บท 13: The Power of the Great Bear
Both the Wolf King and Jack passed through unscathed. When it came to Hachidai Mafu, the heir of the demon-slaying family extended his slender fingers and lightly tapped a page, summoning a gleaming silver long knife into his grasp.
"I have vowed to slay every demon I encounter, so you two horse-headed creatures, be banished to hell!" Hachidai Mafu roared, raising his long knife and bringing it down with such swiftness and ferocity that, to my untrained eyes, it seemed even more formidable than the Ice Mountain beauty, Tianhong.
"These cursed newcomers!" one of the horse-headed guards muttered, suddenly vanishing from sight. By the time Hachidai Mafu realized what had happened, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as the guard closed in with an astonishing speed, knocking him out with a single punch.
"To think... he could disappear from my sight so quickly!" The speed of the horse-headed guard left me utterly dumbfounded, a chill creeping into my heart.
"Kid, carry your companion inside. I only knocked him out to hold back," the attacking guard said, giving me a thumbs-up. Seeing that both the Wolf King and Jack remained unmoved, I sighed and helped Hachidai Mafu up, also retrieving his silver long knife.
With my internal energy and basic knife skills in place, I believed I would soon meet the requirements to practice the "Flying Sand and Moving Stone" technique, but I still needed a suitable weapon. I decided that this long knife would serve as a reward for my good deed. "However, even if I master the Flying Sand and Moving Stone technique, I will still be far from matching the speed of that horse-headed guard. I wonder what skills I might learn in the training camp!" The horse-headed guard's swift strike had heightened my anticipation for the Demon-Slaying Mercenary Corps' training camp.
Hachidai Mafu stood over six feet tall, with solid muscles and a weight befitting his stature. Fortunately, thanks to my Tenfold Strength Card, carrying him felt remarkably easy, with no signs of strain. This dissuaded the Wolf King and Jack from further testing me. Upon entering the training camp, Fang Lingxue exchanged a few brief words with a bald man, who regarded us with a look of ill intent.
"I am your instructor, Weir." The bald man announced. "The Demon-Slaying Mercenary Corps takes in no more than five formal members each year, but this training camp sees over fifty newcomers join each month. So cast aside any thoughts of luck; this is a place where only the strong can survive. If you cannot make it through the training camp, you will not last on the island either. I will train you to the brink of death. Now, I give you a chance: choose to withdraw or to join us."
"I would love to choose withdrawal, but are you sure you won't hit me afterward?" I muttered silently, saying nothing aloud, while the bald man took our silence as agreement.
He immediately tossed over four uniforms, bellowing for us to change into them at once. The uniforms, an unknown relic from some bygone era or nation, felt quite comfortable once I put it on. Mine was a bit large, so I rolled up the sleeves a few times, adding an air of ruggedness.
"You will undergo ten different training exercises in this camp. The Demon-Slaying Mercenary Corps has always been the best on Demon Island. If you manage to survive four exercises, you might secure a temporary contract with some lesser mercenary corps. Survive six, and seven out of ten mercenary groups will recruit you as formal members! If you can endure eight, you may even land a main role in some weaker teams. Remember, we are the best, the finest, and the strongest mercenary corps on Demon Island!"
The bald man's shouting left my ears ringing, and I noticed the Wolf King's malicious glint, realizing that these terrifying companions were not to be trifled with.
"Transform! Body!" The Wolf King uttered with a grin, then suddenly swelled to twice his size, transforming into a fearsome giant bear, and with a mighty step, he slammed his enormous paw down toward the bald instructor.
"I'm not accustomed to training under those weaker than me. Prove your qualifications to shout at me, instructor!" I was astonished by the Wolf King's actions, thinking, "The horse-headed guard's skills already indicate the quality of this training camp; why would the Wolf King challenge the instructor? He is certainly of a higher caliber than those horse-headed guards."
I took a step back, dragging Hachidai Mafu with me, intentionally distancing myself from the silent Jack. The Wolf King seemed to possess a transformation card similar to the Diamond Card that Julie had shown me; thus, he transformed into this state. With his current fighting form, even with my Tenfold Strength Card, I could not hope to compete.
"Had I received the Diamond Card instead of the Beauty Summoning Card, I wouldn't have to worry about losing to the Wolf King's bear strength." But at this moment, regret was futile; I couldn't ask Julie for that card.
The bald instructor, Weir, sidestepped cleverly, avoiding the Wolf King's charge, and bellowed fiercely, "New recruits, do you need to incapacitate a few of you every time before you learn your lesson? Let me tell you: the cards obtained from the demon lady are nothing but garbage!"
Indeed, the Wolf King's fighting abilities were as impressive as he had claimed. Though he appeared less agile in his bear form, he expertly cornered the bald instructor, laughing heartily, "I hope you don't lose your self-esteem when beaten by such garbage!"
"Bullshit! How could I ever lose?" The bald instructor's expression darkened as he cursed, then his body radiated a pale white light, gathering in his left hand.
As the Wolf King lunged fiercely, a sphere of light, reminiscent of the Holy Light Bomb but magnitudes stronger, shot from the instructor's fist, sending the Wolf King's massive bear form flying over ten meters.
With a soft tearing sound, the Wolf King's face shifted in shock as his giant bear form crumbled.
The Wolf King roared, "You have destroyed my Bear Strength Card!"
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง