Green Monster Epic

Chapter 196: A Fruitless Return

(Please recommend and favorite this novel, esteemed readers!!)

A charred corpse seared itself into Bonecrusher's eyes. The fragrant aroma of grilled meat, once masked by the flames, now emanated from the body. The deceased's features were only discernible by the vaguely recognizable dog-like head, confirming it was Myer, felled by Saru's fatal blow.

With no time to mourn Myer's death, Bonecrusher slammed his staff against the back of the sole surviving, terrified kobold, pointing at the charred corpse and commanding, "You, go check it out!!"

The absence of the assassin's body heightened Bonecrusher's anxiety. His gaze darted around, his nose twitching more frequently, but the overpowering scent of grilled meat masked any useful clues.

The kobold hesitantly approached, cautiously extending his steel axe towards the corpse of the Myer chieftain, preparing to carefully flip the body over. Suddenly, Myer's corpse sprang to life as if possessed, launching itself towards Bonecrusher in the distance. Simultaneously, from beneath Myer's corpse, a shadow lunged at the nearest kobold. As the kobold raised his steel axe to parry a dagger thrust, the figure used the axe as a springboard, pressing down and springing off to drive another dagger straight into the kobold's throat with swift precision.

Though startled, Bonecrusher remained composed, effortlessly dodging the flying corpse while chanting an incantation. A spike trap erupted precisely where the assassin was about to land. Saru, having just secured a kill, watched in horror as a sharp earth spike rose to meet him after he pierced the last kobold guard's throat.

With a desperate twist of his torso, Saru attempted a mid-air maneuver. As he landed, he plunged his daggers into the ground on either side of the earth spike, using the leverage to execute a forward flip, landing and rolling several meters. Looking back, he saw a wall of fire erupting from the ground where he had been, searing his back with intense pain. Without hesitation, Saru activated Shadow Step, vanishing once again from Bonecrusher's sight.

"Hmph!!"

A hundred meters away, in the shadow cast by a massive boulder, Saru couldn't help but groan in pain. When the Dragon Breath and Spider Web spells engulfed him, he had instantly used Myer's corpse as a shield, lying flat on the sand, and relying on the meager magical defense provided by his shadow energy to avoid the brunt of the Dragon Breath. Nevertheless, the Dragon Breath's immense power had scorched his body, leaving his tuft of hair completely burnt, revealing patches of red skin and blisters. In particular, the countless strands of spider silk wrapped around his arms had ignited under the Dragon Breath, threatening to burn his arms to the bone. Fortunately, he had managed to cut the webs away with his daggers in time, but his hands were now too damaged for combat in the short term.

Another wall of fire followed, narrowly missing his back, but still scorching it and filling the air with the acrid smell of burnt flesh, tinged with a hint of roasted meat.

Bonecrusher's keen ears picked up Saru's involuntary groan and he began running towards the sound, his staff glowing with a forming spell. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Saru peered out from the shadows, spotting Bonecrusher's movements. Without hesitation, he used his last of three daily Shadow Steps to teleport away. When he reappeared in another patch of shadow, the boulder he had been hiding behind was gone, obliterated by the fireball that struck moments later.

Saru dared not linger. Engulfing himself in shadow energy, he fled towards the wilderness. Once again losing sight of Saru, Bonecrusher, in a fit of rage, conjured another fireball and hurled it at the remnants of the boulder's foundation. Then, twitching his nose, he turned and ran back towards Bonecrusher Village without looking back.

Saru gritted his teeth and pressed on, never imagining that, despite his caution, he would be discovered. He couldn't fathom how Bonecrusher, that old codger, had detected his presence and preemptively set up a spell, nearly delivering a fatal blow.

Saru had arrived full of confidence, having reached the ranks of a high-level combatant, while his target was merely a level 10 warlock. Relying on the Shadow Warrior's natural advantage against spellcasters, Saru had not anticipated failure. Reality, however, had slapped him hard. Not only had he failed, but he had almost lost his life, making him embarrassed to face Alan again.

Of course, Saru could not know that Bonecrusher had survived countless dangers by relying on his acute sense of smell to react in time.

After running for a while, Saru pulled out a healing potion from his pocket and drank it, feeling somewhat better. He didn't want to return to Green Lake Village just yet, as he had failed to fulfill his promise to Alan and didn't know how to explain it. However, looking at his injuries, he knew it would take at least a month to fully recover. The thought of living alone in this unfamiliar environment made Saru uneasy.

In the end, Saru dragged his exhausted, burnt body back towards Green Lake Village.

Meanwhile, Bonecrusher was running at full speed. The Bear's Endurance spell granted him a boost of stamina, allowing him to continue even as he gasped for breath. Although he knew his spell had inflicted some damage on the assassin, he couldn't assess the extent of the injuries. All he knew was that he had detected a strong rat-like odor. Therefore, for his own safety, Bonecrusher didn't dare stop until he saw the partially excavated mountainside ahead, and the village with plumes of smoke rising from it.

Why did the assassin want to kill him? As Bonecrusher ran, his mind raced, trying to answer this question. The most likely suspect, without a doubt, was the green-skinned Alan, whom he had just visited. However, one question puzzled Bonecrusher: if the assassin was sent by Alan, was Alan's apparent agreement to a truce merely an act?

But then Bonecrusher reconsidered. Even if he had proof that the assassin was sent by Alan, he didn't seem to have a good way to respond. He had just expended effort to reach an agreement with Alan, establishing a consensus of peaceful coexistence. If he were to turn against the Green Field Tribe again because of this incident, what would he do next?

Being able to hire such a powerful assassin to kill him meant that if he were to turn hostile now, with the Green Field Tribe's current strength – three advanced individuals plus an advanced assassin – their high-end combat power would completely overwhelm his Bonecrusher Tribe. And in terms of warrior numbers, his tribe now had only fifty-odd combat-capable individuals, having just lost Myer, a capable assistant. Although they might have more in number than the Green Field Tribe, their overall strength was now roughly equal.

Unless he could once again sneak near Green Field Village, spend a long time preparing, and cast the Meteor Swarm spell, perhaps he could inflict heavy damage on the Green Field Tribe. But doing so would first subject him to the backlash of the contract, endangering his life and giving Alan the opportunity to annihilate his tribe.

"Elder, why have you returned alone?"

A kobold guard at the village entrance asked Bonecrusher in surprise, noticing his disheveled state.

"Close the village gates, no one is allowed in or out!!"

Upon entering the village, Bonecrusher's first act was to have the village gates shut. Although he knew that if the assassin was still following him, the gates would be little more than a formality, it gave Bonecrusher a sense of security.

"Notify Zul, starting today, arrange for ten warriors to rotate guard duty around my hut!!"

Seeing Bonecrusher's fierce and serious expression, the tribesmen dared not delay and immediately went to find the village head Zul to convey Bonecrusher's orders.