Chapter 3

"What happened?!" Min Lest came rushing out from some bushes as he saw the dead Flame Tailed Lion with a bloody hole in its body and Heat covered in blood.

"You're wounded? Don't move, I'll apply some healing herbs on to your wounds"

Min Lest took out some leaves and plants from a pouch that he carries around his waist and moved toward Heat.

As he finished applying the medicine to Heat's chest Min Lest asked "What exactly happened, big brother? Did you kill the Flame Tailed Lion?"

"I did, I don't exactly know what happened but when I felt like my life was on the line I punched the Demonic Beast and it died. UGH"

As Heat was speaking he suddenly felt a sharp piercing pain from his back. Heat then saw Min Lest pull out a bloody dagger from his back as Min Lest retreated a few meters away.

"I truly did not expect you to be able to kill my Flame Tailed Lion. Your storage ring must contain some good treasures then if you're powerful enough to kill my tamed beast with a single strike"

"Why?" Heat muttered as he tried to stand up but discovered that it was incredibly difficult to move his body.

"There's no point trying to move, the medicine I applied to your wounds are Ice Mint Leaves and the Scorching Ivy Roots. The flame and ice properties will clash inside your body and corrode your muscles. Just quickly die for me so that I can take your storage ring. Don't worry; I'll bury your body"

Min Lest smirked as he looked at Heat who's laying on the ground spitting out blood.

"You know, you're the third person I've killed in my life. The first was my father, the second, my mother. After you're dead and I take your items I'll leave this resourceless village since my tamed beast is already dead there's no longer any reason for me to remain here.

Min Lest began speaking his mind as he used his dagger to dig out a red spherical stone from the Flame Tailed Lion's head.

"Grandpa is the only one left who might know what Spike Mountain contains. I guess he'll have to be the fourth person I kill before I leave"

As Min Lest placed the red spherical stone into his pouch, he walked toward Heat. Min Lest sat next to the body of Heat and looked into the forest with eyes of longing.

"The path to the top requires you to step on everyone else, as reluctant as I am; it's time for grandpa to die as well so that I may become stronger"

Min Lest held Heat's left arm as he sighed. Min Lest tried to remove Heat's ring but it was still stuck on.

Immediately coming to a realization, Min Lest let go of Heat's arm and tried to move away, but he was a fraction of a second too late.

With a quick turn of his seemingly lifeless body, Heat grabbed on to Min Lest's throat with his right arm. Standing up and holding Min Lest's throat, Heat began strangling Min Lest with one arm.

"URGH. You persistent cockroach!" Min Lest gargled as he used his dagger to stab on to Heat's left torso.

Feeling the pain from the dagger, Heat's left hand held on to Min Lest's arm that held the dagger while Heat's right hand released Min Lest's throat.

With a downward swing, Heat used his right elbow to break Min Lest's arm. Taking the dagger from Min Lest's broken arm, Heat stabbed Min Lest's body 3 consecutive times in his stomach so that he would slowly bleed to death.

Heat then retreated a few meters away as he muttered in a low pain filled whisper "Why?"

"Haha. Perhaps this is retribution!" Min Lest shouted hysterically as blood oozed from his wounds and his mouth.

"I should have known that the Ice Mint Leaves and the Scorching Ivy Roots would not affect you if you're powerful enough to easily kill a class 2 Demonic Beast"

"Why did you try to kill me? Why did you kill your parents? Why are you trying to kill Fang Lest?" Heat uttered through his pain.

"Why? What a stupid question. Do you know what my father found 2 years ago? It was the legacy of Mo Hung Di. He was an Earth Knight that passed on a low tier Earth skill to his inheritor. The Blood Corruption Fog"

"I don't understand" Heat whispered as he was unable to comprehend what Min Lest was saying.

"Of course you don't, you don't know anything at all. To practice this skill, it requires you to devour the heart of your kin related to you by blood. As for attacking you, it was simply out of greed. Your ring is a storage ring that contains its own dimensional space to store items. Mo Hung Di left some information regarding storage rings and it's said that only the wealthy or powerful would have them"

Heat looked down at the ring on his finger "So this is a storage ring, how do I use it?"

"I will tell you the location of Mo Hung Di's inheritance. In there is all the information you need on storage rings but before I do that I need you to do something for me. Grandpa has always treated me well my entire life and you have no kin related to you by blood which means you won't be able to practice the Blood Corruption Fog, so please bring my body and Mo Hung Di's inheritance to grandpa"

With his final breath, Min Lest pulled out a map drawn on a brown piece of paper that detailed some landmark locations in Spike Mountain and the location of Mo Hung Di's inheritance.

Not knowing what to do while feeling the immense pain from his wounds, Heat searched through Min Lest's dead body to see if he could find anything that could help him.

Unfortunately, all Heat found was the red spherical stone that Min Lest dug out from the Flame Tailed Lion's head as well as some unknown plants in Min Lest's pouch.

Ripping up Min Let's clothing, Heat used the ripped up rags to create some makeshift bandages to patch up his wounds.

Feeling tired, Heat walked to a nearby tree and sat down. Under its shade, Heat fell asleep as he leaned on the tree completely ignoring the possible dangers of the forest. After going through this grueling battle and betrayal, Heat was physically and mentally exhausted.

When Heat awoke, he didn't know how much time had passed but the sun was beginning to set. He knew that it would take a couple of hours to reach the village so he moved toward Min Lest's dead body with the intention of dragging him back to Fang Lest.

As Heat got closer to Min Lest, he also got closer to the dead Flame Tailed Lion. He was able to feel this faint indescribable aura coming from the Flame Tailed Lion's dead body.

This was probably the reason why nothing came to disturb Heat's rest. The aura of a class 2 Demonic Beast was able to scare off any wild animals or any class 1 Demonic Beasts in Spike Mountain.

Without thinking too much, Heat dragged Min Lest's body back through the forest. It was surprisingly easy as all of Heat's wounds no longer felt painful. Heat didn't take notice though because all of his focus was on moving through the forest as fast as he could before any other danger appears.

"Min Lest wanted me to help deliver his body to Fang Lest, I will oblige since Fang Lest did save me. However, if any danger that threatens me comes along, I'll abandon Min Lest and leave his body as a distraction so I can escape" Heat thought to himself while he swiftly moved through the forest dragging Min Lest's dead body.

By the time Heat was just about to reach the village, the only light left out were from the moon and stars. When Heat got to the village, what he saw left him speechless.

The metallic scent of blood filled the air. There were body parts littered everywhere, not one living person was in sight. The entire village was in ruins.