Chapter 7: The End of the Tyrant

Ryan was very angry, but before he could speak, the man in front of him shouted.

"What is this?! My trap! You bastards, did you mess with it?!"

The man shouted in rage after realizing his trap had been ruined.

Ryan couldn't hold back. "You bastard! Do you know your trap almost paralyzed my little sister's hand?!"

"So what? She deserves it for messing with my trap."

Ryan pulled a sword from his storage ring. He had reached his limit.

"Wait... wait..." said the hunter nervously before running into the depths of the forest.

Ryan immediately chased after him. He had to kill this scum who hurt his sister.

"Brother, wait!"

"Don't follow me, Ellie. Go home. I'll catch this bastard who did this to you."

Ryan disappeared among the trees, chasing the hunter.

He wasn't worried about leaving Ellie there. The area was safe, and it wouldn't take long. The man was just an ordinary person.

...

Ryan reached a river. He had lost the man's trail, but he didn't give up.

The man couldn't have gone far. Maybe he was hiding nearby. There was meat on the ground—perhaps it had fallen while the man was running.

Suddenly—

Whoosh—

An arrow flew and hit Ryan's leg. He had raised his sword after seeing the water move and blocked his upper body, but the arrow struck his unprotected leg.

He looked toward the river and saw the tip of another arrow shining, just before it shot straight at him.

This time, Ryan dodged it and rushed toward the river.

But the man in the river swam to the other side, trying to escape, while Ryan jumped in to chase him.

As soon as the man got out, he fired one arrow at Ryan, then a second, a third, and a fourth.

Ryan had no choice but to retreat. But he couldn't leave the river because the man kept aiming at him.

Suddenly, Ryan heard a sound behind him. He turned and saw a wolf trying to grab his head. His heart jumped, and he swam back toward the man. An arrow hit his shoulder, but thankfully, the wolf didn't follow.

A pack of wolves was on the other side of the river. It seemed the meat had attracted them.

The river's current, the arrows, and the injuries put Ryan under a lot of pressure.

He made a final decision and rushed toward the man. Luckily, the man stopped shooting. It seemed he ran out of arrows.

Ryan got out of the water, breathing heavily.

He stared at the man with bloody eyes.

"You bastard... haah... I will kill you!!"

Ryan ran toward the man, but suddenly, a dagger flew from the man's hand toward Ryan. He tried to stop, but the ground was slippery.

He slipped, and the dagger stabbed into his stomach.

He tried to stand up, but the sticky ground made it hard. Without hesitation, he rolled away until he got out of it. As soon as he stood up, the man was already charging at him with a diagonal sword strike.

Ryan barely dodged it, leaving a cut on his face.

But the man didn't stop. He jumped at Ryan, grabbed his collar, and headbutted him hard. the man dropped his sword, and pulled a dagger from his leg, trying to stab Ryan in the neck.

Ryan grabbed the man's hand with difficulty and tried to stab him back.

But with a quick move, the man pulled Ryan's collar to the left and kicked his leg from the right.

Ryan fell and lost his sword, but he still held onto the man's dagger hand.

Ryan was stronger—his body was nearly fully refined—but the man didn't give him a chance to use that strength.

The man got on top of Ryan, pushing the dagger toward his neck with both hands.

Ryan held his hand tightly, winning the struggle. But suddenly, the man moved one hand to the arrow in Ryan's shoulder and pulled it out.

Ryan reacted fast and used the chance to push him off, despite the pain.

The man tried to stab Ryan with the arrow, but Ryan pushed him away again.

Ryan pulled the arrow from his leg and the dagger from his stomach. He wasn't worried about bleeding—his refined body could handle it.

But he was worried about poison. He wasn't a fool. It was clear this man had planned to kill from the start. With all these traps, what were the chances he hadn't poisoned his weapons? 100%.

He needed to take the antidote from his storage ring fast. But he knew the man wouldn't give him the chance.

So he decided to finish it quickly, before the poison kicked in.

Ryan ran toward his fallen sword, rolled, and stood up just as the man rushed at him. He was only inches away.

Their swords clashed.

But Ryan was stronger.

He swung again, but the man cleverly deflected it. Ryan didn't stop. He attacked a fourth and fifth time.

The man dodged the first, deflected the second, then lifted his leg, rolled, and kicked Ryan in the face.

Ryan lost his balance.

Then suddenly—

Stab—

The man threw his sword, jumped on Ryan, pulled a dagger from his back, and began stabbing him again and again.

Ryan tried to scream, but his neck was cut.

He was terrified, crying, full of regret. He didn't want to die.

He raised his hand to the sky, hoping for help.

But it fell down after an unknown number of stabs.

The future head of the Stoneheart family, Ryan Stoneheart, the mighty warrior who believed in "survival of the strongest," the tyrant Ryan—

Was dead.