Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 118: Bow

Joel and Maxwell were rooting experts. Despite Liam’s sudden firing of the bow, his gesture didn’t go unnoticed. It took his companions by surprise, but they had still witnessed his actions.

It didn’t take an expert to conclude that Liam was more than proficient with bows. His unfamiliarity with that specific magical weapon hadn’t affected his swift gestures at all, and the same seemed true for his aim.

Maxwell temporarily put Liam’s skills aside to dive into the shallow waters, carefully approaching the floating figure. Liam and Joel obviously followed closely behind, with the former already wielding another ethereal, dark-green arrow.

The confusing detail Liam had heard earlier turned out to be correct in quite the disturbing way. The trio reached the floating figure, which was belly-up and motionless, carrying features so unnatural that Liam struggled to see it as an animal.

The figure had indeed five legs, the fifth oddly growing between the rear and front ones, and not even from their center. Yet, that was the easiest detail to swallow.

The legs seemed to belong to different animals. Three were scaled, one had fur, and another even ended in a hoof. That belly had also mostly pale-red scales, but some were slimy, as if marking it as a fish.

Maxwell didn’t hesitate to turn the dead animal, exposing its upper side. More scales became visible, alongside spikes, but Liam spotted gills at the base of that furred, U-shaped head that clearly shouldn’t be there.

’What even is this?’ Liam wondered.

Instinctively, Liam connected that creature with what he believed alligators should be. Those scales, reptilian tail, environment, and length that almost touched on eight meters fit that description, but the similarities ended there.

That furred head and fur in general almost made Liam think about the unholy union between an alligator and a wolf. Nevertheless, that still wouldn’t explain the hoof.

’This is more than just twisted,’ Liam concluded.

Joel shared Liam’s shock, but Maxwell went over different details. His inspection had previous knowledge backing it up, allowing him to keep it brief, ending it once he found the bloody hole on the monster’s head.

"Brother Liam, your aim is exceptional," Maxwell commented, digging his finger in that gory hole. "You hit the brain of a creature that Brother Joel and I couldn’t even begin to locate."

Liam found nothing exceptional with that feat. If anything, the creature was too big to miss. He might find some satisfaction in the fact that he had killed a level one magical beast in one blow, but that was his second time already.

Moreover, that result was almost mandatory due to the rank 1 bow’s involvement. Each arrow depleted half as much Qi as Liam’s best Seismic Palm, making it more than deadly in his expert hands.

’This is way more useful than my knife,’ Liam thought, a smile broadening on his face as he focused on the bow. ’You are as beautiful as Melissa.’

Liam suddenly blinked, confused about the instinctive comparison, recalling that second kiss he had managed not to think about due to the hectic preparations for the mission.

Luckily, Maxwell saved Liam from those complicated thoughts, distracting him with an order.

"Since Brother Liam’s skills are so good," Maxwell declared, "Keep watching out for scouts. You’ll be able to use the bow as long as you stay close."

That had to do with the bindings. The weapon belonged to Maxwell after all. Liam could only use it because he willed so, but the eventual distance would remove that permission.

"Senior Brother," Liam called, not knowing how to approach the matter, but wanting to do so anyway. "Would you be willing to trade this magical weapon?"

"I have little use for the rank 1 resources you can concoct," Maxwell sternly pointed out, before donning a smile. "But, if Brother Liam’s performance in the mission is satisfactory, I will consider giving it to you as a gift."

Liam spotted the lack of clear goalposts, but didn’t care. He didn’t smell anything off on Maxwell, but the possibility of earning himself a bow rekindled his resolve, no matter if that ended up being a trick.

Maxwell soon refocused on the monster, using his bare hands to widen the hole carved by the arrow until he could scour its brain, eventually retrieving an uneven, solid sphere from it.

The sphere was dark red and contained an amount of Qi close to a rank 1 item. It even leaked that energy, stopping a few seconds after it came into contact with the air.

"This is one point," Maxwell announced, the sphere suddenly vanishing. "Let’s proceed deeper."

Maxwell didn’t hesitate to advance after those words, and Joel only stopped to pat Liam’s shoulder before following him. Liam also proceeded ahead, the promise of more tangible rewards sharpening his senses beyond their usual limits.

The muddy water never grew deeper. It remained under knee level, but the trio kept their advance slow nonetheless, wary of alerting whatever might be lurking in those areas.

Nevertheless, that didn’t mean a lack of encounters. No warnings resounded, but dark-green arrows occasionally flew during the group’s advance, each one of them claiming the life of a creature twisted beyond the definition of species.

There didn’t seem to be a pattern to the animals Liam killed. By the eighth, Liam stopped trying to understand that environment altogether.

Some creatures were more alligator than fur. Others were no different than scaled wolves, while a few even resembled horses. It was as if the Heavens had used the Mutated Battlefield as a testing ground, but Liam didn’t know whether to blame that higher entity for such monstrousities.

Still, albeit slow, the advance remained steady. When the night drew near, the trio was deep inside the swamp area, even arriving at the change Maxwell had been waiting for.

"Brother Joel, with me," Maxwell ordered. "Brother Liam, find a safe hiding spot."

Liam didn’t need to ask why of those directives. A few meters ahead, the swamp opened into a vast muddy lake reeking of dangerous stillness, radiating more Qi than anything he had perceived in that red environment.

Maxwell’s stretched hand even forced Liam to hand back the bow, which disappeared as he headed for a nearby tree, climbing it to leave those dangerous waters and reach a good observation point.

Meanwhile, down below, Maxwell inspected the lake for a few more seconds before glancing at Joel.

"There are three level two magical beasts ahead," Maxwell revealed. "Can Brother Joel play the bait?"

"With pleasure," Joel smirked, "Head Disciple."

Joel didn’t hesitate to jump ahead, forsaking any careful advance and leaping two more times, the last far longer than the previous, flinging him right at the lake’s center.

However, before Joel could land, his figure straightened, and his Qi moved, condensing into his right foot, which accelerated his fall, turning him into a meteor that crashed into the lake.

The muddy ground absorbed most of the impact, but the water didn’t. Waves rose from Joel’s location, revealing the lake’s bottom, that hole expanding until shadows of huge figures became visible.

The waves soon crashed onto each other, refilling the hole Joel had created, but the lake’s surface remained messy. Also, a tense, almost suffocating atmosphere descended, culminating in the rise of three huge figures that leaped at that invader.

Liam watched everything unfold, not daring to blink. The creatures Joel had stirred awake were level two magical beasts at least ten meters long, two with reptilian heads, and one wearing wolf’s fur and fangs. Their maws were also open, ready to crash onto Joel with everything they had.

However, Joel only waited patiently, not a single trace of fear on his now-stern face. Liam worried for his friend, but part of him held his breath in expectation, wanting to see what rooting experts were capable of.