A Little Over Four Months Ago.
Dalaran Forest.
After the unexpected encounter with the ent and the prince's subsequent impressive victory over it, Rand and his companions continued their journey to the gorilla tribe. Having traveled a few kilometers through the forest, the group of six — consisting of the prince, three knights, an elderly hunter, and the prince's aged mentor-protector — found themselves on a small hill. From there, due to the absence of large trees, they had a clear view of the surroundings. In the distance, a small mountain could be seen, and at its base was a cave entrance, partially obscured by a wall of strange, glistening stones. It was clear that someone tried to hide the entrance from the outside, though not too successfully
"There are too few trees here for a forest. You can easily see the sky and the sun overhead. It's also odd that, although my eyes can see the cave entrance, there's almost a white spot for my spiritual sense. Something is definitely off here, my prince," observed knight Karl, assessing the situation and warning the prince of the unnatural surroundings.
The prince appeared unfazed by the unusual occurrences in this part of the forest. He nodded calmly to his knight and then turned to the hunter, who was surveying the area:
"Someone has deliberately removed the trees around here, and our spiritual sense is being blocked by those stones in front of the entrance, am I right, Mr. Galik?"
"Indeed, my prince. You are absolutely correct. Gorillas are quite intelligent, some believe not much less so than humans. With their great strength, they can uproot trees and even process the wood to some extent, turning it into simple tools. During their life activities, large gorilla tribes can consume entire sections of the forest. The reason they didn't leave even stumps and went to the trouble of uprooting them is likely to secure their surroundings from predators, for whom even such small cover is enough to stay hidden. This also gives them an excellent view of the nearby area, allowing them to see any approaching strangers from a distance. As for the stones, there are several deposits of cold iron in the forest, which significantly hinders the spiritual sense of cultivators below the Core Formation stage. It's likely that someone in the tribe discovered this property and gathered stones with a high content of this metal, placing them in front of the entrance to their village, if you can call it that. And... as I feared, they've already noticed us."
As the hunter finished his last words, a large male gorilla, standing three and a half meters tall with equally broad shoulders, emerged from the cave. In his right hand-paw was a sizable club. As soon as the gorilla stepped out from behind the wall, his gaze fixed on the humans standing on the rise in the distance. After scrutinizing these uninvited guests, the gorilla began to roar loudly and beat his chest with his free hand, either trying to scare off the intruders or challenge them to a fight. Seeing that the invaders did not respond to his call and continued to stand calmly, the gorilla started moving towards them, growling louder and more fiercely with each step.
As the gorilla approached, the prince casually informed his companions, "A gorilla at the initial level of the Foundation Establishment stage — nothing serious. I hope that once I deal with it, the others will come out, at least to avenge it. I'd rather not hunt them one by one in these caves. Who knows how long that could take." Finishing his speech, the prince raised his left hand and softly uttered:
"Lunar Palm."
Immediately, a dark, milky copy of his hand separated from his palm and began to grow rapidly. Half a meter, a meter, three meters, nine meters. At nine meters, the hand stopped growing and started moving towards the gorilla, accelerating with each moment. Within seconds, this giant hand covered almost the entire distance of hundreds of meters between prince and the gorilla.
The gorilla, seeing this enormous threat bearing down on it, was instantly terrified. His eyes widened, and its jaw dropped. He immediately realized that the opponent was much stronger than him. He would have liked to run back to the cave, but after assessing the speed of the palm, he realized that he would not have enough time to reach a safe place before the palm struck. Therefore, he stood in a fighting stance and used the technique of their kind, preparing to accept and withstand the attack, and hoping that if he could withstand it, his tribesmen would come running to the noise and help him. Upon using the technique, his skin and wooden club were covered with a thick layer of stone.
When the nine-meter palm was right in front of the gorilla, he struck at the approaching danger with his club, putting all his brute strength into the blow. To rid itself of the fear in its chest, the gorilla roared as loudly as it ever had in its life.
"RAAAARRRGGHH."
With the gorilla's desperate cry, the Lunar Palm collided with the club. For a moment, it seemed that the relatively small club, covered in stone, managed to stop the massive hand, but the balance was quickly broken. The hand continued its advance, driving the club into the gorilla's face and then pressing the gorilla entirely into the ground. The gorilla's stone armor first cracked and then completely shattered, barely affecting the power of the prince's technique. With the armor gone, the hand began to crush the gorilla's unprotected body...
A second after the collision, the hand disappeared in a flash of moonlight, leaving a deep imprint in the ground. At the bottom of the crater-like imprint lay the crushed remains of the gorilla.
"I hope that was enough noise to stir the rest and make them come out," Prince Rand said to his companions.
The gorillas did not disappoint the prince and even did not take long to come out. Within twenty seconds of the prince's statement, dozens of gorillas emerged from the cave. Most of them were three to four meters tall, not much different in size from the first gorilla. They were all at various levels of Foundation Establishment, except for one who led them. The leading gorilla stood six meters tall, and the amount of Qi in its body exceeded the limits of Foundation Establishment stage.
"There are so many of them, even more than my worst estimates, and their leader... does he have a pseudo-core? He's practically at the Core Formation stage. Just one more step and he'll become a true lord among beasts..." the hunter muttered to himself, slightly frightened. Everyone heard him, but no one responded.
"Finally, a bit of fun. That ent, though not bad, was still a bit disappointing. Karl, Ulrich, Draggs, form a battle formation. Start by thinning out their ranks slightly," the prince ordered his knights in a more serious tone.
"Understood, my prince," the three knights responded in unison. They stepped forward, forming a triangle, then drew their swords and pointed them at the approaching horde of gorillas. As soon as they completed their preparations, their armor began to glow brightly with white light, and three lines, made of the same light, appeared in the air, connecting them.
Meanwhile, the gorilla leader approached the crater-imprint and looked at the remains of its kin. Then it fell to its knees in front of them and let out a roar full of rage and pain. A moment later, it stood up and, with eyes red from fury, glared at the killers of its tribe member and shouted in broken human language, drawing out each vowel:
"Huuumaans, youuu kiiiillled myyy sooonaa, fooor thaaat Iii willll teeaaaar yooou aalll intooo tiiiny pieeecees..."
Instead of responding to the unexpectedly speaking beast, Prince Rand gave a new order to his knights:
"Get ready"
"A Thousand Swords of Light," the three knights simultaneously chanted. From the center of the triangle they formed, a massive pillar of light shot upwards, splitting into numerous small swords at a height of fifty meters. After a few seconds, the pillar dissipated, and a thousand swords made of light remained hanging in the sky, their points aimed at the gorillas.
While the humans were up to something, the gorilla leader's thoughts were in turmoil. He wanted to charge and gut these humans immediately, but seeing them prepare some powerful joint technique brought back his reason, which had temporarily left him in his grief. The leader estimated the distance between the gorillas and the humans and realized that they wouldn't be able to close the gap for an attack before the humans finished their technique. A frontal assault would likely result in significant losses, which the leader wanted to avoid, so he ordered his kin to prepare for defense. Following the leader's command, all the gorillas' bodies quickly became covered in stone armor, a defensive technique known to every gorilla that had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
However, the gorilla leader thought that such protection might not be enough against what the humans were preparing, given the immense amount of Qi invested in their technique. As a precaution, he used his own defensive technique, striking the ground with his clasped hands. Immediately, a massive, rounded stone wall, almost forming a dome, rose from the earth in front of the gorilla tribe. Due to his high cultivation, on the verge of the Core Formation stage, his stone wall was nearly indestructible.
The leader assessed the amount of Qi in the hovering swords and realized that this kind of attack would drain the humans' Qi reserves significantly. Afterward, they would be momentarily weakened and unable to use something of the same magnitude again, and then the gorillas could strike back without losses, avenging their fallen kin.
But to the gorilla leader's surprise, the crown on Prince Rand's head flared with light, and the tips of the swords darkened and began to emit black smoke.
"Let's get started. Prepare to breach their defenses," ordered the prince. And a portion of the swords shot towards the gorillas at a furious speed.
Two seconds after the gorilla leader raised the stone dome, the first wave of a hundred light-forged swords struck it. The wall groaned and cracked from the impact but managed to hold. The leader's high cultivation and the favorable terrain bolstered his technique. But to the leader's horror, black smoke began to emanate from the stone wall after the swords hit, and it started to melt before their eyes. Seeing this, the leader immediately placed his hands on the wall, pouring massive amounts of Qi from his pseudo-core into it in an attempt to halt its destruction. He even managed to slow the melting significantly, but then the second wave of a hundred swords struck.
Due to the second wave, the wall, already weakened by the previous impact and the corrosive black smoke, immediately showed gaps. Several light-forged swords even pierced through, but their power was greatly diminished by the complex penetration, causing no harm to the stone-armored gorillas.
This situation did not please the leader at all; in fact, it alarmed him, for there were still many swords in the air. Right after the first sword pierced the wall, he said something to his kin, and they, too, touched the disintegrating wall, channeling their Qi into it. The gorillas felt as if the situation was stabilizing, and the wall even began to repair itself before their eyes, but then the third wave struck, this time with two hundred swords.
The wall, still not fully restored, was perforated like a sieve. About half of the swords, barely slowed, pierced through and struck the stone-armored beasts. For the gorillas with relatively high cultivation, their armor held, although it started to crumble and weaken from the black smoke. But those with slightly lower cultivation...
"Aaaa, raaa, aaaa," several smaller gorillas fell to the ground, screaming in agony. The swords had pierced their armor, and the smoking tips began to corrode their flesh, causing unbearable pain.
Realizing the dire situation and that they couldn't hold the wall, the leader made a swift decision and ordered his kin to stand behind him. The gorillas immediately withdrew their hands from the remnants of the wall, picked up the wounded, and clustered behind their mighty leader.
From a pouch on his belt, the leader produced an impressive-looking massive metal shield. It immediately shone with the light of Qi flowing into it, rapidly expanding to a diameter of seven meters.
But to the leader's horror, the next wave of two hundred swords didn't crash into the shield but instead circled around it, striking directly at the gorillas. The gorillas on the outer edges of the "column" were riddled with swords.
"Aaaa, raaa, aaaa,"
Over a dozen gorillas, or what was left of them, fell to the ground. Another dozen suffered varying degrees of injuries, but due to the black smoke, even the smallest wound brought excruciating pain and threatened death.
At that moment, the gorilla leader realized that his defensive strategy had been flawed from the start, and if he didn't act now, they would all die. Then these humans would enter their caves and kill their defenseless elders and children.
So, he ordered everyone who could still move to retreat into the cave with the wounded and hold the defense there until the children could escape through the emergency exit. Meanwhile, he charged at the humans, hoping to draw all their attention. He hoped this would be enough for them to use the remaining swords on him alone, allowing the others to escape. With a loud roar, he ran at full speed toward the humans.
But what he greatly feared and didn't want to consider during his planning happened. The humans split the remaining swords evenly. Some flew after the fleeing gorillas, and some targeted him.
When the swords struck his shield and armor, with several bypassing the shield and piercing through, the leader cried. Not from the physical pain or the flesh corroded by the black smoke, but from hearing the dying screams of his kin behind him. When the last sword hit him, he risked turning around and taking a look. What he saw stopped his fear-stricken heart, and he… fell dead. Behind him, all the gorillas had died; none made it to the safety of the cave. His last dying thought was: "Why did they do this to us…?"
"Hm, it seemed to me that your last strike only wounded him. Yet he died. Rather weak for a beast nearly at the Core Formation stage," said Prince Rand, inspecting the fallen gorilla leader.
The great knight Lark, who had approached the prince, attempted to explain the situation:
"Perhaps he couldn't bear the sight of his dead tribe. In a way, one can even understand him. Everything he cherished vanished in such a short time. This sense of loss and despair, combined with his injuries, led to his premature death. Although, if he hadn't looked back, I think he could have fought a bit longer. Maybe the hunter wasn't exaggerating when he said they resemble humans."
After Lark's words, there was a brief silence until knight Karl asked the prince:
"Shall we enter the cave, my prince? There might be some valuable resources, and as far as I know, the young gorillas are quite trainable and fetch a high price."
"Lark, your spiritual sense is the strongest here, and these stones don't affect it, correct? Is there anything interesting in the cave?"
"Indeed, such an obstacle can't hinder my spiritual sense. There are two dozen young gorillas, most haven't even reached the Qi Condensation stage, and a few weak elders. They're all trying to escape deeper into the caves. As for resources, I see only a small amount of stones containing minor quantities of cold iron."
"Hm, then let's not waste time on such trifles. Ulrich, it's your turn this time; you may take the gorilla leader's shield. It seems to be a decent spiritual artifact, and it is barely damaged. Whatever else you find on him is yours too. And don't forget to decapitate the gorillas and bring their heads."
"Of course. Thank you, my prince."
As knight Ulrich approached the gorilla corpses, the hunter Galik, who had been silent since the start of the battle, approached the prince and fell to his knees.
"Forgive me, my prince, but there's something I need to tell you, something I didn't mention earlier."
Rand looked sternly at the kneeling hunter with his dark-white eyes, frightening some to the point of trembling. The old hunter began to tremble under the prince's gaze.
"And what do you mean by this, Galik? Have you betrayed me in some way?"
"No, no, not at all, my prince. I just didn't tell you about my family treasure that could greatly help you achieve good results in the Great Hunt."
"Oh, that's interesting... If it truly is something that can help me secure first place, I might forgive your previous silence, provided your reason is worthy. And... let me guess, you want something in return for your family treasure?"
"Yes, my prince, you are correct in everything. But first, I must tell you a story from the past. Twenty years ago, a beast at the Core Formation stage devoured my father. All this time I've been trying to get revenge on it, but our power is too unequal... I realized that would never be able to kill it alone, yet I was too poor to hire someone strong enough to defeat it. In fact, I joined your service for money. But even if I had enough money and hired a suitable warrior, there would be no guarantee the beast would die. I could be deceived, and they would might just take my money without doing anything, or the beast could emerge victorious... Therefore, I would like to ask you to kill it... As for why I didn't mention this earlier... I wasn't sure you were capable of it, but after today, I have no more doubts."
"Why didn't you immediately ask for the beast's death instead of spirit stones in the contract? That would have been much more logical." the young prince asked the hunter.
"I... I'm not used to such things; I didn't think it was possible to ask for anything other than money." Galik answered, visibly nervous.
Prince Rand observed the frightened hunter in silence for a few moments, then spoke:
"You withheld important information from a member of the imperial family, which is equivalent to deceit. Your reason for silence is insufficient for leniency. For this alone, you deserve death. And yet, you even dare to ask for something from me. You are a funny man, and I'll be honest, on any other day, I would have had you executed for deception. But today I am in a good mood, so if your treasure is worthy of my attention, not only will you be forgiven, but I will also rid you of the beast, even if we do not encounter it this time."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Your Highness." the hunter expressed his gratitude, continuously hitting his head on the ground
"Don’t waste my time, Galik. Tell me about the treasure."
"Yes, yes, of course. As I mentioned, beasts in this forest grow stronger by consuming others. The stronger the one they consume, the more power they gain. Therefore, the scent of the dead attracts them greatly. I have a powder made from the corpse of a beast at the Core Formation stage, and using a secret method, this powder not only retains the scent of a fresh corpse but has also become significantly stronger and spreads much faster. And I know a place where its effect will be even more remarkable. It is a canyon southwest from here..."
A Little Over Four Months Ago.
Dalaran Forest.
After the unexpected encounter with the ent and the prince's subsequent impressive victory over it, Rand and his companions continued their journey to the gorilla tribe. Having traveled a few kilometers through the forest, the group of six — consisting of the prince, three knights, an elderly hunter, and the prince's aged mentor-protector — found themselves on a small hill. From there, due to the absence of large trees, they had a clear view of the surroundings. In the distance, a small mountain could be seen, and at its base was a cave entrance, partially obscured by a wall of strange, glistening stones. It was clear that someone tried to hide the entrance from the outside, though not too successfully
"There are too few trees here for a forest. You can easily see the sky and the sun overhead. It's also odd that, although my eyes can see the cave entrance, there's almost a white spot for my spiritual sense. Something is definitely off here, my prince," observed knight Karl, assessing the situation and warning the prince of the unnatural surroundings.
The prince appeared unfazed by the unusual occurrences in this part of the forest. He nodded calmly to his knight and then turned to the hunter, who was surveying the area:
"Someone has deliberately removed the trees around here, and our spiritual sense is being blocked by those stones in front of the entrance, am I right, Mr. Galik?"
"Indeed, my prince. You are absolutely correct. Gorillas are quite intelligent, some believe not much less so than humans. With their great strength, they can uproot trees and even process the wood to some extent, turning it into simple tools. During their life activities, large gorilla tribes can consume entire sections of the forest. The reason they didn't leave even stumps and went to the trouble of uprooting them is likely to secure their surroundings from predators, for whom even such small cover is enough to stay hidden. This also gives them an excellent view of the nearby area, allowing them to see any approaching strangers from a distance. As for the stones, there are several deposits of cold iron in the forest, which significantly hinders the spiritual sense of cultivators below the Core Formation stage. It's likely that someone in the tribe discovered this property and gathered stones with a high content of this metal, placing them in front of the entrance to their village, if you can call it that. And... as I feared, they've already noticed us."
As the hunter finished his last words, a large male gorilla, standing three and a half meters tall with equally broad shoulders, emerged from the cave. In his right hand-paw was a sizable club. As soon as the gorilla stepped out from behind the wall, his gaze fixed on the humans standing on the rise in the distance. After scrutinizing these uninvited guests, the gorilla began to roar loudly and beat his chest with his free hand, either trying to scare off the intruders or challenge them to a fight. Seeing that the invaders did not respond to his call and continued to stand calmly, the gorilla started moving towards them, growling louder and more fiercely with each step.
As the gorilla approached, the prince casually informed his companions, "A gorilla at the initial level of the Foundation Establishment stage — nothing serious. I hope that once I deal with it, the others will come out, at least to avenge it. I'd rather not hunt them one by one in these caves. Who knows how long that could take." Finishing his speech, the prince raised his left hand and softly uttered:
"Lunar Palm."
Immediately, a dark, milky copy of his hand separated from his palm and began to grow rapidly. Half a meter, a meter, three meters, nine meters. At nine meters, the hand stopped growing and started moving towards the gorilla, accelerating with each moment. Within seconds, this giant hand covered almost the entire distance of hundreds of meters between prince and the gorilla.
The gorilla, seeing this enormous threat bearing down on it, was instantly terrified. His eyes widened, and its jaw dropped. He immediately realized that the opponent was much stronger than him. He would have liked to run back to the cave, but after assessing the speed of the palm, he realized that he would not have enough time to reach a safe place before the palm struck. Therefore, he stood in a fighting stance and used the technique of their kind, preparing to accept and withstand the attack, and hoping that if he could withstand it, his tribesmen would come running to the noise and help him. Upon using the technique, his skin and wooden club were covered with a thick layer of stone.
When the nine-meter palm was right in front of the gorilla, he struck at the approaching danger with his club, putting all his brute strength into the blow. To rid itself of the fear in its chest, the gorilla roared as loudly as it ever had in its life.
"RAAAARRRGGHH."
With the gorilla's desperate cry, the Lunar Palm collided with the club. For a moment, it seemed that the relatively small club, covered in stone, managed to stop the massive hand, but the balance was quickly broken. The hand continued its advance, driving the club into the gorilla's face and then pressing the gorilla entirely into the ground. The gorilla's stone armor first cracked and then completely shattered, barely affecting the power of the prince's technique. With the armor gone, the hand began to crush the gorilla's unprotected body...
A second after the collision, the hand disappeared in a flash of moonlight, leaving a deep imprint in the ground. At the bottom of the crater-like imprint lay the crushed remains of the gorilla.
"I hope that was enough noise to stir the rest and make them come out," Prince Rand said to his companions.
The gorillas did not disappoint the prince and even did not take long to come out. Within twenty seconds of the prince's statement, dozens of gorillas emerged from the cave. Most of them were three to four meters tall, not much different in size from the first gorilla. They were all at various levels of Foundation Establishment, except for one who led them. The leading gorilla stood six meters tall, and the amount of Qi in its body exceeded the limits of Foundation Establishment stage.
"There are so many of them, even more than my worst estimates, and their leader... does he have a pseudo-core? He's practically at the Core Formation stage. Just one more step and he'll become a true lord among beasts..." the hunter muttered to himself, slightly frightened. Everyone heard him, but no one responded.
"Finally, a bit of fun. That ent, though not bad, was still a bit disappointing. Karl, Ulrich, Draggs, form a battle formation. Start by thinning out their ranks slightly," the prince ordered his knights in a more serious tone.
"Understood, my prince," the three knights responded in unison. They stepped forward, forming a triangle, then drew their swords and pointed them at the approaching horde of gorillas. As soon as they completed their preparations, their armor began to glow brightly with white light, and three lines, made of the same light, appeared in the air, connecting them.
Meanwhile, the gorilla leader approached the crater-imprint and looked at the remains of its kin. Then it fell to its knees in front of them and let out a roar full of rage and pain. A moment later, it stood up and, with eyes red from fury, glared at the killers of its tribe member and shouted in broken human language, drawing out each vowel:
"Huuumaans, youuu kiiiillled myyy sooonaa, fooor thaaat Iii willll teeaaaar yooou aalll intooo tiiiny pieeecees..."
Instead of responding to the unexpectedly speaking beast, Prince Rand gave a new order to his knights:
"Get ready"
"A Thousand Swords of Light," the three knights simultaneously chanted. From the center of the triangle they formed, a massive pillar of light shot upwards, splitting into numerous small swords at a height of fifty meters. After a few seconds, the pillar dissipated, and a thousand swords made of light remained hanging in the sky, their points aimed at the gorillas.
While the humans were up to something, the gorilla leader's thoughts were in turmoil. He wanted to charge and gut these humans immediately, but seeing them prepare some powerful joint technique brought back his reason, which had temporarily left him in his grief. The leader estimated the distance between the gorillas and the humans and realized that they wouldn't be able to close the gap for an attack before the humans finished their technique. A frontal assault would likely result in significant losses, which the leader wanted to avoid, so he ordered his kin to prepare for defense. Following the leader's command, all the gorillas' bodies quickly became covered in stone armor, a defensive technique known to every gorilla that had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
However, the gorilla leader thought that such protection might not be enough against what the humans were preparing, given the immense amount of Qi invested in their technique. As a precaution, he used his own defensive technique, striking the ground with his clasped hands. Immediately, a massive, rounded stone wall, almost forming a dome, rose from the earth in front of the gorilla tribe. Due to his high cultivation, on the verge of the Core Formation stage, his stone wall was nearly indestructible.
The leader assessed the amount of Qi in the hovering swords and realized that this kind of attack would drain the humans' Qi reserves significantly. Afterward, they would be momentarily weakened and unable to use something of the same magnitude again, and then the gorillas could strike back without losses, avenging their fallen kin.
But to the gorilla leader's surprise, the crown on Prince Rand's head flared with light, and the tips of the swords darkened and began to emit black smoke.
"Let's get started. Prepare to breach their defenses," ordered the prince. And a portion of the swords shot towards the gorillas at a furious speed.
Two seconds after the gorilla leader raised the stone dome, the first wave of a hundred light-forged swords struck it. The wall groaned and cracked from the impact but managed to hold. The leader's high cultivation and the favorable terrain bolstered his technique. But to the leader's horror, black smoke began to emanate from the stone wall after the swords hit, and it started to melt before their eyes. Seeing this, the leader immediately placed his hands on the wall, pouring massive amounts of Qi from his pseudo-core into it in an attempt to halt its destruction. He even managed to slow the melting significantly, but then the second wave of a hundred swords struck.
Due to the second wave, the wall, already weakened by the previous impact and the corrosive black smoke, immediately showed gaps. Several light-forged swords even pierced through, but their power was greatly diminished by the complex penetration, causing no harm to the stone-armored gorillas.
This situation did not please the leader at all; in fact, it alarmed him, for there were still many swords in the air. Right after the first sword pierced the wall, he said something to his kin, and they, too, touched the disintegrating wall, channeling their Qi into it. The gorillas felt as if the situation was stabilizing, and the wall even began to repair itself before their eyes, but then the third wave struck, this time with two hundred swords.
The wall, still not fully restored, was perforated like a sieve. About half of the swords, barely slowed, pierced through and struck the stone-armored beasts. For the gorillas with relatively high cultivation, their armor held, although it started to crumble and weaken from the black smoke. But those with slightly lower cultivation...
"Aaaa, raaa, aaaa," several smaller gorillas fell to the ground, screaming in agony. The swords had pierced their armor, and the smoking tips began to corrode their flesh, causing unbearable pain.
Realizing the dire situation and that they couldn't hold the wall, the leader made a swift decision and ordered his kin to stand behind him. The gorillas immediately withdrew their hands from the remnants of the wall, picked up the wounded, and clustered behind their mighty leader.
From a pouch on his belt, the leader produced an impressive-looking massive metal shield. It immediately shone with the light of Qi flowing into it, rapidly expanding to a diameter of seven meters.
But to the leader's horror, the next wave of two hundred swords didn't crash into the shield but instead circled around it, striking directly at the gorillas. The gorillas on the outer edges of the "column" were riddled with swords.
"Aaaa, raaa, aaaa,"
Over a dozen gorillas, or what was left of them, fell to the ground. Another dozen suffered varying degrees of injuries, but due to the black smoke, even the smallest wound brought excruciating pain and threatened death.
At that moment, the gorilla leader realized that his defensive strategy had been flawed from the start, and if he didn't act now, they would all die. Then these humans would enter their caves and kill their defenseless elders and children.
So, he ordered everyone who could still move to retreat into the cave with the wounded and hold the defense there until the children could escape through the emergency exit. Meanwhile, he charged at the humans, hoping to draw all their attention. He hoped this would be enough for them to use the remaining swords on him alone, allowing the others to escape. With a loud roar, he ran at full speed toward the humans.
But what he greatly feared and didn't want to consider during his planning happened. The humans split the remaining swords evenly. Some flew after the fleeing gorillas, and some targeted him.
When the swords struck his shield and armor, with several bypassing the shield and piercing through, the leader cried. Not from the physical pain or the flesh corroded by the black smoke, but from hearing the dying screams of his kin behind him. When the last sword hit him, he risked turning around and taking a look. What he saw stopped his fear-stricken heart, and he… fell dead. Behind him, all the gorillas had died; none made it to the safety of the cave. His last dying thought was: "Why did they do this to us…?"
"Hm, it seemed to me that your last strike only wounded him. Yet he died. Rather weak for a beast nearly at the Core Formation stage," said Prince Rand, inspecting the fallen gorilla leader.
The great knight Lark, who had approached the prince, attempted to explain the situation:
"Perhaps he couldn't bear the sight of his dead tribe. In a way, one can even understand him. Everything he cherished vanished in such a short time. This sense of loss and despair, combined with his injuries, led to his premature death. Although, if he hadn't looked back, I think he could have fought a bit longer. Maybe the hunter wasn't exaggerating when he said they resemble humans."
After Lark's words, there was a brief silence until knight Karl asked the prince:
"Shall we enter the cave, my prince? There might be some valuable resources, and as far as I know, the young gorillas are quite trainable and fetch a high price."
"Lark, your spiritual sense is the strongest here, and these stones don't affect it, correct? Is there anything interesting in the cave?"
"Indeed, such an obstacle can't hinder my spiritual sense. There are two dozen young gorillas, most haven't even reached the Qi Condensation stage, and a few weak elders. They're all trying to escape deeper into the caves. As for resources, I see only a small amount of stones containing minor quantities of cold iron."
"Hm, then let's not waste time on such trifles. Ulrich, it's your turn this time; you may take the gorilla leader's shield. It seems to be a decent spiritual artifact, and it is barely damaged. Whatever else you find on him is yours too. And don't forget to decapitate the gorillas and bring their heads."
"Of course. Thank you, my prince."
As knight Ulrich approached the gorilla corpses, the hunter Galik, who had been silent since the start of the battle, approached the prince and fell to his knees.
"Forgive me, my prince, but there's something I need to tell you, something I didn't mention earlier."
Rand looked sternly at the kneeling hunter with his dark-white eyes, frightening some to the point of trembling. The old hunter began to tremble under the prince's gaze.
"And what do you mean by this, Galik? Have you betrayed me in some way?"
"No, no, not at all, my prince. I just didn't tell you about my family treasure that could greatly help you achieve good results in the Great Hunt."
"Oh, that's interesting... If it truly is something that can help me secure first place, I might forgive your previous silence, provided your reason is worthy. And... let me guess, you want something in return for your family treasure?"
"Yes, my prince, you are correct in everything. But first, I must tell you a story from the past. Twenty years ago, a beast at the Core Formation stage devoured my father. All this time I've been trying to get revenge on it, but our power is too unequal... I realized that would never be able to kill it alone, yet I was too poor to hire someone strong enough to defeat it. In fact, I joined your service for money. But even if I had enough money and hired a suitable warrior, there would be no guarantee the beast would die. I could be deceived, and they would might just take my money without doing anything, or the beast could emerge victorious... Therefore, I would like to ask you to kill it... As for why I didn't mention this earlier... I wasn't sure you were capable of it, but after today, I have no more doubts."
"Why didn't you immediately ask for the beast's death instead of spirit stones in the contract? That would have been much more logical." the young prince asked the hunter.
"I... I'm not used to such things; I didn't think it was possible to ask for anything other than money." Galik answered, visibly nervous.
Prince Rand observed the frightened hunter in silence for a few moments, then spoke:
"You withheld important information from a member of the imperial family, which is equivalent to deceit. Your reason for silence is insufficient for leniency. For this alone, you deserve death. And yet, you even dare to ask for something from me. You are a funny man, and I'll be honest, on any other day, I would have had you executed for deception. But today I am in a good mood, so if your treasure is worthy of my attention, not only will you be forgiven, but I will also rid you of the beast, even if we do not encounter it this time."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Your Highness." the hunter expressed his gratitude, continuously hitting his head on the ground
"Don’t waste my time, Galik. Tell me about the treasure."
"Yes, yes, of course. As I mentioned, beasts in this forest grow stronger by consuming others. The stronger the one they consume, the more power they gain. Therefore, the scent of the dead attracts them greatly. I have a powder made from the corpse of a beast at the Core Formation stage, and using a secret method, this powder not only retains the scent of a fresh corpse but has also become significantly stronger and spreads much faster. And I know a place where its effect will be even more remarkable. It is a canyon southwest from here..."
