"Big guy..." Kiki muttered instinctively, then pouted as tears welled up in her large eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
Seeing this, Caius crouched down, gently ruffled her small head, and gave her cat ears a playful rub, feeling quite satisfied.
"Now's not the time for tears."
"Get behind me." With that, he stepped past Kiki and strode forward, his eyes locking onto the Wolf Demon that was shaking its head and climbing back to its feet. The corners of his lips curled into a smirk.
"This guy... should fetch a good price, right?"
Chaos erupted in the convoy.
Just moments ago, Caius had suddenly charged forward, his foot crashing through the floorboards of the carriage, causing it to topple over. The wagon overturned, spilling some of the magic potions inside.
Worse yet, the carriage in front had flipped at a critical moment, forcing the ones behind to brake sharply, narrowly avoiding a similar fate.
However, the immense centrifugal force was too much for the wooden wheels, and they snapped.
Now, there was no running.
No one knew if Caius had done it on purpose.
But Geoffrey was already about to explode with rage.
That was until he saw Caius send the Wolf Demon flying.
The words of anger stuck in his throat, replaced by utter disbelief in his eyes.
This guy... can actually match a Wolf Demon in raw strength?!
And even win?!
No… not exactly a clean win. After all, the Wolf Demon had been caught off guard and was mid-air when struck.
But this undeniable fact remained—Caius's strength surpassed that of the Wolf Demon!
Was this kid really a rookie?
Or was he a terrifyingly strong newcomer?
No matter what Geoffrey thought, the battle had already begun.
Caius reached behind his back and drew his war hammer.
The hammer's long handle was about 1.8 meters in length, while its hexagonal head was nearly a meter wide. It looked incredibly heavy, yet in Caius's grip, it seemed almost small.
What's more, he was wielding it single-handedly, making one wonder—wasn't this supposed to be a two-handed weapon?
He gripped the hammer tightly and strode toward the Wolf Demon, rolling his neck as his bones cracked audibly.
The Wolf Demon grinned menacingly. Whether it was due to its natural facial structure or just its expression, Caius didn't care—either way, it was ugly as hell.
"ROAR!!!"
With a thunderous snarl, the Wolf Demon transformed into a black blur, darting left and right at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. It was clearly trying to disorient Caius.
If he missed even once, those dagger-like claws would be waiting for him!
Too bad for the Wolf Demon—thanks to the old man's brutal training and his own exceptional physique, Caius's reflexes far surpassed those of ordinary men.
He remained motionless, seemingly frozen in fear, but his sharp eyes tracked the Wolf Demon's every movement.
When the Wolf Demon lunged at his side—
Caius reacted instantly. Despite his massive frame, he moved with startling agility. Twisting his waist, his veins bulging, he swung his war hammer. The weapon sliced through the air with a deafening whoosh, aiming straight for the Wolf Demon's skull.
"CLANG!!!"
A thunderous impact rang out, accompanied by a shower of sparks. The Wolf Demon was sent flying again.
But this time was different. This time, the Wolf Demon propelled itself backward deliberately. Caius's strike hadn't landed cleanly.
Glancing at the five white scratches now marking his hammer's head, Caius clicked his tongue.
Tough bastard.
In that brief clash, the Wolf Demon had reacted swiftly, slamming its palm onto his hammer to deflect the blow, engaging in an instant test of strength.
The result was clear—Caius had won, but only just.
After its deflection, the Wolf Demon used the hammer as a springboard to retreat, preventing Caius from inflicting serious damage.
The Wolf Demon stared at its trembling claws in shock.
This human's strength… was even greater than its own.
But its shock lasted only a moment before its face twisted into another menacing grin. With a guttural snarl, it lunged at Caius once more.
This time, it wasn't playing around. It charged in a straight line, reaching Caius in the blink of an eye, claws slashing downward in a deadly cross-cut.
Caius raised his hammer to block, another deafening clash ringing out as sparks scattered.
The Wolf Demon's claws were tougher than steel!
But the war hammer in Caius's hands was clearly no ordinary weapon—it merely gained a few additional scratches.
Neither Caius nor the Wolf Demon backed down.
A two-meter-tall warrior and a three-meter-tall Wolf Demon stood face-to-face, trading ferocious blows!
Caius's war hammer howled through the air, wind whipping around them.
The Wolf Demon's claws glinted coldly, slicing through the air with a shrill whistle.
Each impact sent sparks flying, illuminating their faces.
One grinned wildly. The other, viciously.
In an instant, they clashed dozens of times. The Wolf Demon's stance wavered under the relentless assault—Caius's hammer blows were simply too powerful. Its claws couldn't withstand them, forcing it to shift its body to absorb the force.
But Caius wasn't unscathed. His vest was in tatters, and bloody gashes marked his chest, shoulders, and arms. Fresh blood seeped from the wounds.
The Wolf Demon's claws weren't as strong as Caius's hammer, but they were sharp—far faster than his swings. Each time it found an opening, more wounds appeared on him.
If not for his free hand deflecting and parrying some of the strikes, his injuries would have been far worse.
Still, his body was far tougher than that of an ordinary person. If not, he'd have been torn apart already.
But it was precisely because of this resilience that Caius chose to go head-to-head.
Because he could take the hits.
The Wolf Demon? It couldn't take even one direct hammer strike!
That was the difference between a blade and a blunt weapon!
A sharp weapon could inflict multiple shallow wounds—but a single heavy blow could cripple an opponent!
After hundreds of clashes, Caius's upper body was drenched in blood, but his eyes never wavered.
Not because he was ruthless, but because, in a fight like this, even blinking was a luxury.
Years of mercenary life had ingrained these instincts deep into his bones—he could never forget them, even in death.
A mere oversized mutt like you—what are you gonna do to me?!
With a furious roar, Caius let the Wolf Demon's claws rake across his chest, blood splattering as his war hammer swung upward like a cannonball, slamming into its abdomen!
The Wolf Demon's massive body folded like a shrimp, its eyes bulging. The sheer force sent it soaring into the air.
Trading injury for a kill—one of the essential skills of an elite mercenary!
It hurt.
But it worked.
With the Wolf Demon airborne, unless it could fly, it was already dead.
The three-meter-tall Wolf Demon soared several meters into the air. But as it began to descend, Caius was already waiting at the landing spot.
Ignoring the deep, bone-revealing gashes across his chest, he tightened his grip on the heavy war hammer.
As the Wolf Demon fell—
He swung.
A single strike!
The Wolf Demon was sent flying once more, the crisp crack of shattering bones echoing through the battlefield—accompanied by Caius's wild laughter.
One strike. Then another. And another.
The Wolf Demon, like a battered ball, was repeatedly launched into the air, only to crash down again. Up, down. Up, down.
The onlookers watched in stunned silence, their gazes following the Wolf Demon's helpless trajectory—rising, falling, rising, falling.
By the fifteenth time it was launched into the air, its body had lost all structure, hanging limply as if its bones had been pulverized.
Then came one final blow.
The Wolf Demon was sent soaring high. Caius, his stance shifting, planted his feet firmly. With both hands gripping his hammer, he raised it high above his head.
The crowd took in the sight of his back—broad, muscular, his vest torn to shreds, revealing the thick, sinewy muscles beneath.
At that moment, they saw something terrifying.
As his muscles tensed and bunched together, they formed the grotesque semblance of a devil's face.
The Wolf Demon plummeted, its chest nearly touching the ground.
And before it could land—
The war hammer came crashing down!
BOOM!!!
The earth trembled. Dust and debris erupted into the air.
The impact was so powerful that everyone watching felt their hearts seize in unison.
Slowly, the dust settled.
Sitting on the ground, Kiki stared blankly at the towering figure emerging from the haze.
There he stood, unwavering, before a massive crater. Within it—nothing but mangled flesh and blood.
The bloodstained war hammer stood upright, its head buried in the ground.
Caius rested one hand on its hilt. At some point, a cigarette had found its way between his lips.
Taking a deep drag, he exhaled slowly, letting the smoke curl around him.
Then, turning his bloodstreaked face toward the crowd, he grinned.
A simple, foolish grin.
"That post-victory smoke I've been holding off for so long? Damn, it feels good!"