The synergy of the group continued at an excellent pace, the blonde-haired man dashing forward to attack the beast with the full brunt of his sword and inhuman strength. At times his attacks made impact, tearing deeply into the Shadow Eater’s flesh, dark blood spewing out in violent gushes. Other times, however, he was forced to block the monster’s attacks as it retaliated with feral rage.

Lin in turn attacked from afar, using her pink crescent slashes and providing the blonde man support wherever he needed it. The last was Favour, who served as the heavy dealer of the entire Cohort, sending relentless water blasts at the Dreadling. Of which many of her attacks failed to hit, thanks to the beast already knowing the damage cost of each assault and the attacks that did strike only grazed the monster slightly, doing far less damage that expected, nothing much to slow the relentless assault of the monster.

Steven watched closely as the entire battle unfolded. He wasn’t needed apparently, and in due time, with the constant pressure placed on the Dreadling, they were sure to win the battle without a single death on their side.

"Still," Steven muttered as he tightened his grasp around his daggers, his heart burning with raging determination, "I must be the one that gets the kill."

He took a step forward to lunge and—

"Run!"

A single deafening scream that surpassed even the roar of the stadium crossed Steven’s ears. It came from the blonde man, who had turned away from the monster to face the Cohort.

Steven froze, stunned. He saw no reason to run, after all The Shadow Eater was losing ground, fast. At their current pace, they would kill it any moment now. So why should they run?

However, his perspective changed instantly, his expression falling flat as a loud bang echoed through the air, as though a ripple in reality itself had been struck.

The heavily injured Shadow Eater had jarred open its mouth, a surge of red energy charged for a single second in it, bubbling violently with lightning before exploding forward at the Cohort.

From the distance the blast had traveled, it was almost impossible for the blonde-haired man to dodge, despite having predicted the action before it even happened.

Nonetheless, the beam passed by him and Lin, as they weren’t the true targets of the attack, but rather the heavy dealer, Favour, who had been causing the monster the most trouble.

Luckily for them, Steven acted just in time.

Dropping one of his daggers, he grabbed the girl roughly by the wrist and pulled her towards himself. Thanks to his increased physique stats, he was able to move with explosive speed, narrowly avoiding the blast by an inch as the searing heat passed beside both him and Favour.

The beam continued onward until finally striking a section of the metal wall, causing a massive dent there from its aftermath. A dent that served as a brutal reminder to the Cohort;

If they made even a single mistake against such a behemoth, they would be killed gruesomely.

The attack, though it hadn’t struck its intended target, had created an opening. The blonde man and Lin now stood several feet away, having fled to avoid the attack and its immeasurable heat leaving a straight path to Steven and Favour.

The Dreadling snarled and lunged forward, its speed far greater than it had ever shown before, its target locked in sight. The blonde man noticed the beast’s deadly rampage and raced out to meet it head-on, but he wasn’t fast enough, not with the way the desperate monster was closing in on the two.

"Attack it, Lin! Slow the bastard down!" he yelled, giving his charge everything he had in a desperate attempt to catch up.

Lin nodded, swinging her dual blades and releasing multiple crescent slashes at the Shadow Eater. Many missed as the beast evaded them while maintaining its terrifying pace. Others struck, but the monster remained unfazed, knowing that if it killed Favour, the group’s chances of survival would drop drastically. After all, she was the Cohort’s heavy hitter.

Soon enough, Lin ran out of mana, her hands trembling from overexertion, her face paling as she watched helplessly, unable to do a thing.

Steven held his breath, his hand tightening around the hilt of his remaining dagger as he watched the rampaging Dreadling rush toward him at terrifying speed. At this point, it was all up to him. He was the only one who could protect Favour.

In the end, the deciding factor fell solely on him.

"Favour," he called out in a low tone, drawing the attention of the girl who had pressed her head tightly against his chest or more accurately, his ribcage in sheer terror at how close she had come to death. "Do you still have mana left?"

She shook her head, her voice shaky as she replied, "Barely enough to maintain the buffs."

"Good enough."

Steven didn’t react further. Suddenly wrapping his hand firmly around the robe she wore, and as the Shadow Eater closed in, he used every ounce of strength he had to throw Favour aside.

Surprisingly, he flung her into the air without much strain, sending her far from the grasp of the now looming beast.

The Dreadling showed no real interest in Steven. Its lustful eyes sharpened and locked onto Favour instead, this was just as Steven had expected.

Using the opening created by the monster ignoring him, Steven raced forward. His body felt lighter than it ever had as he lunged, leaping onto the beast with daring mockery.

Landing atop the hide of the monster, he wasted no time. One hand wrapped tightly around its neck, while the other drove his dagger into a shallow wound at its throat with all the strength his body could muster.

A sickening crunch echoed as the blade sank deep, dark blood pouring from the monster’s throat as it shrieked in agony. Its body began to thrash violently, attempting to throw the skinny man clinging desperately to its hide.

But Steven didn’t let go.

He held on with everything he had, the dagger’s hilt digging painfully into his palm as his bones ached from the strain. His other hand clawed into the monster’s flesh, fingers digging deep as he fought to maintain his grip, knowing that letting go would mean death.

Still, the Shadow Eater remained tenacious. It thrashed wildly, swiping its claws upward in a frantic attempt to reach Steven and impale him, but its anatomy betrayed it. It couldn’t reach its own back.

"KIEEECK!" it shrieked.

"Die, you filthy beast!" Steven roared, renewing his resolve as he forced the blade deeper.

His hands screamed in pain, yet he remained persistent. His insides felt as though they would spill from his mouth, yet he remained persistent. His body threatened to fall unconscious, yet he remained persistent.

Making up his mind, Steven vowed that no matter what, even if he had to stay locked in this position until the grotesque form beneath him collapsed from blood loss, he would not let go.

{Your buff has increased by 5}

Even with the notification, Steven felt nothing but his battered body and the scorching blood pouring over his hands as the beast continued its desperate rampage, seemingly unwilling to lose strength.

Then it turned.

Its eyes locked onto one of the metal blockades of the arena, and with staggering steps, it charged toward it, hoping to ram its back into the wall at full speed and skewer Steven along with his relentless chokehold.

But after only a few disorganized strides, the Shadow Eater faltered.

Its movements grew sluggish. Its body swayed violently with each step, until finally, it collapsed onto the ground, Steven still clinging to its back.

{Ding!}

{Congratulations: You have killed a Grade One Dreadling}

{You can now copy a skill}