Chapter 272: An A Rank Cow
Daniel spun on instinct, raising The Heavens Honor with a mix of Death Energy and the unstable white aura.
"Finally." This time, the white aura glowed a bit steadier, and with a slash, he struck at the wolf’s jaw. The white light and black aura blended together, and the strike was so powerful it shattered one of the wolf’s black fangs.
He had finally managed to somewhat control the aura, though it was still far from stable and remained highly volatile.
Dark fragments scattered through the air like ash. The wolf howled in fury and unleashed [Underworld Howl].
A terrifying howl, like a storm of darkness, scrambled Daniel’s mind for a moment, as if whispers from the depths of hell were crawling into his ears. His body went slack, his legs briefly trembling.
"A mental attack?" He clenched his teeth, channeling Death Energy through his body to suppress the effects of the howl.
He tried igniting the white aura on The Heavens Honor again. This time, the white light burned brighter around the blade like a flickering flame, but it was still unstable, dimming at times.
Even so, Daniel charged at the wolf with confidence, swinging The Heavens Honor with a mix of the white aura and Death Energy, landing a heavy strike on the wolf’s side.
The white aura flared like a small explosion, while the Death Energy ripped through the shadowy body like a dark wave. The wolf growled and launched another [Shadow Rush], vanishing and reappearing from another corner, its claws aiming for Daniel’s chest.
Daniel dodged with agility, but the wolf’s claws grazed his thigh, a thin line of blood dripping onto the stone floor. The sting in his leg felt like a sharp needle, but he ignored it.
"I need to get this aura working properly!" he muttered under his breath, focusing to stabilize the white aura.
The white glow flared again, stronger this time, merging with Death Energy. With a high leap, he lunged at the wolf’s head.
The wolf tried to defend itself with [Fangs of Darkness], but Daniel spun quickly, driving The Heavens Honor into the wolf’s neck. The white aura burned like a sacred flame, while Death Energy surged through the beast like a destructive tide.
The shadows shattered, and the wolf collapsed with a howl like a dying storm. Its body dissolved into magical light, with pieces of darkness scattering like ash across the stone floor.
Daniel stood, panting, sweat dripping from his chin, blood seeping from new scratches on his arm and thigh. The white aura on The Heavens Honor dimmed, and he let out a tired sigh with a faint smile.
The only truly hard part of this battle had been taming the Sword Aura. He had made some progress, but it still needed work. He’d have to put in more effort to fully master it.
"He... actually won?"
"We just witnessed history!"
"Ha! We’ve got a monster! Our guild just recruited a monster!"
"That was Sword Aura, wasn’t it? He actually has Sword Aura?"
"Imagine it—we have a prodigy who doesn’t even fully know how to use Sword Aura yet!"
"But his aura was so unstable. He must’ve only just learned it."
On the other side, Simon glared at Daniel with pure rage, wishing he could rip him apart right then and there.
’How the hell did that bastard manage to beat even a Half Step A Rank Corruption Beast? How is that even possible?’
He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed with his own eyes.
Since when did defeating Corruption Beasts become this easy?
The only thing that’s happened to Daniel through all these battles is that he’s worked up a sweat.
With all those hits he’s taken, it’s barely even left a scratch on him. What the hell is his body made of to be that ridiculously tough?
’If a Half Step A Rank isn’t enough... what about an actual Rank A? Hahaha...’ He pulled out his communication talisman again.
But as he looked at Daniel’s rank, which had now risen to 7, his smirk vanished.
If things kept going at this pace, it would only take two more battles for him to reach his rank.
However, that’s not something that’s going to happen. He’s never going to allow such a thing to happen.
Lana, meanwhile, was also watching Daniel with a measure of awe, but her awe came from his Sword Aura.
"He even has Sword Aura?" She couldn’t understand why he hadn’t used it in their own fight.
Could it be that he had truly been looking down on her?
At that moment, the wolf’s body vanished, and Daniel’s next opponent materialized.
A massive crow emerged, its wings blazing with black and green corrupted flames as if it had flown straight out of the depths of hell. Its body was a fusion of razor-sharp metallic feathers and charred flesh, each feather gleaming like a dagger in the light.
Its eyes burned like twin dark pits with green fire, and its obsidian-black beak cut through the air with every movement like a blade.
It stood nearly seven meters tall, and with every flap of its wings, it unleashed a storm of ash and Corruption energy that stained the glass walls with a dark aura.
Its screech echoed like a scream from the underworld, its movements wild and fast—but to Daniel, it was just another target.
"A Corruption Crow? How is that even possible?" The spectators shuddered in fear at the sight of the creature.
"That’s a Corruption Crow! A Rank A Corruption Beast! Even Rank A Awakened have a hard time taking one down!"
"Why is something like that even here?"
"We can’t let him get killed! We need to stop this fight!"
They tried to convince Lana to halt the battle, but it was no use. While she knew the fight could be dangerous, she didn’t see any reason to interfere.
After all, Daniel had already gone toe-to-toe with her, a Rank A. There was no reason to think he couldn’t handle another Rank A opponent.
"A Rank A? Guess I’ll have to take this seriously," Daniel said, lifting his sword as he prepared for the fight.