adrian collapsed to his knees. All the accumulated stress and fatigue washed over him and his legs couldn't support his body weight anymore. All he could do was lie down and fall asleep.
He woke up late in the night and felt far refreshed after that peaceful sleep. He noticed some mist had seeped into the cave despite blocking the entrance.
This meant that they were in the dead of night. He quickly took out some dried meat and munched on it quickly. He didn't dare to light up a fire to roast the crocodile meat.
Even though he had sealed the cave, the aroma could attract beasts. Especially now that the valley is empty. Usually, the smell of blood should have attracted several beasts over, but since the aura of a Rank 3 beast still lingered in the area, they dared not enter the valley.
However, this could only last for so long. He didn't know how long the aura would linger for, hence he had to act fast. After his meal, he started cultivating again. The earlier battle had once again reminded him of his powerlessness.