A Desperate Escape

The battle in the Forest of Menos was over. All the surviving Gillians began tearing into the corpses their enemies had left behind. They had plenty of time to devour these spoils before their Reishi became tainted and violent.

It was not just the Gillians. The Pseudo-Adjuchas also began gathering the corpses of their enemy counterparts and a large number of Gillian masks into a pile. Unlike the Gillians, the Pseudo-Adjuchas had their spoils distributed by the Lord of the Forest North. That was part of the order as well. After years of battles, this haul was so abundant that the Pseudo-Adjuchas naturally had no concerns about its distribution.

Thud.

As Wien stood there in a daze, the corpse of a Mutant Hollow about five meters long landed in front of him. He looked toward the sound and saw the enormous figure of the Lord of the Forest North before him.

"Ant, you performed well this time. You truly did not deceive me. This is your reward." The Lord of the Forest North generously tossed Wien an intact corpse.

"Thank you, my lord." Wien gave a slight bow.

"Ant, give me your name."

"Ace Wien."

"Hmm... Sir Ace Wien. Your scheme earned you merit this time. Enjoy the spoils I have awarded you. I must go feed as well."

"Yes, thank you, my lord," Wien said respectfully. "My lord, when will we return to the Forest of Menos?"

"Once we have finished feeding, we will wait and see whether any Gillians take this opportunity to evolve." The Sandworm Menos Grande twisted his body and headed toward the spoils piled up behind him.

"Gillian evolution..." Wien's heart tightened. Wouldn't that take a long time? What if Nel woke up during that period and couldn't find him? Besides, the Sandworm Menos Grande had clearly shown an interest in recruiting him just now. If he evolved into a Vasto Lorde this time and headed for the Inner Circle, wouldn't Wien have to follow him? That was not the outcome Wien wanted.

It was true that he was submitting to him now to stay alive, but what came after that? Would he continue to be enslaved by him? The answer was no. Wien knew how to bide his time, which was why he had acted so servile before, but the danger had now mostly passed. Once he returned, how could he be content to live under someone else's roof?

Besides, the place where he was seeking shelter was a dragon's pool and tiger's den. It was a choice that could see him slapped to death at any moment. What Wien had just witnessed pushed his heart even further away from the Lord of the Forest North's rule.

I'll take it one step at a time. I can't return to the Forest of Menos now, so everything else is just empty talk. After thinking it over, Wien shook his head gently and began tearing into the Pseudo-Adjuchas Menos Grande's corpse before him. Unlike when he had swallowed masks before, this time he would eat the entire corpse. At this stage, he could not afford to waste even a trace of a Pseudo-Adjuchas's Reishi.

How much Reishi could an Adjuchas give a Gillian? Probably enough to bring a newly evolved Gillian to somewhere around its peak. But Wien was different. Even though he was eager to evolve, he still compressed the Reishi he converted into his body as he devoured it.

Wien compressed it so fiercely that his Spiritual Power, which had been at the early Gillian stage, rose only to the middle stage before ceasing to change. On top of that, he converted Reishi extremely quickly, so he had digested and absorbed the Adjuchas before much had happened.

Of course, Wien had no intention of stopping. Many Gillians on the field had yet to be claimed, and he could collect their masks as quickly as possible and absorb and convert them.

The Adjuchas, led by the Sandworm Menos Grande, were enjoying their spoils. The Lord of the Forest North was especially busy. After all, he was on the verge of advancing to the Vasto Lorde-class, so he naturally devoted all his attention to devouring Reishi. He had no time to care what Wien was doing.

Seeing his chance, Wien began hunting nearby. Merely snatching masks from the corpses on the ground was nowhere near enough. Whenever one of the living Gillians on his own side wandered mindlessly near him, Wien would reach out and tear off his mask without hesitation. In an area littered with food, what Gillian would care whether those around him lived or died?

Besides, Wien only tore off their masks. He pierced their remaining bodies with a claw and left without paying them any further attention. The other Gillians were only too happy to have another corpse to eat.

After forcibly stripping the mask from an unconscious Gillian, Wien retreated. Since digesting the Pseudo-Adjuchas's Reishi, he had eaten seventy or eighty Gillian masks. Although half of them had come from Gillians on his own side, Wien did not care in the slightest.

Several days of hunting had raised Wien's Spiritual Power to a new height. The Spiritual Power accumulated in his body gradually reached saturation, forcing him to stop eating and find somewhere to digest and compress it. Alternating between the two, Wien reached the late Gillian stage in just half a month. Reaching the peak was only a matter of time.

And Wien still had time, because among the thousands of Gillians, three or four really had met the requirements to evolve. They had burrowed underground to await their evolution.

The Sandworm Menos Grande, Lord of the Forest North, had regrettably remained at the peak Adjuchas stage. He had not succeeded in advancing. As for the Spiritual Power he still needed to evolve, the Sandworm Menos Grande did not intend to devour his subordinates on the spot. He would decide what to do after returning to the Forest of Menos.

Another month passed. Wien and the others had spent long enough in the Menos Grande Graveyard. All the advancing Gillians had finished evolving, adding three Pseudo-Adjuchas Menos Grande to the Sandworm Menos Grande's ranks. In his long years, however, this was only a small ripple. After all, he ruled over more than a hundred Pseudo-Adjuchas.

Once all the Gillians had finished evolving, the Sandworm Menos Grande reopened the Garganta and led his Gillians back. Wien received special attention and was placed beside Riate, who carried him as he flew.

With Riate carrying him, Wien returned to the Forest of Menos at the other end of the Garganta before the sluggish Gillians. As soon as he arrived, he took a deep breath of the Forest of Menos's tranquil Reishi.

Compared with the violent Reishi of the Menos Grande Graveyard, the Reishi here was easier to absorb. Wien also needed to expel the tainted, violent Reishi from his body as soon as possible. So, as soon as he returned, he began circulating the Reishi in his body to sort and convert it. This naturally did not escape the Sandworm Menos Grande, who had returned ahead of him.

His body, which had grown taller again as his Spiritual Pressure surged, swayed slightly. The red eyes beneath his mask narrowed, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Sir Wien." The Sandworm Menos Grande's call interrupted Wien's purification of his Reishi and brought him out of it.

"My lord." Wien's heart tightened as he came to, as though he knew what the Sandworm Menos Grande before him was about to say.

"Sir Wien, you rendered great service in my war. From today onward, you will remain by my side and devise strategies for me. I will grant you benefits without end."

Just as I thought? Wien half-closed his eyes. Joining the Sandworm Menos Grande's ranks meant losing his freedom, and it would not be long before the Sandworm Menos Grande advanced again. Once he succeeded in advancing to Vasto Lorde, he would certainly leave for the Inner Circle. If Wien was still a Gillian then, he would be little more than rations in the Inner Circle, with no chance of survival.

If they encountered a powerful enemy in the Inner Circle, the Sandworm Menos Grande would certainly not divert his attention to protect him. That was not what Wien wanted.

"My lord." After thinking it over, Wien spoke. "I too would like to join your ranks and do my part by devising strategies for you. Unfortunately, I am too weak, and I fear that staying by your side would only hold you back."

"It matters not." The Sandworm Menos Grande waved his tail lightly. "You need only devise strategies for me. There is no need for you to fight on the battlefield. If you are willing, you may hunt the Gillians in this forest as you please."

The words sounded like a grant of freedom, but they held no appeal for Wien. Hunt as he pleased? Wien had already been doing that. The offer amounted to nothing.

"Thank you for your favor, my lord, but as I see it, your advancement is close at hand. When that time comes, I will still be a mere ant. Would that not tarnish your reputation? If you will permit it, please grant me some time. Once I have advanced, I will surely follow you into battle in all directions."

"Ace Wien, are you unwilling to accept my invitation?" How could the Sandworm Menos Grande fail to understand Wien's meaning? Evolving from a Gillian to an Adjuchas required a period of dormancy. Judging by Wien's Spiritual Pressure, the time he needed would certainly not be short. The Sandworm Menos Grande did not have that long to wait.

And given Wien's potential, the Sandworm Menos Grande believed that if he let this little insect advance, and he turned out to be a battle-oriented Pseudo-Adjuchas Menos Grande, bringing him under control would not be easy. Though the Sandworm Menos Grande would not lose, if Wien wanted to run, he might not be able to stop him.

Since he could not make use of him, the Sandworm Menos Grande felt the urge to kill him.

"I would not dare defy your wishes, my lord. It is only that, after careful consideration, I believe following you now would only delay your opportunity to advance." Wien sensed the danger and began thinking of a way to escape unharmed. Against absolute power, however, Wien's meager Spiritual Pressure seemed utterly inadequate.

"Hmph! Ace Wien, do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" With those furious words, the Sandworm Menos Grande's Spiritual Pressure surged, crushing Wien until he could barely breathe. Fortunately, Wien was already familiar with that maddening pressure. Though it made breathing difficult, it did not leave him completely unable to move. "I will give you one more chance. Join my ranks, or else... Hmph!"

"My lord is a top-tier Adjuchas. Why make things difficult for a little Gillian like me?" Knowing he had no way out, Wien instead relaxed his taut heart and began to taunt him. He was going to die either way, so he might as well enjoy himself before trying to escape. Perhaps there was still a sliver of hope. "Since you insist, my lord, then forgive me..."

Buzz!!

Before he finished speaking, an invisible Cero erupted from Wien's mouth, a Concealment Cero produced by his special ability. It was not aimed at the Sandworm Menos Grande, however. It exploded at his feet, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. An orange-yellow barrier followed immediately, enclosing the Sandworm Menos Grande and the dust together.

Having fired the Cero and Negación in quick succession, Wien immediately ran toward the forest in the opposite direction. As he ran, he began concealing his Spiritual Pressure and form. Though moving would greatly reduce the effect, it was better than nothing.

Bang... bang... bang!

Wien had barely taken a few steps when, inside the Negación behind him, the Sandworm Menos Grande began sweeping his powerful tail against the barrier that had trapped him twice. He was furious that a little crawling insect had restricted his movements twice. Wien was only a Gillian Level Menos Grande, however, and if he got too far away, the Negación would not hold for long.

Soon, the orange-yellow Negación before the Sandworm Menos Grande shattered like glass and vanished into the air. The dust that had surrounded him also scattered under an explosive surge of Spiritual Pressure.

When the dust cleared, the Sandworm Menos Grande grew even more furious. Wien was long gone. Only a few Adjuchas stood before him, waiting for him to emerge from the Negación.

"Useless! The lot of you are useless! You couldn't even catch a Gillian!" The Sandworm Menos Grande was beside himself with rage. In truth, the other Pseudo-Adjuchas Menos Grande could not be blamed for not pursuing Wien. For one thing, they were worried about the Lord of the Forest North's safety. For another, they did not dare act without his orders. The only one who had given chase was Riate, the Lord of the Forest North's trusted subordinate.

A speed-type Pseudo-Adjuchas chasing a Gillian was hardly a contest. Thus, the Lord of the Forest North gradually calmed his anger and waited for Riate to return with the ant who had repeatedly provoked him. Yet dozens of minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Riate.

Perhaps the little insect was simply too good at hiding, the Lord of the Forest North thought. No matter how strong an ant was, it was still an ant, utterly unable to withstand being trampled by a giant. This sense of hierarchy was already deeply rooted in the Lord of the Forest North's mind. Yet after waiting more than three hours without seeing Riate return, the Lord of the Forest North suddenly realized that his judgment seemed to have been wrong this time.

"Yadelusi," the Lord of the Forest North called casually. Soon, a relatively small Pseudo-Adjuchas spider Hollow Beast crawled to his side.

"My lord, please give your orders."

"Detect Riate's Spiritual Pressure."

"Yes." Yadelusi the spider Hollow bowed, then spread eight spider legs. A flash of green appeared in the eyes behind the mask, and an invisible ripple swept out from Yadelusi's side. Detection Wave, this exploration skill, was the most important reason Yadelusi could remain at the Lord of the Forest North's side.

As a Pseudo-Adjuchas, Yadelusi's detection range covered nearly half the Forest. Of course, that was only possible when they were at its center.

After a brief search, however, Yadelusi reported to the Lord of the Forest North with a fearful expression, "M-my lord, I could not find Riate's Spiritual Pressure within my detection range."

"What!" The Lord of the Forest North's state could no longer be described as surprise. He knew Riate's strength. His first reaction to the failure to find him within the search range was that they had already traveled beyond it. But the Forest was enormous. Even flying at full speed, Riate could not possibly cross it from here in a few hours. Why couldn't he be found?

"Return to the Nest of the Forest North first, then search again!" Clinging to a last hope, the Sandworm Menos Grande gave the order. The Hollow beasts then followed the Lord of the Forest North, using Sonído all the way as they swiftly returned to their lair.