Matthew took in this entire scene, a surge of quiet relief rising in his heart.
The opponent's violently heaving chest and lack of pursuit undoubtedly confirmed his judgment—
This power-overdrawing transformation could not last long, and it consumed a massive amount of physical strength.
At this moment, the goat demon's physical strength was bound to be nearly depleted.
He slightly turned his wrist, bringing the 【Dawn Sword】 horizontally in front of him. It was both a defensive posture and a way to ease the tense, explosive atmosphere.
Then, he raised his eyes to look at the pair of crimson pupils, an imperceptible calculation flashing in the depths of his eyes as he spoke slowly:
“You and I are evenly matched. If we keep fighting, it will only end in mutual destruction.”
“Why don't we... stop here?”
Hearing this, Rivera's heart couldn't help but stir.
He already had the intention to retreat. Hearing Matthew proactively suggest stopping, he secretly felt that his chance had come.
But he knew very well that he must not easily show any cowardice at this moment, lest the situation change again.
Thus, Rivera suppressed his panting, steadied his stance, and slowly spoke in that hoarse, stiff tone:
“Human... you are good. I, Rivera, son of Darkhoof.”
He deliberately paused, letting the name “Darkhoof” echo in the cave, as if it carried some invisible influence.
Next, he raised his eyes to look at Matthew, only to see the other party's expression remained completely normal, without any fluctuation—
Rivera was secretly startled. He had not expected this human to have absolutely no reaction to his father's name.
In his heart, he had long regarded Matthew as a genius among humans, even suspecting that he had an extraordinary background. Otherwise, where did this bizarre reaction speed, agile movements, and precise dynamic capturing ability when shooting arrows come from?
Not to mention, he was still so young.
Yet, hearing his father's name, the youth in front of him remained completely unmoved. It seemed he had still underestimated this human's background.
He quickly reined in his thoughts and spoke again:
“Today's battle... is a draw. If you are willing to stop here... I will remember this favor.”
Before his voice could fade, his tone subtly shifted:
“But if you... insist on fighting to the death...”
“My father... will naturally know... that my life ended here. When that time comes...”
A combination of soft and hard tactics—there was both benefit and threat.
Rivera felt that his words were perfectly measured and well-calculated, and a sense of certainty couldn't help but rise in his heart.
However—
Just as he was secretly smug, believing he had taken control of the situation, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a subtle change in Matthew's expression. His mouth was moving in an extremely minute manner, and a faint trace of... secret delight appeared on his face.
Something was wrong!
Warning bells rang loudly in Rivera's heart, but before he could react, he saw Matthew raise his left hand!
A fist-sized, milky-white sphere of light materialized without warning, cutting through the gloom and shooting straight toward his face!
“Go!”
Matthew roared!
He had no intention of letting the opponent leave in the first place; after all, the current situation was in his favor.
Moreover, after learning the goat demon's origin, his determination to pull it out by the roots grew even stronger.
If he really let it go back and allowed it to seek revenge with its father, the consequences would be absolutely unimaginable.
As for whether “Darkhoof” could actually trace him after the kill—that was a problem to be faced in the future. The top priority right now was to completely eliminate the threat before him, leaving no future troubles.
“Roar!”
Rivera roared, forcefully channeling the remaining energy in his body. The layer of dark red shield emerged once more, but it was nearly half as thin as before.
Furthermore!
The moment the sphere of light touched the shield, the barrier shattered like glass.
Immediately following,
Boom!!!
A violent explosion, carrying a turbulent flow of energy, blasted open inside the cave.
Seeing this, Matthew was secretly delighted, knowing that Rivera had been heavily injured by this strike. Even if he wasn't dead, his combat strength would be severely damaged.
But just in case, he left absolutely no room for error.
He rapidly channeled his Spirit, raised his right hand slightly, and chanted a spell quickly under his breath, light gathering in his palm.
Another 【Energy Missile】 materialized!
During this gathering of energy, Matthew clearly felt a trace of sluggishness.
This was because the energy particles in the outer areas of the forest were more abundant than in the village, but they were also much more violent.
They were more suitable for monsters to survive and absorb, but not suitable for casting spells stably.
At this moment, Matthew could only rely on his own reserved Spirit to force the spell. Naturally, its power could not compare to when he was in his prime.
“But... it should be enough.”
His gaze turned sharp, and the sphere of light shot from his hand.
The sphere of light shot forward like a bullet. In terms of the whistling sound of tearing air, the size of the sphere, and its solidity, it far surpassed the one from his sneak attack.
For during the sneak attack, in order to hide his movements, he had deliberately suppressed the charge;
whereas this strike now, with nothing held back, was his true full-strength attack.
Boom!
The sphere of light exploded in front of Rivera. Dust and shattered stones splattered along with a dark red blood mist, and the dull reverberation of the explosion echoed in the cave.
Matthew held his breath and focused, his 【Eagle Eye Gaze】 penetrating the slowly settling dust.
He saw Rivera collapsed on the ground, his sturdy body having returned to its original height of around 1.6 meters, his demonized state completely dissipated.
The pair of curved goat horns rested weakly against the ground, his crimson pupils vacant and dull, his chest no longer rising and falling.
Only after confirming that all signs of life were gone did Matthew slowly exhale a breath of turbid air. Tightening his grip on the 【Dawn Sword】, he took a step forward.
His mind raced as he recalled the stiff yet clear human words the monster had spoken before the fight:
“Rivera, son of Darkhoof...”
He had never heard of this name, but a monster that could speak human tongue, possessed considerable intelligence, and mastered a bizarre transformation ability could absolutely not have a simple background.
Its father, if he truly existed, was likely a terrifying existence far beyond his current level.
“This is no place to linger.”
Matthew walked closer to the goat demon, his gaze sweeping over the mangled corpse. A charred hole the size of a bowl had been blown open in the goat demon's chest. The edges of the flesh were curled and carbonized, exposing the broken ribs and mangled flesh beneath.
The air was thick with the pungent, mixed odor of burnt flesh and sulfur.
Gazing at the charred corpse on the ground, Matthew muttered in a low voice, “A single 【Energy Missile】 is enough to shatter a half-man-tall boulder, yet it still left a nearly intact corpse... Its skin and flesh are truly thick.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his wrist. The 【Dawn Sword】 drew a cold, sharp arc in the air as it slashed downward.
The goat head fell to the ground.
Sheathing his sword, he whispered, “If you can still survive after this, then I'll accept it.”
Then he swung the sword twice more, and the two thick, curved goat horns fell into his hands.
His fingertips brushed across the uneven texture on the surface. They felt cold and hard, like neither stone nor bone, with a faint, lingering warmth of residual energy still remaining.
“Instructor Calm once said that the meat of monsters cannot be eaten...”
He muttered to himself, feeling no real regret in his heart—saving himself the trouble of processing the meat actually suited him better.
He squatted down, using the tip of the 【Dawn Sword】 to slice open the charred part of the goat demon's chest and abdomen.
The expected scene of entrails spilling out did not occur—
The cavity was entirely filled with flesh and blood, without any trace of internal organs.
Only a fist-sized, slightly pulsating dark red heart was wrapped in the flesh on the left side. Its surface was densely covered with fine blood vessel patterns, emitting a nearly demonic, life-like luster.
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