The First [Golden Big Trophy]! (Seeking Reads!)

Whether Hannyabal's words actually carried any weight, Storm couldn't say for now.

After a fairly hearty lunch, full and satisfied, Storm took the elevator down to Impel Down's second level—Beast Hell.

Whether Hannyabal could get him promoted was uncertain, but Magellan's "promotion order" definitely held authority!

As the newly appointed Jailer Chief of both Crimson Lotus Hell and Beast Hell, the first task Storm needed to handle was, naturally, beating (strikethrough)—meeting his subordinates!

Unlike Crimson Lotus Hell, Beast Hell had no natural scenery whatsoever. What it did have were dense rows of cells, wide and towering corridors, and—endless roars and wails.

"Roooar—!" "Owww—!" The moment Storm stepped into Beast Hell, he was hit by a wave of deafening sound attacks, as if at any moment a terrifying beast might leap out from the gloomy, pitch-black passageways. If an Ordinary Person stood here, they'd probably have their courage scared right out of them.

"So noisy..." Storm dug at his ear, calmly heading toward the Beast Hell jailer's office. He planned to pick up a prisoner information list from there, which would make the subsequent "trophy hunting plan" more convenient.

But Storm had barely taken a few steps when a clatter of footsteps came from the dark corridor ahead, accompanied by a roar thick with anger. "Keys! Give me the keys!"

Storm stopped, frowning as he looked up at the surveillance Den Den Mushi in the corner. Had a prisoner escape happened in Beast Hell? But why hadn't the Surveillance Room sent any word?

Bracing for battle, Storm waited quietly. Before long, he finally saw the furious "escapees." However, contrary to what he'd expected, these "escapees" weren't prisoners in uniforms—they were a pack of ferocious, giant lions with human faces! Beast Hell's Prison Guards: Man-faced Lions.

The moment Storm spotted the Man-faced Lions, they spotted him too. In truth, they had already caught the scent of a stranger and charged here. Now that they'd found their "target," the pack of Man-faced Lions immediately howled and rushed forward, shouting as they sprinted—though their roars were somewhat nonsensical. "Flat corner! Flat corner!" "Loincloth! Loincloth!"

Hearing the Man-faced Lions' cries, Storm's forehead was covered in black lines. "What kind of nonsense have these Man-faced Lions been learning?!" Though they had human faces and could speak, their intelligence was only a hair better than the Blue Water Monkeys of Crimson Lotus Hell. Man-faced Lions could mimic human speech, but they had no idea what the words meant.

"Water Monkeys that dive into the sea, Man-faced Lions that can talk..."

Storm stood motionless, mustering his strength, a faint metallic black luster radiating from his skin.

"What kind of Monsters and Demons are these!

"Tekkai! Ha!"

The roaring Man-faced Lions rapidly closed in on Storm.

Storm could already see his own reflection in their pupils!

Just then.

The fastest Man-faced Lion had already charged right in front of Storm.

It suddenly reared up on its hindquarters, raised a lion's paw as big as a winnowing fan, and slammed it viciously toward the human before it.

Bang!

The Man-faced Lion's claw struck Storm with a heavy impact, producing a dull, muffled collision sound.

As if its paw had hit not human flesh and blood, but tempered steel!

Crack!

A crisp, clear sound of bone breaking followed.

The lead Man-faced Lion's paw twisted into an impossible, backward-bent angle.

"Oww!!"

The Man-faced Lion let out a pained howl.

Forgetting the human in front of it, it immediately collapsed to the ground, writhing and wailing.

One Man-faced Lion fell.

More Man-faced Lions surged forward.

Yet.

The Man-faced Lions were like a surging tide.

Storm stood like an unyielding reef.

Waves came and went, tides rose and fell, but the reef remained unmoved.

In no time at all.

The group of Man-faced Lions, which had just been so ferocious, were all sprawled on the corridor floor.

Some had broken paw bones, others had shattered teeth, all crying out in agony.

With the strength of the Man-faced Lions, they simply couldn't break through the defense of [Tekkai]!

On the contrary.

The harder they struck, the more severe their injuries!

"Doesn't seem like the Man-faced Lions are any stronger than the Blue Gorillas..."

Storm ended the effect of [Tekkai] and tugged at his slightly torn uniform.

Then he spread his five fingers, and clay surged forth, forming giant fists the size of millstones.

"Clay Rain!"

Storm clenched his fingers, and the clay fists landed with pinpoint accuracy on the heads of every Man-faced Lion.

Thud! Thud! Thud!—

The unique sound of smashing watermelons echoed continuously through the corridor of Beast Hell.

Every Man-faced Lion that had attacked was knocked unconscious on the spot by Storm.

[Silver Trophy: Man-faced Lion]*9

After subduing the group of Man-faced Lions, Storm once again looked at the surveillance Den Den Mushi in the corner.

"Beast Hell's jailers, come collect the stray cats!"

Inside the nearby cells.

The prisoners who had witnessed the entire battle just now didn't dare utter a single word.

They didn't even dare to think about making a sound!

In Storm's eyes, the Man-faced Lions were just a bunch of "little wildcats" he could handle easily.

But in the eyes of the prisoners of Beast Hell, any single Man-faced Lion was enough to threaten their lives!

Only after Storm's silhouette gradually disappeared into the dark corridor, and even his footsteps faded away.

Did the prisoners in Beast Hell dare to start talking.

"So terrifying! He took down all the Man-faced Lions in an instant..."

"That's a jailer's uniform! An incredible Officer has come to the prison!"

"I still prefer the Sadie-chan from before..."

"As long as it's not Shiryu."

Among the prisoner population, the name "Shiryu of the Rain" seemed to carry a unique magic.

The moment "Shiryu" was uttered, all the prisoners lost the will to talk.

In the end, only one "Prison Elder" let out a long sigh.

"This is hell..."

Elsewhere.

Storm smoothly retrieved the prisoner roster for Beast Hell from the guard room.

In addition, he also obtained a daily activity map of the Beast Hell prison guards.

The map detailed the daily activity locations of the animal prison guards in Beast Hell.

The jailers had also thoughtfully marked a threat level for each animal guard.

In the jailers' assessment.

The Man-faced Lion Storm had just encountered was merely the lowest-threat guard within Beast Hell.

Beyond that, there were also the Flying Mantis, Digging Rat, Big-mouthed Hippopotamus, Puzzle Scorpion... and other beast guards.

Storm ignored these ordinary beast guards and zeroed in on "Monster Boss" and "Monster Second"—

The Cockatrice, Basilisk!

The Sphinx!

According to the jailers.

Among all the animal guards in Beast Hell, the Sphinx possessed the greatest strength.

Even if the Sphinx were thrown into the fifth layer, Extreme Cold Hell, it would still qualify as a guard—

As long as the Army Wolf didn't eat it.

"That doesn't sound all that strong..."

Storm muttered to himself.

Clutching the prisoner roster and the guard activity map, he made a round through Beast Hell.

Eventually, he arrived at the connecting staircase between Beast Hell and Hunger Hell.

Storm wasn't trying to descend deeper into Hunger Hell.

He came here simply because the Sphinx was also here!

The Blue Gorilla and Man-faced Lion could at most provide a Silver Trophy.

The Sphinx was the strongest guard Storm could normally access right now.

He wanted to see just how strong the Sphinx really was!

The staircase.

An enormous creature was crouched on the steps.

It had a lion-like body, with a pair of light brown wings sprouting from its back.

Beast Hell, prison guard, Sphinx!

By the time Storm reached the stairs.

The Sphinx had also caught the scent of a stranger.

It slowly rose to its feet, revealing a dark, human-like giant face.

"Roar—!"

The Sphinx bellowed at the stranger.

It raised an arm as thick as several men linked together and swung it down at Storm.

[Geppo]!

Storm stomped hard on the ground, launching himself into the air like a bird, dodging the attack.

Boom!

The Sphinx's claw slammed into the ground, erupting with a deafening crash.

The entire floor of Beast Hell seemed to tremble slightly from that single strike.

"What terrifying strength!"

Storm nodded slightly.

"That one slap could at least knock out a Water Monkey or a Man-faced Lion.

"No wonder the Sphinx can be the 'Monster Boss' of Beast Hell!"

Having missed its target, the Sphinx let out another furious roar.

"Roooar—!"

But this time, Storm wasn't going to hold back anymore.

He stretched out his right hand toward the Sphinx, unleashing the full power of the [Clay Fruit] without reservation.

In just a few moments, white clay had spread across the entire stairway entrance.

Slap—slap—

The Sphinx looked confused, slapping hard at the soft white clay beneath it, but achieving no effect whatsoever.

Trapped in a cage, completely unaware.

Storm's mind stirred, and the white clay rapidly split into two halves.

One half formed a massive white net, restricting the Sphinx's movement.

The other half formed colossal clay fists, each one enormous.

"Clay Meteor Fist!"

The sky-filling clay fists descended like a super meteor shower, hammering down on the immobilized Sphinx.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

The merciless beating continued for several minutes.

Until suddenly, a magnificent [Big Trophy] appeared before Storm's eyes.

[Golden Trophy: Sphinx]

[Trophy Star Rating: ★★★★]