Novel Full Chapter 107:
It only took Evan a single glance in that direction to understand what was causing the tremor beneath his feet, and the moment he did, he didn’t think twice before turning around and running.
"Fuck! Why is there suddenly so much chaos in the forest? Which idiot went and provoked these beasts?" he shouted as he launched himself upward, catching the high branches of the towering trees of the forest.
If ordinary trees averaged around five to ten meters in height, these were twice as tall, with thicker trunks and higher canopies.
It was normal, after all. The forest was teeming with magical beasts, and the mana here was concentrated enough to affect even the vegetation, causing these trees to grow far taller and sturdier than normal ones.
Evan had climbed up because it was the only option available to him. What he had seen when he looked east was an enormous mass of creatures of every kind, apparently driven mad, stampeding straight in his direction.
It was clear that he wasn’t their target. Rather, they were heading toward the outer areas of the forest. He realized that something had happened deep within the forest, something serious enough to make all of them decide to flee.
’Hmm. Only the ones below C-rank are running,’ he thought as he noticed a particular detail about the group of beasts below.
By now, they had already reached him, allowing him to see the small sea of beasts beneath.
The tree shook but held. It was sturdy enough that none of them were willing to waste time and effort ramming into it or tearing it down, not when they were in this much of a hurry.
That said, not every beast shared that sentiment.
Swish.
A shadow launched itself from a nearby branch, moving fast and aimed directly at him. Without making any unnecessary movements, Evan shifted his hand, unsheathed sword already in motion, and cut the creature clean before it could reach him.
[Ding! You have killed an E-Rank (Advanced-Stage) Red-Bee!]
[You have gained +1,400 ESS.]
What fell to the ground in two pieces was something that resembled a beel roughly the size of a ten-year-old child.
The dimensions alone would have been enough to terrify the average person. But Evan had been hunting long enough to have witnessed the forest’s more remarkable residents firsthand, experiencing their oversized bodies and bizarre physical characteristics in ways he’d rather not have.
More followed. But Evan didn’t have the luxury of dealing with them one by one, so he channeled mana into his blade and swung a single powerful arc that cut through everything within a fifty-meter radius.
Treetops began collapsing below, crushing several beasts in the process. Others that resembled large wasps dropped from the branches and hit the ground.
[Ding! You have killed an E-Rank (Advanced-Stage) Red-Bee!]
[You have gained +1,400 ESS]
[Ding! You have killed an E-Rank (Early-Stage) Red-Bee!]
[You have gained +1,400 ESS]
[Ding! You have killed an E-Rank (Advanced-Stage) Red-Bee!]
[You have gained +1,400 ESS]
...
[Ding! You have killed an F-Rank (Early-Stage) Turbo-Snail!]
[You have gained +400 ESS]
Evan paid no attention to the notifications. Partly because the situation was too chaotic to afford the distraction, and partly because the beasts he was killing were little more than scraps at this point.
A D-rank Advanced-Stage beast was barely worth his time at his current level. An E-rank or F-rank? Even less so.
They were meaningless to him, and he treated them accordingly.
’It seems I’m getting close to the source of the disturbance,’ he thought.
His mission consisted of defeating the nearby C-Rank beasts while also investigating the source of the disturbance, assuming there was one in the first place.
Evan had thought he would need to travel for another day or two before reaching the vicinity of Ravenhold and beginning the mission, yet disturbances had already started appearing at this distance.
Just as he was deciding on his next move, his senses caught something, and immediately his eyes narrowed, a thoughtful expression settling over his face.
’This... is definitely void energy. And it’s strong. Is there a hollow nearby?’ he wondered, completely unaware that Luna had just turned Ravenhold upside down, which was located directly east of this forest.
He could only sense residual traces of the energy, so he couldn’t determine the source, but he understood that it was the reason behind the chaos.
"Seriously, why do I always end up in situations like this?" he muttered in frustration, thinking back on every previous encounter he’d had with void energy and the consequences that had followed each one.
He genuinely hoped there was no hollow nearby, because a hollow meant the real possibility of a rift somewhere close, and if there was a rift, he wouldn’t think twice before putting as much distance between himself and this forest as possible.
With that in mind, he moved deeper into the forest. As he did, Shadow and Ash appeared beside him for a brief moment before immediately splitting off in separate directions.
’Well, i might as well make the most of this,’ he thought, deciding to actively hunt the beasts below rather than simply avoid them.
They were small fry, but small fry were still ESS. With a high enough number of them, the total wouldn’t be negligible.
And so a silent slaughter unfolded within the tide of fleeing creatures, three figures cutting blindly through the horde,killing every beast in their path, weak or strong alike.
Meanwhile, the one who had caused this sudden upheaval had finally done what she came here to do.
The family that had brought so much pain to her mother and her sister was gone.
She didn’t spare a thought for the collapsed hill or the destroyed wall.
It wasn’t her concern.
The sky above began to settle, the clouds slowly dispersing. The silhouette of the Abyssal Couatl that had taken shape behind her faded gradually as the void energy in the surrounding air began to calm.
Then exhaustion hit Luna without warning.
It struck her all at once, destabilizing her mana control and sending her into a near-freefall from the height she had been holding. But just as she was about to drop, a gentle force wrapped around her and carried her upward in a specific direction.
"Not bad, little girl. You’ve finally learned to control part of your bloodline."