Chapter 129: The Beast that Roars

Chapter 129: The Beast that Roars

Jack stood over a field of broken corpses. Ant corpses. He raised his gaze, going from their drying yellow blood to the dirt mound that dominated the distance. He tightened his fist.

After the pent-up frustrations of getting cheated and chased by the Animal Kingdom, letting loose was nice. This wasnt even his first ant swarm. Or the second.

System, he thought, show me my progress.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 60

Strength: 204 (+)

Dexterity: 204 (+)

Constitution: 204 (+)

Mental: 23 (+)

Will: 23 (+)

Free points: 30

Skills: Iron Fiend Body (II), Ghost Step (I)

Dao Skills: Meteor Punch (II), Iron Fist Style (I)

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (early), Dao Root of Indomitable Will

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1)

For most people, leveling through the E-Grade took years. Decades. They had to find monsters at the right level and large quantities, which was made more difficult by the fact that everyone else was searching too. As a result, most E-Grade cultivators took high-paying jobs, hunting the odd monster wherever they found it, slowly trudging through the levels. Eventually, most got the money to buy E-Grade experience balls, but by that point, they were so used to the peaceful life that giving up everything to advance was difficult.

Jack, on the other hand, was surrounded by abundant prey at all the right levels. He had hordes of middle and high F-Grade enemies, as well as E-Grade ones under every second stone. Moreover, his power helped him slay them quickly and effortlessly.

He had risen by six levels in one day. Hed also made slight progress in his fear aura skill, though he was currently prioritizing levels.

Not bad for a days work. He smiled. Right, Brock?

The brorilla yelled a cheer in monkey. After defeating those ants at the start, Brock had been beside himself with joy. He kept flexing his muscles and pointing at himself with pride. Jack shared in the joy.

Harambe would be proud he thought with a gentle smile.

Brock couldnt level up, as the System still considered him a monster, but he could gain battle experience and Dao insights. Fighting allowed him to use his muscles in new ways, sharpening his Dao of Muscles. Jack could see him pondering at times, taking breaks to sit on rocks with his fist under his chin.

He couldnt stop wondering how Brocks Dao would progress in the future.

They had also discovered a large stream with clear water, as well as a tree with apples the size of living rooms. Sustenance wouldnt be a problem no matter how long they stayed here.

After that, they had spent most of the day fighting conqueror ants and scouting out their patterns. Small parties of five to nine ants would leave the colony at random intervals, spreading out in random directions to find food. If they succeeded, they would bring it back to the colony. If the food was too much to be carried by a few ants, they would summon a host of a dozen workers to come help them.

On the other hand, if they didnt find food, they would keep searching until they died.

When one of those raiding parties ran into strong predatorsJack and Brock, for examplethey would scream as loudly as possible. They would also release a flood of pheromones. The sound would alert other ants to come in the general direction of the battle, while the pheromones had shorter range but guided the reinforcements to the exact point of combat.

These reinforcements usually contained around two dozen antsthere was no soldier caste in argentine/conqueror ants, so they were all the same. It was a number large enough to overpower most low E-Grade insects, but not enough to defeat Jack. To him, they were just walking bags of levels.

Fifteen such hunting groups later, he had slain hundreds of ants, and he had managed to reach level 60. Unfortunately, his leveling speed had begun to stagnate. F-Grade opponents could only take him so far.

Brock had also practiced and was now able to face five ants at the same time, but he, too, had reached his limit. He had even gotten injured in the last fight, and he now sported a gash on his right upper arm. Jack had tied it with a strip of his dark blue shirt, which was now so dirty he chose to take it off, returning to the bare-chested look hed sported in the Forest of the Strong.

It brought back memories.

Unfortunately, the forest made it difficult to discern the direction of the roar. For all Jack knew, they could be heading right into it. And was it louder than normal?

Thinking to that point, he signaled Brock to slow down. They came to a stop. I think this is the wrong direction, Jack said. The roar got louder.

Yes, Brock agreed.

We should head the other way.

Yes.

They were in agreement. However, before they could move, the roar came again. It was different this time. Less a declaration of supremacy and more a cry of war. Jack jumped and looked around, but he saw nothing.

What the

A third roar came. This time, it was followed by stomps that shook the ground, along with crashing sounds. A pained growl came shortly afterward.

Jack looked around, but again, saw nothing.

The beast is fighting, he realized, eyes widening. What could stand against it?

The roars and crashing sounds kept coming. Brock perked his ears, then looked to the right. Its that way? Jack asked. Okay. Lets go.

Brock nodded.

Going to witness the battle of a massive beast sounded dangerousand it was. But they werent here to take the easy way out. Opportunities and danger came hand-in-hand. If they didnt dare to take risks, they could never defeat the planetary overseer anyway.

Jack and Brock darted through bushes the size of buildings. The ground was soft, with the occasional leaf under their feet, but they were too light to make them crunch. Green parted before them as they made haste.

Two minutes later, the roars intensified further. The air was shaking now, and many insects were running the opposite way. A trio of wasps even ignored them to escape faster.

Jack stepped forward. They were inside a bush, but they had slowed down. They shouldnt be spotted. Carefully, he parted a leaf to witness the battle beyond.

His breath caught in his throat.

Thats Thats not a beast!

A green-skinned giant stood between the trees. It held a large club and must have been at least fifty feet tall, if not more. It was hairless, only wearing a loincloth around its waist, and its eyes held no glimmer of intelligence. It resembled a wild animal. When it opened its mouth, yellow teeth were revealed, and buckets of saliva flew out. The roar that escaped was the same one theyd been hearing all the while.

Forest Giant, Level 118

Forest Giants are bestial humanoids that inhabit forest biomes. Their main habitat is the Giant Ring of Trial Planet. They can reach up to a hundred feet in height, are fast, resilient, and extremely strong. Moreover, their sense of smell is heightened, able to pick out prey from a mile away.

Many aspiring cultivators have found their end under the clubs of Forest Giants. They find you before you find them.

Jacks blood went cold. If they had tried to approach this creature when it wasnt fighting, it would have smelled them coming, and they would have had to outrun ithopefully. There was no way he could match a level 118 creature in combat.

Fortunately, it was currently too preoccupied to notice them. Red blood streamed from where its left ear used to be, its bare chest was covered in shallow cuts, and it was limping. Oddly, hints of frost surrounded its chest wounds.

Three cultivators stood against it, fully focused on the giant. They didnt seem to have noticed Jack.

One was a man with long, dark hair and wielding an extremely long, sharp sword. The second was a young-looking woman in a white robe, whose silver hair fluttered in a non-existent breeze. Her outstretched arms were covered in frost to the elbow, while snowflakes danced around her open palms. The third and final cultivator was a towering minotaur in full plate armor, who was currently standing in front of the forest giant, seeming tiny, and roared back.

Jack inspected them with bated breath.

Human (Earth-74), Level 104

Faction: Wide Swirls (B-Grade)

Title: Gifted

Human (Earth-74), Level 121

Faction: Wide Swirls (B-Grade)

Title: Wide Swirls Prodigy

Minotaur, Level 109

Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)

Title: Resilient