Free Web NovelChapter 160: Back To The Jungle
"We will split up into two groups."
It was the next day.
After a three-hour-long trip to the Great Jungle, the group around Louis Hayth arrived in front of the Great Jungle.
Everyone was well prepared, especially Ren, who carried multiple variations of weapons with them, like a sword, spear, bow and an axe. Those were bundled inside a bag, which he carried on his back.
"Ren, Sylvia, Lily and I will act as a group, whereas Zhen and Mika team up." Louis stated.
The main goal was to eliminate the current threat inside the jungle, which was a potential monster horde led by the reawakened king of the jungle.
The last time Mika and the others went there, they investigated up to the middle of the jungle but this time, they had to go deeper into the jungle.
"We will travel together up to the center. There, we will act separately with my group investigating the east and Zhen and Mika investigating the west."
However, unbeknownst to most of them, the targeted monsters were located in the east, where Louis’ group was headed.
Knowing that, it would be useless to split up in order to search for the monsters but putting Zhen and Mika into one group was intentional.
After all, these two were not included in the plan to take down the monsters.
They, or rather, Zhen had other plans.
"Do you have any information about the king of the jungle, Dad?" Lily asked as they walked together to the jungle’s center.
"I haven’t seen the king myself yet but according to the reports up to now, it is a white panther."
"It’s something, against whom even S-rank mages struggled. There were few occasions, where the king was exterminated, however, the king always had an offspring, who would grow up to be at least as strong as their parent." Zhen added.
"Then, shouldn’t we search for its nest as well?" Lily asked again.
"We tried to in the past. Many times. But our searches bore no fruits." Zhen replied.
It was not rare to encounter a panther-like monster. However, they were always black panthers, who were also a lot weaker than the white panther.
Explorers speculated that the king’s nest, where its offspring was most likely located, would be at a place, where monsters from the same type resided.
But there were no traces of a white panther.
"Usually, it was the job of the Grand Order to take out the king but as time progressed, we found ourselves getting busier, which led to us neglecting the king and to only meddle if there was an emergency." Zhen elaborated.
Then, he and Louis, who took the lead, stopped in their tracks once they arrived at a certain place.
"I’ve read the reports but seeing it with my own eyes is something else..." Zhen muttered, slightly taken aback.
"R-ridiculous..." Louis said.
The others looked them over the shoulder.
"What happened?!" Ren gasped in shock.
"Ah, isn’t that from- Hmph!"
"Shh!"
Sylvia silenced Lily.
"..."
Meanwhile, Mika smiled wryly as he looked at the deep and wide crater he caused during his fight against Zantar.
"Lereon told me that it was caused during the battle against a B-rank demon but I highly doubt that either that demon or Lereon were able to cause such destruction." Zhen said.
"So a third party was involved?" Louis asked.
"That’s what I think."
"C-could it be the king perhaps...?" Ren asked cautiously.
"No... The king couldn’t possibly be so strong...." Zhen answered pensively.
He stared inside the hole for a moment.
"If it was a being from the jungle, it wouldn’t be able to hide his pressure. So I guess that it most likely isn’t here anymore." Zhen concluded.
"Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if it escaped?" Louis asked.
"..."
He turned in the other direction.
"That’s true, therefore we should finish up here quickly and report this to the king." Zhen said sternly.
Louis nodded his head, before taking the lead for his own group.
Now, with them being split up, Mika and Zhen were alone.
"..."
Mika walked behind Zhen, who did not utter a word for minutes.
"Are you sure about not joining them?" Mika asked sternly.
"..." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"We still don’t know with what kind of number we’re dealing with."
"..."
"What I’m trying to say is that we shouldn’t underestimate the situation."
Zhen still did not give a reply and just continued walking.
After a while, they entered an open space with no trees blocking them.
"As long as I’m here, nothing will happen to them." Zhen stated as he abruptly came to a halt.
Zhen stretched his left hand out and pointed slightly to Mika’s right.
"If you follow this path, you will meet up with them." he said.
He lowered his hand.
"However, there’s something I wanted to do before joining the others."
Zhen was about to take his fighting stance but Mika reacted preemptively and launched a sidekick.
"..."
He jumped to the back.
"Louis already told me. You wanted to fight me, right?" Mika said with sharp eyes.
"Yes."
It did not matter to him that Louis revealed Zhen’s intention to Mika.
"You were able to subdue Louis with ease and I highly doubt that my son could beat you. However, I wanted to test you myself. Are you able to defeat me?"
Mika drew his rusty sword.
"How can I say no to you, after you went all the way and prepared a stage for us to fight without holding back?"
If they were at the Hayth’s residence, then it would be impossible to avoid collateral damage if they were to go all out.
"Let’s finish this quickly." Mika stated.
He wanted to join the others as quickly as possible.
"..."
Zhen cracked his knuckles.
And while their fight was about to unfold, the other group led by Louis came closer to their target.
Aside from him, Zhen and Mika, no one knew about the exact location of the monsters and the king. That meant, that under the guidance of Louis, they would find them very fast.
"I sense the presence of multiple monsters in the vicinity..." Ren stated tensely.
"So we’re close to them, right?" Lily said, raising her guard.
"..."
Sylvia constantly checked out her surroundings, whereas Louis kept on moving forward without saying anything.
Then, Louis suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
The other three immediately noticed that monsters were approaching them.
Due to the sun setting, the visibility lowered as the trees were already blocking any sunlight.
"..."
They had to put more focus on their hearings.
The bushes were rustling.
And it got louder and louder until it sounded like they were right next to them.
"!"
Large snakes, who all had two heads, jumped out of the bushes.
They had their mouths open, baring their sharp fangs at them.
"I got it!"
Ren took off his bag and pulled a weapon out in the brink of a second.
The weapon he had in his hand was a staff with a sword-like blade as a spearhead.
"Everyone, duck!" he shouted as he mowed down the monsters with swift swings.
He skillfully swung the staff above his head after beheading the snakes, spraying their blood on nearby trees.
"Amazing..." Lily muttered.
"Good job, Ren." Louis said sternly.
Ren nodded his head slightly.
"I was wondering about that since this morning... But you’re using weapons instead of martial arts like your father?" Sylvia asked.
"I hear that a lot. Actually, I do pretty well in hand-to-hand combat but when I was young, I found out that my strength lied in the usage of weapons, thus I focused more on weapons." he explained.
But as soon as he finished talking, Louis stopped in his tracks again.
Sweat started to roll down his cheeks.
"Everyone, be on guard...!"
The pressure they all felt started to get heavier.
"..."
They slowed down their pace as they approached the upcoming open space.
"No wonder that we were not attacked by any high-ranking monsters yet..." Sylvia muttered with a nervous smirk.
It was not just the pressure of one monster. But of a whole group. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Instead, it feels like we’re the prey here..." Lily said, gulping down her saliva.
The monsters, whom the king selected for his group, all gathered at one location.
And those monsters were awaiting Louis and the others.
"!"
They entered the vast field.
And just like they expected the monsters were there.
Jaguars and leopards, who were standing on two feet. Rhinos, who were as tall as an elephant. Snakes, who had wings attached to them. Monkeys, who were built muscular and had sharp fangs. Eagles, who had bulky arms and legs.
And last but not least, the king of the Great Jungle.
Surrounded by black panthers, who were also standing on their hind legs and were a lot taller than the average person, there was a monster, who was abnormal.
Not just because of its looks but because of the pressure it was emitting.
The pressure was at least as intense as all the other monsters combined.
With the size of an average person, the white panther with scars all over its well-toned body sat relaxed on the back of a normal panther.
