Chapter 39: Deepest Desires
Duncan huffed and puffed as he brandished his sword at the encroaching wild beasts. By now, he was truly ruffled up and was feeling very tired.
It had gone well for an hour or so. With the wolves at his heel, Duncan ran as if his ass was on fire. With his life at stake, Duncan didn't mind spending more energy to increase the lead between them
Somewhere around the tenth or twelfth minute, he had escaped from the wolves and was slowly making his way toward the next village. While he didn't have much hope for the village's safety, he figured that heading towards it was a good option as any other.
So, he had set forth in the direction of the village and was slowly making his way over. But, luck was not with him. He heard the wolves howling from the distance again after another ten minutes.
They seemed to have picked up scent probably from one of his resting spots where he stood for a few minutes to gather some stamina back. And the chase was back on.
Duncan lost them after another ten minutes of non-stop running. He knew what he was doing was futile. With the beast tide forming up, the wild beasts would inevitably make their way to the surrounding villages.
But, still, he refused to give in. Giving in at this stage meant he would die. And Duncan didn't like the thought of dying one bit. He wanted to roam around the world drinking wine and bedding wenches.
He wanted to cultivate and possess inhuman power as those cultivators did. He wanted to go back to Starmist City and take care of the Wang Clan with his own power.
He wanted to find that old coot and give him a punch to the face for igniting his desire to cultivate and making his life hard. If not for that old coot, Duncan wouldn't be running for life in this god-forsaken land while a beast tide was forming all around him.
He wanted to see Granny Jiao one more time and pay her back for the help she had provided him growing up. He wanted to find those cultivators who looked down on him in his village and smack their faces.
Most of all, he didn't want to die.
He didn't want to die without tasting all the wines in the world. He didn't want to die without bedding at least a hundred wenches. He didn't want to die without exacting his revenge on those who wronged him.
He didn't want to die and let that old coot off for playing with his mind. He didn't want to die without seeing Granny Jiao at least one more time.
Especially, he didn't want to die and become food for these wild beasts. He didn't want to die in this Grasslands where no one could be seen or heard for miles. It would really be a shitty place to die if he had to.
And Duncan had no plans of doing that.
When one is on the verge of life and death, their heart reveals its true color. Duncan was a greedy man like most people. He had his preferences, but at the end of the day, he was just like everyone else.
Cherishing Life!!!
This moment, when he was running for his life in the Grasslands, a seed of hunger was born in him. This wasn't similar to the hunger he had for cultivating. This was much more primal and intense.
He hungered to see the next dawn. He hungered to walk out of this situation alive and realize his deep desires. He hungered to live through this ordeal and make his way back to Starsinger Town in one piece.
Most of all, he hungered for power. Power to determine his own destiny. Power to kill these wild beasts that were chasing him for nearly an hour. Power to be unrestrained and free.
Duncan knew that if it was a cultivator who was in his situation, he wouldn't have much trouble escaping out of there before the beast tide fully formed. That knowledge distressed him more than anything else.
If only he was able to cultivate, then he wouldn't be in such a bad situation. He would have easily taken care of the bandits and would have reached the nearby village by now.
He wouldn't need to play hide and seek with the bandits and roam across the Grasslands in a timid manner. He could just waltz past these wild beasts and bandits without much worry.
And the bandits wouldn't have the guts to challenge him at all.
This knowledge twisted Duncan's insides as nothing else did. Even the chance of him dying in this Grasslands didn't inspire as much emotional hatred inside Duncan as this knowledge.
He hated everyone who was responsible for him being put in such a situation. The Wang Clan, the old coot, the bandits, and whatever had caused this beast tide to erupt suddenly, Duncan hated each and every perpetrator at this moment.
As Duncan ran for his life with a sword in his hand, this hatred began to simmer deep in his heart. A strange phenomenon started forming around him as a black aura started emanating from him.
Duncan was oblivious to this change in him. Even if he noticed, he wouldn't be able to actually see the aura emanating from him. Only a cultivator above the Spirit Sea realm would be able to notice this.
Duncan ran and ran until his legs started to ache. Considering how powerful his body was compared to a normal mortal, one could tell that he was truly nearing his limits by now.
And yet, Duncan refused to give in. There was a voice in his head urging him to live. His eyes were bloodshot and his lips were parched. All he cared about now was to escape this situation he was in and live through this beast tide.
But, luck was not on his side for long.
After about another half an hour of on-and-off chase, Duncan's speed began to flag. Despite being strong enough to be on par with someone who started cultivating, Duncan was truly at his limit at this moment.
His breath was heavy, he was sweating all over. His bloodshot eyes were focused only on the road ahead of him as he stubbornly ran without even looking back. Yet despite all this, he held on.
However, when he came up a hill and started running downside, trouble found him on the road. A Yellow-Stripped tiger was standing down at the slope and looking towards him.
Duncan's steps faltered seeing such a fearsome beast standing in front of him. He could hear the wolves already ascending the hill from behind. Now he was struck between two different predators who were treating him as their prey.
Even when he hunted in the forest, Duncan had never run into a top predator like a Yellow-Stripped tiger. Yellow-Stripped tigers were known for their ferociousness and unparalleled strength. They were the apex predators below the demonic beasts present in this area.
And Duncan was truly unlucky enough to run into such a beast here.
The Yellow-Stripped tiger roared and bounded towards him up the hill. Its roar was so loud that Duncan's hearing was lost for a moment. However, Duncan wasn't in the right state of mind to notice that.
Any other time, Duncan would have done the smart thing and ran back down the hill. He would have tried to lure the Yellow-Stripped tiger toward the wolves and try to create chaos among the wild beasts.
In his mind, Duncan knew that Yellow-Stripped tigers were very territorial and wouldn't stand other beasts interfering in their hunt. It would sooner kill everyone than try to work together with some other beast.
Similarly, the wolves wouldn't back down from the prey they were hunting for this long just because of the Yellow-Stripped tiger. They had the numerical advantage and they would try to kill both the tiger and their prey.
This would be an ideal situation to engineer chaos and slip through if Duncan was quick and smart enough. While the window of opportunity wouldn't be big, if Duncan was quick, he would be able to slip through the chaos with some difficulty.
However, Duncan wasn't in the right mind now.
He was just persisting on pure stubbornness and will to live. In his mind, anything that stood in his path was his enemy and needed to be dealt with. He hated everything to the core. He wanted to kill everything within sight.
So, Duncan did the most stupidest thing possible to do at this moment.
He roared back angrily and rushed at the Yellow-Stripped tiger downhill. The Yellow-Stripped tiger was angered by its prey's audacity to roar in front of it. It felt that its dignity as an apex predator was insulted and growled in anger as it made a beeline for the prey.
The moment Duncan roared and charged at the tiger with the intent to kill, the black aura around him surged. To anyone who could see, it was almost like a maelstrom.
Bloodlust permeated Duncan's brain as he rushed at the Yellow-Stripped tiger. Duncan felt all his tiredness vanishing and a strange power rushing through him. His confidence surged and Duncan knew that this little beast was going to die under his sword at this moment.
With one final roar, both of them smashed into each other without any regard for defense.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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