Strategic retreat

Randall's iron fist slammed into the giant gorilla's chest, making it freeze for a moment.

Then it took a few steps back and raised a hand to pat its chest.

Then it threw its head back and roared!

"ROAR!"

This made Randall's expression stiffen.

It took my full-power Iron Fist: Impact Steel and only stepped back a few paces?

Isn't that defense way too ridiculous?

Seriously, is this gorilla's strength for real?

Or does Instructor Zephyr have so much confidence in us that he's ignored reality?

Randall's mind wandered, but the giant gorilla wasn't going to wait for him.

It suddenly pushed off hard with all four limbs, launching its several-ton body into the air.

Randall jolted in alarm and hurriedly dodged.

BOOM—

He had barely left the spot when the gorilla-shaped bomb crashed into the ground.

A violent shock wave immediately blasted outward, shoving aside tons of dirt.

In the blink of an eye, a huge crater appeared where he had been standing.

Taking advantage of the gorilla's brief recovery after using its move, Randall leaped into the air and kicked repeatedly with both legs.

Tempest Kick: Heavy Tempest Slash!

Several blue slashing waves sliced toward the giant gorilla's furry back.

This time, his attack finally had an effect.

Several red marks appeared on its thick, silver back.

But that was all.

Randall cursed inwardly. All I fucking did was break its skin!

The pain, however, brought out the gorilla's ferocity.

It roared, then turned around, its electronic eyes coldly fixing on the culprit who had injured it.

Cold sweat instantly beaded on Randall's forehead.

"Heh, big guy, if I said this was a misunderstanding... even I wouldn't believe it!

See ya!"

Randall turned and ran.

Sure, he liked fighting powerful enemies, but there had to be a limit to how powerful they were!

He liked fighting, not getting beaten up!

His strongest fucking move had only shaved a sliver off its health.

How the fuck am I supposed to fight that?

I'm out of here!

Strategic retreat.jpg

But although he wanted to run, the giant gorilla certainly wasn't going to let him.

Provoke it, realize he couldn't win, and then run away? As if it would let him off that easily!

The chase was on!

Randall ran ahead, with the giant gorilla pursuing him.

Although the gorilla wasn't particularly fast, the way it barreled through everything like a tank was terrifying.

As he ran, Randall yelled over his shoulder, "Why are you chasing me?!"

The giant gorilla: ???

You've got the nerve to ask why I'm chasing you?!

Is your head completely empty?

Not a shred of sense in there?

Randall immediately felt the giant gorilla pick up quite a bit of speed.

Shit!

There goes my big mouth again!

After running for who knew how long, Randall suddenly stopped.

Behind him, the giant gorilla that had been hot on his heels failed to brake in time, sliding past Randall and another dozen meters beyond him.

Rising amid the broken branches and leaves, the giant gorilla fixed its cold electronic eyes on Randall.

Well, well. Finally given up running?

Was Randall ready to face it head-on?

Of course not.

He had simply sensed another incredibly powerful life force.

One every bit as powerful as that of the giant gorilla before him!

As things stood, the gorilla's pursuit had driven Randall out of one overlord's domain and straight into another's territory.

That might have looked terrible, but to Randall, it was good news.

At that moment, the giant gorilla also furrowed its brow, sensing that something was wrong.

It stopped staring at Randall and turned around, watching the dense forest behind it with its guard fully raised.

THUD—THUD—THUD—

With an equally thunderous entrance, a huge dark shape pushed through layer upon layer of branches and leaves, appearing opposite the giant gorilla.

It was a Kuma standing upright, a head taller than even the giant gorilla.

The Kuma had hard, jet-black fur all over its body and a white crescent-shaped marking on its chest.

Its eyes were blood-red and savage, and it scraped its two steel-modified claws together.

Although Randall had entered its territory first, the Kuma paid no attention to the little fellow.

Its brutal eyes were fixed entirely on the giant gorilla.

Clearly, this was the opponent it needed to watch out for.

As for Randall? Once it dealt with this stupid gorilla, a casual swipe of its claws would finish him.

The giant gorilla was no longer as relaxed as before, either.

It bared its canine teeth in a threatening display.

A fierce battle was about to erupt.

The two monstrous beasts slammed into each other in an instant.

Violent gusts blasted outward, leaving the surrounding trees struggling against them.

After that collision, both Ferocious Beasts staggered back.

In terms of strength, they were evenly matched!

The giant gorilla roared, raised its enormous fist, and smashed it toward the Kuma's head.

The Kuma nimbly stepped back, dodging the punch, then slashed at the gorilla's chest.

Its claws, nearly half a meter long, gleamed coldly.

And behind them was the Kuma's own strength.

If the giant gorilla were caught by its claws, it would certainly suffer more than superficial wounds, unlike when it had taken Randall's Tempest Slash head-on.

At the last possible moment, the giant gorilla raised its other fist and slammed it into the Kuma's claws, seizing the opportunity to put some distance between them.

The next instant, the two Ferocious Beasts collided again.

Meanwhile, Randall hid in a nearby thicket, watching the scene unfold.

When two sides fought, a third could reap the rewards. This time, he wanted to be that lucky third party.

He just wondered how many points the Red Rings on those two Ferocious Beasts would be worth.

Elsewhere, Aequus had also found a suitable opponent.

It was a wild boar with tusks a full two meters long.

Those tusks weren't natural, though. They were made of metal.

The boar, which looked like a mountain of flesh, pawed the ground with its hind hooves, then charged toward Aequus like a tank.

Aequus gave a loud shout, tensed every muscle in his body until they were hard as rock, and spread his hands to catch the charging boar.

The tremendous impact left his arms numb and his chest aching, sending him sliding backward for over a dozen meters. Only after smashing through an unknown number of trees did he barely come to a stop.

But he had truly halted the boar's charge.

Looking at the long pig's face before him, Aequus broke into a savage grin.

The boar sensed trouble and frantically scrabbled at the ground with its hooves.

But by then, Aequus was already putting strength into his arms.

He suddenly roared, unleashing all the strength in his body.

Under his power, all four of the boar's hooves left the ground.

Then he stomped down hard with both feet and actually leaped into the air with the boar in his arms.

"HA!"

With another explosive shout, he used every ounce of his strength to hurl the boar toward the ground.

BOOM—

The boar took a brutal fall, lying dazed and unable to get up for a long while.

Aequus wasn't about to waste such a perfect opportunity and immediately pounced on it.

A dozen or so minutes later, Aequus stood panting beside the boar, which was bleeding from every opening in its head.

Once he had caught his breath, he stepped forward and removed the boar's ring.

It was a purple ring.

Looking at the ring, Aequus smiled, feeling that all the sweat he had shed was worth it.

"Haha, a purple ring! Its rank should be pretty high, right?

Getting a Purple Ring right at the start—just what you'd expect from me!

I should have this one in the bag!"