“I hate missions, but it’s also understandable when you are using their resources and institutions for your own benefit. There’s always a trade-off,” Luther thought to himself. “And when I say institutions, I mean a sect where different groups of people gather together for one purpose, which is to obtain resources.”

A man like Luther had been through the worst and held secrets that could set this world ablaze. So, talking to himself wasn’t uncommon. Leaving the eastern region of the Beast Sect and entering the Forest of Death was Luther Bryce, a young man with vibrant red eyes, pale white skin almost blue, standing at 6 feet tall, with long hair pinned back reaching his shoulders. He was equipped with a sword on his back and a dagger attached to each side. He wore a simple black and green military uniform.

As he traveled deeper into the Forest of Death, he passed villages of monsters, mainly goblins, filled with life, young and old. But they weren’t his mission. To avoid attracting attention, he increased his speed, reaching 500 km/h, diving deeper into the forest. The further he traveled, the more he lost sight of monster civilization, and thousands of trees started to fill his view.

It should have become dead quiet at his speed, but he should have still heard distant noises. He started to enter the deeper part of the forest. The trees started to tower over Luther, reaching heights between 69 m to 90 m, and it started to become dark due to their sheer quantity.

Then, suddenly stopping and ducking, Luther pulled out his black and white sword positioned diagonally on his back. His movements were sluggish. He swiftly cut the wolf that jumped at him in half, a clean cut without any blood on his blade. Then another and another. Even though he had been wounded before, to him, this was a walk in the park. He was merciless, killing everything, even those that didn’t pose a threat to his life. He killed around 20 tier 1 wolves.

Upon inspection, he realized the wolves he killed were called black wolves, due to their dark color and ability to use dark mana for stealth.

Then, two more wolves attacked him while he was inspecting their companions. With a bit of stiffness, he danced around their attacks with ease. Despite being tier 2, he killed the first one with a stab to its head and finished the last wolf by cutting it in half vertically.

Luther was surrounded by the dead again. Looking at the massacre, he thought, “Those old hags, they didn’t even know what I am doing here. All they said was to clear a wide area that can accommodate people.’ I'm going to kill all of them one day.”

Then, two tier 2 wolves covered in scars appeared on his left, growling furiously at him from a distance. He flashed his sword, and a wave of condensed mana flew towards them, instantly killing them as they tried to dodge it. Blood was spread everywhere, as Luther looked at it with pity.

Taking a step backward, he kicked another monster in mid-air that was quietly sneaking up on him. He broke its rib cage, and then another kick tore through the monster's head. His foot was covered in brain matter that dyed his green pants red.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Interesting,” he said aloud, looking at the dead puppy that he mistook for an adult wolf. “It's a shame it's so young. I didn’t sense its presence until it showed bloodlust,” he thought. Luther wasn’t comfortable in his own body after being tortured in prison for a year and covered in wounds. Everything felt sluggish, and, more importantly, he didn't feel like himself.

His usual self would find this enjoyable—the feeling of death upon him. But no, he was tired, and the memories haunted him. It was all right there.

His train of thought was interrupted by a blur—a black wolf matching his cultivation level, tier 4. It hit Luther with its palm in his chest, sending him flying through an oak tree into a rock. His uniform ripped open, showing his upper body, covered in wounds that were an inch or two deep, slashes everywhere. He was filled with holes. How he was still standing was a mystery itself, but they were healing at an incredible rate. More importantly, those wounds were a constant reminder of betrayal.

Getting out of the crater, he thought, "Shit, what am I doing? Has my sense weakened?" As Luther looked around for the beast, he saw it in the distance, shrouded in shadows. It was the leader of the pack, a tier 4 mana beast based on its strength and ability to hide itself. He chuckled at that thought. It was bigger than the rest and was around 5 or 6 feet tall.

The black wolf jumped towards him at an incredible speed, around 400 km/h, with its mouth open. Luther couldn’t do anything other than tilt to the side. After missing him, the black cat released a ball of dark mana, which he deflected with his sword. Bang.

An explosion was heard in the distance. For a second, Luther felt dizzy. Looking to his left, he saw a huge crater that was created from the ball of dark mana from the beast, but Luther wasn’t focused on that. In fact, he was at the beast's throat with his sword coated in mana. But the beast avoided it easily and smirked at him. But even the beast knows that death is not to be played with.

“Ohh, so you are playing,” Luther used his favorite technique, mana slash. He instantly created a blade of mana, catching the beast by surprise. The mana beast was about to dodge it, but Luther appeared above its neck, killing it instantly with his sword. To instantly produce mana and use it in combat is not common, but to use it at Luther’s rate is unheard of. It took less than a second to fire his mana slash and even less to be on top of the wolf.

As he finished with the tier 4 beast, he pulled more mana from his core again, around 5%. He coated his sword and pointed it outwards and spun. The trees surrounding him all fell. Then he walked towards a tree stem and sat. He took a jar of liquor out of his dimensional ring and drank half of its contents. Its fragrance was sweet and soothing.

Reminiscing about her, he looked up to the moons in the sky and tossed a word to it, saying, “this is for you, Cindy, may you rest in peace,” with a sad smile.

Luther then stood up, not wanting to sulk in the past. He pushed down the memory that was right there. He released his pure white mana outward, without an element. He commanded it to burn everything, and everything went up in white flames in an instant. He nodded in approval as he finished his mission. Then he felt the presence of thousands of monsters approaching; they felt his destruction of the forest.

He smiled in pity, knowing that there is no rest for the wicked and the slaughter he will bring.

The end