The Murux Core of the Great Ravager took effect instantly. Henry immediately regained all of the Murux and stamina spent on the fight and more than that, he felt the capacity of his Murux reserves doubled in size.

Adding on top of those already wonderful benefits, Henry gained not one but three new abilities from consuming the Great Ravager’s Murux Core. Halfway through the fight, he had begun wondering if the grand feast the Augru promised was worth the trouble and plight he was facing. Now that he gained these new abilities, he wouldn’t be mad even if there was no feast after this.

The first ability he acquired was more of an upgrade to his current existing ability and that was his incredibly tough scaly hide. Though the calibre of his skin against physical harm remained unchanged, he could feel he was now resilient to magical means of attacks as if the spell shield had moulded into one with his hide. But that was not the case as he could still use the spell shield by itself.

The second yield of the battle was the Great Ravager’s Corrosive Breath. Much like the Ravager, he was now able to spit corrosive toxin out of his mouth. It functioned much like his Jetstream Breath but instead of condensed air, it was condensed corrosive fluid. The ironic part was that even if this breath ability wasn’t corrosive, it would still deal considerable damage due to the pressure condensed in the breath.

The third reward was the sole gain that made this entire trip and endeavour well worth it. It was none other than the gravity manipulation ability the Great Ravager had used and nearly decimated Henry and his entire team. Although Henry’s version didn’t have the radial effect as the Great Ravager did, he wasn’t saddened or distraught as he had already expected this. Regardless, he obtained an ability that had great versatility.

“This is preposterous…” Eria muttered in a daze of disbelief. “How are you able to harness the power of another monster simply by consuming its Murux Core?”

“I am special, that’s why,” Henry retorted with a shit-eating grin. His current mood was over the clouds. This yield was his biggest yet. None of his past prey even came close.

“Amazing…” Yula sighed in awe and veneration. She couldn’t help but feel proud of her spouse.

Riva had the mildest reaction out of the three. She was certainly amazed and surprised but she kept her silence and retained her composed gaze.

“This is unprecedented… Lord Henry… Do you realise what this entails?”

“The depth of my growth is boundless?”

“More than that. Your presence will soon threaten the balance of Ulrum more than it already had. With powers like yours, you will shake the fate of the rest of the world.”

“That is to be expected of him,” Yula supplemented gleefully.

“That’s not entirely a good thing, Yula. If the humans caught wind of this, they will not stand idle.”

“They certainly will not,” Riva agreed with a nod.

“Don’t worry, I’m well aware of the extent of human greed. I won’t be doing anything too… eye-catching. Not if I can help it and only for now.”

“Only for now?”

“My powers will keep growing and it will inevitably grow to a stage where it’s impossible to conceal it. But by then, I will be strong enough to repel those pesky greedy humans. Until then, I trust that you would not utter a single word of my… special ability, would you?”

“Of course, not, Lord Henry.” Eria fell to her knee and bowed.

Riva did the same too. “They will not hear it from me either, Lord Henry.”

“And what reasons do I have for trusting the two of you?” Henry asked.

“Because the humans are greedy and if they caught wind of this, they will seize this opportunity to plunder the secrets of the other tribes too. Everyone will suffer, not just you, Lord Henry.”

“Sounds just like the humans I know,” Henry muttered. “Very well, then. I shall put my trust in you two but know this, if you betray me… well, let’s just say that will be the day that a tyrant shall be born. Understood?”

Eria and Riva nodded in tandem.

“Say, wouldn’t this… creature’s death disrupt the balance or something?” Yula asked.

“It would not,” Eria answered firmly. “It would certainly change the beastial hierarchy in the Scorching Sands but that accursed place’s affairs are not our concern. Being in the same desert, the Scorching Sands is a place of its own balance, rules, and monsters. Whatever happens within, it does not affect the outside. It has been this way since forever which makes the Great Ravager’s behaviour incredibly suspicious.”

“Extremely so,” Riva muttered.

“Well then, I can rest easy,” Yula breathed in relief. The reason she was worried about the so-called balance was due to Henry’s incessant teaching of maintaining the balance in Ulrum. They could hunt but they should not overhunt. They could defend themselves against the unruly monsters but they should not commit a cleansing.

“Our work here is done for today,” Eria said after cutting off the tip of the Great Ravager’s tail as proof of subjugation. Its Murux Core was supposed to be the proof but since the core was inside Henry’s belly, they resorted to using the tip of its tail instead. “We can retire now. There’s a feast waiting back home.”

Henry’s lips curled into a grin. “Good. Now, let us be off.” And gone was his grin as soon as he said those words, replaced by a frown.

“Something’s coming!” Yula shouted. “From below the ground.”

“Oh? You can tell?” Henry was impressed.

“I don’t know how but I just can,” Yula said. “There’s a lot of them coming.”

“Eria? Any idea of what they could be?” Henry inquired.

“Remnant Maws,” Eria answered calmly.

“Come again?”

At that moment, the sands in the distance erupted and a worm-like monster flew out from the ground. It went high into the air before descending towards them. Henry got a good look at the monster then. It was essentially a gigantic worm with rows of razor-sharp teeth. It was around six metres long and one metre in its width.

“It’s coming at us!” Yula cried and readied her shadows.

“Not us,” Riva corrected her. “The carcass.”

“The carcass?” Yula turned her gaze to the dead Ravager. The Remnant Maw fell onto the carcass and began mauling and chewing through its hard carapace. “What the…”

“They feast on corpses and carcasses. The living had nothing to fear about these Remnant Maws unless we provoked them.”

More and more of these Remnant Maws began to appear and all of them pounced on the carcass of the Great Ravager in the same manner as the first one. Apparently, they loved eating their food from the top to the bottom.

“They’re like vultures?”

“Not quite. Vultures are—”

A loud squawk from the sky reeled their attention. Henry was already staring at the sky long before the sharp screech resounded.

“I was beginning to think they would never attack,” Henry mused nonchalantly.

“Vultures?” Yula gasped.

A flock of giant vultures were descending towards them at a rapid pace.

“Get ready for battle!” Eria howled and drew her greatsword.

Riva brandished two long swords in her hands.

“They’re going to attack us?” Yula asked.

“These Vultures hate audiences and any potential disturbance. They will make sure to get rid of any living creatures in the surrounding area before they begin eating. Beware of their Sonic Screams.”

As if to give Yula an example, the Vultures unleashed a dreadful grating screech that disconcerted all that was in their sight, including the Remnant Maws. Henry suffered the most due to his enhanced hearing but he was also the least disconcerted due to him having a high endurance and tolerance towards affliction and pain thanks to his innate Dragon constitution. This was nothing compared to the time he was enthralled by Rayne.

You are all here right on cue.

Henry smirked inwardly in spite of the terrible ache assaulting his head and ears. He was itching to test his new abilities on live subjects and these Vultures delivered themselves right to his whims. Aiming his mouth at the swooping Vultures, he unleashed his Corrosive Breath at them.

The Vultures were quick in their movements but as they were using their abilities, quite a few of them were a step too late to dodge Henry’s attack.

Free of the oppression, Yula retaliated with an enraged cry of indignation, sending tendrils of darkness at the Vultures who survived Henry’s attacks. As Yula’s shadows were much slower, the Vultures easily evaded the tendrils, or so they thought.

As if compelled and restrained by an unseen force, the Vultures failed to evade Yula’s tendrils. They screeched in agony as those barbed shadows tore through their flesh and organs, ripping them into shreds.

Caught off guard by the queer and unknown intervention, the remaining three Vultures out of the original twenty decided to abandon their mark and flee. Or at least they tried to. Their wings stopped beating and they were then dragged to the ground by an excessive amount of gravity.

Huh, I see. If I spread the gravity out, the effects will be weak. But if I focus it on a specific target or area, the effects are significantly stronger. Neat.

“This is beyond extraordinary,” Eria remarked as she simply watched the battle from the sidelines, unable to find the right moment to participate. “You are using the Gravity Magic of the Great Ravager.”

“Unprecedented,” Riva uttered only a single word as always.

Henry chuckled inwardly in delight. It felt good to be praised and rated highly by seasoned combatants. The mood would have been perfect if there were no Vultures in the background screeching and writhing in despair.

“Annoying,” Yula tutted and put the Vultures out of their misery by decapitating them.

“You are truly worthy of being Lord Henry’s bride, Yula,” Eria exclaimed in reverence. “Just what sort of sorcery discipline do you practise, if I may be so bold to ask?”

“My own discipline, dear Eria,” Yula answered with a chuckle.

“I see…” Eria was quick in taking the hint.

But unfortunately, Riva did not share the Augru’s tact. “Inconceivable,” she said. “Even talent requires guidance.”

“Allow me to be blunt then, Riva,” Henry spoke in Yula’s stead. “Whatever discipline my bride practises is none of your concern. Don’t pry.”

“...Understood,” Riva said after a short silence. “Forgive my impertinence.”

“Shall we be off?” Eria asked in a haste as if attempting to shift the mood.

“Not yet,” Henry said.

“Not yet?”

“These Vultures and Remnant Maws are monsters of magic, aren’t they?”

“They are but what of it? No parts of these two monsters’ bodies can be crafted into proper weapons or armour. What do you—” Epiphany struck Eria then. “Ah… their Murux Cores.”

Henry nodded.

“But there are twenty Vultures and around seven Remnant Maws. It would take a lot of time to harvest their Murux Cores without damaging them.”

“Time, I have plenty. I don’t mind if you return without me. I’m staying and harvesting each of the dead monsters’ Murux Core. Yula, if you want, you can follow Eria back first.”

“Your woes are my privilege, Henry. Til death do us apart, my dear. Though no vows were said, our bond is stronger than most matrimonies.”

Henry stared oddly. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, come on, Henry. I was trying to be elegantly romantic. You could at least play along.”

“I can play along the romantic part, not that I need to play along. But I know nothing about elegance. And you don’t sound elegant at all.”

“Then what do I sound like?”

“Impetuous. Just what have Sarynn taught you?”

Yula scowled but then she feigned a sigh of distraught. “Oh, woe is me. I’m married to such an indelicate bum. How would I ever continue to live?”

Henry sighed in exasperation and went to harvest the monsters’ Murux Cores, ignoring Yula’s dramatic display.

“How dull,” Yula remarked as she returned to her usual demeanour.

“You two are very close, I can see that,” Eria said with a warm yet wry smile.

Yula grinned. “Aren’t we?” she said and skipped over to Henry in a frolicking manner and helped him in harvesting the Murux Cores. With her shadows, she made rapid progress in the harvesting and by the time Lilim and others caught up to them, they were harvesting the last one.