Chapter 135: Slaughtering the Wolves (Part Two)

The violent explosion took Pepero completely by surprise. Countless shards of ice were sent flying by the shockwave, and due to their proximity, many of them were hurtling directly toward her and Verr. Fortunately, their current position—Verr on top and her underneath—turned him into a living shield.

"Ugh!"

Verr let out a pained grunt, his face suddenly turning deathly pale. Pepero finally realized the gravity of the situation; the glimmer of schadenfreude in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a look of grim intensity. She quickly let go of the hand she had been biting, flipped Verr over, and instinctively wanted to ask if he was alright. It was then that she saw his back, shredded and bloody from the ice shards, with the largest one being the size of a fist.

Did this jerk just save my life? And then act as a human shield for me?

Looking at the mangled, bloody mess on Verr's back, Pepero felt her mind struggle to process it. However, relying on her years of experience as a mercenary, she moved with the utmost speed to lift Verr up and drag him behind a nearby tree. After all, they were not alone.

"Damn it! Who's there?!"

Pepero shouted at the top of her lungs, though her attention remained entirely fixed on Verr's back. She skillfully tore open his clothes and carefully extracted every shard of ice embedded in his flesh.

Even though Pepero’s movements were expert and her touch as gentle as possible to minimize the pain, Verr still winced and bared his teeth. He gritted his teeth hard and said with a wry smile, "Hell! If I’d known, I wouldn't have used the ice. Talk about bringing trouble upon oneself!"

A moment ago, Pepero would have seized the chance to mock him mercilessly, but now she remained silent. She focused entirely on his wounds, meticulously removing every tiny fragment of ice before tearing strips from the remainder of his clothes to bandage him.

Verr sensed the change in Pepero. If she had been a fierce little leopard before, she was now like a quiet kitten. Though puzzled, he didn't ask; it was always better to avoid provoking her when unnecessary.

Verr had already released his perception and could feel a killing intent creeping toward them. Clearly, the enemy had pinpointed their location.

"Boom!"

Another violent explosion erupted behind them. The tree they were leaning against was snapped in two, sending wooden splinters flying. With quick reflexes, Pepero pulled Verr to safety just before the tree collapsed.

But this move left them completely exposed to the enemy's line of sight.

Verr looked at the dark silhouette standing barely two hundred meters away. From the outline, he could tell it was a man. A faint, dark green light radiated from his body; though it looked soft, it was actually filled with the stench of blood and brutality. Whenever Verr’s perception touched within ten meters of him, it was immediately blocked.

"This guy is even stronger than Garey!"

Verr frowned and glanced at Pepero. The expression on her face was strange—she seemed to want to laugh, but the expression was forced. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves.

"Pass the Poison Scorpion, second-in-command of the Rotting Wolf Mercenary Group. He’s already a Tier 3 Great Soul Master, second only to the group leader. Compared to him, that Garey is nothing!"

Pepero despised Garey, which almost made her forget that her own strength was identical to his—both were Tier 2 Great Soul Masters.

"I was wondering who it was. It’s Pepero of the Moon-Slaughter, isn't it..."

Pass stood motionless, the faint light emanating from him giving off an unsettling aura. His voice was slightly hoarse, his tone calm, as if greeting an old friend.

Of course, that was just his tone; the content of his words was far less polite.

"According to the rules, the work of hunting down the Moon-Slaughter was assigned to Garey. Especially you, Pepero—that guy seemed quite interested in you. Since you’re here now, it means you’ve finished off that fool, right?"

Pass spoke softly, his words laced with mockery and disdain. He chuckled and muttered to himself, "But whatever. One fool less in the world—heh, it’ll be much quieter!"

"Indeed. That kind of person is no different from a fly. It seems you really hated him. Heh, should I congratulate you now?"

A smile appeared on Pepero's face, as if she and Pass were old friends. Pass merely chuckled, glanced at her casually, and said in his hoarse voice, "Don't misunderstand, Pepero. Garey was a fool, but I am not. You're right, I did hate him—detested him, even. But I remember one thing: I am a member of the Rotting Wolf. No matter how much we mess around internally, there is a bottom line. That is my principle. No matter how bad that idiot Garey was, his power as a Tier 2 Great Soul Master was an asset to any mercenary group. I am happy your group took him out, but that also means you’ve weakened the Rotting Wolf. So... heh, Pepero, you’re a beauty, and I like beauties, but I’m not like that brainless idiot. Since you took Garey’s life, it’s a pity, but you’ll have to pay for it with your own!"

As soon as Pass finished speaking, his aura turned sharp. Strands of dark green light pulsed from his body. It was a color that should have represented life, but to Verr, it felt nauseating.

Verr had wondered why he felt this way about Pass, but then it hit him: the blood-soaked killing intent!

This man, this Pass, was clearly not a soldier, yet he carried the kind of killing intent that could only be forged in piles of flesh and corpses. One could only imagine how many people he had killed.

Verr looked at Pepero beside him and couldn't help but tease, "Your plan failed. It seems your charm isn't all that."

In truth, Verr expected Pepero to explode at such a comment and charge at Pass to fight him. But this time, she remained motionless, her face heavy with gravity.

*Did this girl finally get smart? Realizing the massive gap in power, she’s decided not to fight recklessly and is thinking about how to handle the situation?*

A flicker of doubt arose in Verr’s heart. He nudged her and whispered, "Hey, aren't you going to go over and fight him?"

To his dismay, Pepero gave him a retort that left him speechless.

"My limbs are numb, how am I supposed to fight?..." Pepero replied coolly, then glared at him viciously. "And this is all your fault!"

Verr: "............"

So, the girl still wanted to fight him head-on!