Chapter 48 48 – Shifting The Blame



"Good kitties. Now follow me."

Ken gestured for the panthers to follow him with his hand, and the two followed like well-disciplined pets. 

"Let's establish our hierarchy clearly now. You can attack me."

When they stood in the forest, Ken took a fighting stance and charged at the panthers using Cloud Running.

The panthers were hesitant at first and chose to jump away to disengage him, but he kept chasing them. They didn't feel any killing intent from Ken, so they eventually chose to follow his orders and attack.

The two launched a well-coordinated assault from his two sides, one pounced at his neck while the other pounced at his thigh.

With a smooth motion, Ken took a step back and landed an axe kick on the head of the male panther, sending him crashing down on the ground. Ken was as slippery as an eel while using Cloud Running, making it nearly impossible to hit him.

He charged again at the male panther who was on the ground, and the female panther tried to attack him from the side to distract him. However, it was Ken's objective; he didn't have a reason to keep beating the male one.

He jumped above the female panther, catching it by surprise. When he was above it, he sent a barrage of punches, making it roar in pain and stumble.

'One Step.'

He appeared above the male panther that got up and dashed to help its companion, and Ken kicked the panther on its neck, sending it back to lie on the ground. Because of the panther's dashing momentum, it was sent rolling a few meters on the ground.

Ken's strength was comparable to the panthers' while his speed was only slightly inferior to theirs. Combined with his speed techniques and fighting arts, he was much superior even in a purely physical fight.

"Enough."

Ken released his bloodlust again, although less violently, and the panthers stopped moving.

"Let's go, I think you got my point now."

They ran together in the forest while Ken was sensing the area to find disciples. When he finally found fourth-stage disciples, they were from the inner sect this time. Their robes had no embroidery, which meant they weren't from an elite family.

"Come here."

·ƈθm He beckoned and the panthers got closer to him.

'Mind-Poisoning Domain – Frenzy Mode.'

He didn't unleash it completely so the panthers won't lose their minds, but he did it just enough to turn them into bloodthirsty animals.

"Go to hunt."

The group had 3 disciples, of which 2 were using swords while the last one used a saber. Ken didn't sense an archer, so he assumed there wasn't any. 

They were only traveling, so it was unlikely that the archer was jumping between branches while executing a supreme concealing technique.

The most dangerous part about beasts such as Dark Panthers was the surprise element. If one couldn't sense them before they ambushed them, the panthers would have a chance to inflict a grave injury.

The two panthers quickly chose their targets while being concealed in the darkness of the forest. Ken could only sense them through his Blood Sense, but he couldn't see them himself despite knowing they were there.

He watched the next events take place without intervening. The two panthers, Pino and Penny as he called them, flanked the group of three and attacked. In an instant, two screams resounded in the forest as two disciples had long, deep claw marks on their torsos.

Before they could react, the two panthers vanished back into the forest. The disciples quickly took out healing pills from their rings and swallowed them, but it only offered a slight relief. They'd need to rest for a while for the pills to truly take effect.

Of the three disciples, 2 were men while one was a woman. The female disciple was walking in the middle while the male ones offered her protection from the sides, which led to them being injured.

'That's why simping is wrong. Even if she could be saved thanks to their sacrifice, do they really think it's worth it if she just gets over their death after a month and dates a third guy?'

Ken thought to himself inwardly while watching the three standing with their backs to each other. The problem was that two of them were bleeding like a fountain.

At that moment the panthers appeared in front of the injured two fighters again, and the two performed their arts to attack. The panthers simply jumped up, and the two's injuries worsened just from their movements.

Pino and Penny were evidently experienced in torturing their prey and killing it safely.

"Argh."

The two disciples groaned in pain as their blood kept spilling from their movements. The panthers did the same trick again, and the two disciples attacked back instinctively again, prompting another wave of pain and bleeding.

"Guys, don't fall for it again. They're trying to exhaust the two of you and then gang up on me."

The female disciple said nervously while the two students nodded. Their palms were getting sweaty on their weapons' hilts, and they all were scared about losing their lives there.

Pino and Penny appeared again, and the two tried to hold back. However, this time, the panthers simply struck swiftly. The delay in the disciples' response cost them new injuries on their shoulders, while the panthers only got grazed by their weapons.

"Suzie, run. We will hold them back as long as we can. The two of us aren't going to make it even if you stay."

One of the male disciples said bravely while holding his sword up and gritting his teeth in resolve.

"I can't leave you guys here to die!"

"Do it!"

The other disciple joined his friend and told her to run. With tears in her eyes, she turned around to run away.

'Why all the drama? You wanted to run away since the beginning.'

Ken thought to himself while watching the drama show. Suzie tried to run, but Pino appeared in front of her, sending her back to her wounded friends. She blocked the attack, but the same couldn't be said about one of the men.

Penny appeared next to him and attacked his leg, ripping it off with its sharp claws.

"AHHHH!"

The disciple screamed when he lost his leg, but Penny just continued to strike him while he was down and put an end to his life.

Pino was keeping the girl busy while Penny also killed the second male, and the girl just looked around in despair.

'Time for the hero to appear.'

Ken knew that he can't kill as freely as he wants on the sect's grounds. That's why he wanted a name of a good guy while giving the beasts the credit for killing the disciples.

"Jump back!"

The girl heard a shout behind her and jumped back without hesitation. If she fought with the panthers, she would just accumulate wounds until she would collapse, so it was better to trust the stranger's voice.

Besides, she was pretty, and it wouldn't be the first time a guy randomly takes a risk to save her. Didn't the two dead heroes do the same for her?

Ken grabbed her shoulder and spun around, sending her away, while engaging the surprised Penny and Pino himself.

The two's thirst for blood was mostly satiated by killing the two men, while their fear of Ken was still at its peak. They instantly backed away and stared at Ken, confused about what comes next.

"Thank you for saving me, Young Master. Let's fight them together!"

The female disciple cupped her fist and bowed to Ken when she saw the two panthers were only looking at them carefully. She noticed the embroidery on Ken's clothes, so she understood he came from an elite family. He removed his mask and wore his usual clothes before stepping in to save her.

"Fighting them would be taking a useless risk. Their only goal is to have some prey to eat; since they have that, we can just leave. They won't fight against their equals after losing the surprise effect."

Ken said and backed away slowly while pushing back Suzie with him. Suzie bit her lips in frustration; she knew she couldn't entice a young master from an elite family with the resources in the rings of her two friends, but she needed them!

With no choice, she stepped back and the two ran away from the panthers.

"Thank you, Young Master. I will return now to the sect."

"Of course, we should help each other as fellow disciples of the sect."

The two separated and Ken soon appeared back next to Penny and Pino. The two didn't dare eat the bodies; they didn't know if Ken wanted them.

"You can eat them."

He told his two helpers after taking the storage rings and emptying what he needed to his ring.

He didn't want to be seen saving disciples from the same beasts all the time, so he let the two panthers kill the whole next group. After that group, he switched the panthers and tamed a few wolves instead and did the same thing. Every few times, he'd change the beasts that served under him.

With every group of beasts he tamed, he'd first subdue them with his Bloodlust Domain, then send them at wandering disciples under the effect of Frenzy Mode. 

Sometimes he chose to kill the whole group, but mostly he chose to let one go so they could tell the sect their group was killed by hungry beasts.