Hearing Furnace Hook’s loud shout, Gavasa’s expression darkened as he charged directly at Furnace Hook, intending to strike his head off with a single blow.
But to his surprise, his full-powered attack was blocked by a circular barrier that appeared around Furnace Hook.
This caught Gavasa off guard.
Although he was seriously injured, this was his full strength strike—one that could easily kill even someone over level forty.
He never expected it to be blocked by this ugly one-eyed human.
This was truly unexpected.
Even Liyami was somewhat surprised by the scene.
She could tell that this Demon Race warrior was definitely not weak; if he weren’t injured, he would be stronger than her.
Yet, he couldn’t even hurt Furnace Hook?
As expected, that slave trader still had some hidden trump cards.
Luckily, she hadn’t acted recklessly earlier.
Seeing that the Demon Race’s attacks had no effect on him, Furnace Hook, who had just been frightened into crouching on the ground by the sudden assault, immediately regained his composure.
He stood up again and burst into loud laughter at the Demon Race.
“Hahaha! Didn’t expect that, did you? You can’t hurt me! Prepare to die, you damned Demon Race! Hahaha……”
Furnace Hook mocked the Demon Race shamelessly, seemingly trying to relieve his own unease through ridicule.
Gavasa’s face grew darker as he listened to Furnace Hook’s taunts.
Hidden in a corner, Liyami understood the situation completely.
It seemed that this Demon Race was not allied with Furnace Hook.
And now, neither could gain the upper hand over the other.
Liyami had no knowledge of Furnace Hook’s trump cards or this unknown Demon Race’s abilities.
Since that was the case…
Liyami retreated to the corner of the room, activating Shadow Veil and Presence Reduction to blend herself into the shadows.
She had already heard approaching footsteps.
Now she was eager to see whether Furnace Hook’s trump cards were enough or if this Demon Race would kill him first.
Gavasa, who was about to continue his attack, also heard the footsteps growing closer.
He turned to look at the bedroom door and ignored Furnace Hook, confident that the human couldn’t hurt him anyway.
“Bang!”
The bedroom door was flung open.
Standing in the doorway was the Guard Captain along with several other Guards he had brought.
The Guard Captain was stunned at first, then horrified as he saw the figure before his boss—someone with a horned head, a palm-sized face, and missing their left arm.
“You…you’re really a Demon Race!” the Guard Captain exclaimed in shock.
He had never expected that the attacker targeting their boss would be a Demon Race.
He had thought it would be either wild orcs or a new recruit Guard.
But a Demon Race?
That was beyond belief!
“What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and come save me!” the boss shouted.
The Guard Captain snapped back to reality and glanced at the other Guards around him, only to find that none dared to move forward—not even a step.
Seeing this, the Guard Captain realized they were all paralyzed by fear.
If he didn’t dispel their terror, they would be slaughtered one-sidedly by the Demon Race.
Right now, he was the only one who could do that.
Taking a deep breath, the Guard Captain recalled that since he gave up being an adventurer to become Furnace Hook’s subordinate, this was the first time he’d felt such a strong threat to his life.
But that was fine.
Life-threatening situations like this weren’t new in his career.
He would handle it just like before—dangerous but ultimately safe.
Drawing the long sword at his waist, the Guard Captain charged fiercely toward the Demon Race.
Gavasa watched the charging human with interest.
In his perception, the human was only level 42.
Even injured as he was, he shouldn’t be killed by a level 42 human.
Therefore, the Guard Captain’s move was essentially suicidal.
The Guard Captain reached the Demon Race and swung his long sword wildly, striking several blows.
When the attack ended, both the Guard Captain and the Demon Race stood motionless.
After a few seconds, under the terrified gazes of the other Guards and Furnace Hook, the Guard Captain’s body instantly turned into a pile of crushed flesh.
Gavasa clicked his tongue in surprise.
He hadn’t expected his strength to have dropped so much that he could be scratched by this human.
He touched the shallow wound on his chest tinged with a trace of blood, then turned his gaze to the remaining Guards.
After witnessing the Guard Captain’s miserable fate, the rest of the Guards stood frozen in place, too afraid to move an inch.
Some even instinctively took a few steps back, seemingly hoping to quietly retreat without being noticed.
Gavasa noticed these small movements and smiled cruelly.
Mocking them, he said, “What’s the matter? Aren’t you Guards? You won’t even protect your own master? Trying to just walk away? Looks like I have to teach you a lesson—to show you what it really means to be a Guard!”
Covering his stomach, Gavasa suddenly started to mimic vomiting.
Then, he spat out a black Seed of Transformation with sharp teeth that seemed to be smiling.
After being spat out, slender black tendrils sprouted rapidly from within the seed.
They swiftly wrapped around the Guards’ pant legs.
Some Guards screamed, trying to escape.
But once touched by the slender black tendrils, they lost control over their bodies.
The tendrils also tried to touch Furnace Hook, but were blocked by the circular barrier beside him.
However, Gavasa keenly noticed that after taking his full-strength blow and the recent contact with the black tendrils, Furnace Hook’s circular barrier became noticeably transparent, as if it was about to disappear.
Seeing this, a smile crept across Gavasa’s lips.
It seemed the barrier wasn’t as solid as he had imagined.
Not long after, most of the Guards touched by the tendrils began to change.
They grew shorter, their bodies darkened, and their faces became ugly—just like the small demons Gavasa had summoned in the cave.
A small number who hadn’t changed began to grow thin, as if the tendrils were draining their nutrients.
Meanwhile, Gavasa’s shallow chest wound healed rapidly until it disappeared completely, as if it had never existed.
“Phew~ This feeling is still as good as ever!”
Gavasa sighed contentedly, watching the Guards who had been transformed into small demons with great delight.
Now, he would have a new batch of loyal subordinates who wouldn’t be missed even if they died.
That damned cowardly Captain, and that Paladin—just wait!
I’ll be back with a vengeance soon!