Chapter 336: You Pass in Peace

As they reached the open expanse deep in the Whispering Hills forest, Nox returned and climbed onto Ray’s shoulder. The void-malkin let out a deep, rumbling purr, its shadowy stomach now bloated and distended from gorging on the dense environmental energy.

Ray barely noticed the Nox. He was too busy staring at the ‘mining site.’

He had expected a traditional cave system, or perhaps a massive, dug-out earthen quarry. Instead, sprawling across the surface of the valley, lay the bones of an ancient, ruined village.

Massive, pale blocks of stones lay scattered in chaotic piles. Ray walked forward and picked up a jagged fragment near a half-buried pillar. The material was fascinating, unnaturally light, yet possessing a structural density that felt twice as durable as standard granite.

"Catch!"

Ray called out, casually tossing the stone fragment over his shoulder.

Svane snatched it out of the air with effortless reflexes.

"Try and crush it."

Ray instructed.

Svane obliged, wrapping his massive, armored gauntlet fully around the pale stone and squeezing. A Gold Aegis possessed enough raw physical strength to turn a normal cobblestone into fine powder with a simple flex, but as Svane applied pressure, the stone held firm. The veteran warrior frowned. He fed a surge of mana into his grip, the muscles in his thick neck bulging from the exertion. Finally, with a sharp, resounding crack, the Whisper Stone fractured into pieces.

"Remarkably resilient, my Lord. It is no wonder the miners require so much effort to harvest it."

Svane rumbled, dusting the pale powder from his gauntlets.

Ray ran his fingers over the surface of the pillar, Ray confirmed it was the exact same Whisper Stone he had watched the Vance laborers haul into Greywood Keep.

Signs of recent excavations were everywhere. Fresh chisel marks scarred the ancient pillars, leaving behind jagged edges where the miners had chipped away chunks of stone. In one particular corner of the ruins traces of pulverized rock coated the ground that clearly marked where the miners had spent hours working.

"Interesting."

Ray murmured.

He wanted to get a better view of the layout to understand the scale of the ruins.

System, initialize Partial Immersion: The Stoic Assassin.

Ray mentally commanded as he bent his knees.

He activated the Stoic Assassin’s ‘Flowing Shadow Technique.’ In a sudden blur of soundless motion, Ray vanished from the ground. He scaled the side of a massive, half-crumbled watchtower with terrifying agility, his boots finding impossible footholds until he landed lightly on the highest remaining ledge.

Down below, Svane let out a low, impressed grunt at the mastery Ray has on his movement technique. Knowing Ray had the high ground covered, the veteran Aegis seamlessly shifted into his role. He drew his massive shield and planted his feet, securing the perimeter of the watchtower to ensure nothing ambushed Ray from the ground.

From his elevated vantage point, Ray looked down at the sprawling ruins.

His analytical mind immediately snagged on a glaring anomaly. The ruins below were not continuous.

There were clusters of highly condensed, ruined structures, shattered homes, collapsed arches, and paved roads. But interspersed between these dense ruins were massive, perfectly geometric clearings of untouched, overgrown earth.

Before Ray could fully process the visual, the phantom voice of the Eccentric Scholar chimed urgently in the Ambient Presence of his mind.

Scholar: "Look at the spatial distribution! This is completely unnatural. Buildings and city walls do not decay like this. Look at the borders of the clearings!"

The Eccentric Scholar said, lacing his voice with deep, academic confusion.

Ray traced the edges of the ruins. The Eccentric Scholar was right. The structures didn't naturally taper off into rubble; they were sheared off in perfectly straight lines.

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Scholar: "It is as if massive, perfectly square chunks of this city were simply... erased, Or teleported away entirely. Something is very, very wrong with this picture."

The Eccentric Scholar theorized, his phantom voice buzzing with nervous excitement.

Ray crouched on the highest remaining ledge of the ancient watchtower, his eyes tracing the perfectly straight, unnatural borders of the missing ruins below. His mind was racing, cataloging the Eccentric Scholar's teleportation theories, when a sudden, sharp sensation pierced his concentration.

It wasn't a vague feeling of unease or a cold chill down his spine. It was a hyper-specific, directional sensory ping that fired directly into his cerebral cortex. The Grizzled Commander’s passive skill ‘Predator’s Intuition’ triggered.

Commander: "Contact! Northwest tree line! Multiple heavy targets. Brace your vanguard, boy!"

The Grizzled Commander barked sharply in the Ambient Presence of Ray's mind.

Ray’s brain instantly registered the exact vector, distance, and approaching speed of hostile intent. The data was split-second and actionable. A massive force was moving through the deep tree line to the northwest, and they were closing the distance fast.

Ray snapped his attention away from the ruined foundations and stared into the dense, misty woods.

"Heads up, Svane!"

Ray called down, his voice cutting sharply through the quiet ambient noise of the forest.

"Something is coming. Fast."

Down in the courtyard, Svane didn't ask questions. The Gold Aegis instantly drew his massive broadsword, his heavy shield already locked on his left arm. He planted his boots into the dirt and pushed a surge of mana into his eyes and ears, magically enhancing his senses to their absolute limits.

Svane swept his glowing gaze across the tree line, analyzing the swaying branches and the deep shadows. A heavy frown creased his scarred face.

"I am detecting nothing, my Lord. From which direction?"

Svane called back, his tone laced with disciplined confusion.

"Directly ahead of you, ten o'clock from your position. Just beyond the ancient Greywood pines."

Ray pointed firmly from the ruined watchtower.

Svane shifted his stance, locking his enhanced eyes on the exact vector Ray indicated. He still couldn't hear any footsteps, but after a tense, breathless moment, he realized why. The deep shadows between the massive pine trees weren't just swaying with the wind. They were detached.

They stepped out of the heavy brush and into the clear expanse of the ruins: a massive troop of Gorillas.

Svane tightened his grip on his sword. These were not any regular Gorillias, they are bigger, Giant Gorillas. This is the first time he had seen Gorillas of this size. Their thick, silver-black fur was laced with faint, jagged crystalline growths that pulsed with raw energy. They were unnaturally massive; even the smallest juveniles in the troop were the size of the towering Gold Aegis himself.

Is it because of the high mana density in the Whispering Hills?

Svane thought as he felt the oppressive aura from the Giant Gorillas.

Then came a sound that made the ground tremble.

Thud... Thud... THUD.

The troop parted respectfully, lowering their heavy heads as the Alpha emerged from the tree line. It was a towering, scarred Silverback behemoth. Its arms were as thick as ancient tree trunks, and the crystalline growths across its back formed a jagged, natural armor plating.

The Alpha lumbered forward on its knuckles, its deeply intelligent, heavily browed eyes scanning the ruins. It spotted Ray perched high up on the watchtower ledge, then its gaze snapped down to the ground. It locked eyes with Svane.

The Alpha’s primitive but highly evolved tactical logic instantly calculated the battlefield. The creature up high was small and unarmored. But the giant on the ground was encased in heavy metal and holding a massive, sharpened blade. Svane was undeniably the true threat. He was the troop leader.

The Silverback rose to its full, terrifying height. It beat its massive fists against its armored chest, the sound echoing through the valley like war drums, and unleashed a deafening, territorial…

ROOOAAAR!

The sheer concussive force of the sound shook the loose dust from the ruined pillars.

Up on Ray's shoulder, Nox was rudely jolted awake. The void-malkin, who had been comfortably digesting its aether-feast, leaped three feet into the air. It landed with its back arched, every shadowy hair standing perfectly on end, and let out a vicious…

HISSS.

Nox’s annoyed voice flooded directly into Ray’s mind via their telepathic bond.

Hey, Hey! Master! I was having a fantastic nap! Tell the brute down there to keep it down or I'm gonna bite his ankles! I swear I'll do it. Just one bite. Look at him.. Savages!

Nox complained loudly in Ray’s mind.

Ray ignored the void-malkin's telepathic sass, keeping his eyes locked on the Alpha.

In the ambient presence of Ray's mindscape, the Primal Naturalist jumped in, practically bouncing with adrenaline-fueled excitement.

Naturalist: "Crikey, look at the size of that absolute beauty! But hold on a second, mate. From its body language! He's not hunting you. Look at the shoulder tilt and the way he's keeping his center of gravity back. He's telling you to get out of the way! He thinks you're blocking the road!"

The Primal Naturalist said thick with excitement.

Why would a troop of wild mutated Giant Gorillas care about right-of-way in an open ruin? They had the numbers and the strength to simply crush whatever was in front of them.

Ray thought as he frowned.

Wanting to de-escalate before Svane was forced to fight a dozen aether-infused behemoths, Ray acted.

System. Activate Partial Immersion: The Primal Naturalist.

He then activated the Primal Naturalist’s ‘Beast-Speak’ skill.

A sudden, intuitive understanding of growls, postures, and feral scents washed over Ray's consciousness. The giant gorilla's roar wasn't just a battle cry; it was a complex series of territorial demands and spatial warnings.

Ray stood up on the ledge. Utilizing his absolute physical mastery over his own body, he perfectly mimicked dominant gorilla posturing. He turned his shoulder to present a wide profile, bared his teeth slightly to show he wasn't intimidated, and let out a series of low, resonant, chest-rumbling grunts that carried perfectly across the ruins.

To Svane, it looked utterly bizarre, his usually refined, calm Lord was suddenly grunting like a wild animal. But to the Alpha, the action was clear to him:

“We not blocking you. We here first. You pass in peace.”