The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 94: Rank 4 Poison Toad

The poison toad, seeing that its attack didn’t kill anyone, let out a loud croak in frustration. However, everyone had already spread out far beyond the reach of its tongue.

The man with the severed arm had taught all of them a lesson. None of them wanted to be the next example. Before, they had been a bit lazy and overconfident.

Why shouldn’t they be? They were travelling with the Young Mistress of the Vyre family. One of the twelve great families on the continent. They weren’t stupid.

They knew that someone of her standing would surely have a protector. And they were right. They all believed that the Elder standing next to her wasn’t just there for guidance.

They believed that as long as they stuck close to her, they would be safe. However, reality slapped them in the face.

Barely a few seconds into facing their first challenge, and they had almost lost a man. There were about twenty individuals in their group, including Belladonna and Elder Glenda.

Half of them were cultivators from the Vyre family who accompanied Belladonna on this trip as her entourage and protectors.

The other half were warriors provided by City Lord Richards as a token of respect from him. When they heard that they would be accompanying the Young Mistress of the Vyre family, they were immensely excited.

Some of them even had faint dreams of using this chance to join the Vyre family. As long as they could impress the Young Miss on this trip, there was a chance she would take them back with them.

It was the equivalent of rising to the heavens in a single step. Now it seemed that their dreams were just that... dreams. It was only the first challenge, yet they were in such bad shape.

Some of them could even see the faint glimmer of disappointment in her eyes. The man who lost his arm was one of the warriors provided by City Lord Richards.

They weren’t used to taking orders from Bella, which was why they made such a colossal mistake.

"Get ready!" Bella’s sudden words jolted them out of their thoughts. They gripped their weapons tightly this time, determined not to make fools of themselves again in front of the Vyre mistress.

The toad, seeing that its tongue couldn’t reach its opponents, began to move. The moment the toad leapt, the earth heaved.

Its bloated mass slammed down like a meteorite, sending a wave of foul-smelling wind in every direction. The shockwave split the wet earth, flinging chunks of stone and muck through the air.

Everyone was ready this time and immediately retreated further. A few of them who wielded bows were the ones to start the assault.

Arrows charged with Qi were launched towards the toad. However, they couldn’t do much damage. Most of the arrows couldn’t get past the mucus-covered skin.

The ones that did could only create shallow wounds on their bodies. Still, it was enough to enrage the beast.

The intelligence of a Rank 4 beast far surpassed that of a Rank 3 beast. Just like for cultivators, every three ranks were different for beasts.

Going from Rank 3 to Rank 4 seemed like just an increase of a single rank, but in reality, the beast was entering a brand new tier.

If the beast wasn’t talented enough or couldn’t get the appropriate opportunities, it would never be able to take that final step.

The poison toad in front of them was one such beast that had successfully taken that step. The intelligence it currently possessed surpassed that of a rank 3 beast.

The intelligence of a Rank 4 beast could be likened to that of a small child, around five to six years old. It wasn’t the smartest, but it certainly wasn’t stupid either.

It could tell from their auras that none of them were on its level. The only one it was wary of was that older woman beside another younger female.

But seeing that she wasn’t taking action, it didn’t pay too much attention to her. After being attacked by the arrows, the toad wanted to lash out again with its tongue, when suddenly a whip lashed at it out of nowhere.

As if on cue, two groups of individuals charged towards the poison toad. They appeared in front of it in an instant and launched a barrage of attacks towards it.

Seven individuals were attacking it simultaneously, momentarily overwhelming it with numbers. The injuries they could inflict on it were shallow, but the amount that appeared on its body certainly dealt damage to it.

Just as it was about to swat away its attackers, an arrow made of Qi landed on its belly, knocking it back a bit. Before it could blink, the same whip landed across the same area, allowing those attacking it the chance to get away.

The attack was launched by the cultivators from the Vyre family. The cultivators who didn’t attack widened their eyes in shock. Such teamwork and power were unlike anything they had ever seen before.

"Such seamless teamwork..." one of them muttered.

"I’ve never seen such power and control from a group," another commented.

"Is this the power of one of the twelve great families?" another asked in a daze.

Most of them were awed by the flawless display of teamwork and precision given by the cultivators from the Vyre family. However, there were a few of them who became fired up.

"Damn it! I can do that too!" one of them shouted, a burly middle-aged man wielding a greatsword shouted as he jumped into the fray.

He didn’t notice that all of the attackers had already backed off. By the time he realized that he was going to have a head-on confrontation with the poison toad, it was already too late for him.

Elder Glenda saw all this but made no move to save the man. It looked like she wasn’t going to interfere in the battle.

The enraged toad had locked its gaze on him and lashed out with its tongue. The man tried to block using his Qi shield and his great sword, but it was futile.

His Qi shield shattered almost instantly, and his greatsword followed soon after. The toxins on its tongue were too corrosive and immediately melted the man’s greatsword.

Some members tried to help him by firing arrows at the toad, but it didn’t do much. The poison toad latched onto the man with its tongue, covering him in very deadly saliva.

"Aaarrgghhh!" The man let out a pained guttural scream that resounded in the surroundings.

His body could be seen melting as his skin began to turn black. In a swift motion, the poison toad withdrew its tongue along with the still screaming man.

Without hesitation, the man was swallowed whole by the toad, before it burped, releasing a plume of toxic gas out of its mouth.

Silence. Absolute silence.

No one spoke, or rather, no one dared to. After witnessing such brutality by the poison toad, they were all speechless.

Those with bravado who wanted to charge at the man earlier could now be seen taking small steps backward. If one looked closer, they could even see their legs shaking, showing just how afraid they were.

Only Bella and the cultivators from the Vyre family seemed unfazed by the scene that had just occurred.

"Listen up, idiots, you attack when we attack. We’re going to fight it the same way, using the previous strategy. If any of you mess it up, I’ll kill you myself."

Bella spoke up, bringing all of them back to reality. Her words offered no sympathy for the man who had just lost his life.

And why should she? He was the fool who jumped headfirst to face the beast. Still, she couldn’t allow all of them to waste their lives recklessly.

The Hollow Vein was too dangerous, and they still had to investigate the cause of the beast’s migration.

She cracked her whip, telling all of them to get ready. Yes, the one who attacked the toad earlier was her. Bella wasn’t a flower to be protected; she was more like a poisonous rose that could kill you at any time.

Among the group, only a few of them had cultivation levels that matched or surpassed hers. She was at the eighth level of the Golden Core realm, far higher than most of the people here.

It was an impressive achievement, given that she was only twenty-five years old. Well, what did you expect from a direct descendant of one of the Twelve Great Families?

She had received the best resources from a young age, and coupled with her own innately monstrous talent, she was bound to leave her peers behind in the dust.

Her whip glowed with purple light as she raised it up into the air. Then, in one swift motion, she brought it down, unleashing a flash of blinding purple light towards the poison toad.

That attack was the signal for round two, indicating that they should all attack. The cultivators from the Vyre family charged forward as usual, ready to face the Poison Toad again.

This time, the other cultivators joined them in the fray. Most of them were able to join in the attack, causing significant damage to the Poison toad.

A few of them were too mesmerised by Bella’s martial skill, that they couldn’t attack with the others. They were half a step too late, and when they snapped out of their daze, the others had already charged forward.