Return of the Mythic Bloodline

"Why are we moving towards them? Shouldn't we move in the opposite direction to avoid any conflict?" she asked, following behind me. After a little pause, she added as her voice sharpened, "Or are you trying to confirm my claims because you didn't believe me?"

"Hold your horses, pretty lady. I believed you—that's why we're moving towards the location," I sighed and spoke further, "Did you forget? I told you that I have the power to cure their curse."

As we reached closer to the place Nymeria had directed, I also began to hear some noises.

I peeked from the side of a tree, and there were really numerous different beasts in front of me—leopards, wolves, jaguars, panthers, giant snakes, chimpanzees, gorillas, and many more.

The purple hue had already covered more than half of their bodies, and there was more violence in their eyes and more bloodthirst in their demeanor.

"Whoa, you are truly incredible. You didn't just find out that there are beasts here, but you also mentioned their exact number from that far," I gasped, giving her a thumbs up.

"Hmph, and you dared to doubt my assessment," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Hey, pretty lady, please forgive this foolish mortal for questioning your divine judgment. Let bygones be bygones," I requested, winking and raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, I will overlook it this time, since there are more pressing matters," she said, drawing her sword.

"Oy-oy, why are you taking your sword out? Wasn't your Soulforce sealed?" I blurted hastily.

"Well, I can still kill all of them with just my swordsmanship," she replied with a little shrug.

"And I somehow don't doubt that. But there is no need to kill them, and I also have a plan on how to deal with them, so may you put the sword back for now," I replied while handing the quiver to her.

She put her sword back and grabbed the quiver.

"So what's this plan of yours?" she asked curiously.

"Follow me," I said as I began to climb the nearby tree.

After reaching a wide branch, I stopped and started explaining my plan, "Can you see the purple leech attached to those beasts?" I asked.

She responded with a nod, so I spoke further,

"That is the main source of the curse, and all you need to do is target that leech with the arrows. Keep your strength in control and don't accidentally kill them. Also, don't try to attack the beasts whose leech is in a difficult place to hit. Got it?"

"But there are only a hundred arrows, even after combining both the quivers you brought. So what about the rest of them?" she asked, grabbing the bow from her back.

"Don't worry, I am gonna take care of the rest of 'em," I replied with a little smirk as I lay lazily on the branch.

She grabbed an arrow from the quiver, pulled back the string of the bow, her breathing became light; her entire body still.

And then she released it.

The string snapped back to its original position, and the arrow launched, moving in a curved trajectory, slicing through the air, and finally hitting the neck of a wolf—right where the leech of the curse was located.

"Cursed beast detected…

Absorbing the Soulforce of cursed beast..."

Man, I totally loved these messages. Are you curious to know how this was happening?

Well, I was taking advantage of a new feature of the All-Devouring Breathing Technique.

Since it wasn't essential for the medium to be connected with the host during absorption, when I handed the quiver to Nymeria, I had already activated the technique—selecting the arrows as the medium.

"Huh, what just happened?" Nymeria muttered as she witnessed the scene in front of her.

The arrow that had landed on the wolf got covered in purple veins and corroded into thin air, while the wolf fell unconscious after howling for a few seconds.

"Don't get distracted and keep on attacking. The other animals are soon going to target that unconscious one," I shouted, pointing at that wolf.

"You should have told me that sooner," she snapped, quickly drawing another arrow from the quiver.

Her drawing and shooting skills were truly exceptional. In just a single second, she shot six arrows in rapid succession, each hitting the bullseye.

"Absorbing the Soulforce of cursed beast…" ×6

"You are the best, pretty lady," I exclaimed, giving her two thumbs-up as I lay freely.

"Are you using me as a free slave here?" she yelled, drawing another arrow.

"Absorbing the Soulforce of cursed beast…" ×9

"How can you say that, pretty lady? It's just that you're so incredible, I'm not even getting a chance to intervene," I coaxed, joining my hands.

"Get down there this instant, jerk!" she snapped, kicking me off the branch.

"You are completely heartless, pretty lady," I shouted as I fell from the branch.

I drew my mace from my back in mid-air and muttered, "I think that's where the free meal ends." I then hit the ground, and a shockwave rippled through the air, sending the beast tumbling away from the impact.

As soon as I landed, I threw the mace at a chimpanzee climbing the tree, trying to reach Nymeria, and immediately ducked low, dodging the claws of a leopard aiming at me from behind.

The moment the leopard's claws reached above me, I grabbed its leg and tossed it at the falling chimpanzee.

"Absorbing the Soulforce of cursed beast…" ×2

I bolted at the dozens of beasts in front of me, grabbing the fallen mace from the ground.

I swung and hit any beast that approached me, gathering all of them in one place.

Then I raised my hand horizontally and shouted,

"Lightning Bolt!"

A beam of golden thunder emitted from my hand, striking one of the clustered beasts. The thunder spread, using the struck beast as a conductor and zapping the rest of them.

But I felt something coming from my left. It was a giant snake.

"Oh shit, I missed one. I won't be able to dodge it," I muttered as its fangs reached a hair's breadth from me.

But before it could hit me, an arrow pierced its tail and struck the nearby tree, holding it down there.

"Focus, jerk! Don't let your guard down," Nymeria shouted, drawing another arrow.