Chapter 21: Cold Logic

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Cold Logic

​"Beg him to spare our lives?" Krono repeated the words slowly, as if he found the very concept repulsive.

​"Hey, why would we beg to some oversized shrimp?" he mocked, staring deadpan at the beastfolk youth.

​The young beastman was instantly triggered. His face flush with rage.

"Damn mongrel! You won’t learn until I break you! Guards, kill him!"

​The guards of the Golden Wolf Tribe were no joke. Each of them possessed physical strength and mana reserves on par with a Silver Rank Hunter. Combined with their ferocious, innate wolf instincts, they were truly terrifying opponents.

​"Awoooo!"

​With a feral howl, a burly guard with a thick mustache launched himself into the air using sheer physical agility.

Whoosh!

He descended like a falling boulder, his heavy spear thrusting forward to skewer the boy where he stood.

​But he had severely underestimated his target.

​After surviving 6 months of hell under five Platinum Rank masters, Krono’s combat reflexes had been honed to absolute perfection.

​He sidestepped the spear seamlessly, pivoting his weight to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick straight to the guard’s face.

​Ka-cha!

​With that single strike, the guard’s jaw shattered with a sickening crunch.

BANG!

​The guard instantly lost consciousness, crashing face-first into the dirt. A thick splash of blood painted the forest floor as he went down.

​However, seeing their comrade’s horrifying, instant defeat didn’t deter the rest of the guards.

​Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

​Moving with terrifying speed, the remaining beastfolk surrounded Krono from all sides. Their spears were raised, determined to crush this brat using their combined strength.

​"You might be able to sneak-attack one of them, but can you fight all of us, mongrel?" the young beastman cackled from the sidelines.

​What the arrogant youth didn’t know, however, was that Krono was entirely out of their league.

Afterward, there was just pure domination.

​Minimal effort. Absolute execution.

His motto was simple: since they came for his lives, they should prepared to give their as well.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

​With each strike, a single guard fell.

​Celine, Felix, and Arden’s jaws dropped to the floor.

In a matter of seconds, Krono had completely dismantled the ferocious guards of the Golden Wolf Tribe.

​Even Ceylon (the arrogant young beastman) stood frozen in utter astonishment. He had assumed the boy was just a weak kid he could crush like a bug, but he never imagined his elite guards would be butchered so effortlessly.

​After finishing the last guard, Krono slowly turned to face Ceylon. His expression was as cold as ice.

​Krono glared at the trembling youth, his deep, unfathomable eyes clearly calculating the most efficient way to kill him.

​Sensing the impending doom, Felix rushed forward in a total panic.

​"Stop, Krono! I don’t know what illustrious background you come from, but killing the young heir of the Golden Wolf Tribe will bring down a catastrophe! Even for someone like you!"

​"Yes, Krono. Their tribe has several elders who are in the Alpha Rank. If they even get wind of what happened here, they will come for our lives," Arden added, looking very frightened.

"He’s right, you mongrel! Once I tell my father about this, you will all be dead! So don’t you dare lay a hand on me," Ceylon barked, trying to mask his rising terror with arrogance.

​Krono smirked dangerously.

​"You mean you haven’t informed them yet?" he asked, a chilling killing intent flashing in his deep eyes.

​Noticing that predatory glint, Ceylon swallowed hard.

​Panic set in as Krono took a slow, deliberate step toward him.

​"Hey, I am warning you! Don’t take another step! My father will—"

​"Krono, are you insane?! Don’t do this!" Arden yelled.

​But it was already too late.

​Whoosh!

​Moving like a phantom, Krono blurred through the air, his black iron blade flashing in a deadly white arc.

​Slice!

​Thud!

​Ceylon’s head was cleanly severed from his neck, tumbling through the air before hitting the damp forest floor with a heavy thud.

​His lifeless, disbelieving eyes remained wide open. Even in his final moments, the arrogant youth couldn’t believe this kid actually had the gall to execute the tribe chief’s son.

​ The headless body took a few stumbling, zombie-like steps, before a fountain of blood sprayed wildly from the severed stump, then it collapsed forward.

​Celine clamped her hands over her face and let out a horrified shriek, "Ahhhhh!"

​"Monster..." Felix whispered in absolute dread.

​"Devil!" Arden gasped, his pupils trembling violently as he stared at the blood-soaked boy.

"Devil, you say?" Krono repeated, feeling deeply amused by the accusation.

​Sure, darkness was a part of his nature now. But that didn’t mean he was going to let it blindly dictate his actions.

He had executed Ceylon entirely out of cold, hard logic. All just to minimize future problems.

If the arrogant heir had lived, he would have called down the wrath of his entire tribe.

​And Krono definitely didn’t want to be hunted down by an angry pack of Bronze Rank beastfolk. Not yet, at least.

He still needed time to grow strong, after all.

​Pulling his gaze away from Ceylon’s decapitated corpse, Krono calmly wiped the blood from his black iron blade.

​He then turned to face the terrified trio. They were staring at him with wide, trembling eyes, looking at him as if they were standing before a literal demon in the flesh.

In a flat tone, he said:

​"Listen well. I killed him so that trouble wouldn’t follow us. Dead men can’t call for backup. There is no other reason behind it. But... if you are all so scared, you three are completely free to leave. Walk away, and don’t cross my path again."

​Felix, Celine, and Arden exchanged a fearful look.

Then, without a single word of protest, they scrambled to their feet as if making a unified decision.

​They had to run. They wanted absolutely nothing to do with any more of the insane, bloody situations surrounding this terrifying little boy.

Krono watched their retreating backs and said nothing. He had long realized that his path would not allow companions to be with him. The circumstances were as such.

​He didn’t believe there was a single person out there who was capable of understanding him and worthy of his trust.

​After their silhouettes disappeared from the forest, Krono stared at the twelve lifeless beastman corpses.

​It was time to devour.