Chapter 35: 

Boom. Under Celia's ruthless attack, the ground where the panther just disappeared was shattered and the panther was forced out.

Just as she was thrown out, Leo's spell was ready and he hurled all the spears at her. Like harbingers of destruction, the dozens fell from the sky with incredible velocity, bringing with them an incredible pressure. 

In the blink of an eye, the dozens of spears reached their flustered target. Unable to leave the impact area in time, the panther gritted and put up her defense, hoping to be able to survive the incoming attack. 

BOOOOOOOM.

As Leo’s spear touched the ground, they unleashed the wild power inside of them, creating a tremendous explosion that shook the whole forest. 

The area hit by the spear was completely wrecked and turned into a gigantic crater. After this fight, the clearing was completely unrecognizable. 

The previous luxurious and fresh grassy field was now burnt down, covered with countless craters and fissures.

As for the panther, Leo’s main target, her fate didn’t need to be doubted. In front of such might, any defense she could put wasn’t worth much. A piece of paper could have lasted longer.

She couldn’t be more dead than she was. Her body too turned into a gory mess, pieces of her flying alongside the dirt and the grass sent into the air by the shockwaves.

"Leo, you are too much. Look, you completely messed me up." Celia grunted as she started steadying herself. It was like what he witnessed wasn’t worth more than her look. Her behaviors said enough about her current state of mind. Leo had stunned her so much in the span of one night that she was starting to get immune to his antics.

"Seriously!" Leo said as he couldn’t help but see Celia in a new light. Even he was surprised by the power he displayed. So for her to be so calm was certainly.

[Chuckle, poor girl.] Luxia chuckled as she was able to guess what was going inside Celia’s mind.

"Well let’s get rid of the snake and close this chapter." Leo said as he turned around and walked toward the dying snake. 

"So it’s my turn. A…anomalies like you are really a cal…amity. One day and you killed almost all the kings of thisss forest. It is truly our bad luck to have met you." The snake whispered as he looked at the approaching duo.

"I may be a calamity, but you were the one to provoke me and bring the said calamity upon yourselves." Leo said as he threw a glare at the snake.

"Would you sssspare ussss after you became sssstronger than usssss. Whether we provoked you or not, we would have ended up dead. Little cat you better avoid this anomaly; all he will bring you is pain and desss…..."

"Shut up, will you? Leo let me kill him already." Celia scowled as she heard the unreasonable words of the snake. How dare he behave as a victim when he was the one to provoke them in the first place?

Could it be that he thought that he had the right to attack them but they hadn’t the right to? What kind of bullshit was this? 

Worse, he even dared to call Leo a calamity bringer.

Celia, who already disliked the so-called king of the forest, was even more triggered by the snake's shamelessness. 

"Hehe, little cat, now that we are dead, you will have to deal with the humans all by yoursssself. They always coveted the ressssssources of the foresssst. Now, without our deterrence, nothing can stop them anymore. Your end won’t be pretty. Trussst me." The snake voice was filled with malice as he spoke.

"Argh, bastard…" Celia growled, seething with rage. Leo was sure that she would jump on the snake if he said anything more. 

"Celia, calm down, he isn’t worth it. As for you, I don’t care about what you think. Do you think I will be unable to take care of people who were afraid of you?" Leo said as he looked at the snake with mockery. In his eyes, the words of a loser weren’t worth more than shit. There was no way that it could affect his mental health. Still, there was something the snake said that managed to pick his attention.

"Still, why are you calling me an anomaly?" Leo asked curiously. Could it be that the snake knew something about his reincarnation? If yes, he was truly interested. Any information he could get was useful.  

'…….'

"Nothing to say. Well, not like I was expecting much. " Leo said a little bit disappointed by the snake's silence. 

"End of the discussion is then. And don’t worry, nobody will miss you." Leo said as a shadow spike popped through the head of the snake.

[Ding….]

**

"The fucker is finally dead." Celia said as she kicked the limp body of the snake.

"You seemed to have a pretty big grudge with him." Leo said as he glanced at Celia who was venting her anger without any care.

"Well, I just don’t like people who are wrong and put themselves on high ground, unable to admit their mistakes." Stopping there, Celia turned around and looked at Leo.

 "We have been fighting against the slavers for many years already. Nobody ever helped us, not even the so-called ‘kings’ supposed to protect the forest. I know they had no obligation to do something for us and I never expected them to do either.

I was already happy when they didn’t create more trouble for us. I never expected anyone to agree to help us. But someone actually did. I can’t just stay still when he is trying to be mean to our savior, right? " Celia said, a small smile stretching her lips. 

"Well, if you want to thank someone you can thank your sister. It was her kindness that brought us together. As for me, I am just paying back her kindness. And even then, you are paying me for my job. I am not the kind of saint you are making me out to be." Leo said.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you are really a beast." Celia whispered.

"What did you say?" Leo asked as he looked at Celia curiously.

"I said that you are a good guy."

"If you don’t want me to leave, don't ever say that again." Leo said as he glared at Celia.

"Oh, but you are really a good guy." Celia was unable to understand how what she said could anger Leo. 

"Whatever, if you have the time to say so much, you better focus on your recovery." Leo snorted.

"Yeah, you are right. Say can I have the body of the Panther?" She asked.

"What for?" 

"My fire wants it. It can get stronger by devouring the body of beasts. Since the body of the panther is pretty wrecked, I thought…."

"I don’t mind, you deserve it. Do you need the core too?"

"No."

"You can have it then, just keep the core for me. And by the way, congratulations."

"You noticed, thank you. Congratulations you too, you are getting scarier by the second." Celia said before running toward the giant crater where the body of the panther lay.

"An interesting girl, don’t you think."

[Indeed. And how are you feeling.] 

"Good. I mean with the level I got after killing those guys, I am overflowing with power once again. As long as I rest and get a good meal I can return to my peak." Leo said.

[Your meal is already in front of you.] Luxia said.

"I think a coke and a pizza would be better. Can’t you get me some?" Leo said.

[Leo!] 

"Okay, mommy. " Leo said as he reluctantly took a bite of the snake's body.

"Oh it is good. It Tastes better than sushi and the blood is a little spicy. Wonder how much better it would be once cooked." Leo thought as he started to wolf down the snake. His previous reluctance was nowhere to be seen.

"Show me the notifications' please." Wanna see how much I gained from all of this. Leo said as he swallowed a piece of the snake.

[Alright.]

[Ding……… you have killed the Violent wind wolf king. You have received 8000 Exp

and 3000 SC]

[Ding………you have killed a rank C beast for the first time. You have received 15000

Exp and 10000 SC]

[Ding………you have leveled up. Congratulations you have achieved level 6. You have

received 10 AP and 4 SP]

[Ding………you have leveled up. Congratulations you have achieved level 8. You have

received 10 AP and 4 SP]

[Ding…… Violent wind wolf king bloodline detected. Do you wish to absorb it?

Yes/No]

[Ding…… you have successfully absorbed the Violent wind wolf king bloodline.]

[You have received 70 CONS, 80 STR, 95 AGI, 40 INT, 20 SPI, 25 CHA.]

[You have acquired the Wind elemental affinity.]

[You have acquired the following skill:

-Basic wind manipulation

-Wind steps

You have acquired the following talent:

-Swift]  

[Ding……… you have killed the Umbra panther. You have received 10000 Exp

and 4000 SC]

[Ding………you have leveled up. Congratulations you have achieved level 9. You have

received 10 AP and 4 SP]

[Ding…… Umbra panther bloodline detected. Do you wish to absorb it?

Yes/No]

[Ding……… you have killed the Demonic Fog Snake. You have received 12000 Exp

and 6000 SC]

[Ding………you have leveled up. Congratulations you have achieved level 10. You have

received 10 AP and 5 SP]

[You have reached level 10. You have received the following skills:

-Quicksand

-Elemental perception

-Earth guard]

[Ding………you have leveled up. Congratulations you have achieved level 11. You have

received 10 AP and 5 SP]

[Ding…… Demonic Fog Snake bloodline detected. Do you wish to absorb it?

Yes/No]

[Ding…… Many skills have leveled up. Expand/ Collapse.]

"Gosh, I reached level 11 already. Those guys weren’t stingy at all with the experience they granted me." Leo nodded repeatedly. He was very satisfied with that result; his efforts were truly worth it.

Other than that, there was the fact that most of his skills’ level increased greatly after all those heated battles. With the increase in level, they naturally become more powerful, and he could now unleash an even greater level of power when fighting.  

"I may be able to reach the peak of this rank once I deal with the orcs. I wonder how powerful I will be by then. " Leo grinned as he once again read through the notifications while happily munching on the snake’s flesh. 

"Good, good. Proceed with the bloodline absorption."

"I will never get tired of this." Leo said as he immersed himself in the feeling brought by the increase of his power. 

Like a raging tide, the essence of the snake and the umbra flooded his body. However, it didn’t bring him pain. Instead, it was like a warm and relaxing flow that strengthened all his cells and filled each part of his body with bubbling power. 

As the bloodline absorption ended, Leo didn’t even need to look at the system to know that he was at least two times more powerful than before. 

[Ding…… you have successfully absorbed the Umbra panther bloodline.]

[You have received 50 CONS, 85 STR, 90 AGI, 50 INT, 30 SPI, 30 CHA.]

[Shadow type bloodline detected, your shadow skills are strengthened.

[You have acquired the following skills:

-Shadow travel

-Fatal strike

You have acquired the following talent:

-Shadow dweller

-Night prowler]

 [Ding…… you have successfully absorbed the Demonic Fog Snake king bloodline.]

[You have received 75 CONS, 65 STR, 70 AGI, 110 INT, 50 SPI, 15 CHA.]

[You have acquired the following skill:

-Ethereal presence

-Poison bite

-Elemental conversion

You have acquired the following talent:

-Toxic genius]

"Mwahaha, that’s insane, that’s what I am living for." Leo cackled crazily as he saw the result of the bloodline absorption. He couldn’t believe that in one breath, he gained more stats than he had. And those skills look just…

"Wonder what my full status looks like." He said as a status screen popped in front of him.