Chapter 140 One Side Must Fall
Most Infernal creatures were fire-based. Even the lowly Hellhound shared this trait.
The ring of flames spread out, deceptively slow but faster than a human could sprint.
The soldiers who were chasing William froze in terror when they saw a creature engulfed in flames. As the fire ring approached, they hesitated, waiting for orders, and missed their chance to flee.
The flames swept over the stationary soldiers, setting them ablaze. The fire was the same blood-red as the Hellhound's.
Agonized screams filled the air, giving those who escaped a glimpse of the terrifying horrors. The screams didn't last long; the flames turned the soldiers to ash in seconds.
The Hellhound's flames alone killed over thirty of the one or two hundred soldiers had surrounded William.
The sudden attack made many soldiers retreat in fear. They saw even an Evolving person couldn't escape the flames.
If an Evolving person couldn't survive it's attack, how could they? The encirclement quickly broke apart.
William didn't stop. He knew the Hellhound wouldn't last long. Without looking back, he sprinted past a dead tree that was stripped apart by starving survivors. With a touch, a wooden giant appeared, charging at the soldiers.
But he wasn't done yet. As he ran, he touched a street lamp, summoning a metal man to charge in another direction.
William kept running, using stones, metal, and trees to create summoned creatures with a basic spell to block bullets and distract the soldiers.
These creatures required minimal mental energy, just enough to activate the spell. They could take a few bullets before disappearing.
The summoned monsters scared the soldiers, who turned their guns on them instead of William.
William seized the opportunity, breaking through the encirclement and vanishing into the darkness.
Meanwhile, the Hellhound, having burned many soldiers and blocked William's pursuers, stood its ground, exuding dominance.
But the human attacks didn't stop. A storm of bullets focused on it. Its flaming body was a beacon in the night, more dazzling than a second-level roulette spin. It took the brunt of the bullets.
Though non-human creatures resist firearms better than humans, the Hellhound was forced to retreat under the concentrated fire. One of its large horns broke, oozing magma-like liquid.
The Hellhound roared at the sky, then suddenly charged into the crowd.
Even injured, it moved faster than any human.
"Take it down! Take it down!" Simon and Brady yelled out their commands while they were stuck in the thick of it, each wielding different weapons. Simon had a thick iron rod with a faint gray glow, while Brady swung an iron chain, both gray-level weapons.
They, along with other Evolving persons, chased the Hellhound. They realized the person who took the two-star Evolution Elixir had vanished. If they didn't take down this monster now, they'd lose their chance to find him.
Red-eyed and desperate, they led their group of Evolving persons in a fierce fight against the Hellhound.
If ranked, the Hellhound's strength was between a one-star and two-star Evolving person. Its fire attribute made it tough, even against a two-star Evolving person without many skills.
Alone, Simon or Brady would have to flee from the Hellhound. But together, with help from other Evolving persons and the soldiers' earlier attacks, they had the upper hand.
As the Hellhound charged, panic spread like before. But humans soon realized that as long as they didn't touch its body, the flames couldn't harm them.
They grew bolder. With several Evolving persons leading, some took close-range shots, aiming for vital spots like eyes, ears, joints, and the abdomen. The Hellhound, after killing a dozen more people, was covered in wounds. Finally, in a moment of carelessness, Simon struck its left head with his rod.
Under the immense force, it collapsed, struggling but unable to stand.
An Evolving person saw an opportunity and rushed forward, stabbing the Hellhound in the eye with a sharpened steel spear, piercing its brain.
The Hellhound convulsed violently, its flames dimming. The Evolving person smiled triumphantly. Though Simon and Brady had done most of the fighting, the final blow was his, a future bragging right.
But then he sensed something wrong. People were retreating, shouting something he couldn't hear.
Terrified, he looked down and saw a line of fire extending from the Hellhound to his feet, already igniting his body!
In his final moments, he realized it wasn't that others were shouting silently; he had lost all sensation from being burned.
Seeing his man die instantly, Brady's face turned grim. Another of his subordinates had been burned earlier. Now, another was dead, weakening his strength. Including himself, only three Evolving persons remained on their side.
Simon wasn't pleased either. He knew they had to unite against a common enemy. He glanced at Brady, nodded slightly, and continued to pursue the direction where William had disappeared.
Tonight, one side must fall!
