Devourer's Legacy: I Regressed With The Primordial Crest-Chapter 24: Ambush, Again? (2)

"Phuhahahaa!"

The middle-aged man burst into laughter at Renard's words. He found it amusing that the young lord of Tiara castle was making such threatening declarations.

"You are brave, I like it." He said, eyeing Renard with interest. "It's always the brave ones that give much thrill!"

He seemed to be enjoying the current situation, but Renard didn't get agitated. Instead, he smiled.

"What's your name?"

The middle-aged man flicked his pipe and responded. "...I'll tell you because I like your attitude. It's Henry. Now, go ahead and curse me in the afterlife."

"That's not a local name. Who sent you?"

"Now, now young lord, are you interrogating me right now?"

At Henry's signal, the men blocking them moved a step closer. One turned to Henry. "How should we handle this?"

Henry thought for a moment, then answered with detached precision. "Beheading is too ordinary. Make a mess of their bodies so that Lord Agusthus can't even recognize his grandchildren. And... keep them alive for as long as possible. It looks better if they writhe in agony."

"Understood."

Sara's grip on her sword tightened, her knuckles white.

"You bastards!" she snarled, her blade cutting a silver arc through the air as two men tried to rush past her. One jumped back, but the other wasn't quick enough – her sword opened a deep gash across his chest.

"You bitch!" Another thug charged at her, but Sara moved like water, stepping aside at the last moment. Her counter-strike was precise, her sword finding the gap between his ribs. He crumpled with a gurgling cry.

Behind them, Zain was also holding his own. His sword style wasn't as refined as Sara's, but what he lacked in grace he made up for in raw power. A burly attacker swung a heavy blade at his head, but Zain met it with his own sword, the clash of steel ringing out.

The force of the impact made the thug stumble, and Zain didn't waste the opening. His blade bit deep into the man's shoulder, drawing a scream of pain.

"Young master, we can't hold them all!" Zain shouted, parrying another strike before kicking his attacker in the knee. The man went down with a crack, but three more were already moving to take his place.

Thump!

Renard's heart raced as he watched the battle unfold. Painful memories flooded back – Aria's corpse, his desperate weeping. He had never forgotten that scene – he could never!

Blood rushed to his head, his face burning with fury. Though excitement was dangerous before a battle, Renard let himself be swept away by the whirlwind of emotions. His hands trembled, his breath quickening.

Sara spun, her blade claiming another victim, but she was being pushed back. A knife sliced her arm, drawing blood. She gritted her teeth, refusing to give ground. "Stay behind me, Lady Aria!"

Zain roared as he fought, his sword a blur of desperate defense. A blade got through, cutting his thigh, but he fought on. "Young master, we need to—"

In that moment, Renard suddenly moved.

Boom!

A sound like a firecracker split the air. A red signal flare shot upward, exploding and revealing their location!

Henry was caught off guard. This brat had been prepared for an ambush!

"Get that fucker!" He shouted to his subordinates, and all hell broke loose.

Ten to fifteen people rushed at the group all at once. Renard looked at Sara, who was still fighting despite her wound. "Protect her at any cost."

Sara was the strongest among them. She would have been very helpful in defending against the men, but Renard couldn't compromise Aria's safety.

Instead, he looked towards Zain, who had just knocked another attacker unconscious. "Let's go!"

Now Renard stood in front of Sara while Zain covered their rear, both men moving to shield the women. The attackers were already upon them!

Renard's hand shot forward, grasping one man's neck.

"Guh—!"

Thunk!

His fingers pierced through the man's throat, causing blood to gush and soak his clothes.

"Gah...gah..."

The man dropped his sword, his body trembling. With his blood-covered hand, Renard pulled the man's face close.

His voice, filled with ecstasy, echoed.

"I said right? You are all dead."

Without hesitation, he flung the man backward.

Thud!

The man's lifeless body fell to the ground nearby, and for a second, all of them – including Sara and Zain who had been fighting so desperately – looked at Renard with wide eyes. Their young master had just killed a man with his bare hands.

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In an instant, the ground was littered with corpses of his men. Henry's frown deepened as he surveyed the carnage. He had anticipated setbacks, prepared for complications, but this – this was beyond his calculations.

His first miscalculation had been the two bloodhounds. Their intelligence had completely failed to mention these particular guards protecting the Grim siblings. The woman, Sara, moved with the deadly grace of someone at the peak of the Master realm, her blade singing death with every strike. Even the male guard, while not as powerful, possessed enough skill to be a serious threat.

But what truly made Henry's blood run cold was young master Renard. The boy had transformed into something else entirely – a wild monster wearing human skin.

Henry couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene before him. The way Renard had killed his man... there hadn't been even a flicker of hesitation, not a moment's pause. Just pure, efficient death.

The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the soft patter of blood dripping from Renard's hands.

"You... you bastard!"

Another attacker broke from his stupor, raising his sword with trembling hands. The blade whistled through the air towards Renard's neck.

Too slow.

With the Beast mimicry active and him borrowing the speed of Black Panther, Esther - the man who was at the awakened zone, couldn't even notice his movements, as he sidestepped the strike.

In one smooth motion, he drew his own sword, the steel singing as it cut upward. Blood erupted in an arc, painting the air crimson.

Before the body hit the ground, movement flickered in Renard's peripheral vision. Another attacker, trying to catch him off guard.

The man's sword sliced through empty air as Renard pivoted, his left hand shooting out to seize the attacker's face. What happened next made even the hardened killers flinch.

BOOM!

The sound of skull meeting earth was sickening. The impact left the man's head half-buried in the ground, blood seeping into the dirt. But Renard wasn't finished. His grip on the man's head tightened, muscles coiling as he lifted and slammed again.

BANG!

And again.

BANG!

And again.

CRASH!

All while his eyes never left the surrounding attackers, watching them with an predator's gaze. Each impact sent tremors through the ground, each strike reducing the man's face to something less and less human. When Renard finally straightened, what remained barely resembled a person.

Henry's face hardened as their eyes met. Three of his men had died in the span of heartbeats, their deaths so swift he hadn't even had time to process what he was seeing. But it wasn't just the speed that chilled him to his core.

'What... what is that look?'

Renard's expression was completely blank, devoid of emotion, yet his eyes... Henry had killed countless people in his life, had watched the light fade from more eyes than he could count. But he had never encountered a presence like this.

The young lord's gaze held the cold hunger of a beast that had tasted blood and found it sweet.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Their intelligence had suggested that once the knights were dealt with, the noble children would be helpless. Easy prey.

'Our intel was completely wrong.'

Henry's mind raced, reassessing the situation. For a moment, he wondered if Renard was using essence – but no, the reports had been clear about him being unawakened.

The gap between those who could use mana and those who couldn't was supposed to be insurmountable. A blade infused with essence could cut through the strongest steel like paper.

'Then how?' Henry's eyes narrowed as he studied the young lord. 'He didn't even flinch while killing... that's rare for someone his age.'

There had been rumors about Renard fighting off assassins, yes, but nothing about him killing. If this truly was his first time taking lives, then Renard Grim wasn't just talented – he was a natural-born killer.

A true Killing Star.

The red signal flare's light still painted the sky above them. Time was running out. Soon, Lord Agusthus's knights would arrive, and their opportunity would be lost.

'I need to end this now.'

"What are you all standing around for?" Henry's voice cracked like a whip. "Attack all at once! Kill them all!"

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