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The Star Monster Forest
Six o’clock in the morning.
The sky remained veiled in a gloomy, ashen gray. A thick, icy fog drifted, embracing the capital of the Ice Kingdom, choking visibility down to mere blurry silhouettes. Beside the freezing main gates of the palace, Andin stood, pulling her cloak tightly around herself as she awaited her comrades. Before long, the rhythmic clatter of hooves shattered the silence. A royal carriage, heavily escorted by three mounted knights, rolled toward the gates. The carriage doors parted, revealing Diyah and Julia, who stepped down and immediately approached Andin.
”Andin! Have you been waiting here long?” Julia greeted, a warm smile piercing the fog.
”I only just arrived myself, Julia,” Andin answered, returning the smiles of both maidens.
Diyah’s eyes swept the surroundings, frantically searching for the one silhouette she yearned to see. “Andin, have you seen Brother Ken?” she asked, a tinge of anxiety lacing her tone.
”Ever since I got here, aside from that sentry guard huddled in blankets over there, I haven’t seen a single soul pass by,” Andin answered with absolute certainty, pointing toward a sentry hunched over in his post chair.
”Hey! Hah… hah… I thought you guys already left me behind!”
A panicked shout severed their conversation. Suta came sprinting frantically, his ragged breaths tearing through the freezing morning air.
Andin turned her head and scrutinized Diyah intently. She noticed a distinct, radiant flush painting the princess’s visage today. “Diyah, you look exceptionally bright and glowing this morning! Come on, what’s the secret?” Andin teased, wrapping an arm around Diyah’s shoulders and whispering softly into her ear.
Hearing the provocation, Diyah froze for a heartbeat. “A-ahh! Do I really look like that?” she stammered, deeply flustered. A faint shade of crimson crawled up her cheeks, causing Julia and Andin to exchange incredibly inquisitive glances.
Suddenly, the sentry who had seemingly been asleep at his post stood up and strode slowly toward them.
”Very well, since everyone is fully gathered, we had best depart immediately,” the guard spoke with a highly familiar, heavy baritone. The man pulled back his cowl. It was Ken!
The three maidens and Suta gasped in profound shock, never anticipating that the god of war was the one sitting there in disguise.
”Hah! It’s you, Brother Ken!” Diyah exclaimed, the first to recover from her stupor. “Hahaha! Brother Ken, what in the world are you doing sitting there in disguise?” she asked, highly amused.
”Well, the actual sentry fell asleep, so I was benevolent enough to borrow his chair for a moment,” Ken answered casually. His visage then shifted back into absolute seriousness. “Prepare yourselves. We have a long journey ahead.”
The exact moment Ken concluded his sentence, a torrential gust of wind violently swept the fog above them away. A colossal Star Monster swooped down from the heavens, landing with a thunderous crash right outside the gates. Its wingspan was so massive it nearly eclipsed all light seeping through the colossal gates.
Sensing the savage, predatory aura radiating from the beast, Suta and the maidens shrieked in terror. Suta immediately scrambled away, desperately seeking cover behind the carriage wheels.
”Everyone, take cover!” Suta screamed in blind panic.
Diyah, despite trembling violently, chose to step forward, sheltering herself directly behind Ken’s broad back.
”Calm yourselves. To optimize our travel time, we will fly using this monster,” Ken stated tranquilly, stepping fearlessly toward the colossal, eagle-like beast.
Hearing Ken’s absolute confidence, they slowly crept out from their hiding spots and trailed behind him with exceedingly hesitant steps.
”Lord Ken, what about these escort soldiers? Royal Father decreed that they must guard our departure,” Julia asked, pointing at the three mounted knights who were still shivering at the sight of the monster.
”Dragging too many useless mortals into that forest will only multiply the burdens and risks. Have them return to their barracks,” Ken answered with uncompromising firmness.
”Did you hear that? Return to the palace. Inform Royal Father that he need not worry about our safety,” Julia commanded the guards.
”As you command, Princess!” one of the soldiers answered with immeasurable relief. Thank the heavens I don’t have to go. Setting foot in the Star Monster Forest is akin to willingly delivering your own life to the grim reaper! the soldier mused inwardly, hastily wheeling his steed around.
The colossal avian monster was already equipped with a specialized saddle, designed identically to a horse saddle but tailored with a four-person capacity.
”Everyone, climb onto its back. Relax, treat it exactly as if you were mounting a horse,” Ken instructed, guiding them.
They clambered up and seated themselves sequentially from front to back: Diyah, Julia, Andin, and Suta. Ken leapt lightly, landing flawlessly at the absolute vanguard, sitting directly in front of Diyah bareback, without utilizing the saddle.
Realizing the saddle straps only accommodated four individuals, Diyah asked with a worried tone, “Brother Ken, the saddle is only meant for four! What about your position?” she asked softly.
”Do not worry, I am more than accustomed to surfing the winds. Even without a safety harness, I will absolutely not fall,” Ken assured her, sitting cross-legged with flawless equilibrium.
”Hmmm, very well! Truthfully, I am incredibly terrified; this is my very first experience flying through the clouds,” Diyah confessed, tightly gripping the edges of her saddle.
Hearing that confession, Andin chimed in with a quivering voice. “Diyah, just so you know, it’s not just you. This is the first time any of us have flown this high,” Andin added with a rigidly tense visage.
”Hold on tight, we are departing!” Ken commanded. He lightly patted the monster’s neck. “Let us tear through the heavens, Garu!”
Responding to its master’s edict, Garu flapped its colossal wings. A tempest erupted beneath them. In a matter of seconds, the monster shot vertically, piercing through the layers of morning fog and clouds with heaven-defying velocity.
”Aaaaaaa!… Aaaaa!…”
Exactly as the tension hit its zenith, a shrill, elongated, and ear-piercing shriek detonated from the absolute rear of the formation. Suta was screaming his lungs out, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.
Every head snapped backward. Suta continued to howl hysterically.
Andin, seated directly in front of him, felt as though her eardrums were about to rupture. “You idiot! If you keep screaming like a crybaby, I’ll personally kick you off and let you plummet to the ground!” Andin threatened, the veins on her neck bulging dangerously.
”F-forgive me! I truly have extreme acrophobia! This is my first time not having my feet planted on solid earth!” Suta confessed his weakness, his visage as pale as a corpse.
Andin snorted in deep annoyance. “We are all terrified, you fool! Muster at least a shred of courage!” she scolded, berating the youth.
Ken glanced back, observing the commotion with a raised eyebrow. Catching Ken’s gaze, Diyah felt a twinge of guilt. “Hehehe… Brother Ken, please tolerate and forgive the antics of my comrades, alright?” Diyah requested, feeling slightly humiliated by the petty chaos within her team.
”Yes, naturally, Princess,” Ken replied tolerantly. However, his voice suddenly elevated, directed specifically at Suta. “Screaming is merely a manifestation of releasing fear. But engrave this into your mind… a true martial artist must possess the absolute capacity to swallow and subjugate his own terror!”
Hearing the authoritative reprimand from the God of War, they all instantaneously fell silent, fighting desperately to regulate their breathing and calm their pounding hearts, including Suta, who now only dared to whimper internally.
Gradually, their terror evaporated, replaced by profound awe. Above the clouds, the morning sun shone brilliantly, entirely unhindered by the fog.
”Wah! The view of the realm from up here is absolutely breathtaking,” Diyah murmured, mesmerized, spreading her arms wide to feel the emancipating rush of the wind. “Does Brother Ken often fly to enjoy the clouds like this?”
”Very often, Princess. However, it is an exceedingly rare occasion that I fly at such a leisurely rhythm to savor the scenery,” Ken answered flatly.
”Truly? Why is that?” Diyah asked, her curiosity piqued.
”Because generally, I only utilize the option of flight to translocate instantaneously from one blood-soaked battlefield to another,” Ken explained, veiling the darker tales of his wars.
”Wah! So, Brother Ken can also fly on his own without the aid of a monster?!” Diyah’s eyes widened to their limits. Hearing that revelation, Julia, Andin, and Suta instinctively leaned forward, overwhelmingly intrigued by the absolute zenith of Ken’s prowess.
Realizing he had spoken too freely, Ken swiftly deflected. “A-ah, not exactly. What I mean is, my flight rhythm using Garu is typically far more brutal and lethal than our current cruising speed,” he lied, formulating a rapid excuse.
”Hmmm, is that so…” Diyah replied, not entirely convinced, but choosing not to press the matter. “Oh, right! Is this mighty bird’s name Garu?” Diyah leaned forward to look at Ken.
”Correct, his name is Garu. He is a Tier 6 Garuda-type Heavenly Star Monster,” Ken explained, formally introducing his mount.
”Wah, a Star Monster! That means he is just as exceptional as Elisha’s Kirin, then,” Diyah nodded in comprehension. She then gently patted the monster’s feathered neck. “Hello, Garu! My name is Diyah, it is a pleasure to meet you!” she greeted amiably.
Garu responded with a resonant screech that tore through the clouds, “KREEEET!”, as if fully comprehending the maiden’s warm greeting while continuing to flap its majestic wings, surfing the air currents.
After soaring over the continent for hours, they finally approached the borders of the Star Monster Forest. From above the clouds, a truly phenomenal sight began to materialize. Walls of ancient, impenetrable bedrock towered dozens of meters high, forging a colossal, endless barricade that absolutely segregated the lethal domain of the Monster Forest from human civilization.
Witnessing the sheer scale of the architecture, everyone was left utterly speechless. It was an awe-inspiring yet profoundly terrifying masterpiece.
”Brother Ken! Is that colossal fortress what they call the Monster Forest Boundary?” Diyah asked curiously, her eyes unblinking as she stared at the barricade.
”Yes, exactly! The height of that stone wall reaches fifty meters. Above it, it is coated by an invisible Sky Barrier that shoots straight through the clouds and parts the oceans. Its absolute function: to completely obstruct terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic Star Monsters from crossing over and devouring humanity within civilized lands,” Ken explained, detailing the ancient defense system.
”Wah, absolutely incredible! To think the mechanism is this majestic,” Diyah nodded repeatedly in sheer awe.
”This phenomenon perfectly mirrors the theories our academy masters taught us,” Andin chimed in with profound pride. “It is the flow of Natural Energy within this realm that manifested those mystical barriers to balance the ecosystem and shield humanity from monster aggression.”
”Yes, exactly! It is because of that myth that no ordinary person dares to cross this boundary and step into the Monster Forest. To the entities inside, we are the prey. Therefore, we must heighten all five of our senses the moment we cross this line,” Julia added, warning her comrades with a grave tone.
”Yes, we understand!” Andin and Suta answered in perfect unison.
Listening to their academic discourse, Ken could only smirk cynically in his heart. Natural Energy? Is that the ridiculous fairy tale the academy elders preach these days? Or has the history of this continent been deliberately warped to this extent? Have the people of this era truly lost all traces of the historical fact that the Sky Barrier was manually constructed by a faction of God-tier existences hundreds of years ago? They implanted ‘Star Towers’ at crucial geographical nodes across the continent, all the way down to the ocean floor, forging an eternal protective sealing formation that siphons mana directly from the Earth’s Core. Ken inwardly scoffed at the erasure of the cultivation realm’s authentic history in the eyes of the younger generation.
As they rocketed closer toward the invisible dome, Andin suddenly panicked. “Lord Ken, what are we doing?! We are flying straight at it! Won’t we crash and be pulverized against the barrier?!” she screamed, desperately warning Ken.
”Haaa!… Brother Ken, what do we do?! Look out ahead!” Diyah whined, equally panicked, squeezing her eyes shut.
Yet Ken remained casually seated with absolute, rigid posture, not pulling Garu’s reins in the slightest. “Calm yourself, Princess. That barrier will not annihilate us,” Ken answered as calmly as still water.
SWOOSH!
Garu’s colossal body, along with all its passengers, phased through the barrier’s energy ripples as effortlessly as passing through a curtain of cool water. They crossed it without suffering a microscopic scratch. Everyone simultaneously exhaled a massively long, stifled breath of relief.
Diyah opened her eyes, profoundly bewildered by what had just transpired. “Why was it so seamless, Brother Ken? Is the magical barrier damaged or malfunctioning?” Diyah asked in sheer astonishment.
Ken glanced back, delivering enlightenment upon their ignorance. “Naturally, the barrier is functioning flawlessly. It’s just that its runic formations were specifically designed with a one-way mechanism. It solely obstructs Star Monster entities attempting to break out toward human settlements. However, it will absolutely not hinder any living creature foolish enough to enter and deliver their own life inside,” Ken explained bluntly. “Hahaha, are such crucial details omitted from your prestigious Academy’s curriculum?” he added with a mocking tone.
”Oh… so that is how the mechanism operates. We truly had absolutely no idea about this, Brother Ken,” Diyah replied with an awkward smile, feeling brutally slapped by the truth.
Observing the interaction, Andin’s eyes narrowed. Hah! What in the world is this disgustingly sweet interaction?! ‘Brother Ken!’, ‘Princess!’, ‘Brother Ken!’, ‘Princess!’… The way those two are continuously exchanging smiles is exactly like a pair of lovers drunk on romance. Or could it be… have they secretly made their relationship official?! Andin mused, both exasperated and thoroughly annoyed as she analyzed the intimate dynamic between Ken and Diyah.
Andin leaned her body forward, bringing her lips dangerously close to Diyah’s ear. “Diyah… be honest with me. Are you concealing a massive secret from me? Your relationship with Lord Ken… hmmm, there is definitely something going on between you two, isn’t there?” Andin whispered with a lethally teasing tone.
Realizing the trajectory of Andin’s interrogation, Diyah’s visage instantaneously flushed as red as a boiled crab. “A-ahh! What absolute nonsense are you babbling about, Andin? Keep quiet, don’t speak so recklessly!” Diyah deflected, her eyes bulging to warn her best friend.
”Hmmm!…” Andin smirked mischievously, winking one eye. “Alright, alright! But I demand that you spill the complete, unadulterated details to me tonight,” Andin whispered, leaning back into her saddle with a victorious smile.
Diyah could only bite her lip, desperately suppressing her bashful smile as she stole a fleeting glance at Ken’s broad, sturdy back in front of her.
Suddenly, Ken’s voice shattered the romantic atmosphere. “Hold on tight! I am going to detonate Garu’s flight velocity so we can breach the boundary of the Monster Forest Core immediately!”
In a split second, Garu’s cruising speed tripled exponentially. The howling wind roared violently in their ears. Down below, the dense forest terrain concealed unfathomable terrors. Savage roars and shrieks of killing intent from various Star Monsters echoed back and forth, orchestrating a symphony of death that made their hair stand on end.
”Lord Ken… Are we truly going to pierce straight into the absolute, deepest core of this Monster Forest?” Andin asked with a trembling voice, shattering the silence above the clouds.
”Yes, exactly. The Colo Herb is a botanical treasure that only deigns to grow within the Monster Forest Core, where the mana exposure is at its absolute purest. Therefore, that is the ultimate destination of this journey,” Ken explained, his focus anchored on navigating their flight path.
Hearing the name of the medicinal ingredient, Julia furrowed her brow. “Colo Herb?! Is that one of the crucial components for concocting my little brother’s antidote?” Julia asked with a deadly serious expression.
”Correct. The absolute formula for the ‘Heavenly Energy Elixir’ requires fifty petals from every color spectrum of the Colo Herb. Those hundreds of petals must then be meticulously refined within a crucible alongside a single drop of a ‘Tear of Fire’. To neutralize its corrosive properties and perfect it into pure life essence, the alchemical process will burn continuously for one full day and night without a single pause,” Ken elaborated. Suddenly, he stood up upon Garu’s back, his eyes narrowing sharply as he scanned the dark clouds ahead of them.
Hah! The prerequisites are that astronomically complex and the ingredients reside within a nest of death. It is only natural that the Energy Elixir is a mythic treasure whose value cannot be bartered even with a life. Procuring the materials is not as simple as plucking apples in a courtyard… And this man, with absolute nonchalance, donated eight vials of that mythical essence to my brother the other day… Julia thought, her heart quaking as she realized the unfathomable depth of the Ice Kingdom’s life debt to Ken.
Suddenly, the ashen clouds ahead of them parted violently. A shrill, ear-piercing shriek shattered their eardrums. A flock of winged Star Monsters swarmed out, diving savagely to intercept their flight trajectory. The sudden manifestation of those aerial predators instantly drained the blood from the visages of the four youths in the saddle.
Dammit, a flock of aerial predators. From this coordinate onward, exploration will be exponentially more efficient if conducted via land routes. If I force an aerial dogfight while dragging these four burdens in the saddle, my mobility will be severely crippled, Ken thought, his brain rapidly running combat calculations.
Ken looked back at his vanguard. “Are you prepared to clash against Star Monsters?” he asked, verifying their mental fortitude. “Unsheathe your weapons immediately. Brace for impact!” he commanded.
Hearing the edict, the four of them exchanged panicked glances. “What do we do, Diyah?! Julia?!” Andin screamed over the roaring wind.
The flock of demonic eagle monsters circled them, their crimson eyes locking onto the fresh prey ready to be devoured.
”We have never engaged in aerial maneuver combat before, Brother Ken!” Diyah shouted, her hands trembling as she reached for her weapon.
”Garu is going to drop you all in an emergency dive maneuver! This flock consists of Sky Demon-class Star Monsters. They will absolutely never cease their pursuit until they successfully tear into our flesh,” Ken explained, his eyes flashing with lethal killing intent.
One of the colossal eagle monsters took a steep dive straight toward them. Ken did not remain idle. With a stomp that shattered the very air, he shot upwards, intercepting the monster’s steel-like talons with his bare hands, before vaulting onto the beast’s back to engage in brutal close-quarters combat.
”Garu! Take them into a steep dive right now!” Ken commanded amidst his struggle to rip the monster’s wings apart.
”Brother Ken!… Look out!” Diyah screamed hysterically, her heart feeling as if it had been ripped from her chest as she watched Ken battling in the open sky.
Obeying its master’s absolute edict, Garu folded its wings and executed a vertical, plummeting dive toward the earth. One of the Eagle Monsters disengaged from Ken’s brawl and hunted Garu. However, before the monster’s beak could graze Garu’s tail feathers, a silver Star Chain flashed, tearing through the air, binding the savage monster’s neck with a death grip and suspending it mid-air.
”What kind of creature is that?! Is that a Gaffae Eagle Monster?! A Heaven-Tier Star Monster?!” Julia screamed, her eyes recognizing the terrifying species.
”Yes… Your analysis is correct! According to the literature, the deeper we recklessly plunge into the Core of the Forest, the quality and level of the Star Monsters inhabiting the territory will spike to astronomical extremes!” Andin replied, screaming over the wind.
Brother Ken… I beg of you, fight carefully. What is happening to you up there?! Diyah agonized, her gaze relentlessly locked onto the heavens, which were now flashing with the explosive energies of combat.
Upon reaching the thick, grassy terrain, Garu lowered its body, allowing its four passengers to dismount safely. Immediately after, without wasting a single millisecond, Garu’s tempestuous wings flapped violently, shooting back into the heavens to assist its master.
”Please save Brother Ken, Garu!” Diyah screamed at the colossal bird, which rapidly vanished back into the ashen clouds.
”Diyah, will Lord Ken truly be alright facing that horde of demons all by himself?” Julia asked, profoundly concerned for the safety of their guardian deity.
”Yes, we can only pray and hope he obliterates those monsters and descends safely,” Diyah answered, her hands clasped tightly, continuing to stare at the sky with desperate hope.
”Then what is our fate down here? What do we do now?!” Andin asked in panic, acutely realizing they were now standing in a lethal domain. “Suta! You are a man, quickly think of a way out!” she urged, banking on Suta’s intellect.
”Y-yes, give me a moment… I need to stabilize my aura vortex first, my stomach feels like it’s being churned…” Suta staggered toward the colossal roots of an ancient tree while clutching his stomach.
HUEK! An incredibly loud and nauseating sound of vomiting echoed through the forest, utterly shattering the remaining shreds of his dignity.
Hearing that, the maidens’ visages turned incredibly sour. “Sutaaa!… You are truly, absolutely useless! You’re making all of us feel nauseous too, you idiot!…” Andin complained, turning her face away in utter disgust.
”F-forgive me!… My digestive organs were truly not engineered to endure the turbulence of flight,” Suta apologized, wiping his lips with profound regret.
Amidst that petty squabble, a low, savage growl echoing from the dense thickets violently jerked their focus back to reality.
”Everyone, tighten the formation!” Diyah commanded instantaneously, directing their positions. “Unsheathe your weapons now!” she continued, immediately summoning a pulse of energy from her spatial ring.
In unison, the four youths manifested their spiritual armaments. Andin and Julia unsheathed crystal swords glowing with an icy blue light, while Diyah spun the long shaft and summoned her silver spear, which radiated a highly dominant aura.
Stepping cautiously to forge a circular defensive perimeter, they kept their eyes glued to the rustling bushes.
”Wah! Diyah, the aura of your weapon is phenomenal! What kind of spear is that? Since when did you possess an artifact this magnificent?!” Andin exclaimed in awe, recognizing the absolute purity radiating from Diyah’s weapon.
”Eek! Andin, lower your volume! I thought a monster had just ambushed us from our blind spot. You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Diyah flinched, clutching her chest with one hand while the other maintained a death grip on her spear. Hehe, she grinned awkwardly in her mind.
Julia, highly sensitive to the energy of heirlooms, also noticed it. “Wah! This is no ordinary mortal weapon… This is a Star Weapon! Hah! And its aura radiates Level 1 purity!” Julia gasped in sheer disbelief. From which elite auction house did Diyah manage to procure a god-tier treasure like this? Julia wondered in profound curiosity.
”Hmmm… Yes, you are both correct. This spear is a new weapon bestowed upon me by Brother Ken last night! Hehehe,” Diyah explained, a proud, radiant smile blooming on her face.
”Heavens! Truly?! This Brother Ken of yours is being illogically, astronomically generous! Just so you know, Diyah, a Star Weapon of this caliber is valued at trillions of gold coins in the black market, and its rarity is something royal status alone cannot purchase!” Andin explained, her jaw dropping.
”Andin’s analysis is completely accurate,” Julia added with an awe-struck visage. “To my knowledge, within these frozen lands, only the five Grand Kings and a select few core commanders of the Fire Kingdom monopolize Star Weapons from the ancient era. Beyond them, the highest-ranking nobles can only manage to wield Level 2 Star Weapons, and even those are considered exceedingly rare sect heirlooms.”
”Yes, I am acutely aware of just how mystical and invaluable this spear is. So, when Brother Ken passed it down to me, my heart truly leapt with joy, hehehe,” Diyah elaborated, tightly gripping the hilt of her spear with overflowing gratitude.
”Very well, shelve the euphoria. We had best keep moving and navigate this perimeter. With his eagle eyes, Lord Ken will undoubtedly track down our landing coordinates soon,” Andin suggested, taking the vanguard to lead them in a vigilant march.
Far above the clouds, after executing the remnants of the avian monsters.
”Harvest the entirety of these Monster Core Pearls into my ring, gather as many as you can,” Ken commanded via telepathy to the two black-cloaked shadow figures who had abruptly materialized to assist him in mid-air. Without a sound, the shadows executed their mandate.
Huft, dragging the burden of these four academy brats into an authentic battlefield truly tests the absolute limits of my patience. My responsibilities are multiplied exponentially because I must continuously keep my radar anchored on them, Ken mused. He plummeted from the clouds, allowing his body to enter a free fall, descending to the coordinates of his vanguard.
After advancing in a tight formation for several minutes, a dense killing intent ambushed them. From the darkness of the colossal thicket, an Earth Star Monster—a Demonic Tiger variant—leapt out to pounce, its fangs and claws aimed straight to shred Andin’s mortal shell.
Sensing the lethal peril, Diyah reacted with lightning speed. She dashed forward, intercepting the monster’s pounce, parrying the steel-like claws with the shaft of her spear. CLANK! Sparks ricocheted violently.
”Are you unharmed, Andin?!” Diyah braced against the hundreds of kilos of the monster’s weight, the veins in her arms bulging. “Everyone, tighten the offensive formation!” Diyah roared, successfully repelling the savage tiger.
On the highest, thickest branch of an ancient tree, not far from the clash.
It is incredibly fortuitous that this lowly terrestrial monster revealed itself. I wish to test and measure the absolute boundaries of these nobles’ courage and teamwork! Ken thought. He stealthily crossed his arms, observing their life-and-death struggle from a blind spot.
The four youths immediately concentrated their Qi, preparing to execute a combination assault utilizing their respective heirlooms.
”Judging from its stripe patterns and aura pressure, this is a Tier 3 Earth Star Monster! Its estimated cultivation age touches forty thousand years,” Julia analyzed the target while swinging her sword, which radiated a freezing aura. “Its strength lies precisely at the threshold of what we can handle. Execute together, and we shall harvest its core!” Julia commanded, fueling the combat resolve of her comrades.
In perfect synchrony, all four detonated their ice elemental energy and charged the Demonic Tiger.
”Ice Claw!” Suta unleashed five freezing, claw-shaped slashes from the air, lacerating the monster’s hide. This was immediately followed by Julia’s sword dance, which rained down chilling, consecutive slashes upon the beast.
”Freeze to the bone! Ice Breath!” Diyah spun her spear, unleashing a wave of absolute zero-degree air that instantly crystallized the monster’s legs and half its body, rendering it rigidly paralyzed.
Seizing the opening in the monster’s shattered defenses, Andin immediately weaponized her defensive element into a lethal armament. “Ice Fortress! Crumble!” Andin conjured a colossal block of solid ice mid-air and dropped it with brutal gravitational force directly onto the monster’s spine. BAM! The monster’s bones snapped with a sickening crunch.
Refusing to waste the golden opportunity, Diyah assumed a throwing stance. She channeled the absolute entirety of her Qi reserves into the blade of her silver spear. “Sage Spear!”
The spear shot forward like a bolt of heavenly lightning tearing through space. The energy projectile struck the monster with flawless precision, not only obliterating its final defenses but piercing straight through its chest and pulverizing the demonic monster’s heart in a single, absolute strike.
With near-flawless teamwork, they successfully felled the lethal beast. The Demonic Tiger collapsed, lifeless, its mortal shell slowly dissolving into spiritual ash.
”Yay! We successfully executed it!” Julia cheered, sheathing her sword. “The destructive yield of your new spear is utterly illogical, Diyah! That attack even continued its trajectory, leaving a gaping hole in that massive tree after piercing through the monster’s steel-like body,” Julia praised, her eyes sparkling as she beheld the remaining destructive path of Diyah’s weapon.
”A-aa, well… Truthfully, I am still not entirely proficient at controlling its energy output with absolute precision, Hehehe,” Diyah explained, blushing modestly while panting heavily after expending her ultimate attack.
However, their petty celebration did not survive for more than ten seconds. A dual, thunderous roar, infinitely more deafening, violently shook the foliage around them. Two more monstrous figures, possessing identical tiger-like visages, emerged from the darkness of the forest.
The aura they radiated carried absolute despair. One possessed an aura equivalent to the monster they had just slaughtered. However, the other silhouette was an entity pulled straight from a nightmare—a Tier 5 Heavenly Star Monster with a cultivation age touching seventy thousand years!
”Dammit… It appears they are the Alphas of the pack. They will absolutely never let us leave here alive as payment for slaughtering their colony!” Julia delivered a grim warning, her visage deathly pale. She unsheathed her sword once more and adopted a defensive stance. “What is your energy capacity?! Can you still fight?” Julia verified the readiness of her comrades, bracing to welcome death.
”Our Qi essence is sufficient for exactly one more clash, but… that Heavenly Star Monster entity is truly a threat that eclipses our dimension,” Suta explained, cold sweat drenching his face.
”Yes, our odds of survival are practically zero!” Andin added, clenching her fists in utter despair.
The two monsters granted them no time to strategize. They lunged savagely, forcing the four youths to engage in a brutal battle of life and death. Suta and Andin were deployed to block the advance of the Tier 5 Monster, while Julia and Diyah focused their sword dances to paralyze the Tier 3 beast.
The disparity in cultivation levels was far too steep. They were battered mercilessly, forced to utilize hit-and-run tactics and absolute defense merely to cling to their lives, occasionally unleashing meaningless sword grazes.
From atop the canopy, Ken’s divine eyes locked onto every single movement. Realizing the energy reserves of the four youths had hit the absolute red line, Ken wasted no more time. He plummeted downward, approaching the combat arena, but rather than annihilating the monsters with his own hands, he opted to become the warlord.
”Julia! Suta! Maintain your rapid-fire rotation! Do not let it catch its breath! Andin! Step two paces back to the left flank, transmute your element into a support role to back up their defenses! Princess, take a two-meter distance backward, concentrate the absolute entirety of your remaining aura energy into the spear’s blade, prepare for a maximum-yield shot, and do not release it until you hear my absolute command!” Ken’s heavy, intimidating voice suddenly sliced through the chaos of the battlefield, delivering absolute tactical directives.
Hearing the voice of their Hero, their despair instantaneously evaporated into thin air. They frantically reformed their combat positions according to Ken’s genius instructions. In a heartbeat, the tide of their assaults became phenomenally structured, forcing the two monsters to halt their suppression and begin retreating.
Thank the heavens, Brother Ken finally returned to save us… I will not disappoint him! Diyah resolved, closing her eyes and funneling the absolute last drop of her Qi into the spear, which began to violently vibrate from energy overload.
”Press them and herd both of them until they align in a perfectly straight trajectory! Once that is done, lock down their movements with an eternal ice prison!” Ken unleashed his next tactical edict.
Like a vanguard that had trained together for decades, the four youths flawlessly executed the instruction. The two savage beasts were trapped in an ideal, aligned coordinate.
”Now! Fire!” Ken roared, delivering the ultimate command.
”Ice Breath!” Diyah chanted her absolute zero blizzard.
”Ice Laser!” Suta fired a concentrated freezing beam.
”Ice Fortress!” Andin dropped a colossal ice cage from the heavens.
The three sealing assaults struck flawlessly and simultaneously, successfully flash-freezing the two savage beasts into two colossal ice statues in the heart of the forest.
”Now, Sage Spear!” Diyah shrieked, unleashing her ultimate strike with her absolute last breath of strength.
The silver spear rocketed forward, tearing through the wind, slamming into and pulverizing the ice encasing the Tier 3 monster into a million fragments. That monster died instantly. However, the destructive yield of the assault had been entirely depleted and possessed no remaining power to pierce the thick aura armor of the Tier 5 monster, which had already begun thrashing to shatter its ice prison.
Realizing Diyah’s absolute limit had been breached, Ken did not remain idle. Moving with the speed of teleportation, he shot forward, overtaking Diyah’s rebounding spear, snatching the weapon’s hilt mid-air, and channeling the vortex of his Giant Gold power into the blade.
”Sage Drill Spear!”
In a terrifying, spiraling rotation, Ken plummeted from the heavens and drove the spear down like a meteor cloaked in an energy drill piercing through dimensions. ZRAAAASH! The spear tore violently through the impregnable back of the Tier 5 monster, impaling its body, and embedding itself deep into the earth with an absolute, explosive detonation. The terrifying Heavenly Star Monster was paralyzed instantaneously, its life violently reaped before it could even unleash its final howl.
The shockwave from Ken’s assault was so brutal it leveled the surrounding earth, pulverized ancient trees, and carved a massive, smoking crater at the epicenter of the impact.
Is this the true manifestation of a Level 1 Star Weapon’s absolute power when wielded by the hands of a god of war?! Julia mused, her knees trembling uncontrollably as she beheld the crater of devastation left in the wake of the attack.
”Excellent!… Utterly brilliant teamwork,” Ken praised, standing casually atop the colossal carcass of the monster, his hand lightly spinning Diyah’s spear.
”Huft… Thank the heavens this nightmare is over. We actually managed to kill them!” Andin dropped to her knees upon the dirt, panting heavily, utterly drained of energy.
”Take these!” Ken flicked three Level 2 Pancasona Pills that floated perfectly into the hands of Andin, Julia, and Suta. He then strolled casually across the battlefield toward Diyah. “Princess, sheath your heirloom and swallow this pill,” Ken instructed, returning the silver spear along with a single pill of pure essence directly into Diyah’s palm.
”Thank you immensely! It is incredibly fortunate that Brother Ken arrived at the exact perfect second. Otherwise, our bones would have likely become decorations within the belly of that demonic tiger,” Diyah expressed with a profoundly relieved smile, immediately swallowing the Pancasona Pill to feel her life energy rapidly surge back to absolute perfection.