Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Rampaging Bradley

As the mist slowly dissipated, the setting sun cast its rays once more, illuminating the blood-soaked ground. The scene was a gruesome spectacle of carnage, a hellish landscape of corpses and blood.

Over a hundred bodies lay motionless, and within a hundred meters, all plant life and animals had been drained of their vitality by the toxic mist, turning the area into a lifeless zone.

Cough, cough! Bradley coughed weakly as he slowly crawled out from a pool of blood. He glanced at the direction where the girl had disappeared, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Who would've thought... I actually have two hearts."

His body was riddled with holes, but having reached the level of a Level 3 Beast Master, Bradley's body had undergone significant strengthening, allowing him to endure injuries that would have killed any normal person.

"I never imagined Charles would know a serpent-woman. I almost met my end at her hands," Bradley muttered to himself, carefully applying healing ointment to his wounds. The wounds began to close, albeit slowly, the pain so intense that Bradley ground his teeth in agony. "Charles, once I've healed, I swear I'll tear you to pieces!"

Just as Bradley was about to stand, a shadow suddenly appeared before him. "Remarkable, having two hearts. But I wonder—if I cut off your head, would you still survive?"

The unexpected voice sent a jolt of terror through Bradley as he applied the ointment.

When he looked up and saw that it was Charles, his veins bulged with fury. Instinctively, Bradley snatched up the longsword lying on the ground beside him.

Seeing Bradley standing before him, battered but still alive, Charles sighed. It seemed the cleanup would fall to him after all.

"Although you're injured, and fighting you now might seem unfair, I, Charles, don't really care about fairness," Charles said with a light chuckle, summoning Max and Mousie.

Bradley stood before Charles, his breath shallow and weak. Charles felt that he didn't even need his mystical beasts to step in; he could handle this with one hand.

But in the next moment, Bradley's aura began to surge. His wounds started healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, even the deep gashes vanished entirely.

Not only that, but Bradley's height and physique began to swell rapidly, with his blood vessels twisting and bulging grotesquely.

As Charles looked at Bradley, a few lines of information flashed before his eyes.

[Name]: Bradley

[Age]: 51

[Height]: 205 cm

[Beast Master Level]: Level 3

[Status]: Warning! Consumed a Strengthening Pill, resulting in a temporary berserk state. Pain and fear are suppressed, while strength, speed, and elemental power are significantly enhanced. This effect also amplifies the power of any associated mystical beasts. The downside is a month of severe weakness after the effect wears off, with a high risk of death.

"This is... a Strengthening Pill!" Charles exclaimed, immediately recognizing the drug. He remembered it from a theory class with Lily, where she had mentioned it as a forbidden substance.

"Kid, you've got some knowledge, I'll give you that," Bradley sneered, his eyes bulging, almost ready to pop out of his head. "You forced me to use a Strengthening Pill. You can die knowing you actually pushed me this far."

Bradley's massive form lunged at Charles, his entire body covered in bulging veins. A black mist enveloped his blade as he swung it down toward Charles with terrifying force.

The sheer power of the strike was nearly at the peak of a Level 3 Beast Master, while Charles was only a Level 2 Beast Master. If that blow connected, it would be fatal!

Clang!!! On reflex, Charles raised his Supreme Spear to block. The intense force of the impact caused even the durable Ice and Fire Supreme Spear, forged from meteoric iron, to bend slightly under the pressure.

"So strong!" Charles thought to himself, feeling the immense power behind the strike.

The strength of the blow nearly broke his arms, and his feet sank half a meter into the ground under the sheer weight of it.

Given Bradley's current physical state, using a Strengthening Pill so recklessly could only lead to one outcome—heart failure. It was clear Bradley intended to take Charles down with him.

"He's got brute strength on his side right now. Engaging him head-on would be foolish," Charles quickly strategized in his mind.

He retrieved a [Miraculous Speed Pill] from his storage space, swallowing it in one gulp. His speed increased by 50%, allowing him to dodge Bradley's next attack in a blur of motion.

Lightning Demon Ape!!!

Bradley's blade crashed into the ground, sending a shockwave that cleaved a one-meter-deep trench in the earth. A large boulder behind Charles was split clean in two.

Bradley glanced at his now-damaged longsword, frustration flickering across his face before he angrily tossed it to the ground. He knew his time was running out and that he needed to end this quickly. Without hesitation, he summoned his three mystical beasts.

—[Four-Eyed Pit Viper]—

[Attribute]: Poison

[Level]: 29

[Quality]: Silver

[Skills]: Poisonous Fang Sting, Venom Spray

[Weakness]: None

—[Long-Tailed Emperor Scorpion]—

[Attribute]: Poison

[Level]: 29

[Quality]: Silver

[Skills]: Bone-Cutting Claws, Scorpion Tail Sting

[Weakness]: None

—[Vesiculated Toxic Toad]—

[Attribute]: Poison

[Level]: 29

[Quality]: Silver

[Skills]: Vesicle Spray, Long Tongue Coiling

[Weakness]: None

[Description]: Bradley is in a berserk state, reaching the pinnacle of Level 3 Beast Master strength. His mystical beasts now fight at Level 29, ignoring typical attribute disadvantages. Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"This is terrifying!" Charles thought, as the brief information flashed before his eyes, sending a cold sweat down his spine. There was no time for hesitation. Almost instinctively, he issued battle commands to Max and Mousie through their psychic connection.

"Max, use Ice Pick Throwing for long-range attacks!"

"Roar!"

"Mousie, use Mimetic Illusion to replicate his strongest beast, the Long-Tailed Emperor Scorpion!"

"Squeak!"

The three monstrous creatures charged toward Charles with unstoppable momentum. With Bradley in a berserk state, the strength of his mystical beasts had skyrocketed, rivaling the power of some of the lower-level man-faced spiders from the tomb.

Clang...

Mousie, controlling the illusionary Long-Tailed Emperor Scorpion, clashed with Bradley's original scorpion. The collision of their metal-hard exoskeletons sent sparks flying as the sound of grinding metal filled the air.

Meanwhile, Max's ice spears repeatedly pierced through the Four-Eyed Pit Viper and the Vesiculated Toxic Toad. Yet, despite being turned into pincushions by the ice spikes, these enhanced mystical beasts felt no pain and continued their relentless advance.

Max then unleashed its second skill, Bone-Achingly Cold, igniting the entire area with pale blue flames. Yet, the Four-Eyed Pit Viper pressed forward, even at the risk of being burned to ashes, determined to close the distance to Max.

The battle seemed to be turning against Charles, and Bradley's face twisted into a vicious grin. "Kid, your death is near!"

Seeing Charles disappear into the shadows below, Bradley's muscles tensed, his attention focused on his surroundings, especially behind him.

Boom!!!

With a fierce wind, Bradley's brutal punch landed heavily on Charles, creating a massive dent in his chest.

With the full force of Bradley's strike, Charles's body was hurled like a cannonball, crashing heavily to the ground and shattering a large boulder into fragments, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.

Bradley activated his Bone-Cutting Claws skill, his arms transforming with an exoskeleton that resembled the powerful pincers of the emperor scorpion. He slowly approached Charles, who lay amidst the rubble. "I told you, kid, you're no match for me. Did you really think the same sneak attack would work twice?"

Bradley raised his massive pincers, which gleamed menacingly in the air. "Time to die, you little bastard. Today, your head will be the offering for my son Felix's soul!"

As Bradley's pincers descended, Uldir, watching from a distant hill, was so terrified that he instinctively covered his eyes.

Just as the pincers were about to strike, Charles commanded Max to activate the Energy Bomb skill. A swirling vortex of blue and red energy appeared behind him, and at the same time, he had Mousie inject dark elemental energy into the vortex.

"Triple Bomb!"

With a quiet utterance from Charles, the space vortex, composed of blue, black, and red energy, emitted a high-pitched, resonant hum as it charged up, distorting the very light around it.

This was the first time Charles had attempted to create a chaotic explosion by combining three different elemental abilities. If Emma's First Law of Beast Mastery was correct, this would be an unprecedented miracle, the equivalent of an E=MC^2 moment in this world—a super nuclear blast!

The chaotic energy in the air intensified, growing so fierce that even Bradley, despite being numbed to fear by the drugs, felt a shiver of terror deep in his bones. As a Beast Master, he knew all too well the devastating power of an energy disruption annihilation. The resulting explosion would pulverize every living thing within a hundred-meter radius.

Bradley gritted his teeth, screaming in desperation, "You crazy little bastard, have you lost your mind?!"

As soon as the words left Bradley's mouth, Charles gave him a small wave from within the shadows, then vanished into thin air.

Feeling the turbulent energy in the air, Bradley's eyes filled with despair.

Lightning Demon Ape—!!!

A deafening explosion followed, shaking the surrounding hills with its force. The intense shockwave obliterated trees within a several-hundred-meter radius, reducing them to splinters. The blinding white light lasted for a full ten seconds before finally fading, giving way to a massive fireball that rose like a small mountain, sending scorching heat waves in all directions...

A kilometer away, hiding behind a hill, Uldir was completely dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, when Bradley went berserk, Uldir was certain that Charles was done for. But who could have imagined that Charles would turn the tables in such a dire situation?

Even after the red glow faded and a mushroom cloud rose into the sky, climbing several kilometers high, Uldir's mouth was still hanging open in shock.

As he stood there in disbelief, a young voice interrupted his thoughts. "Here's the antidote for the poison in your system, and this is the key to where your family is being held." Uldir looked down to find Charles standing before him, offering the items. "Uldir, thank you for the information you provided. Bradley is dead—you're free now."

Uldir wanted to express his gratitude, but he suddenly realized that his jaw had nearly locked from hanging open for so long. All he could do was watch as the boy's figure disappeared into the sunset...