Lord Of Beasts

Recovery took even longer after defeating the Orthoptera colony than it had after the Hymenoptera, which the Void Hornets fell under. Though the battle had ended much quicker, and the crickets had quickly scattered after their ruler had been defeated, the fatigue was beginning to stack.

It was a miracle they were even able to fight after Phase Two altogether.

Mana and even muscles recovered, but mental strain stuck and that needed time and real rest, something you couldn’t get in a gate like this.

Everyone collapsed wherever they happened to be standing, too exhausted to care whether the ground beneath them was smooth stone or jagged rock.

For several long hours, nobody spoke much.

Darius sat with his back against a boulder, eyes closed, while his spear rested across his knees. Seraphina lay flat on her back, breathing heavily. Even Kaela, who had an insane healing factor, took a short nap to recover.

Only Ethan was moving around.

Between casting Beast Recovery, feeding his beasts, and unabashedly eating chunks of beast meat himself, he gradually restored himself faster than the rest.

"I’m never getting used to seeing that," Liora muttered as Ethan tore another bite from an insect leg he had roasted with Ember Pulse.

Hours later, once everyone was finally capable of standing again, the group resumed their journey across the endless floating islands.

But there was one thing Rowan had to do before they did.

He focused, and out of the ground sprouted some vines that wove together tightly to form a pair of shorts for Dave, who was constantly trying to cover up his underwear to no avail. The small man gratefully accepted it and put them on, though he couldn’t help but question one thing.

"Why didn’t you do this sooner?"

The quiet man just shrugged, causing Ethan and the others to laugh at his indifferent response.

Once they settled down again, they made a move.

None of them questioned why every beast colony eventually appeared despite wandering in seemingly random directions. It almost felt as though the Gate itself waited until they had searched long enough before deciding they had earned the right to find the next objective.

Or perhaps, it simply wanted them even more exhausted before each battle.

Either way, sitting idly wouldn’t solve a thing.

Eventually, another enormous structure appeared in the distance. And unlike the stone towers of the Orthoptera colony, this one stretched across several floating islands as an enormous wooden fortress.

Massive tree trunks intertwined together to form colossal walls. Hardened sap reinforced every surface until it resembled an ancient fortress grown rather than built.

"Coleoptera," Ethan muttered.

"The beetles."

A grin spread across his face.

"And this base..."

He cracked his knuckles.

"It’s perfect."

Before anyone else even prepared an attack, Ethan stepped forward, taking on Elara and Dave’s roles.

’Partial Assimilation: Spark.’

His mana surged as he burst into the sky before raising his hands.

"Ember Pulse."

A sea of fire erupted from his body, igniting the dry timber instantly. Flames raced through the interconnected wooden walls, climbing upward faster than anyone expected.

Within moments, the entire fortress had become an inferno.

The crackling blaze spread through every tunnel and chamber, and yet...

’Where are they?’

Ethan wasn’t hearing the notifications he was expecting.

’I guess those fuckers are durable.’

As if on cue, the burning fortress exploded with movement. Thousands of pieces of bark burst outward as beetles poured from every opening. There were multiple kinds, just like with the Orthoptera, and unlike the hornets, which were all of the same race.

Ironclad Beetles, Steel Scarabs, Tower Beetles, Longhorn Crushers - dozens of different species flooded into the open sky.

Ethan skimmed some of their statuses.

Unlike the hornets, they did not fill the air in perfect formations. Instead, they spread out across the floating islands, using their immense weight to shake the ground with every impact.

"Same as before!" Ethan shouted.

Everyone immediately sprang into action, including the beasts he had summoned.

Wolfy pounced from island to island, bowling over creatures nearly twice its own size before tearing through exposed joints in their armour. Talon remained overhead, diving only when opportunities presented themselves.

Liora’s barriers split the battlefield apart, trapping groups of beetles away from one another. Darius and Rowan handled anything that slipped through; their coordination had become frighteningly efficient.

It was no longer just seven powerful individuals fighting together, or nine now, including Dave and the Bulldozer this time.

They were that same coordinated machine.

The burning fortress continued collapsing around them, the ground trembling, and that’s when it appeared. A gigantic silver beetle climbed from the centre of the inferno. Its shell reflected the surrounding flames so perfectly that it almost looked forged from polished metal.

Each footstep cracked the floating island beneath it.

A blue screen appeared before Ethan, who scanned its status, particularly amazed by its Strength.

’Platinum Bulwark, huh.’

He scratched his head curiously.

"So it went from Iron to Steel, and now Platinum... I’m pretty sure that’s not how metal progression works."

Not that it mattered.

The boss let out a deep, metallic roar before lowering its body and charging, its enormous shell acting as a battering ram.

BOOM!

Kaela met it head-on, or at least tried to.

The collision sent her hurtling backwards, her arm shattering on impact.

"Okay."

She flexed her fingers as her limb rearranged itself.

"That one’s solid."

The rhythm of the battle remained exactly as before.

They thinned out the lesser beetles, pushing them back and holding them off. Simultaneously, the stronger Titled kept drawing the Platinum Bulwark farther away from the swarm until eventually the battlefield belonged almost entirely to the boss beast.

Now it was seven against one.

Or rather...

Three A Ranks, three B Ranks, three C Ranks and two summoned beasts against one incredibly stubborn beetle.

"This should be easy now," Ethan said confidently.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

Kaela struck it again, and the shell barely dented. Darius thrust his spear with enough force to pierce steel, to deal a shallow scratch. Elara’s Crimson Flash exploded across its back, for only a tiny crack to appear.

They stopped.

While it seemed unable to damage the Titled squad, they also were unable to eliminate it.

At least not yet.

’But when there’s a will, there’s a way...’