Chapter 179: Three Prey

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Three Prey

The ground shook as three enormous creatures emerged from beneath the rocks.

Ronan stood several dozen meters away, calmly observing them.

The first resembled a giant lizard, its body covered in overlapping black scales. Two curved horns extended from its head, while a row of sharp crystalline spikes ran down its spine.

The second was considerably larger.

It had six muscular legs, a broad torso, and a thick shell resembling a fortress wall. Its head was relatively small compared to its body, but the energy radiating from it was considerably stronger than that of the other two.

The third creature was the strangest.

It had a humanoid upper body and four powerful legs. Its skin was pale, almost translucent, with numerous dark veins running beneath its surface.

Ronan’s eyes moved between them.

The largest creature possessed an Eight-Star King Realm aura.

The other two were Six-Star King Realm creatures.

Three powerful creatures living beneath the same region.

They were either hunting together or protecting something.

Ronan preferred the first possibility.

He had no interest in getting involved in a territorial dispute unless there was something valuable to gain.

The largest creature lowered its head.

A deep growl escaped its throat.

Then it charged.

Ronan immediately moved sideways.

BOOM!

The creature crashed into the rocks, sending enormous fragments flying in every direction.

Its speed was impressive for something of that size.

Ronan landed on a nearby boulder and extended his hand.

Metallic Manipulation!

The crystalline spikes covering the creature’s back trembled.

He attempted to pull one out.

However, the creature’s body released a powerful vibration, disrupting his control.

Ronan’s expression changed slightly.

The spikes weren’t ordinary metallic materials.

They were connected to its internal energy circulation.

Before he could examine them further, the second creature attacked.

Its six legs struck the ground simultaneously.

A wave of gravitational pressure spread across the battlefield.

Ronan felt his body becoming heavier.

Gravity Affinity!

He immediately adjusted the gravitational force around himself, preventing the pressure from completely restricting his movements.

However, the third creature had already disappeared.

Ronan activated Predator’s Perception.

A faint disturbance appeared behind him.

He twisted his body.

A pale claw passed through the space where his neck had been.

The creature landed several meters away, its four legs digging into the ground.

Ronan looked at it.

Its movement technique was impressive.

It had concealed its energy signature before attacking, making it difficult to detect through ordinary perception.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t completely escaped his senses.

Ronan smiled.

"Three against one?"

He rolled his shoulders.

"That’s fine."

---

The largest creature attacked again.

Ronan didn’t retreat.

He activated Burst Acceleration and rushed towards it.

The creature opened its mouth.

A concentrated stream of energy erupted from within.

Ronan’s eyes narrowed.

He changed direction using Gravity Affinity.

The attack passed beside him and struck the ground behind.

BOOM!

Ronan appeared beneath the creature’s head.

He gathered energy into his fist.

Impact Force!

His punch connected with its lower jaw.

The creature’s head jerked upwards.

But its body barely moved.

Ronan’s eyes narrowed.

Its physical durability was extraordinary.

The creature lowered its head and attempted to crush him beneath its weight.

Ronan retreated.

At the same time, the six-legged creature released another gravitational wave.

This time, the pressure was directed towards Ronan’s legs.

His movement slowed.

The pale creature immediately appeared beside him.

Its claws struck his shoulder.

CRACK!

A thin fracture spread across his White Bone Skin.

Ronan was thrown several meters backwards.

He landed on one knee.

The three creatures had coordinated their attacks.

The largest one possessed overwhelming physical strength.

The six-legged creature controlled gravitational pressure.

And the pale creature specialized in concealment and sudden attacks.

Ronan wiped the blood from his shoulder.

This was more troublesome than he had expected.

But he had already identified their weaknesses.

The largest creature was powerful, but its movements were relatively straightforward.

The six-legged creature needed to maintain its concentration to sustain the gravitational pressure.

And the pale creature couldn’t remain completely invisible while attacking.

Ronan stood.

His eyes settled on the six-legged creature.

It was the most troublesome opponent.

If he removed its gravitational interference, the other two would become considerably easier to handle.

He raised his hand.

Metallic Manipulation!

The rocks beneath the six-legged creature began trembling.

Several metallic deposits emerged from the ground.

The creature immediately noticed.

It released another gravitational wave, attempting to crush the surrounding materials.

But Ronan had already changed his approach.

Instead of controlling the entire metallic deposits, he manipulated several smaller fragments.

They shot towards the creature’s legs.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The fragments struck its joints.

The creature roared.

Its gravitational pressure fluctuated.

Ronan moved.

Burst Acceleration!

He crossed the distance in an instant.

Annihilation Force!

His palm struck the creature’s exposed side.

The impact tore through several layers of its armor.

The creature staggered.

Before it could recover, Ronan grabbed one of its legs.

Extreme Density!

His body became considerably heavier.

He pulled.

The creature lost its balance and crashed onto its side.

Ronan raised his other hand.

A concentrated blast of energy struck its head.

The creature stopped moving.

[You have killed a Six-Star King Realm Gravemaw.]

[Potential Traits Detected.]

[Would you like to extract a trait?]

Ronan glanced at the notification.

He had expected something useful from a creature capable of manipulating gravity.

[Extracting...]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the trait: Gravitational Compression.]

Ronan’s eyes brightened slightly.

He immediately examined the information.

[Gravitational Compression: Allows the user to concentrate gravitational force within a selected area, increasing pressure and crushing power.]

Interesting.

He already possessed Gravity Affinity and Gravitational Resistance.

This trait could complement both.

Rather than merely altering gravitational force around himself or resisting external pressure, he could now concentrate that force within a specific area.

It might prove useful against opponents with exceptional durability.

Ronan looked at the dead creature.

He had acquired another useful tool.

But the battle wasn’t over.

---

The largest creature roared.

Its body began glowing.

The crystalline spikes along its spine expanded, releasing a series of sharp metallic sounds.

Ronan immediately sensed the danger.

The creature’s energy was gathering around its back.

He moved away.

A moment later, hundreds of crystalline spikes shot towards him.

Ronan raised his hand.

Metallic Manipulation!

The incoming spikes trembled.

He managed to redirect several of them, but the remaining projectiles continued forward.

He activated Gravitational Compression.

The air around him distorted.

The incoming spikes suddenly slowed as concentrated gravitational pressure forced them downwards.

Ronan’s eyes narrowed.

The trait was useful.

However, controlling such a large area consumed considerably more energy than he expected.

He couldn’t maintain it for long.

He released the pressure and moved.

Burst Acceleration!

He slipped through the remaining projectiles and rushed towards the creature.

The pale creature appeared from his blind spot.

Its claws descended.

Ronan turned.

White Bone Skin!

The attack struck his forearm.

Crack!

His bones absorbed most of the impact, but the force still pushed him sideways.

The pale creature attempted to retreat.

Ronan grabbed its wrist.

"Found you."

His other hand struck its chest.

Annihilation Force!

The creature’s body collapsed around the point of impact.

It was thrown backwards, crashing into the ground.

Ronan didn’t give it time to recover.

He appeared above it and brought his foot down.

BOOM!

The creature’s chest caved in.

Its body twitched before becoming motionless.

[You have killed a Six-Star King Realm Veil Stalker.]

[Potential Trait Detected.]

[Would you like to extract the trait?]

Ronan accepted.

[Extracting...]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the trait: Concealment.]

He inspected the information.

[Concealment: Allows the user to suppress their presence and reduce the visibility of their energy signature.]

Ronan smiled.

That was useful.

It wasn’t complete invisibility, but it could make tracking him considerably more difficult.

Considering the attention he had attracted from the Hollow and the other mysterious organization, he had no reason to reject a trait that improved his ability to hide.

He looked towards the remaining creature.

The largest one had stopped moving.

Its head was lowered, and the crystalline spikes on its back were glowing brighter.

Then its body began changing.

The surrounding metallic deposits rose from the ground and attached themselves to its armor.

Ronan narrowed his eyes.

It could absorb metallic materials?

He examined the creature more carefully.

Its energy signature was increasing.

The Eight-Star King Realm creature was becoming stronger by absorbing the minerals scattered throughout the area.

Ronan clicked his tongue.

"Another troublesome ability."

The creature charged.

This time, its speed was considerably greater.

Ronan moved sideways.

The creature changed direction almost immediately.

Its enormous body crashed into him.

BOOM!

Ronan was thrown through a rocky formation.

His body struck the ground.

He slowly stood up.

Several cracks had appeared across his White Bone Skin.

Ironhide had reduced the damage, but the attack had still injured him.

He looked at the creature.

It was now covered in an additional layer of metallic armor.

Fighting it directly would be inefficient.

Ronan needed to remove the materials it had absorbed.

He examined the creature’s body.

Formation Sense activated.

Its internal energy channels became visible.

Unlike ordinary creatures, the metallic materials attached to its armor were connected to several energy channels running through its back.

Those channels were responsible for distributing the absorbed minerals throughout its body.

Ronan smiled.

There it was.

He raised both hands.

Metallic Manipulation!

The armor covering the creature’s back trembled.

The creature roared and released a powerful vibration.

Ronan’s control weakened.

But he didn’t stop.

He activated Gravitational Compression.

The gravitational pressure concentrated around the metallic plates.

The creature’s movements slowed.

Ronan immediately redirected his energy.

Instead of trying to pull away the entire armor, he targeted the connections between the plates.

One after another, they began separating.

The creature roared in pain.

Its metallic armor fell apart.

Ronan took advantage of the opening.

Burst Acceleration!

He appeared beneath its head.

Annihilation Force!

His palm struck the exposed region beneath its jaw.

The creature’s enormous body staggered.

Ronan followed with another attack.

Impact Force!

BOOM!

Its head slammed into the ground.

The creature attempted to rise.

Ronan gathered energy into his fist.

Annihilation Force!

The final strike penetrated its skull.

The creature’s body collapsed.

Silence returned to the rocky terrain.

Ronan stood over the corpse.

He had expended a considerable amount of energy, but the result was worth it.

[You have killed an Eight-Star King Realm Ironplate Behemoth.]

[Potential Traits Detected.]

[Would you like to extract the trait?]

Ronan examined the notification.

An Eight-Star King Realm creature should possess something valuable.

[Extracting...]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the trait: Mineral Assimilation.]

Ronan’s expression changed.

He immediately inspected the trait.

[Mineral Assimilation: Allows the user to integrate compatible minerals and metallic materials into their body, improving physical properties and granting temporary or sustained enhancements depending on the material.]

Ronan looked at the creature’s corpse.

He finally understood why it had been able to strengthen its armor.

It wasn’t simply manipulating metallic materials.

It could integrate them into its body.

He recalled the Mineral Consumption trait he had acquired earlier.

The two traits seemed compatible.

One allowed him to consume minerals and convert compatible materials into energy while reinforcing his body.

The other allowed him to integrate those materials directly.

Ronan smiled.

He had obtained something considerably more valuable than he expected.

---

Several minutes later, Ronan had collected the most valuable parts of the three creatures.

He also examined the metallic deposits scattered throughout the area.

There were several types, but only a few produced a reaction when he tested Mineral Consumption.

He consumed a small amount.

The energy entered his body smoothly.

Then he tried Mineral Assimilation.

A thin metallic layer spread across his forearm.

It wasn’t permanent yet, and maintaining it required energy.

However, the material had successfully integrated with his body.

Ronan examined his arm.

The surface was slightly darker, and its density had increased.

He struck a nearby boulder.

BOOM!

The boulder shattered.

Ronan looked at his hand.

The enhancement wasn’t particularly impressive by itself, but the potential was considerable.

He could experiment with different minerals and discover which ones offered the best benefits.

More importantly, he now had another way to strengthen his physical body without relying entirely on breakthroughs.

He dismissed the temporary enhancement.

Then he looked towards the direction of the collection valley.

The energy signatures from the earlier battle had become faint.

The mysterious individual and the armored Nine-Star King had apparently left.

Ronan didn’t know whether they were pursuing him or preparing something else.

But he wasn’t going to remain in the same location for long.

He retrieved the metallic fragment from his storage and examined it once more.

The three resonance points remained unchanged.

He had obtained two new traits and discovered another method of improving his body, but the Central Anchor remained his most important objective.

There was still too much he didn’t understand.

The First Bearer.

The thing that had returned from the Central Anchor.

The Hollow.

And the reason his bloodline and mark were connected to ancient structures.

Ronan stored the fragment.

Then he turned towards the eastern horizon.

He needed a place to recover and examine his new traits.

But before leaving the Shattered Expanse, he intended to investigate the remaining energy trails.

There was no guarantee that another collection ground existed nearby.

However, if one did, it could provide more clues about the three resonance points.

Ronan activated Concealment.

His energy signature gradually weakened.

Then he disappeared between the rocky formations.

He had entered the Shattered Expanse searching for powerful prey.

He was leaving with something far more valuable.

And somewhere beyond the northern cliffs, powerful individuals were already beginning to move in response to his appearance.