Whispers of the Wandering Soul

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!

A new volley of poison arrows struck the giant ape's powerful chest like an unceasing downpour. Combined with the earlier barrage, the Alpha Ape's front was already covered in arrowheads, making it look like a hedgehog at first glance.

Yet even so, the man-eating beast's mouth remained twisted into a crooked grin. It pulled the arrows from its body one by one while continuing toward the group with earth-shaking steps.

"Lloyd, the poison arrows aren't working at all! Shouldn't we run—!?"

After firing six consecutive volleys, the Guard Squad saw that the Alpha Ape was completely unfazed by the rain of arrows. Their faces grew increasingly terrified, their fighting spirit nearly gone, and they all turned helplessly toward their captain.

Lloyd gritted his teeth. He knew full well that this ape-hunting operation could now be considered a certain failure.

But just as he was about to signal everyone to fight while retreating and flee back to Cold Wind Village, the Alpha Ape noticed their intention to escape. Its enormous foot stomped heavily against the ground, launching its several-ton body into the air in a single leap.

Boom!

The next second, the Alpha Ape's body crashed down onto the narrow hill like a meteor, smashing dense spiderweb-like cracks into the ground and cutting off Lloyd's group's retreat.

"Aah, it's here—!"

Looking at the colossal creature descending from the sky, at that gaping bloody maw eyeing them hungrily, the Guard Squad's emotions finally reached their breaking point.

With the exception of Lloyd, everyone began crying and screaming in panic. They drew their hunting rifles and fired continuously at the Alpha Ape.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The bullets frantically battered the Alpha Ape's fur, but they could only tear shallow wounds across its skin. Against its thick hide, the group's attacks were no more than a fly's scratch.

"Keep firing and spread out! Find your own way out!"

With the situation so dire, Lloyd could only issue his final command to his companions in a trembling voice. Then, he was about to raise his hunting rifle alongside the others and suppress the monster with gunfire.

However, when Lloyd's gaze inadvertently landed on the Alpha Ape's huge, uneven belly, the finger about to pull the trigger suddenly froze.

Because when the distance between the Alpha Ape and Lloyd narrowed to five meters, Lloyd finally realized that the uneven patterns on its belly were not wrinkles in its skin at all, but protruding outlines resembling faces.

On the giant ape's belly, Lloyd could see the faces of deer, wolves, bears, and other native inhabitants of Kingfisher Forest. His instincts told him that these were likely victims the Alpha Ape had swallowed not long ago.

As Lloyd's gaze moved back and forth unconsciously, he saw a face at the very center of the ape's belly, one whose outline was also the clearest.

It was a human face.

A human face with a despairing expression, its mouth wide open in a miserable wail.

Though only a blurry outline, Lloyd could never forget those features for the rest of his life.

Because it was the face of the man who had once taught him how to fight, led the Guard Squad in protecting Cold Wind Village, and served as their leader: Ponsen.

The Ponsen of the past had been strong and dependable, an example admired by Lloyd and every villager of Cold Wind Village.

But now, the man's appearance in death was so pathetic, so helpless, so terrified.

"Ahhh..."

At the sight of something so horrifying and tragic, even Lloyd, the most mentally resilient member of the Guard Squad, finally felt the last line of defense in his mind begin to collapse.

As his will crumbled, Ponsen on the ape's belly, surrounded by countless patches of black sludge across the Alpha Ape's body, transformed into a wandering soul and floated directly before Lloyd.

Ponsen's wandering soul pressed face-to-face with Lloyd. From such close range, Lloyd stared at its features twisted together by despair and listened to its bone-chilling wails.

"Lloyd... I'm in so much pain. It's so dark here, so wet, so stuffy... so unbearable."

"Why couldn't you have come sooner? If you had come earlier... maybe I wouldn't have died."

"I'm so lonely. I want... all of you to come keep me company... I want everyone in the Guard Squad to reunite..."

"So give up resisting. Follow in my footsteps... let us go there together..."

"Let us go to the Abyss together, and become one with it."

Hearing this, Lloyd's hands finally slackened weakly around his hunting rifle.

Ponsen's ghostly whispers carried a strange power. Just a few murmured words snapped several vital strings within Lloyd's heart, leaving him with no thought of resistance. An urge to follow this wandering soul rose unconsciously within him.

At the same time, Lloyd's comrades gradually noticed the horrifying sight on the Alpha Ape's belly. Like Lloyd, they saw Ponsen's phantom appear before them, its icy voice shattering their wills and causing every hand to quietly loosen.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

The hunting rifles fell to the ground one after another with dull thuds.

Merely looking at it from close range caused the Guard Squad's sanity to collapse. They no longer even thought of fleeing. Facing these obedient, stunned prey, the Alpha Ape's upturned mouth twisted into an even wider grin.

It slowly walked toward Lloyd, who was closest to it, stretched out its broad arm, and in the blink of an eye seized the utterly defenseless Lloyd in midair. Then it prepared to stuff him into its gaping bloody maw and feast.

However, at the very instant the captain of the Guard Squad was about to die in the ape's mouth, the youth lurking among the treetops finally made his move.

Ye Chen had remained silent and hidden for so long precisely because he was waiting for the Alpha Ape to reach the ideal position for his attack.

Raising his gun and aiming at his prey, Ye Chen was about to use his strongest trump card right from the start.

However.

Just as the barrel locked onto the prey's exposed back.

Just as Ye Chen stared fixedly at the black substance covering the Alpha Ape's body.

A sudden shock violently exploded in his mind.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a strange haze flooded Ye Chen's brain.

"Huh?"

This sudden discomfort not only darkened his vision at once, but also made his hand tremble twice involuntarily as he pulled the trigger.

Thus, the muzzle that had been precisely aimed at the Alpha Ape's vulnerable back veered drastically off target.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out, sparks burst forth, and the inaccurate Blood Bullet, carrying scorching heat and bright red blood, whistled through the air before slamming into the snow beside the Alpha Ape's feet.

The blood-forged bullet first struck the slushy snow, then erupted in a ring of blazing blood spray.

Boom!

Part of the violent blood force spread onto the Alpha Ape, instantly blasting apart the skin on its tail and back along with the layer of black sludge. However, it was not enough to inflict a fatal wound on the giant beast. The result was clearly nowhere near what it had been when dealing with Goda during the day.

"Yaaah!?"

Caught by surprise, the Alpha Ape was blasted several meters away by the powerful impact. It rolled several times amid cries of pain before quickly steadying its huge body.

As for Lloyd, whom it had been holding, he was flung awkwardly into the snow midway through, but luckily escaped disaster because of it.

Faced with this unexpected outcome, Ye Chen froze, then furrowed his brows tightly.

He understood what had just happened.

When Ye Chen attempted to ambush the Alpha Ape and focused his gaze intensely upon its body, the sludge-like substance on its surface had followed that gaze and, in turn, invaded Ye Chen's mind!

Although Ye Chen had mentally prepared himself for this beforehand, he still failed to withstand the sudden "counterattack." Its invasive force was clearly several levels stronger than the ordinary Abyss Matter outside the mountains!

Furthermore, judging by how quickly the Alpha Ape regained its balance after being wounded, the black sludge clinging to it had also greatly enhanced the monster's agility and nimbleness.

Having exposed his existence and location, Ye Chen leaped down from the treetop without hesitation. He landed steadily while thinking to himself:

This Abyss is really troublesome.

Then he heard a hissing sound from the nearby snow, as though something were burning.

Ye Chen looked down and saw that the black flesh blown off by the Blood Bullet was still stained with his blood.

Covered by Ye Chen's blood, the black sludge on the flesh immediately began struggling and twitching violently, like a living thing being corroded by strong acid. It was soon completely purified by Ye Chen's blood, finally turning to ash and scattering away.

It seemed that his Spirit Art possessed an extremely strong restraining effect against this kind of Abyss Matter.

As Ye Chen reached that conclusion, he withdrew his gaze and fixed it once more upon his prey.

After rolling once through the snowy slush, the wounded Alpha Ape did not stop. Instead, it immediately kicked off a tree trunk with both legs, curled its entire body into a ball of flesh, and charged straight at Ye Chen like a crashing boulder!

It seemed that their brief exchange had already made it understand that the youth before it was no ordinary person like the Guard Squad. That splash of blood that could so easily rip through its fur clearly meant that this was not an opponent it could afford to underestimate!

Therefore, the Alpha Ape would no longer be as lax and sluggish as before!

Its bleeding wounds completely ignited its beastly nature. It immediately decided to vent all its strength, tear the youth to pieces together with the black sludge on its body, and then feast upon the youth's tender flesh with it to soothe the raging hunger throughout its body!

The showdown between Hunter and prey had only truly begun now!