Chapter 122: Hunt

The wilderness beyond Silverwood City had become a hunting ground.

Under the cover of the thick trees and rugged terrain, four groups of Shadow Soldiers were moving through their assigned territories. Their black figures were difficult to distinguish from the shadows cast by the forest, and their movements were quiet enough that most Monster Beasts never sensed their approach.

The orders were simple: hunt, devour, and move on.

And the soldiers were hauling them out with ruthless efficiency.

In the northern forest, a Monster Beast barely had time to turn before several Shadow Soldiers came in from all sides. It let out a furious roar, and its claws ripped through the undergrowth as it tried to get away.

The soldiers didn’t go at it one by one.

Two of them blocked its path while the others attacked its flanks. When the beast turned to face one of them, another was upon its back. The whole thing was very well co-ordinated with each man taking advantage of the opening created by the others.

Within moments, the creature collapsed.

The soldiers gathered around it and began devouring its energy. Once the process was complete, they continued deeper into the forest.

There was no celebration. No unnecessary pause.

Another target waited somewhere ahead.

Across the rocky terrain to the east, the second group were following the same pattern. Monster Beasts which would have been a problem for an ordinary cultivator were all quickly surrounded and overwhelmed. The soldiers used the uneven ground to their advantage, forcing the beasts into narrow passages where their numbers were vastly superior.

The southern hills were no different.

Near a shallow stream, the third group encountered several beasts drinking from the water. The creatures sensed danger and attempted to scatter, but the soldiers had already spread out around them. The soldiers cut off their escape routes before they could gain any distance.

The western group had the worst terrain.

The dense vegetation concealed both prey and danger. Some of the Monster Beasts were hiding down in the roots, others up in the branches. The troops had to stay on their guard, but their steady advance gave the beasts no chance to get away.

Their operation was becoming more efficient with each encounter.

The weaker beasts were eliminated almost immediately. The stronger ones required coordination, but even those battles were being handled with increasing confidence.

Whenever a target was too powerful for one group to handle alone, Aldric stepped in.

---

Aldric was on a rocky ridge looking down into the forest.

Through his connection with the Shadow Soldiers, he could feel the progress of all four groups. They were spread out over a wide area but he could coordinate their movements through the link without having to be constantly travelling between the various territories.

A report from the Eastern Group got to him.

A powerful Monster Beast had appeared among the rocks. Its strength was beyond what the group could handle without risking unnecessary losses.

Aldric’s expression remained calm.

He told the soldiers to hold their positions while he moved toward them.

By the time he arrived, the creature had already begun attacking. Its massive body slammed against the rocky ground, sending fragments of stone flying. The Shadow Soldiers kept their distance, avoiding its strongest attacks while preventing it from escaping.

Aldric stepped forward.

All the soldiers gathered around him, their bodies merging into a single form as their combined strength flowed into one warrior.

The change was immediate.

The energy around Aldric spiked as the combined force of the Shadow Soldiers focused within him. The Monster Beast sensed the change and turned towards him, unleashing a roar that sent the trees around it shuddering.

Aldric didn’t retreat.

He moved in as the creature charged, meeting its attack with the combined strength of the soldiers. The impact was a shockwave across the rock, but Aldric didn’t budge.

The beast staggered.

Aldric took the opening and struck again.

The battle was over very shortly afterwards.

Once the creature’s energy had been devoured, the group resumed its hunt. Aldric returned to his position and continued monitoring the operation.

The arrangement was working.

The soldiers were covering more territory, eliminating weaker creatures quickly, and calling for support when absolutely necessary. Their areas of operation were sufficiently separated to avoid any undue overlap, with Aldric’s coordination ensuring that the tougher prey didn’t become an actual problem.

They were gathering energy at a pace that would have been absolutely impossible with the original force.

Yet there was one thing Aldric hadn’t thought of.

The wild wasn’t an infinite supply of Monster Beasts.

And the creatures they were hunting were not disappearing without consequence.

---

Inside the Treasury Hall, Lucian was still sitting right at the heart of the energy vortex.

The air was thick with cultivation energy. The shelves all around him were no longer full of the same quantities of materials that they’d been when he’d started. A number of the shelves were completely empty, with just rows of drained stuff left behind.

The Shadow Soldiers continued working through the remaining materials.

They moved from shelf to shelf, devouring everything that still contained energy. They consumed the higher-tier resources more carefully, but spared none.

Lucian’s talent was the thing that drew the energy to him.

The vortex had become a constant presence within the hall, its rotation sending faint currents across the floor. On occasion the energy around him would spike and the materials right next to him would simply lose all their remaining life.

His cultivation continued advancing. He had already broken through to the Martial Lord Stage 3.

The pace of progress was now much slower than it had been during the initial burst of activity. The energy cost for each subsequent stage was going up and the Treasury’s vast coffers would not be able to meet his requirements for long.

Still, Lucian wasn’t discouraged.

He’d never thought he’d make it from the start to Martial Dominator or even Martial King Realm in a single unbroken leap. Those were his end goals all right, but the immediate aim was to get strong enough to be of any use at all against the Tiger Monster.

Every bit of cultivation was important.

Every resource consumed brought him ever closer.

He has not yet absorbed the energy Aldric and his hunting groups have gathered. They have stored it within their own bodies, preserving it for later use.

’Keep gathering. I still need more.’

Lucian focused on the vortex.

The rest of the materials begin to tremble.

A fresh stream of energy surged from the shelves and joined the current swirling around him. His body took it in and his cultivation level advanced yet another step.

He didn’t open his eyes.

There wasn’t time to go through every little improvement. The Tiger Monster was out there beyond the city and Silverwood’s future hinged on how far Lucian could get before the attack commenced.

He continued cultivating.

The treasury continued emptying.

And outside the hunt was spreading.