CharlotteÆs eyes traced the horizon She allowed the other womanÆs emotions to fade somewhat before she responded
At first Charlotte had been similarly aghast at the swift fury displayed to simply go and kill the two BeigonÆs after they had spread their slanderous rumors When she believed it had been retribution for spreading lies she felt a tinkling of fear wondering if Randidly Ghosthound had more similarities to her deceased grandfather than she initially thought But as those fears faded she could gradually see the broad view of the event
Those two attempted to hold their old lives and the lives of everyone fool enough to listen to them hostage in order to extract benefits for themselves Charlotte said to the old Turteline woman The killings were a callous action but also a brutally practical one she shrugged acknowledging the place for practical methods at the moment What would you have us do Reward that sort of behavior
KethopeÆs expression wavered between a hint of comprehension and alarm Eventually she said Be that as it may Many will take this as an indictment of Hungry Eye and his allies They will not believe his warning not when they fear his methods
And thus they will die by being misled by malicious actors Charlotte sighed Luckily the slum remained steadfastly in support of the Nether King although some of that respect was now tinged with fear Randidly Ghosthound never wanted to be the type that would save an individual from themselves He can only offer another Path Provide the possibility of salvation That is the extent of his mercy
For a second it seemed like Kethope would respond yet she simply shook her head Both simply looked out over the city as dawn came If Randidly had set the stage now it became their change to fight a much more ungainly battle for the soul of the population here Even CharlotteÆs master would not lower himself to argue about the truth with people
That didnÆt mean he would mind if she did
Already Charlotte felt a headache brewing Definitely today would be a long day
Likely Randidly took this action because he had just come from killing the Beigons He sought out balance And in true typical Ghosthound fashion he made more work for someone else
You want us to simply explain the situation to them
Randidly tried not to smile at the exasperation and resignation in the young manÆs face Tatiana had become almost frustratingly skilled at simply blinking and saying yes when Randidly approached her to solve annoying problems he didnÆt want to handle but at least Naffur Suite had the decency to display the right sort of indignation It made the whole process much more enjoyable
Well they seem so enthusiastic Randidly had tried to sound as blithe as possible as he gestured vaguely to the Ratling horde that had surged out of the caverns when their horrid keeper was slain Even now they danced in concentric circles radiating out from a hunched ratling waving a crystal scepter
Thousands had already surged to the surface with more pouring out of their cave systems every second
He had been idly wrestling with a massive cross between a pillbug a stone golem and a turtle The thingÆs heavy slabs of defensive flesh could actually endure the full force of a punch from his body so long as he didnÆt utilize any image He had been scrutinizing the problem not really even paying much attention to the fight until he had slipped past the defenses and smashed a punch into the monsterÆs chest obliterating its heart
To RandidlyÆs surprise when he offered to activate the Fatepiece the Levels finally arrived
Your Fatepiece the Keystone of the First Ghasthund has grown to Level 21
Your Fatepiece the Keystone of the First Ghasthund has grown to Level 22
Was it just the accumulation of experience No itÆs more than that It was the emotion felt by this thing when I offered it the chance RandidlyÆs eyes widened in recognition He ducked under a blow as the monster lashed out with a veritable wall of reinforced stone It believed it could still win when it accepted
Because of the benefit it had given him and because it didnÆt subjugate any other peoples Randidly left this wild monster alive Further experimentation proved the insight correct the Fatepiece worked better when the target believed something would change during the fight
Just like that Randidly fought a dozen more monsters quickly pushing his Fatepiece up to Level 40 And again he reached a plateau where further Levels refused to occur With a small headache he began a rapid series of experiments to figure out what sort of roadblock waited this time Randidly kicked through the sky around a four winged massive hummingbird/mosquito before dashing forward and an ax kick drove the monsterÆs broken body into the ground
Just like the armored monster Randidly had encountered this one lived alone simply rampaging without any higher cruelty So he crouched above his dying opponent and offered it a deal If next time you can survive for five more seconds in our fight IÆll let you live
The bird bug nodded its head causing a squirt of blood to leak out of its broken neck
Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Keystone of the First Ghasthund has grown to Level 41
Randidly inwardly felt rather exasperated with his Fatepiece it really required the possibility of something actually changing in order to Level up further A headache brewed as he considered what this would mean for the next plateau
For the rest of the day he fought and testedÆ for lack of a better term the monsters of the Badlands As he neared the central areas this became much easier They werenÆt as powerful as Fatia Cerulean or Enmya but these monsters got close with their cold and calculating images and their years of experience plaguing the land
To RandidlyÆs relief he encountered no plateau at his Fatepiece Level 60 He smoothly sailed forward to Level 80 Yet the rosy outlook could not last forever As he had feared his Leveling halted abruptly at that last twenty Level step Just from the previous requirements to empower the Fatepiece he could see the basic shape of what would come next
Their belief then the possibility of a difference I suppose now Randidly licked his lips as he gazed toward the core area of the Badlands where he could sense the powerful images and significance of four true Calamities lurking Now itÆs my belief For it to improve I must activate the Fatepiece while also worrying about whether forgiveness will cause a change Likely a negative one
Yet even as Randidly mused over that problem a massive boom made his head snap up someone was already fighting in the core area of the Badlands As he took a deep sniff and tasted the Nether in the area he realized he recognized the individual
Hank Howard had wandered out to the most dangerous place in the memory and now tested his mettle against a lava spewing worm
Chapter 2343
You an ugly bastard aintcha
Hank hopped backward and immediately Dodge Rolled to the side after taking his first few shots At this point the Skill his second highest sitting at 694 practically teleported him when he activated it rather than moving him through the mundane realm of limbs and physics One moment he planted his feet on the ground and the next he was a meter to the side straightening and leveling his repeater for another slew of shots
His image rose and expanded to fill the wide sky In the Badlands under that remorseless sky Hank was at his most powerful The monster in front of him was beyond him normally but now he hoped to bridge that gap
Eight bullets smashed and sparked off of the reinforced armor of the monster that heaved itself out of the ground Its wide mouth opened its few ivory teeth blunt but as large as end tables Then came the lava regurgitated and steaming as it splashed out toward Hank Finally its image spread out from its open maw like mustard gas caustic and sizzling