Chapter 123: The Chaos of Beasts

Just as the apex predator’s claws were about to rake across the threshold, a sudden, thunderous roar erupted with deafening fury from behind the skeletal sightseeing tower.

The Tiger King froze instantly, its descending paw halting mid-air.

Its brilliant golden eyes whipped around toward the source of the sudden noise.

A second enraged roar followed immediately, accompanied by the screech of twisted metal and the heavy, earth-shattering pounding of massive feet thundering across the paved square.

Two enormous Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys burst wildly from behind the tower structure, each one easily approaching the bulk and size of a full-grown water buffalo. Six smaller, agile monkeys trailed closely behind them, their blood-stained golden fur gleaming brightly beneath the harsh morning sun.

Their eyes were bloodshot with berserk rage, and their long, curved claws scraped aggressively against the concrete as they launched a suicidal charge.

Before the Tiger King could even pivot its massive frame to meet the new threat, dark shadows swept aggressively across the sky above.

Three Leader-Level Mutant Bats descended in a steep, screaming dive, closely followed by eight Elite-Level bats trailing in their wake. Their combined, massive wingspan completely blotted out the sunlight over the amusement park, and the sheer atmospheric force of their synchronized wingbeats sent thick clouds of dust and loose debris spiraling wildly across the ground.

They had returned for the Tiger King’s head.

Or perhaps, driven by territorial instinct, they had simply recognized a monstrous threat that needed to be exterminated before it could consume everything left standing in the district.

Whatever their underlying motive, the tactical outcome was identical.

The Tiger King was completely surrounded.

Sofia’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief as she watched the monitor. "They’re... they’re all attacking it at the same time!"

Ethan didn’t blink away from the screen, his mind calculating the shifting variables.

An unexpected window of opportunity had suddenly ripped open, but he was far too experienced to celebrate prematurely.

If the Tiger King was eventually killed by the swarm, he might finally secure a safe opportunity to slip away into the ruins.

If the apex predator managed to slaughter them all and emerge victorious, the immediate danger to his group would skyrocket exponentially.

Outside in the plaza, the Tiger King slowly lowered its raised forepaw, abandoning its interest in the hidden dimension, and turned its full, predatory focus toward the approaching horde.

Its lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing rows of bloodstained, iron-crushing teeth.

A deep, rumbling growl vibrated outward from the depths of its massive chest.

The two Leader-Level monkeys initiated the assault.

One leaped high into the air toward its head while the second attacked low at its flank. Their sharp claws flashed blindingly in the sunlight, aiming directly for the beast’s vulnerable eyes and throat.

The Tiger King didn’t flinch.

Its muscular, two-ton body surged forward with terrifying, almost supernatural speed.

BOOM!

It slammed head-first into the leading monkey before the creature could even complete its airborne trajectory. The violent impact sounded precisely like a high-speed heavy truck colliding with a solid concrete highway barrier.

The heavy monkey flew backward like a shattered ragdoll, tumbling head over heels through the air before smashing violently into an abandoned children’s roller coaster structure. The rusted steel tracks buckled instantly under the force, and the animal landed in a crumpled, motionless heap of broken bones and torn fur.

It didn’t even twitch.

The remaining mutant beasts hesitated for a brief, fearful heartbeat.

Then, driven by primal frenzy, they swarmed forward together.

Countless Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys leaped onto the Tiger King’s massive back, digging their sharp claws frantically into its shoulders and biting down hard into its thick, golden fur. The bats swooped down in punishing waves from above, spitting corrosive venom and discharging crackling bursts of blue lightning.

The Tiger King roared in sheer annoyance.

Its corded muscles bulged beneath its golden coat as it twisted its body with explosive violence, shaking the clinging monkeys off its back like loose dirt. One struck the hard pavement and scrambled away in terror; another barely managed to slip out from under the crushing weight of its snapping jaws.

A charging bat swooped dangerously close to its face, aiming for its eyes.

The Tiger King swung a massive forepaw with lightning speed. Its heavy claws struck the bat’s wing mid-flight, instantly shredding the delicate membrane and sending the screeching creature tumbling helplessly toward the stone plaza.

Another elite bat released a thick stream of dark-green, bubbling venom.

The toxic liquid splashed heavily across the Tiger King’s broad shoulder, hissing loudly as it tried to burn through its dense fur and skin.

Yet the beast barely reacted. The venom completely failed to pierce its formidable, natural defenses.

A bolt of blue lightning struck squarely across its back, illuminating its golden coat with blinding flashes of electricity. The Tiger King merely shook its heavy head once, as though swatting away an irritating, insignificant housefly.

Ethan’s expression grew grim as he analyzed the display. Its physical defenses are utterly ridiculous.

The Tiger King wasn’t entirely invulnerable—the endless barrage of attacks was clearly annoying it, and a few shallow, bleeding gashes had begun to open up along its flank.

However, none of the attacking creatures possessed the raw destructive power required to inflict a truly serious, debilitating wound.

Then, Ethan’s sharp eyes caught something highly unusual near the edge of the plaza.

One of the two surviving Leader-Level Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys wasn’t charging into the melee.

It stood silently near the perimeter of the amusement park, partially concealed behind the shattered frame of a collapsed ticket booth. A dense tuft of bright, distinctive reddish hair covered the top of its head.

Its wild eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and a faint, eerie red glow pulsed visibly beneath its golden fur.

Ethan leaned in closer to the monitoring screen, narrowing his eyes. "What on earth is that specific monkey doing?"

The red-haired monkey’s entire body was trembling violently from the intense mental strain.

A fraction of a second later, the Tiger King’s ferocious movements suddenly stuttered.

It was an infinitesimal delay—barely a fraction of a second—but Ethan caught the hesitation immediately. The apex predator had been mid-motion, preparing to snap its jaws around the neck of an elite monkey, when its teeth stopped mere inches from its target’s fur.

Seizing the unexpected opening, the second Leader-Level monkey lunged forward with blinding speed, raking its heavy claws viciously across the Tiger King’s rear leg.

Three deep, bleeding gashes ripped open beneath the golden coat.

Dark blood splashed onto the concrete.

The Tiger King roared in sudden, genuine pain and whirled around, forcing the agile attacker to scramble backward out of range.

Ethan’s dark eyes lit up with sudden realization. "A Mental Ability!"

The red-haired monkey was actively interfering with the Tiger King’s cognitive focus and nervous system.

It wasn’t physically strong enough or durable enough to challenge the apex beast in a direct brawl, but its high-tier Mental Ability could constantly disrupt the Tiger King’s timing and physical coordination, creating critical openings for the rest of the pack.

A rare, calculating smile almost formed on Ethan’s lips.

He had failed to secure the Streak of White’s valuable Core earlier, but this red-haired mutant monkey presented an entirely new, highly lucrative opportunity.

If he could slip outside, kill the red-haired monkey, and extract its Core, he might successfully acquire a powerful Mental Ability capable of helping him neutralize overwhelmingly strong opponents in the future.

The strategic possibilities were massive.

Unfortunately, his current depleted condition rendered the tempting opportunity almost entirely out of reach.

His energy reserves were still rebuilding, and the Tiger King’s massive, dangerous presence right outside made leaving the relative safety of the Survival Space an extreme gamble with his life.

For now, he could do nothing except watch.

Outside in the ruined park, the red-haired monkey pressed harder with its psychic assault.

The Tiger King stumbled once, then twice, as invisible, crushing mental pressure disrupted its balance and reflexes. Emboldened by the beast’s sudden clumsiness, the other mutant creatures grew drastically bolder.

The bats swooped down relentlessly from above while the monkeys rushed in from opposite flanks, repeatedly targeting the bleeding wounds on its hind leg.

For the very first time since the battle began, the terrifying Tiger King was actively forced to give ground.

Then, the beast’s demeanor abruptly shifted.

It stopped wasting energy trying to swat away the smaller attackers swarming its flanks and locked its absolute, chilling focus entirely onto the red-haired monkey hiding near the ticket booth.

Its piercing golden pupils narrowed down to razor-sharp slits.

A thin, unnatural layer of white frost began spreading rapidly across the concrete pavement beneath its heavy paws.

Ethan’s eyes widened in sudden alarm. Wait... Frost?

The Tiger King parted its jaws wide.

A dense, freezing cloud of white mist poured out from its throat.

The ambient temperature around the central plaza plummeted instantly to well below freezing. Thick frost crystallized along the broken iron railings, and the damp concrete turned slick and treacherous with a sheet of hard ice.

The red-haired monkey’s eyes snapped wide open in sheer terror.

It scrambled frantically to dodge away, but the sudden, brutal drop in temperature severely disrupted its concentration. The pulsing red glow surrounding its body flickered erratically and vanished completely.

The mental interference was instantly broken.

The Tiger King moved with terrifying, unleashed fury.

It crossed the intervening distance in a breathtaking, lethal blur of speed and seized the nearest elite bat directly in its crushing jaws.

CRUNCH!

The bat’s fragile body snapped violently in half with a sickening sound. Its wings beat in a desperate, final spasm before going completely still.

The Tiger King tossed the mangled corpse aside like trash and unleashed a deafening, blood-curdling roar at the remaining attackers.

The sonic shockwave rattled the glass of every surrounding building.

The panicked monkeys faltered in their tracks. The surviving bats began climbing frantically into the upper atmosphere, completely unwilling to descend within biting range of the enraged monster’s jaws.

Ethan stared intently at the monitor, his breath catching. "So it possesses an Elemental Ice Ability as well..."

The heavy realization sent a genuine chill down his spine.

The Tiger King already boasted overwhelming physical strength, catastrophic durability, and astonishing speed. Now, it had openly demonstrated an advanced Elemental Ability capable of generating flash-freezing mist and ice manipulation.

And worse still, it possessed the intellectual capacity to instantly identify and eliminate the source of the psychic interference.

This wasn’t just a mindless, overgrown mutant beast driven solely by hunger.

It was an intelligent, learning combatant.

And it knew precisely how to systematically dismantle the weaknesses of its enemies.