The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 95: Slaying The Beast

About ten cultivators could be seen swarming the Poison Toad. With about four archers, including the one beside Bella’s side, only three individuals were left who didn’t join in the attack.

The Poison Toad was bombarded with various martial skills from all sides, making it unable to decide on whom to concentrate. If it tried to attack one person, another would suddenly show up out of nowhere and attack.

This cycle continued until the poison toad became enraged and let out a massive croak. The warts on its back swelled up before bursting, unleashing a massive plume of toxic green gas into the surrounding.

This was the Poison Toad’s special skill. When a beast reaches the fourth rank, they become blessed by the Heavens. They gain special abilities, similar to the martial skills that cultivators use.

These abilities differ among different beasts. Even beasts of the same species may not have the same special skill. Of course, those beasts were considered special and were not commonly found.

This was the special skill of the Poison Toad. It was able to release large plumes of toxic gas from the warts on its back. The toxic gas had the same deadly effect as its venomous tongue.

It was very corrosive and could easily kill a large number of beasts. Even other Rank 4 beasts would not want to be caught up in its toxic gas. Depending on their level of poison resistance, some of them wouldn’t be able to survive inside it.

The cultivators that surrounded it immediately retreated, not wanting to be caught up in the toxic gas. They didn’t know how deadly it was, but they weren’t stupid enough to stick around.

They all backed away swiftly, giving the Poison Toad a breather. Its large figure was now hazy, making it a bit difficult to see the beast clearly.

Its huge head suddenly turned in the direction where a couple of individuals were retreating to. It wanted to launch a counterattack on the insects that dared to harm it.

However, before it could launch its tongue, four streaks of light crashed into it simultaneously. The first one, noticeably larger than the rest, was even able to knock the Poison Toad back a step.

This bought valuable time for the cultivators, who were able to retreat and regroup far away from the Poison Toad’s range.

However, there was a slight problem now. Because of the toxic cloud, none of them could get close to the Poison Toad. Only the archers were able to deal any type of damage to it now.

The toxic cloud was very dense and wasn’t dispersing into the surroundings. Instead, it hovered around the Poison Toad, almost as if it were clinging to it.

The only ones capable of fighting it from a distance were the archers and well...

Everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned to Bella. Under their collective gaze, she didn’t flinch. Instead, she stood up right, her back straight, confidence oozing from her body.

She swung her whip and charged straight into the toxic cloud without hesitation. Everyone collectively gasped when they witnessed her seemingly reckless actions.

However, they soon realized how pointless their concerns were. The toxic cloud could do nothing to her. To her, this toxic cloud that everyone feared was nothing more than a passing mist on a spring morning—noxious, yes, but ultimately beneath her.

She was a Vyre. Poisons were their specialty. Their poison arts were what made them one of the most respected and feared families on the continent.

Even other members of the Great Families didn’t want to antagonize the Vyres. They were one of the few noble families that had seemingly no enemies.

Offending a Vyre was tantamount to a death sentence. They were adept at various methods of torture using poisons. If you were lucky, you would die a swift, painless death.

But it you managed to piss them off hard enough, even death would be a welcome embrace for you. There were tales of the Vyres using poison to wipe out entire sects of demonic cultivators without even breaking a sweat.

Of course, most of those stories were rumors. But even rumors had to have some element of truth in them.

The toxins of the Rank 4 Poison Toad could not harm her at all. She quickly closed the distance between her and the Poison Toad, while slashing her whip toward the beast.

Her hands moved like a blur, and in just a second, she had slashed at it multiple times. The Poison Toad let out a high-pitched shriek as multiple marks appeared on its body.

Tiny spine-like protrusions could be seen all along the length of the whip. These protrusions dug into the skin of the Poison toad, causing even more damage to it. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Bella’s weapon was not just an ordinary whip. It was a Spirit rank weapon, a whole grade higher than Gold rank weapons.

Such weapons were only supposed to be able to be wielded by Nascent Soul realm cultivators, but here was Bella, using her whip effortlessly.

The Poison Toad’s shriek pierced the air, a sound like tearing leather mixed with the guttural desperation of a wounded beast. Its bulbous eyes rolled wildly, locking onto Bella with a mix of fury and primal fear.

This creature, a Rank 4 terror that had made seasoned cultivators retreat, now faced a being of its own kind, a being to whom poison was not a threat, but a plaything.

Bella’s lips curled into a cold smirk as she flicked her wrist, the whip coiling back like a serpent ready to strike again. The Spirit-ranked weapon hummed with Qi, various runes flaring as it split the toxic cloud with each lash.

Her whip seemed to defy natural laws, constantly adjusting its length to Bella’s every whim. Before, when they were fighting as a group, she was able to attack at a relatively far distance from the Poison Toad.

Now, she was using the same whip to constantly assault the Poison Toad from such a close distance. The green haze shuddered around her, repelled by an unseen force, whether her innate resistance or the weapon’s power, none could tell.

The toad lunged, its venomous tongue shooting forward like a harpoon. Bella sidestepped with eerie grace, the tip grazing nothing but air. Before the beast could retract its tongue, she struck.

Crack!

The whip wrapped around the appendage, its spines biting deep. The toad’s scream escalated, a raw, bubbling sound as Bella yanked hard. Flesh tore; dark, viscous blood splattered the ground, sizzling where it landed. The cultivators watching from the periphery flinched, some in awe, others in horror.

"Pathetic," Bella murmured, her voice carrying despite the chaos. "A mere Rank 4 beast should know its place."

The toad recoiled, its body heaving as the warts on its back pulsed again. It was preparing another toxic burst, a last-ditch effort to drown her in poison. But Bella was already moving.

She slashed her whip downward, not just to wound, but to punish. The weapon’s tip split the air with a sound like a thunderclap, carving a jagged line across the toad’s swollen glands.

Pop! Pop! POP!

The warts exploded prematurely, their poison spraying harmlessly into the air, almost staining Bella’s robes. She avoided it with graceful movements, unwilling to allow the beast to stain her robes.

With a slight huff, she began infusing Qi into her whip once again. The blinding purple light that they had previously witnessed emerged from it as she slashed at the Poison Toad.

The attack struck the Poison Toad squarely, with no chance for it to dodge or avoid. Strangely, no mark was visible on its body, as if the attack dissipated upon contact.

But that was far from the truth. The damage dealt to the Poison Toad was far more than what the people around her could see on the surface.

As soon as the attack landed, the toad began convulsed, its body deflating like a punctured waterskin. Its limbs trembled, then gave out. The massive creature collapsed, its remaining breath escaping in a wet, rattling croak.

Silence.

Then, cheers erupted from the cultivators, their earlier caution forgotten. The archers lowered their bows, their faces a mix of relief and newfound respect.

Some of them even began whispering among themselves.

"Damn, the poison didn’t even do anything to her."

" She’s a Vyre... That’s why the poison didn’t touch her."

"Did you see how fast she moved? She’s a monster!"

"I wonder how strong she is compared to the disciples from the War Machine sect."

"I wonder what rank that whip is. It’s definitely not a Gold rank weapon."

"It’s most likely a Spirit rank weapon, maybe even a Soul rank weapon!"

"Damn. I wish I could have a weapon like that. I’d be set for life."

"No wonder the family’s untouchable..."

Bella could hear all the faint whispers around her, but chose to ignore them. Their gossip and whispers held no meaning for her.

She stepped over the toad’s carcass and returned to the group. With a wave of her hand, she signalled to the cultivators from the Vyre family.

Without a word, all of them went towards the carcass and started dissecting it. As they were harvesting all the useful parts from the beast, one of them pierced the chest of the beast.