My Guardian System: The Trader

Another earth-spike hit right inside the monster's mouth and pierced through it. The monster made guttural sounds and stepped back. Maybe out of pain, it reflexively released the person in its grasp. The man fell on the ground with his butt first. Although that was painful, it was nothing compared to the grim fate awaiting him in the hand of that monster.

At that moment, Oldman Barn was still shouting the same line. "Hit the center of their chests!" His voice resounded in their ears.

Seeing an opening, the younger town guard clenched the hilt of his iron sword. Then he dashed forward aiming at the monster's chest.

Maybe because the monster was still in pain, it didn't notice his approach. His attack landed at the monster's chest. Right at the center. The tip of his sword penetrated the monster's chest and hit something hard within it. The impact transmitted in his hands.

At that moment, the monster's body glowed like it was creaking, then it disappeared like a wisp of smoke. The younger town guard stared at it with wide eyes.

"I-it dissipate?" He couldn't believe it. His comrades behind him had their eyes widened in disbelief.

"H-he killed it? George's son killed the monster!" The leader of the town guards exclaimed in surprise.

"Captain!"

Called one of the town guards. When the leader looked at them, he noticed a speck of light in their eyes. Looks like what the boy did fuel motivation in them.

Now that they had a clear idea of how to defeat these monsters much more easily, all of them were now eager to attack. 

"Alright! Focus your attack at the center of their chests!" The leader commanded as he pointed his sword at the monster. After saying it, he sent a glance at Oldman Barn and the others. He wondered how they knew about this monster's weakness.

Monsters didn't usually come in this town, so none of them had any idea how to defeat them. They were just lucky enough in defeating two of them after overwhelming them with countless attacks. However, that wasn't an easy kill. They lost an estimated 50-70 men in the process. 

"Aye!" Everyone shouted as they attacked the remaining monsters.

Looking at the town guards who were now madly attacking the monsters, Jem just remained calm. He knew all along about the monster's weakness, but he didn't disclose it as he needed them as corpses rather than dissipating them.

He could only acquire a broken Beast Core if he killed them that way. But if he exhausted their lives normally, he could loot more valuable materials from them, which was very beneficial to his hidden trading ability. It was the reason he preferred killing them without damaging their Beast Core.

Also, the trader told him that Beast Cores could be processed into different kinds of materials such as unique shapeshifting abilities or any valuable items. But, the problem was, he needed the item known as Water of Identification. Moreover, that item was still vague. It wasn't that he didn't believe the trader's words. In fact, the trader's information was very reliable even until now. 

In regards to the Water of Identification, maybe that item was very rare. That's why even someone like Tom, who owned a trading shop, had no idea about it. Jem believed that if there was a person who should know better regarding that item, it should be someone like Tom. But when Jem asked him that time when he visited his shop along with that girl named Hope, it turned out that even Tom had no idea. Even Hope was the same.

Tom mentioned the Sage Tower. Jem had no idea where that place was. Tom also told him that it was located in the West District. But darn. Jem's knowledge about places in the federation was very limited. Summed up with his limited cash. Jem had no hope of reaching that place very soon. He needed more money if he wanted to travel far.

Nonetheless,

After the town guards learned about the monster's weakness, they attacked simultaneously. Though, even though they already know about their weakness, it was still not easy for them to hit those vital parts. The monsters were agile. And it seemed like they weren't fully unintelligent creatures.

Klang!

A town guard retreated with wide eyes. His sword-stab was greeted with metallic noise when his attack hit the tough part of the monster's arm.

"Tsk! They understood that we're trying to hit their vital point!" He said in bewilderment when the monster unexpectedly crossed its arms to cover its chest from his attack. This reaction surprised most of the town guards. With a grinning face, showing most of its razor-sharp teeth, the monsters attacked back. With a swing of their arms, two town guards were sent flying away.

Although that didn't kill them, their consciousness was slipping away. After learning that their attacks weren't effective, some of the town guards showed a hint of losing morale once again. In just a single retaliation, their courage was shattered into pieces right off the bat.

"Don't step back!" Warned the leader when he noticed that his men started taking a step back. They probably afraid. It was easy to lose morale in the face of a frightening enemy.

GWAR!

The monster howled, intimidating the town guards in a matter of seconds. Their eerie howls sent chills down their spines.

The town guards' hands that were holding their weapons were obviously quivering at that moment. Looking at them, it was easy to say that all of them were in a state of fear.

The monsters took advantage of the situation. They rushed forward to tear the humans in around them. However, at that moment as well, a shadow passed through the crowds and directly went to confront the enemy.

A strong punch, *Bam!* in the face, sent one of the monsters tumbling away.

They noticed the monster's head twisted in the wrong direction. The power of that punch wasn't ordinary!

"Wha-?"

The town guards around gawked in disbelief at that moment.