The Devouring Dragon

"ARRRAH!"

Torn had no time to react - the knife sticking out where my foot once was slashed across his face.

He stumbled back, blood dripping down his face as the knife slashed past his left eye - blinding him permanently.

"T-Torn!" Gorn screamed, slamming forward his spear at me from the side. His eyes widened slightly as it made contact.

My knife foot changed back into a normal one, and I angled my body to the side, protecting Raya as I let the spear slam into the side of my torso.

-500HP! (14,815/15,450)

+250HP! (15,065/15,450)

Damn, that actually stung a bit.

I grunted, pushing the pain aside as I completely ignored Gorn. 

It wasn't easy to split my attention between the two wolves - I needed to take down one first and turn this two-versus-one into a one-on-one fight.

I lunged forward again, ignoring a slight pain as Gorn slashed his spear across my back while I did.

-250HP! (14,815/15,450)

+125HP! (14,940/15,450)

I barreled forward, angling my shoulder at Torn as I slammed into him like a football player. Despite his huge physique, he was still reeling from pain as his eyes bled, so he didn't stand a chance.

He stumbled backward as I slammed into him, tumbling over and falling onto his back.

"TORN!" Gorn screamed again, more urgency in his voice as the tip of his spear slammed directly into my back, causing me to grunt in pain again.

The spear tip tore through my skin, indenting decently deep into my back as I towered over Torn.

-1,250HP! (13,690/15,450)

+625HP! (14,315/15,450)

I continued to ignore Gorn, instead lifting up my right foot as I balanced on my left. My foot morphed again, shifting into the blade of a knife.

Torn's sole eye widened as he clutched at his face, staring up in fear as he saw me tower over him - the knife in my leg casting a shadow over him.

"W-Wait…" Torn stuttered, staring up with a look of desperation on his face.

I didn't listen.

"TORN!" Gorn screamed again, lunging at me as I raised my leg.

Then, I stomped down.

"TORN!"

My knife stomped into Torn's neck, tearing through it like butter as the wolf general let out one final gargle of blood, and then slumped over.

As he did, Gorn's spear cut into my back again, the wolf general attacking with a whole new level of strength as he desperately tried to save his brother.

"DIE YOU BASTARD!"

-2,500HP! (11,815/15,450)

+1,250HP! (13,065/15,450)

A little less cliche, I guess?

"Fuck!" I let out an audible grunt, as having a spear cut multiple inches into your back was not a good feeling. 

The pain subsided a bit as Gorn yanked his spear out, allowing for my regeneration to partially repair the wound - leaving just a splotch of red skin and blood where a large hole had once been.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Gorn screamed again, thrusting his spear forward again from behind me, but I had no reason not to dodge this time.

I stepped to the side, the wolf's eyes widening as I spun around. 

My leg lashed out, slamming directly into his stomach and sending the large wolf man stumbling back as he clutched at his gut.

"Stop yellin' so much," I grunted, casually wiping a bit of blood off my cheek and onto my shoulder, "You'll be seeing your brother again soon enough."

"You…" Gorn grunted but trailed off as he shook his head, seemingly composing himself again.

"I promise you… I'll kill you…" Gorn grunted, glaring daggers at me. I merely smirked in response - then stopped myself abruptly, schooling my face.

I was getting a bit too arrogant - whether it was from eating so many wolves, or if I had just always been this way, I wasn't sure. 

Either way, it was a bad habit.

"Try your best," I said instead, tensing my body as I readied myself to fight the stronger of the brothers, still carefully cradling Raya in my arms.

However, rather than rush at me, Gorn suddenly… turned around and sprinted the other way.

"YOU MUTTS! STOP HIM! KILL HIM!" Gorn ordered loudly, roaring out to the wolves in the forest around us as he ran away from me as fast as he could, "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! JUST KILL HIM!"

I stared blankly at his retreating form for a moment, stunned by his sudden cowardness.

"Damn," I muttered, "He's a bitch."

I could understand running away in an unwinnable situation - honestly, it was impressive that he was level-headed enough not to just charge at me again - but when I just killed his brother right in front of him? After he went on and on about killing me?

You can't run away like a bitch after that.

"A bitch?" Raya muttered in my arms, looking at me questioningly, "No, I'm quite certain he's a male."

"Not that kind of bitch," I said half-heartedly, turning my attention to the results of Gorn's words.

All around us, wolves started to emerge from the dark forest. 

The ones who had been nearest to us - staying just outside of the small muddy circle - had been the commanders, all of which were now lying in bloody piles of furry bodies.

The ones that came now were all weaker than the commanders had been - consisting mostly of pack leaders and lowly four-legged wolves who didn't even reach level 10.

They wouldn't be a serious threat to me, but they would be annoying. There were hundreds - hell, maybe even thousands - that we had walked past on our way here. 

If I had to deal with all of them, then Gorn would be able to get away. I could just cut through them as I chased him down, but with Raya in my arms that would be diff-

I stopped, blinking abruptly as I looked down at the girl in my arms.

Right - she couldn't protect herself from the two generals, or even the army of commanders, but she was far from a pushover. 

She was still stronger than even Raeren, a general, had been,

Against this unruly group of pack leaders and cannon fodder, she could probably hold her own for a bit, right?

"How long can you last?" I asked abruptly, setting her on the ground. She blinked, looking at me confusedly.

"Um…" She suddenly blushed, looking away, "T-This is a weird time to ask. I-I've never tried it before, so I'm not sure. I'm a virgin…"

I deadpanned at her, and she blushed even deeper.

"W-What?"

"I meant against them!" I said, gesturing to the wolves surrounding us.

Seriously, she thought I was asking how long she lasts in bed during a situation like this?!

"O-OH!" Raya stuttered, turning beet red as she looked away in embarrassment.

"I'll go get Gorn," I ordered, trying to push past her previous words, "Hold out until I get back. It'll take… a minute or two, maybe?"

"R-Right! I'll be fine!" Raya stuttered out, nodding so rapidly at my words that her hair bounced around her head. Her body stiffened, and her face turned serious as she clenched her fists and readied herself to hold off the small army of wolves.

Meanwhile, both of my hands shifted again, turning into sharp blades. Then, my legs tensed as I stared in the direction that Gorn was fleeing.

The next few seconds were a blur as I shot forward, my hands moving far faster than the average human's eyes could process as I cut down wolf after wolf in my way. 

Blood splashed onto my face and body, coating me even further as I barreled through every wolf in my way like a linebacker. 

As I stomped through the countless corpses around me, my stomach churned as I suddenly felt another pang of intense hunger wash over me. 

It seems that [Devour] was itching to be fed. Clearly, it wasn't happy with me killing so many enemies and not consuming them right away.

Despite my pang of hunger, the idea of eating so many wolves was still unappealing, as the pile around me continued to grow as my hands slashed through mutt after mutt.

I can only imagine how long that's gonna take.

Luckily for me, despite Gorn being far faster and stronger than any opponent so far, he was still far slower than I was. 

I burst through the tree line, barreling into the forest as my eyes locked onto his back. The wolves around me decreased as I left the small open circle, the trail of bodies behind me looking straight out of a horror movie.

As if Gorn could feel my eyes boring into his back, he suddenly stiffened, glancing over his shoulder and spotting me. His legs moved quicker as he started to flee through the forest with a renewed vigor.

"Stop him, you mutts! Stop him!" He screamed again, glancing over his shoulder again with wide eyes and I continued to gain on him.

Unfortunately for Gorn - man, this guy's been really unfortunate today, huh? - the various wolves still lurking in the forest had no chance of stopping my approach. 

Most of them didn't even manage to reach me in time, and the few that did were swiftly cut in half.

Mere seconds later, I finally reached Gorn. I lashed out with my arm as I trailed him by just a few feet, and my bladed hand slashed across his back - causing it to erupt into a fountain of blood.

"GAH!" Gorn yelled, stumbling as he was suddenly assaulted with a world of pain. His minor stumble allowed me to get even closer to him, and I targeted a different part of his body this time.

I leaned forward, pushing off the now non-muddied ground with my feet. I lunged forward, my bladed hand lashing out and slashing across both of Gorn's legs as I rolled past him.

"AGRAH!" Gorn screamed again, stumbling forward as his legs were literally cut out from under him. He fell forward, falling onto his stomach as blood exploded out from his legs.

"Y-You…" He muttered, staring back with wide eyes as he watched the blood flow out of his legs and coat the grass under him in red.

I merely stood up out of my crouched position in front of him, towering over the downed general. He slowly turned back to me, looking up with wide eyes.

"W-Wait…" He stuttered out, panic growing in his eyes as he found he couldn't move his legs. He was lying flat on the ground with no path to escape - he was completely at my mercy.

"Should I?" I hummed, holding up my knifed hand.

"P-Please! Spare me!" Gorn spat out, blood flowing from his mouth as he stared up at me desperately, "Y-You want to kill the king, right?! I can help! I know more about him than anyone! I'll be useful!"

"A tempting offer," I hummed, watching as a light of hope formed in Gorn's eyes before I squashed it, "Just kidding. I already had the king's literal daughter on my side - why would I need you?"

I raised the blade again, and his plea's became more desperate, "I-I know more than her! I promise! I'm stronger too! I can help! I can help!"

I raised the blade, staring down at the once proud wolf general as he stuttered pathetically and begged for his life.

"If our roles were reversed," I raised an eyebrow, crouching down as I stared into the wolf's eyes, "Would you have spared me?"

He was silent for a moment, and then started begging again, "I-I would've! I promi-"

He was cut off as my blade slammed into his forehead, causing an eruption of blood as it carved straight into his brain. His eyes stared up at me in horror for a moment, and then he slumped over, his eyes becoming lifeless.

"I don't like liars," I said simply, pulling my blade out from his head, "After all…"

I stood up again, looking back as hundreds of wolves barreled towards me from the forest - all still following their dead general's words.

"You were just trying to buy time anyway."

I tensed my body, ready to face down the XP farm running to its death.

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out on Wednesday (5 Days from now) or you can read ahead right now at Patreon.com/Koyon !