Chapter 51: Crisis in the Miracle Forest

Fike and Sethia advanced slowly in the Miracle Forest.

The scenery here was not as beautiful as Fike had expected it to be. Although it was called the Miracle Forest, nothing here seemed out of the ordinary.

There was nothing but weeds and dead trees scattered around.

The soil of the forest floor was barren. The only noise apart from the flapping wings of the bats flying in the sky were the cries of crows.

Brandishing a torch in his hand, Fike walked in front, acting as a guide for Sertia.

“Fike, slow down. This place is too gloomy… How is this a ‘miracle’?”

The girl’s voice trembled slightly as she held on the back of Fike’s shirt with one hand.

Noticing her behaviour, Fike could not help but tease her.

“What? I didn’t expect that the female god of war, fearless when outnumbered by thugs, would be afraid of the dark?”

“I- I’m not afraid. I’m just worried about your safety. I’m afraid that you’ll fall into a swamp and drown if you walk too fast.”

Fike continued to be mischievous.

“You’re the one who asked me to speed up, and now you tell me to go slower. What exactly do you want me to do?”

Noticing finally that Fike was teasing her, Sertia put on a calm tone as she said,

“If you continue teasing me like this, don’t be surprised if I split your arteries and send you back to the novice village! You won’t be able to go to the royal city of Romon for the rest of your life! Hmph!”

[Hidden Information: Warning! Warning! Warning! There are a large number of King-tier Exotic Beasts ahead. Their strength is not far removed from that of the previous Overlord-tier Exotic Beast. Be advised to hide, they’re approaching rapidly!]

Immediately after seeing the hidden message, Fike quickly extinguished the torch and signaled for Sertia to do the same.

The girl looked at him, puzzled.

“Why did you put out the fire? Are you crazy?”

“Watch out. There are King-tier Exotic Beasts ahead, and they’re approaching.”

Fike motioned for her to jump up onto a big tree and restrain her aura.

Sure enough, not long after, a group of King-tier Exotic Beasts wandered toward the direction where the pair were hiding.

Hidden information regarding the leader of the group flashed before Fike’s eyes.

[Exotic Beast (King-tier)]

[General Attributes: Melee physical, cunning]

[Level: 231]

[HP: 3,985,000/3,985,000,000]

[Attack: 576,200/576,200]

[Dual defense: 327,500/327,500,190,300/190,300]

[Agility: 154,300/154,300]

[Skills: Demonic Fury Slash (King-tier), Corrosive Thorn (King-tier), Immortal Body (King-tier), Black Demon Soul Charm (King-tier)]

[Status: Excited]

[Description: Warning! This is an Exotic Beast with King-tier strength. It possesses extremely high movement speed and physical damage. At the moment, it is in an excitable state. Please be wary of its Black Demon Soul Charm. This ability can bewitch one’s soul. Those who hear the charm immediately lose their ability to fight. Protection of the ears is of the utmost importance! Its Immortal Body also greatly increases its magic resistance. Please evaluate attack strategies wisely. No weaknesses have been identified so far. As such, it is advisable to hide. This beast is adept at detecting human auras, please be wary of your own.]

[Important note: This Exotic Beast will drop rare materials and key items! Attacking is strongly recommended, but please proceed with caution.]

“Sertia, restrain your aura. They can detect human auras!”

Heeding his warning, Serita hurriedly restrained her own aura as well.

Fike didn’t want to provoke this group of King-tier Exotic Beasts at all.

The only reason he had been able to defeat that Overlord-tier Exotic Beast previously was because of the sudden emergence of the source spirit, obtaining the purification spell, and Zero’s advancement. Even then, he had only barely managed to defeat that terrifying beast.

Now, there was more than one such beast before him, and each of them was not much weaker than the previous Overlord.

“One, two, three… thirteen… There are actually thirteen King-tier beasts?! It’s better if we don’t provoke them! Wait, wait a minute… Sertia, quick, look! What’s that?”

Fike noticed that the last King-tier Exotic Beast, trailing at the back of the group, was holding a rope. Attached to the other end were captive Earth players.

“Yeah… they’re humans. Fike, why didn’t they just kill them immediately? Why drag them all the way here?”

“I don’t know. But I know that Exotic Beasts aren’t renowned for their intelligence. There must be someone else behind this.”

“Are they up to something? I feel like the fate of these captured players will be far worse than death…”

Fike didn’t answer her. He continued to observe the squadron of beasts in front of him.

He soon noticed that the captured players were actually walking on their own accord. Although their hands were tied in ropes, there did not seem to be even a hint of sadness or remorse on their faces.

‘Could this be because of the Black Demon Soul Charm spell?

‘Could this skill change a human’s temperament?’

Fike didn’t dare to voice his thoughts. He could only silently observe the beasts.

“Fike, they seem to be heading to Ledda City. Further south of that is…”

“The Palace of the Heavenly King… the Palace of the Heavenly King!”

“Could the appearance of these strange beasts be somehow connected to the palace?”

“It’s possible, but I’m not sure. What I do know is that ever since the Overlord-tier Exotic Beast attacked the city, the palace and the beasts seem to have come to some form of an agreement.”

“Oh right, Fike.”

Sertia suddenly looked at him with excitement, but even so, she lowered her voice as she spoke.

“I found an ancient document about Exotic Beasts in a certain canyon. In the document, there was a passage about King-tier beasts. I think I recall that a formation like this is called…”

Fike’s eyes constricted as he looked at Sertia.

“Called what?”

“The 14 Claws of the Demon King. How many did you there were?”

His eyes now flew wide.

“Thirteen… Oh- Sertia, run!”

Before she could even respond, a huge blade made of bone slashed at the treetop they were perched on.

Sertia dodged instinctively, moving before she even realized what was going on.

It was a King-tier beast wielding an enormous ivory blade.

Unlike the others, this one seemed to be much faster, and had even managed to mask its presence from Fike.

“Oh no, we’re in big trouble!”

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