CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 728: Human Silhouette

Asher's form was a streak of motion. Despite the considerable weight from the bracelets and the specialized training jumpsuit he wore, his velocity remained astonishingly high. His gaze, sharp and purple, locked onto a particularly imposing hill. Without a moment's pause, he surged towards its base, pole weapon clutched firmly. Upon reaching the incline, he immediately began his ascent, his senses on high alert for any lurking dangers, his pace unwavering.

As he gained elevation, a sharp slicing sound ripped through the air. Asher's eyes instantly darted towards the source. It was a tongue, lashing out from the concealment of dense bushes. Reacting instantly, Asher sidestepped, evading the attack, and simultaneously shot out his left hand. He seized the tongue, his palm instantly coated in a foul, viscous saliva, yet he showed no outward reaction. With a decisive tug, he pulled it forward forcefully.

The moment he applied pressure, a massive toad erupted from the undergrowth with violent force. As it broke free and became airborne, its eyes fixed on Asher. Its throat swelled grotesquely, and without hesitation, it expelled a glob of an unidentified substance directly at him.

Asher knew better than to confront the projectile head-on. He released the tongue and blurred forward with incredible speed. The instant the viscous blob impacted the ground, the earth hissed audibly and began to dissolve rapidly. However, Asher paid it no mind; he had already closed the distance to the monstrous amphibian.

His hand shot upward, his pole swinging with practiced grace towards the toad's head, applying just the necessary force. Like an overripe fruit, the monster's head exploded in a shower of gore. Asher then vanished from his spot, expertly avoiding the splatter, the creature's carcass plummeting to the ground with a heavy thud moments later.

Asher cast no second glance at the fallen foe. His advance continued, his objective unwavering: the summit of the hill. All else was merely an obstruction designed to impede his progress. Yet, before he could cover much more distance, another projectile tore through the atmosphere. This time, instead of an ambush from the side, the attack descended from the heavens.

Asher's eyes snapped skyward. A deadly rain of iron feathers hurtled towards him with terrifying velocity.

Asher's hand rose swiftly, his pole a blur as he spun it with expert dexterity, creating a defensive vortex that deflected every incoming feather with effortless ease. His knees bent sharply, the ground compressing beneath his feet, and with a thunderous roar, he launched himself skyward like a missile, rocketing directly towards the colossal avian foe.

The bird let out a piercing screech as it registered his rapid approach. Instantly, it powerfully beat its wings, veering sharply to the side, its movements precise as it evaded Asher's pole strike. After all, the sky was its natural dominion. While evading, the bird unleashed a fresh volley of feathered projectiles at the airborne Asher, who met them with the same practiced defense.

However, Asher lacked his Astra Energy this time, preventing him from defying gravity as he normally would. This limitation restricted his options for confronting his aerial adversary. The moment he reached the apex of his ascent, the relentless pull of gravity asserted its dominance, drawing him back down.

But Asher remained unfazed.

His arm snapped back, muscles coiling, veins standing out starkly across his limb. With even greater power, he propelled his pole forward as if it were fired from a siege weapon.

The enormous bird, caught completely unaware, was impaled by the pole, which pierced its thick hide with devastating force, treating it like fragile parchment. The projectile continued its trajectory, striking the earth with a concussive boom, erupting dust and debris in a violent outward blast.

Asher descended, guided by gravity's pull, his feet landing atop the embedded pole with a light, controlled touch. A subtle flick of his agile feet sent the pole leaping from the earth and spinning back into his waiting hand, completing a seamless transition as he resumed his climb towards the peak.

Throughout his journey, Asher encountered a diverse array of monsters and formidable beasts. He dispatched each one with decisive efficiency, requiring only one or two expertly placed strikes depending on the specific threat. His aim was consistently directed at their vital points.

Every thrust was precise, every movement meticulously calculated.

Each attack was executed with the absolute minimum of wasted energy.

He had already dedicated over an hour to scaling the hill, yet the onslaught of monsters seemed inexhaustible. The further he ascended, the greater the number of foes he faced.

'It appears the true trials await at the summit,' Asher mused calmly as he pressed onward, recognizing that the monsters and beasts he currently faced were far too weak to present any genuine challenge.

Initially, he had anticipated facing a contingent of instructors who would test him as he made his way to the hill's crest, but his assumption had proven incorrect.

’These monsters and beasts are here to deplete our stamina and strength before we even arrive at the top,’ Asher concluded internally, his pace and breathing remaining perfectly steady. There had been no time limit given, so there was no reason to push his speed to its utmost limit and waste unnecessary energy.

As Asher was deep in thought, a whip suddenly lashed outward towards him. Without missing a beat, he ducked instantly, dodging the attack in one seamless motion. The moment he dodged, his eyes locked onto the whip... but it wasn’t a whip at all. It was a long vine-like tentacle elongating from one of the trees nearby.

Asher immediately zipped forward, his pole smashing into the tree monster before it could even react properly, its bark and entire body exploding outward violently.

But the moment Asher killed one, more appeared, tens of vines flashed towards him simultaneously from different directions. Asher immediately stepped backward, his body zigzagging through the attacks as he read every single movement calmly and precisely.

Each vine slammed into the earth with tremendous force, tearing chunks of land apart effortlessly and displaying the sheer power each strike possessed.

Asher continued to dodge smoothly, his purple eyes dancing within their sockets as he tracked every incoming attack. Anytime he attempted to move forward, a new vine was already there blocking the path ahead and preventing his advance.

Asher understood that he couldn’t dodge forever, and since advancing through the ground wasn’t working, he simply chose another method entirely.

He immediately leaped upward, his feet lightly kissing the surfaces of the attacking vines. Without missing a beat, he ran across them effortlessly, leaping from one vine to another with seamless precision and balance.

The moment he closed the distance, his pole tore outward with wicked force, his body becoming a blur as he smashed every single tree monster directly across their bark-covered bodies, their forms exploded outward into countless splinters and fragments.

Asher exhaled calmly afterward, not even slightly winded. His eyes shifted toward the peak once more.

He was almost there.

From his current distance, he could already make out what seemed to be a human silhouette waiting silently at the summit.

Without wasting any more time, Asher shot forward towards his target.