Chapter 22: The Earthworm King -1

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The Earthworm King -1

The forest returned to an eerie calm. The wind blew gently, the leaves swayed, and the sun remained hidden behind a thick canopy of green.

​Down below in the shadows, a true monster was devouring the corpses of the beastmen.

​One by one, Krono absorbed all twelve bodies.

​Alongside a solid 10-point increase to his Strength, his Agility stat saw the most explosive growth. It spiked by 21 points, bringing his new total to an impressive 63.

​That meant his baseline speed was now six times faster than a regular adult human’s.

​Unfortunately, the system didn’t grant him any skill fragments or innate traits belonging to the Golden Wolf Tribe.

​Nonetheless, he was highly satisfied. This little detour into the forest definitely hadn’t been in vain.

​But Krono was far from finished with this hunt.

​With every trace of evidence completely erased, Krono looked toward the west to decide where his hunt would take him next.

​Not long after his silhouette disappeared into the trees, several mature Golden Wolf beastmen stormed into the clearing.

​There were seven of them, and they all radiated an extremely dangerous aura. Their golden manes were longer and thicker, their canines were much larger, and their physiques were sculpted like Greek gods.

​These shining, golden creatures were the elite elders of the Golden Wolf Tribe.

​And standing at their helm was their Chief, Alakai.

​"Uncle, Ceylon’s scent led us right here, but there is nothing but empty air. I told you he was a loser. He must be off fucking around with some human whore," spat Olef, one of Ceylon’s cousins.

​"Shut up, Olef. You are talking about the heir to the Chief," Olef’s father barked, though from a thick layer of false courtesy.

​"But Olef is right, brother. Ceylon is a weakling and completely lacks the qualities of a true leader," added Alakai’s second brother.

​Alakai just snorted and remained silent. He knew exactly what game his siblings were playing. They were dead set on getting their hands on the Chief’s seat.

​After all, that position didn’t just grant exclusive access to the true blood of their ancestors, it gave whoever sat on it the absolute power to live like a king.

Ignoring his brothers’ bickering, his golden eyes swept across the empty clearing, locking onto the disturbed soil where the Roaring Golden Lion had met its end.

​Stepping forward, he crouched down and pressed his palm into the damp earth. His nostrils flared, taking a deep analytical breath of the natural air.

"What are you doing, Alakai? We shoul—"

​"Silence," Alakai shouted so loudly that it sent a visible shockwave through the air.

​The bickering instantly stopped.

The elders exchanged uneasy glances at the grim expression on their Chief’s face.

​Alakai’s fingers brushed against a stray blade of grass stained with a dark, viscous droplet of blood. He rubbed the fluid between his fingertips, bringing it close to his face.

​"This is blood. Fresh blood. And not just any blood, this is the residual mana belongs to a mature Golden Lion."

​Olef blinked, "A lion? But Uncle, Ceylon and his guards were tracking a golden lion, sure, but—"

​Before Olef could finish, Alakai’s eyes turned toward the dense bushes at the edge of the clearing.

He strode over, parting the thick foliage with his large clawed hand.

​Hidden deep within the bushes, undisturbed by the sweeping winds, were more damning remnants of the carnage: spatters of pulverized dirt, a few scattered strands of golden fur, and a faint, unmistakable smell of copper and slaughter.

Also, there was a small pool of dark crimson liquid deep into the roots of a fern.

​"It appears like my son and the guards fought a very fierce one sided battle here," Alakai concluded with the same grim face. "And they lost terribly."

​The second brother swallowed and asked,

"Could it be a rival tribe? Or a high-ranking human party from the border towns?"

​Instead of responding immediately, he traced the angle of the trampled brush and the unnatural cleanness of the surrounding soil, realizing someone had deliberately attempted to sweep the area clean.

But against an Alpha Rank beastman’s senses, absolute perfection was impossible.

​"Whoever did this left in a hurry, but not before butchering the Golden Lion. And... Ceylon’s scent is here too. Mixed with the blood."

​

"What?!"

The uncles’ expressions changed instantly.

"Could that mean Ceylon is dead?"

Whether they were secretly pleased or genuinely astonished, the emotions on their faces were impossible to miss.

The other elders’ gazes slowly turned toward their Chief, feeling a suffocating fury rising within him.

His fists were clenched so tightly that his claws dug into his palms. And the muscles across his body tensed, while his eyes burned with barely restrained rage.

"Search every inch of this forest!"

"Find my son!"

"Find him, or find the ones who took him!"

The command spread through the forest like wildfire.

Within moments, the entire woodland was placed on high alert. Wolfmen scattered in every direction, searching beneath bushes, around trees, and through every suspicious trail.

Their Chief’s son had vanished. And whoever was responsible would pay dearly.

Meanwhile, the very figure responsible for their chaos was nowhere near the wolfmen.

He was currently engaged in a life-threatening battle with a Giant Ape.

More specifically...

Stone Fist Apes.

Krono had been searching for easier prey to devour when, without warning, a massive shadow descended from the canopy.

BOOM!

Krono was forced to stop by an enormous ape.

The creature towered over him, its 8-foot frame covered in thick, dark fur. Its enormous arms were nearly as thick as tree trunks, while its stone-like fists scraped against the ground.

Then came another.

And another.

One after another, Stone Fist Apes dropped from the trees.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

In the blink of an eye, 6 enormous beasts had surrounded him.

Krono was only 4 feet tall. So he was laughably small compared to them.

The difference in size was absurd.

Yet what made the situation even more disturbing was the way the apes stared at him.

Their eyes gleamed with primitive hunger. And their mouths gaped open as thick strands of saliva dripped from their enormous fangs and splattered onto the ground.

From the looks of it, they weren’t merely hostile. They wanted to eat him actually.

Krono tightened his grip around his metal sword.

His knuckles turned white, while his heartbeat accelerated.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Taking on one of them alone would have been easy.

Even two or three wouldn’t have been enough to make him retreat.

But six?

That was an entirely different matter.

Six Stone Fist Apes attacking simultaneously posed a significant threat, especially if they managed to surround him and prevent him from using the forest terrain to his advantage.

Still, Krono wasn’t the type to surrender simply because the odds were unfavorable.

He smirked dangerously, waiting to use was already prepared.

[Web Weaver] skill was ready to activate.

If he could immobilize two or three of them at once, he could break their formation and deal with the remaining beasts one by one.

He was just about to make his move when—

"Kekekek..."

From behind the Stonefist Apes, a sinister cackle echoed,

"Kekekek... What a delicious-looking piece of human!"

"This King would love to devour him whole."