Battle in the Jungle

"My king, we're almost there," Inora reported to Wien as they traveled. "Judging by how far we've come, Jekain should have entered that forest by now."

"Mm." Wien pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Let Jekain make contact with the Hollows inside first. In such a vast forest, there should be quite a few intelligent High-Level Hollows. If they've also banded together in groups of dozens, they won't be easy for us to deal with. Let Jekain scout them out first.

"Inora, as soon as Jekain releases a Cero, use all your strength to sense how many High-Level Hollows there are and how many have been eliminated."

"Yes." Inora acknowledged the order and began listening intently. Fisilina, meanwhile, used the eight eyes on her face to keep watch for any movement around them. With such vigilance, we slowly advanced toward the forest, one step at a time.

"Sang!!!" Before long, a strange cry came from deep within the forest. It was Jekain's voice. Immediately afterward, a tremendous Spiritual Pressure spread throughout the entire forest. Even Wien and the others, who had only just reached its edge, felt slightly uncomfortable.

The instant he sensed Jekain's Spiritual Pressure erupt, Inora's eyes flashed with light, and the tentacles all over his body stretched out. He seemed to have used some ability to detect Spiritual Pressure.

Soon, an explosion-like boom came from the center of the forest. It was probably caused by Jekain releasing a Cero.

At the same moment, the Spiritual Pressure around Inora began to subside. He turned to Wien and said, "Seventeen High-Level Hollow Spiritual Pressures rose just now, but only ten remained after the Cero. Eight of those have weakened to the extreme."

"Mm... Keep searching," Wien ordered with a nod.

He knew that the first wave had only come to their deaths. Upon hearing the order, Inora released his senses once more and monitored the forest.

Before long, another boom came from the forest. It was Jekain's second Cero.

"Twenty-four Spiritual Pressures. Ten eliminated, and eight weakened."

"Were those the same eight as before?"

"Only two of those eight Spiritual Pressures remain. The other six have vanished."

"Two..." Wien hesitated for a moment. "Wait a little longer. Fisilina, go get the others."

"Yes." Having received her order, Fisilina stretched out her eight legs and quickly crawled toward the place where the Hollows had been hiding.

Boom!!!

Another thunderous blast rang out, and a thick cloud of smoke rose from the center of the forest.

"Fourteen Spiritual Pressures. Four vanished, and one weakened. The other nine are intact."

"Finally found you." A strange note crept into Wien's voice. "Inora, we're going in. But after Jekain releases another Cero, if you can still sense that weakened Spiritual Pressure, turn back immediately and find the reinforcements.

"As soon as the reinforcements arrive, have them head straight for the center. Jekain is nearly at his limit, so I need to support him first."

"My king, I don't understand. Why have you chosen to act now?" Inora asked as he hurried alongside Wien, offering no objection.

"This forest is so vast that it certainly won't lack groups of intelligent High-Level Hollows. Since Jekain encountered them, he's already released three Ceros.

"A Menos Grande's Spiritual Pressure is far beyond anything a High-Level Hollow can match, yet the enemy has forced Jekain to release three Ceros. That proves they've adopted a certain strategy of attrition." As Wien explained, he located Jekain's Spiritual Pressure.

"A strategy?" Inora was surprised.

"Yes. Wolf-pack tactics and feeding troops in piecemeal," Wien said with certainty.

"It's a strategy of attrition that relies on a group. Scattered individuals bite at the enemy from every direction, preventing the enemy from concentrating their attacks and wearing down their fighting strength.

"They then bring in fresh fighters to put mental pressure on the enemy. As the saying goes, the first beat of the drum rouses the spirit, the second weakens it, and the third exhausts it. After three Ceros, Jekain's Spiritual Pressure has begun to drop, and his accuracy has started to decline. I think he's most likely been provoked by the enemy. And that provocateur should be the weakened Hollow that survived all three Ceros."

"Awoooooo!" As Wien rushed over, Jekain's nearly frenzied roar came from the forest. Soon, a massive Cero exploded deep within it.

"Ten Spiritual Pressures. Three vanished, two weakened, and the others are intact. That weakened Spiritual Pressure from before... actually recovered?! How is that possible?" Sensing the chaotic Spiritual Pressures in the forest, Inora could not help voicing his confusion.

"Just as I thought. Does he have a way to recover?" Wien's heart tightened. "Inora, go back and wait for the reinforcements."

"Yes." With that acknowledgment, Inora turned and ran. Wien, meanwhile, sped up, covering a hundred meters with a single Shadowless Strike and vanishing into the woods.

Elsewhere.

"Damn it, why is this Menos Grande so tenacious?"

In the center of the forest, a bizarre High-Level Hollow beast stood before a twenty-meter-tall Gillian-class Menos Grande, cursing nonstop. It was a full three meters tall, with a pair of scythes on its arms, a lion's body, and a scorpion's tail.

Elorot was the leader of this forest, with dozens of High-Level and Elite-Level Hollow beasts under his command.

Through constant hunting and devouring, Elorot had accumulated enough Spiritual Pressure to be on the verge of advancing. He had originally planned to devour some of his subordinates to advance to Gillian, but just as he was about to turn them against one another, a massive black shadow entered his territory with heavy footsteps.

"A Gillian?!" Sensing the tide-like Spiritual Pressure, Elorot was delighted. It was as if someone had brought him a pillow just as he grew sleepy. Possessing considerable intelligence, Elorot immediately came up with a plan.

If he could devour this Gillian, his Spiritual Pressure would surely advance in an instant. And with so many subordinates at his disposal, he could send them to their deaths first, saving himself the trouble of getting rid of them. With that in mind, Elorot immediately ordered his forces to surround and eliminate the invading Gillian.

"First group, attack!" At Elorot's command, more than ten of his greedy Hollow subordinates rushed toward Jekain all at once.

Sensing the weak but numerous and chaotic Spiritual Pressures, Jekain let out a furious roar. A Cero gathered before him and erupted. A Menos Grande-class attack was far beyond what these High-Level Hollow cannon fodder could withstand, and so the first group suffered heavy casualties.

"Hmph! Let's see how long you can last." With a cold snort, Elorot signaled for the second wave to attack. This time, nearly twenty Hollows surrounded Jekain, sending one Spiritual Pressure attack after another at him.

"Ants!" With an angry shout, Jekain condensed another Cero. Sensing an attack even fiercer than the last, the Hollows scattered in all directions, but the Cero still took out a good number of cannon fodder in an instant.

"I refuse to believe we can't wear you to death!" Elorot's gaze sharpened, and he immediately led his troops forward. "Dongka, prepare to defend."

"B-but..." Dongka, the Hollow beast who had received the order, was enormous. Yet against a Gillian tens of meters tall, this supposedly enormous Hollow only came up to his waist.

"That's an order!" Elorot released a chilling Spiritual Pressure, forcing Dongka to charge forward. He himself extended his tongue and spat out something resembling a grub, sending it flying toward Jekain nearby.

Bang!!

A tremendous blast erupted against Jekain's chest. The grub bomb was Elorot's means of attack. The blow thoroughly enraged Jekain, and for the third time, he condensed a Cero aimed at Elorot.

This time, however, the attack was much slower than the previous two.

"Heh, running out of strength, aren't you?" A triumphant, sinister smile appeared at the corner of Elorot's eye. At the same time, the Hollow called Dongka stood in front of him.

"Hold on. I'll help you with my Spiritual Pressure." As Elorot spoke, another grub appeared in his mouth, and he flung it at Jekain.

Hum!!!

The Cero in Jekain's mouth took shape once more and shot toward Elorot. Already prepared, Elorot immediately ordered Dongka to stand in front of him. A thunderous boom followed, and a massive blast swept the surrounding trees through the air, throwing up a vast cloud of dust and debris.

The surrounding forest, already riddled with damage, no longer deserved to be called a forest after that attack. It had been reduced entirely to ruins.

"Pah! Damn it, how many more Ceros can he fire?!" As the dust settled, Elorot staggered out of the dirt and rubble that had buried him. Dongka, who had just stood in front of him, had been reduced to nothing.

"He really is a tough one. Looks like I can't keep fighting like this. I'll wear him down one last time, then finish him in one stroke!" With that, he quickly retreated to the side, grabbed a fallen Hollow beside him, pried off the Hollow's mask, and stuffed it into his mouth. He then withdrew to the edge of the battlefield, shouting to the other Hollows as he did so.

"He's out of strength! Spread out and deal him the finishing blow! That's Gillian-class Spiritual Pressure. If we take him down, everyone can have a share!" His words seemed to ignite the last spark in every Hollow present. Each raised their Spiritual Pressure to its limit, preparing to deliver the final blow to the invader.

Before their attacks could take shape, however, another Cero came to meet them, though it was considerably weaker than before.

Hum!!!!

The fourth Cero descended, killing or wounding more than half the Hollows that had surrounded him.

After dodging that final Cero, the smile in Elorot's eyes grew a little wider once more, because when the blast passed, he saw a Gillian whose Spiritual Pressure had weakened to the extreme before him.

"Tch, there are still survivors?" Jekain narrowed his eyes beneath his mask. He had done his best. Firing four Ceros in succession was no small burden for Jekain, who had only recently advanced to Gillian. "Damn it, am I going to fail my king's mission?"

"Haha, go on, act arrogant! Fire another one of those Ceros you're so proud of!" Elorot taunted him. "Lackeys, tear off his mask!"

Awoooo...

The few Hollows left on the battlefield roared one after another.

They too could sense that the Spiritual Pressure of the Gillian before them had fallen to a certain level. They also knew that their next attack would be the last.

Once this attack succeeded, Menos Grande-class Spiritual Pressure would be waiting for them to savor.

Ugh... Is this as far as I go? Jekain thought. He now knew he had underestimated the intelligence of these Hollows. After all, a group of dozens had been reduced to just seven, yet they still had the will to fight. That was not something an ordinary group could possess.

I'd better retreat first. Jekain could not help taking half a step back. If the few Hollows before him struck him together now, he would certainly be badly injured, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

But though he thought so, he discovered that several Hollows had already cut off his retreat.

"Trying to leave? Die here!" At Elorot's command, several Hollows charged at Jekain. Wave after wave of Spiritual Pressure attacks swept toward him.

"Damn it, there's no time!" Jekain moved, about to raise his hand to defend himself. But before he could lift it, a cold voice rang out behind him.

"You want to lay a hand on my subordinate? It seems you're not qualified!"

Boom!!!!

A tremendous explosion erupted amid a flash of lightning. The three High-Level Hollows behind Jekain were instantly reduced to Reishi.

A Humanoid Hollow less than two meters tall stood behind Jekain. At his right claw, a bolt of lightning flickered with a silvery-blue light.

"Y-you... Who are you?!" As the smoke cleared, Elorot had no intention of speaking kindly to the person who had ruined his plans.

"Ace Wien, the king of the Gillian standing before you."