Reke's tail stiffened, and his consciousness gradually faded.
The hair on his body grew longer and longer, and red filled his eyes.
His body grew larger and larger.
In no time, he had gone from a small figure just over a meter tall to a brown giant ape a hundred meters tall.
"Roar!"
The giant ape pounded its chest with both fists and let out a roar.
Its mindless rampage began.
The giant ape spotted a group of beasts resting in the distance. Before they could react, it leaped in front of them and threw a punch.
The beasts vanished in an instant, not even leaving scraps of flesh behind.
After killing them, the giant ape continued searching for its next target.
Usually, the moment it locked onto something, the giant ape killed it.
That roar startled the entire grassland, including the Rock Monsters around its edges and the creatures on the other side.
The other side of the grassland wasn't home to monsters and beasts, but to a group of intelligent beings.
They were an adventuring party exploring the grassland.
They were about the same size as ordinary humans, but some had four ears, some had a pair of wings, and some had two pairs of eyes.
They were resting by a lake, a hundred li from the grassland.
Reke's roar jolted them all awake.
"Boss, what was that sound?" a slender woman about one meter seventy tall, with a pair of wings, asked a burly man about one meter eighty tall, who had two pairs of eyes.
"Ah!"
Before the team leader could answer,
one of the men, a thin fellow with four ears, let out a scream.
His eardrums had burst instantly, and bright red blood streamed from all four ears. Clutching them, he rolled on the ground.
"Fifth, what's wrong?"
"Brother Fifth, don't scare me!"
"Third Sister, hurry and get the medicine!"
The group shouted over one another.
The whole scene descended into chaos, and with everyone talking at once, no one knew whose voice to follow.
The boss couldn't take it anymore. His expression darkened as he roared, "Quiet! Everyone, calm down!"
The commotion died down, leaving only Fifth groaning on the ground.
Every pair of eyes turned toward the boss, waiting for his orders.
It was clear that the boss commanded considerable authority in the group, and that the others trusted him.
The boss looked at Fifth and immediately understood his condition.
His hearing was too keen, and the roar had injured him.
"Third Sister, go get the medicine."
"Second, turn on the soundproof barrier."
"Fourth, Sixth, once your Third Sister has treated Fifth, help him into the tent to rest."
"Everyone else, step aside. Don't block the way."
The boss issued one order after another, and the scene quickly settled down.
Those who had been given orders got to work, while everyone else stood well out of the way.
Only after giving his orders did the boss answer the winged woman's question. "Eighth Sister, I still don't know what happened. For now, bring the Energy Detector over."
"Okay." Eighth Sister didn't hesitate and immediately got moving.
By the time she carried the instrument to the center of the group, Second had activated the soundproof barrier, Third had finished treating Fifth, and Fourth had returned. Sixth stayed behind to watch over Fifth.
"Boss, should I turn on the Energy Detector?" Eighth Sister asked, standing before the two-meter-tall instrument.
"Turn it on. Let's see the energy readings within a thousand li."
"Beep!"
The group gathered around, staring at the readings in confusion.
"Don't any of you see something wrong?"
The burly man spoke with a grave expression.
The others shook their heads. In the end, it was Eighth Sister, staring closely at the instrument, who spotted the problem.
"Boss, are you saying that all the creatures within a thousand li are moving—and heading away from the grassland?"
"Good eye, Eighth Sister. That's exactly what I meant."
"There are no massive energy readings within a thousand li, but the other creatures are fleeing. That means there's something terrifying in that direction." The boss pointed toward Reke.
"Unfortunately, this instrument can only detect energy within a thousand li. We have no idea how far away that roar was."
"Boss, Fifth's awake. He wants you to come over."
Just then, Sixth, who had been looking after Fifth in the tent, ran out and called to him.
The boss didn't delay and walked straight into the tent.
Fifth's injuries had healed, but his face looked awful and his spirits were low.
"Fifth, is there something you want to tell me?" the boss asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Boss, are you trying to pinpoint the source of that roar?" Fifth asked instead of answering.
"Yes, but we couldn't detect it. Otherwise, I'd have gone to see what kind of thing could hurt you like that." The boss looked regretful.
"Don't. Whatever you do, don't go!" Fifth trembled all over as soon as he heard that. He knew the boss wanted to track down the roar, so he had called him in as soon as he was well enough.
He was filled with relief. Thank goodness he hadn't been unconscious for too long and had woken up in time.
"What makes this any different? Isn't exploring unknown creatures what we do?" As the boss spoke, his two pairs of eyes gleamed. His face was alight with a fervent curiosity about the unknown creature.
"This time is different. It's really different." Fifth gave a bitter smile.
Seeing that the boss was about to speak again, Fifth raised a hand to stop him and continued, "Boss, do you know how far away that roar was? At least ten thousand li."
"Think about it. A roar from ten thousand li away crippled me. I'm certain that with my current energy reading of 500, I couldn't get within a thousand li of it."
"If you go in, you'll die. A hundred percent. There's no chance of surviving. You're dead for sure!"
"Do you know what I heard in that roar?"
"You can't even begin to understand how terrified I am right now. Honestly, I consider myself lucky just to be alive."
The more Fifth spoke, the more agitated he became. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, and his pupils widened as though he were looking at some kind of monster.
At last, Fifth forced himself to raise a trembling finger. His face full of despair, he said, "One strike. That creature could destroy our entire planet with a single strike."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fifth could no longer hold himself up and collapsed onto the bed.
The boss stared at him with wide eyes, unable to believe what he'd heard.
Meanwhile, on Reke's side,
he had wiped out all the creatures within a thousand li. Energy gathered in his mouth for a blast, aimed straight at the ground.
Reke's subconscious sensed danger.
He began to struggle.
Influenced by him, the giant ape slowly dissipated the energy blast.
It stood motionless in place.
But Reke hadn't regained consciousness. He was still lost.
As the seconds ticked by, every creature within twenty thousand li felt that this night was dragging on forever.
None dared make a sound. They gazed toward the giant ape, as though waiting for judgment.
Even the Rock Monsters were no different. They should have been asleep, but Reke's roar had woken them.
They sensed an immense threat. They wanted to fight back, but didn't dare.
They waited until the moonlight faded and the sun rose.
Only then did the oppressive atmosphere in the air finally lift. Countless creatures lay sprawled on the ground, unwilling to move.
As the moon disappeared, Reke's body slowly shrank, his fur gradually retreating into his pores, and his consciousness began to return.
Looking at the countless craters around him, he felt immensely relieved. Yesterday, while he was out of control, he hadn't fired an energy blast at the ground.
Otherwise, he would have been dead by now.
He didn't know that he had actually saved his own life.
Before you continue