William yelled as he watched, unable to think further. He darted away from the bush.

Carl pulled Lucy along, trying to follow, but he turned back and saw Arthur still frozen in place.

It was the first time Arthur had seen a real monster, and he was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight. However, the monster in the forest was surprisingly agile, retracting its tentacles and propelling all six legs off the tree trunk, landing in front of William in an instant.

Yet, the monster didn't attack William directly; instead, it glanced past him at Carl and the others behind him.

"Mother knows you've brought these bad people with you, hasn't she?"

"Don't worry, Willem. Mother will deal with them. Then you'll still be Mother's boy."

With a swift swing of its sickle-like arm, the monster attempted to strike those behind William. "Take Lucy!" Carl's expression darkened as he shoved Lucy toward William.

The scythe descended, but Carl watched William closely.

"Willem, get down!" Carl had sensed something. His eyes conveyed anxiety.

William instinctively crouched down upon hearing the warning. At that moment, something flew overhead, heading straight for the monster.

Following the object's trajectory, William realized it was a sharp filleting knife!

"A knife? Where did that knife come from?" William felt a jolt of fear as he witnessed the peeling knife hurtling toward the monster.

Had Carl not detected the knife approaching from behind and swiftly ducked, it would have struck him down.

Before William could investigate further, a roar erupted from the monster a short distance away. Looking up, he saw that the tentacle ensnaring Arthur had been severed by the peeling knife.

To William's astonishment, the knife didn't plummet after striking the monster; instead, it remained suspended in the air, as if imbued with life and continuing its assault.

Carl acted swiftly, pulling Arthur away while the monster grappled with the peeling knife. "How's Arthur?" William rushed over to help Carl move Arthur out of harm's way.

"I'm not sure," Carl replied, shaking his head. "He's still breathing, though."

"Brother, are you okay?" Lucy rushed over, her eyes filled with concern as she examined Carl. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

With those reassuring words, Carl turned his gaze toward the peeling knife. His expression grew more serious as he looked at it. "Someone is coming." "Is it a person or a monster?" William inquired.

"People," Carl confirmed.

Following Carl's gaze, a man emerged from the moonlit darkness, moving deliberately toward them. The man was shirtless, his physique robust, and a bandage wrapped around his waist with a faint trickle of blood seeping through.

The man appeared fierce, his calm countenance fixated on the monster with blazing eyes that harbored deep resentment.

"That man..." William found something oddly familiar about the man's face, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

He pondered for a moment and then realized, "I remember! It's Alex!" "Alex?" Carl looked puzzled.

"Yes, he's the owner of a slaughterhouse, An Sung-do, a fugitive wanted by the police!" William recalled news reports about him on TV. "So, to evade capture, he's been hiding out in the Sifang Mountains?" "Is that knife..." William pointed back at the peeling knife, "his?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That's right," William confirmed. "That peeling knife is the same one he uses for butchering." "Brother, look!" Lucy exclaimed from behind them, her voice tinged with surprise.

As they turned to see what had caught her attention, they noticed several objects circling around Alex as he approached.

One, two... Those spinning objects were butchering tools.

Three bloodletting knives, three boning knives, two cleavers, a meat cleaver, and a crimson bone- chopping knife.

Alex's brow furrowed, his eyes emanating an air of menace.

Even from a distance, William could sense an intimidating presence surrounding him, making him feel uneasy.

As the crimson bone-chopping knife floated before him, Alex seized it and lunged at the monster. "Die, you beast!" Alex growled lowly, his voice reverberating with a chilling intensity.

Raising the bone-chopping knife, he swung it towards the monster with force.

As Alex struck, William saw something he hadn't expected – fear in the monster's eyes. Its sickle-like forelimb was raised high, poised to strike at Alex.

However, two boning knives flashed with cold precision, piercing the monster's forelimb.

"Why are his knives so sharp?" William was taken aback. He hadn't anticipated the monster's tough carapace being pierced so easily.

"It's not his knives." Carl's keen eyes noticed more details. "It's where his knives are striking – at the monster's joints."

"Joints?" William was initially surprised but then understood. "Yeah, why didn't we think of that earlier?"

"The monster's exoskeleton is undeniably strong, but no matter how sturdy it is, it can't fully cover its joints to allow for movement."

"Even if we had thought of it, it would have been extremely challenging to execute. Monsters are stronger and more agile than us. Coupled with their tentacles, it's a formidable task to target their eyes, abdomen, or joints."

"It's nearly impossible for us to land a clean blow at a joint, given the limited gaps between their carapaces."

Alex's assault continued, and as the boning knife restrained the monster's forelimb, several other knives joined the fray.

As though guided by their own intelligence, the knives began attacking various parts of the monster's body.

Three bloodletting knives aimed for the monster's three insect-like feet, piercing through their joints. Two bone-splitting knives cut through the insect feet pinned by the bloodletting knives, severing both limbs instantly.

Alex, now standing directly in front of the monster, raised his bone-chopping knife and hacked at the remaining limb that had been impaled by the bloodletting knife.

"Ah!" A piercing scream emanated from the monster's maw as the tentacles from its abdomen lunged toward Alex.

The peeling knife and bone-chopping knife moved in tandem, while the other knives followed suit, slashing at the flailing tentacles.

"Kill you! I'll kill you!" The relentless setbacks only fueled the monster's rage further.

"Oh no, get out of there!" Carl, with his heightened senses, seemed to anticipate the monster's next move and urgently warned Alex.

The monster launched itself recklessly at Alex, seemingly attempting to crush him with its massive body. Alex heard Carl's warning, yet he didn't retreat.

Instead, he clenched his knife in his right hand and shifted slightly to the left.

As the monster drew nearer, Alex channeled force from his lower back and swung his bone-chopping knife toward the monster.

With a resounding "clang," the bone-chopping knife struck the monster's carapace, generating a cascade of sparks.

While the knife failed to penetrate the monster's carapace, it did leave a deep indentation. "This guy... He's incredible," William marveled.

He knew firsthand how formidable these monsters were and had witnessed their immense strength and resilience.

Facing such a formidable monster, Alex not only exhibited no fear but also managed to halt its advance with his bone-chopping knife.

"He's more like a monster than the monster itself," William mused with a sense of awe.

"Those knives swirling around... Is that his power?" William looked enviously at the knives engaged in the aerial assault.

This ability not only demonstrated precision but also had a cool visual appeal. "I believe so," Carl responded casually.

However, his expression soon grew concerned as he noticed that the bandage around Alex's waist was completely soaked in blood.

The encounter with the monster had caused Alex's waist wound to reopen, and blood was now seeping from it as he exerted himself.

"AHAHAHAH!" The monster appeared to have detected the scent of blood in the air and grew even more agitated.

It had also noticed Alex's lower back wound, and the few remaining tentacles in its abdomen lunged fiercely toward it.

Alex and the monster were now in dangerously close proximity. If the flying knives were unleashed, they

could potentially harm the monster, but they might also injure Alex in the process.

Alex attempted to retreat, but the monster seemed to sense his intentions, and it was too late to evade its charge.

"Uncle Butcher! Up there!" William shouted urgently, realizing that the situation had taken a perilous turn.

With a burst of inspiration, he sprang into action. William grabbed a nearby bottle and hurled it high above the creature.

In a split second , the Molotov cocktail arced through the air, flames flickering atop it. Alex, in the midst of the battle, caught sight of the fiery projectile descending upon the creature.

A bone knife soared skyward, guided by Alex's precision. The bottle collided with the knife with a resounding " bang, " shattering upon impact. The wine inside burst into flames, creating a blazing shower that rained down upon the monster's head.