Overlord

As Randall stopped, he bent his right leg and kicked.

Tempest Kick!

A blue slashing wave shot out, instantly blasting apart the clump of branches and leaves.

Three long sections fell to the ground.

It did not stop there. The slashing wave continued upward, carving a shaft of sunlight through the dense, shadowy foliage.

Randall took a few steps forward and saw a python lying on the ground, cut into three pieces.

The python was five or six meters long, as thick as an adult's arm.

Most strikingly, its head and tail both had obvious mechanical components.

There was also a blue ring around its body, just behind its head.

Even severed into three pieces, the python was still alive and writhing vigorously.

Randall stepped forward, planted his foot on its head, and stomped down hard.

The python twitched a few times, then went still.

Once he was sure it was dead, Randall walked over, removed the blue ring from its body, and hefted it in his hand.

"This forest is pretty dangerous..."

Randall muttered to himself as he looked at the dead snake.

He might have seemed to kill the python effortlessly.

But that was only because it was him.

If anyone else from the Elite Camp had faced this situation, they would probably have been in danger.

After all, without his map cheat, even he could not have spotted the snake so easily.

And while pythons were not venomous...

Who knew whether this modified python had been fitted with venom?

After observing a few seconds of silence for the others, Randall continued forward.

He did not like opponents like this.

A tiger, a bear, or something along those lines would have been much better.

But the next second, his expression suddenly changed.

He hurriedly dodged to the side.

With a whistle through the air, a dark blur shot past his arm.

It moved so fast that it could not change direction in time and plunged straight into a tree.

A muffled bang sounded a moment later.

Randall saw a flash of fire inside the hole the blur had punched into the trunk.

The tree, its trunk as thick as a bowl was wide, snapped clean in half.

Though the blur had moved fast, Randall had still seen exactly what it was.

A metal bee!

Cold sweat trickled down Randall's forehead.

Wasn't that bee a little too vicious?

And...

If he remembered correctly, bees usually appeared in swarms...

As it turned out, Randall remembered correctly.

A buzzing rose, rumbling like thunder.

Randall stiffly turned his head and saw a dense mass of bees in the distance.

Like a black curtain, they swept toward him.

Holy shit! Randall screamed inwardly.

He was not worried about a single powerful opponent.

But he hated enemies that came in huge numbers and were tiny to boot.

He retreated rapidly, his arms shaking so fast they seemed to disappear.

Countless points of light flew out, like a sky full of stars beneath that black curtain.

Flying Finger Pistol: Many Stars!

The moment the two met, violent explosions erupted.

One exploding bee might not pack much power, but what about a hundred? Or even a thousand?

Flames filled Randall's vision.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he used Iron Body.

The next instant, the blast wave hurled him away.

As soon as he landed, Randall turned and ran without even looking back.

He ran blindly for who knew how long before the buzzing behind him finally began to fade.

He glanced back, still shaken. What a fucking thrill.

After catching his breath, Randall stood motionless.

It was too quiet.

His surroundings were far too quiet, without even the sounds of insects or birds.

That was not normal in a forest.

Randall knew there was only one possible explanation.

He had entered the territory of something powerful.

Randall hesitated, unsure whether to retreat or press ahead.

If he pressed ahead, he had no idea how strong this overlord was.

If he retreated, he would feel reluctant to leave.

But a moment later, Randall no longer needed to hesitate.

A breeze brushed over his body.

It was gentle, yet every hair on Randall's body instantly stood on end.

This was the aura of a beast overlord!

The master of this territory had already discovered him!

Randall's body began to tremble involuntarily.

Not from fear, but excitement.

In his sensory vision, an enormous mass of light was slowly approaching him.

If the python's light had been a light bulb...

Then this mass of light was like the blazing sun.

They were not remotely on the same scale.

As the beast approached, Randall could feel the ground shaking with each step.

At the same time, the sound of snapping branches kept reaching his ears.

It was especially grating in the stillness.

Thud—thud—thud—

A moment later, an enormous figure pushed aside the surrounding trees and appeared before Randall, looking down on him.

It was a gorilla five meters tall.

Its two arms, each thicker than three Randalls put together, rested against the ground.

Its sharp canines jutted out, dripping saliva.

Its head was the most striking feature.

The lower half was that of a normal gorilla, while the upper half had been mechanically modified.

Its crimson electronic eyes radiated utter savagery.

It looked down at the little runt who had dared to invade its territory, as though it might charge forward and smash his skull at any moment.

Randall swallowed as he stared at the gorilla before him.

So strong!

He could feel how incredibly strong this gorilla was!

At the very least, it was stronger than Aequus!

The other trainees might have gone weak all over just standing before this beast.

But Randall was different.

What he craved most was battle! Powerful opponents!

And this gorilla was clearly a beast that relied on raw physical strength!

Ahhh!

Now I'm fired up!

Feeling that astonishing pressure, every cell in Randall's body thrilled with excitement.

He took a deep breath, then extended a hand toward the gorilla and beckoned.

The gorilla: ???

You trespass on my territory, and now you dare provoke me?

You've got some nerve, little guy!

The gorilla was ill-tempered to begin with. How could it tolerate such provocation?

It immediately threw back its head and roared, pounding its chest with its thick arms.

Randall felt a foul-smelling gust wash over him, then saw an enormous fist descend from above.

He hurriedly dodged.

Boom—

A huge crater instantly appeared in the ground.

Randall's pupils contracted at the sight of that power.

Definitely a strength specialist.

But now that you've made your move, it's my turn!

Randall stamped hard against the ground with both feet, instantly appearing in front of the gorilla's chest.

Then he drew back his right fist and punched with all his strength.

Iron Fist: Impact Steel!

The impact pierced through the gorilla's body.

A transparent channel of air burst from the gorilla's back and shot straight into the sky.

Struck by that heavy blow, the gorilla abruptly stopped moving.