The King Came, the King Backed Down
Lu Heng looked down at it, Kiss of Nightmare hanging by his side.
He raised his gun and pointed it at Black-Eyed Bear's head.
Finish off the opponent.
Finger on the trigger--
A deafening roar erupted from the distant mountains and forests.
The sound was completely different from the roars of the Black-Eyed Bear on the riverbank. It was deep and resonant, with a brutal, overwhelming force, like a giant drum being struck by a heavy hammer. The sound waves pierced through the dense forest, startling a large flock of birds that fluttered across the sky above the riverbank.
The ground shook.
Lu Heng turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.
A hundred meters away on the riverbank, the bushes were smashed open from the inside by a brute force, sending twigs and leaves flying everywhere. A gigantic beast, far larger than an ordinary Black-Eyed Bear, charged out of the forest, each step causing the rocks on the riverbank to bounce.
Its shoulder height is at least a head taller than the largest ordinary Black-Eyed Bear. Its fur is almost black, and it does not reflect sunlight, making it look like a moving shadow. Its pure black pupils are a full size larger than those of ordinary Black-Eyed Bear, with a faint silver-gray luster deep within the pupils.
Lu Heng sensed the aura emanating from it.
He had encountered a Silver Tier Ghost King in a supermarket before, and its terrifying aura was far stronger than that of the Black-Eyed Bear before him. But the aura of this one was definitely not something Bronze Tier creature could possess.
If it's not Bronze Tier, then it can only be Silver Tier.
However, he still habitually raised his wrist slightly.
The Wristband's light screen flashed; the scan was complete.
[Black-Eyed Bear]
[Rank: Silver Tier]
Confirmed.
Lu Heng lowered his wrist, but the gun barrel remained in place.
The Bear King was clearly not on the riverbank. It had come after hearing the gunshots and smelling the blood from afar, following the scent and sound. At this moment, it burst out of the bushes, its four paws screeching on the gravel, splashing up a cloud of mud and water, and stood still at the edge of the riverbank.
It saw the scene on the riverbank.
Debris was everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.
The Bear King's pure black pupils suddenly contracted.
It opened its enormous mouth and let out a deafening roar. The sound wave, along with a foul wind, rushed towards Lu Heng, making his clothes flutter. Its four claws gripped the ground firmly, its back arched, and its massive body resembled a small black hill.
deterrence.
Naked intimidation.
It was pressing down with the aura of Silver Tier, trying to make this human who had invaded its territory and slaughtered its people back down.
Lu Heng stood still, his expression unchanged.
Threat?
He ignored the Bear King's roar, instead twisting his wrist to move the muzzle of Kiss of Nightmare from the collapsed Black-Eyed Bear at his feet to his side— Black-Eyed Bear less than ten meters away, slowly retreating.
Gun muzzle locked.
Close range.
Lu Heng pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
The shotgun shells blasted into the Black-Eyed Bear's body at close range. The enormous impact was released instantly within the sealed flesh, causing the Black-Eyed Bear's torso to swell violently outward from the point of impact before exploding in the next instant. Flesh, bone fragments, and fur were torn apart from the inside as if by an invisible giant hand, scattering wildly in all directions.
Blood splattered on half of Lu Heng's arm, and warm liquid trickled down his sleeve.
The Black-Eyed Bear's body completely collapsed at the point of impact, forming a hole the size of a bowl, with charred and curled edges, and the surrounding fur was torn off in pieces by the shock wave. The aftershock of the spear's force penetrated the body and slammed into the ground, blasting a shallow crater in the hard riverbed gravel, sending gravel and dust flying everywhere.
They practically destroyed the body to cover up the crime.
One shot.
Close range.
Sold out instantly.
This shot
It was meant for the Bear King.
The Bear King's roar abruptly ceased.
Its pure black pupils suddenly contracted into thin lines, and its entire body stiffened for a moment.
In its eyes, the seemingly tiny human before it held a strange and inexplicable weapon. It had clearly witnessed the destructive power of that attack—shattering the body of an adult Black-Eyed Bear at close range as easily as tearing paper.
What if that shot hit it?
The Bear King dared not even think about it.
It continued to growl, its four paws gripping the ground firmly, the fur on its back standing on end, maintaining the last vestige of its territorial dignity. But it did not pounce.
I dare not.
The intimidating tone in that low growl had completely vanished. In its place came a suppressed, fearful question—why did you trespass on my territory and slaughter my people?
Lu Heng understood.
He put down the Kiss of Nightmare, the gun pointed downwards, but didn't put it away.
"There's one in your pack secretly plotting against me."
His tone was flat, as if he were stating a trivial fact.
"It lured a giant alien beast to attack my Shelter. I've come for revenge."
The Bear King fell silent.
It slowly scanned the riverbank—wreckage everywhere, with the surviving Black-Eyed Bear huddled trembling in the distance, barely daring to breathe.
In the world of wild beasts, there are no laws, no justice, only the most primal rule—survival of the fittest.
Provoking the powerful and causing trouble in secret will lead to certain death if exposed.
This is an ironclad law of the jungle, and the Bear King knows it better than anyone.
It had initially intended to maintain the standoff and preserve its dignity as the king of the territory. However, after witnessing the terrifying power of that weapon firsthand, it knew it could no longer control the situation.
If they continue fighting, injuries are absolutely inevitable.
The Bear King's back slowly slumped down.
Its bristling fur fell flat, its arched back gradually flattened, and its massive body slowly shifted from an attacking posture to a crouching one. It lowered its head and let out a deep, resigned growl.
They gave in.
It signaled to Lu Heng that the grudges could be settled, and it was willing to offer compensation, only asking that Lu Heng leave this territory with his people.
Lu Heng did not agree immediately.
He quickly weighed the options in his mind.
What's before us is a genuine Silver Tier being. Silver Tier means possessing unique special abilities. Although this Bear King isn't as strong as the Silver Ghost King we encountered in the supermarket, fighting someone of the same level would inevitably come at a heavy price.
It's not worth the risk.
There's absolutely no need to force a replacement.
What is compensation?
The Bear King immediately raised its head and roared, its voice short and rapid, as if giving a command.
The remaining surviving Black-Eyed Bear, as if granted a pardon, scrambled towards the dense forest above the riverbank. A moment later, a smaller, younger black bear brought over something.
It carefully placed the item ten meters away from Lu Heng, then quickly retreated.
Lu Heng stepped forward.
A treasure chest.
It is entirely silver-white, with a cold metallic luster on its surface. Fine patterns are engraved on the box, which are faintly visible in the sunlight.
Silver Tier treasure chest.
A glint of light flashed in Lu Heng's eyes.
satisfy.
He bent down to put away the Silver treasure chest, straightened up, and looked at the Bear King.
"I want to take the body with me."
The Bear King let out a low growl, seemingly unconcerned.
In the minds of beast packs, the dead of their kind are worthless, nothing more than a pile of rotten flesh. They are taken away without a second thought, and there is no need to linger.
Lu Heng turned around and glanced at the spoils of war on the riverbank.
In this hunt, he, Bone Demon, and King Snake joined forces to kill a total of four Black-Eyed Bear.
Two of them were critically hit by Kiss of Nightmare – one was shot in the head at close range, and the other was shot through the torso at close range; both were almost completely destroyed and mangled. The other two were killed by shotgun blasts to vital organs while clearing the area, and their wounds were relatively intact.
Lu Heng walked to the two corpses that had been brutally attacked by Kiss of Nightmare, bent down, grabbed their hind legs, and dragged them behind him. His enhanced physical strength allowed him to drag the two adult Black-Eyed Bear corpses, but the weight was considerable, and the muscles in his shoulders were taut. Seeing this, the Bone Demon stepped forward, picked up the other two corpses, and shared most of the weight.
"Let's go."
A human and a demon, treading on the blood-stained ground, retraced their steps towards the Shelter.
The heavy corpses scraped against the gravelly ground, making a dull dragging sound. The two brutally beaten corpses were particularly heavy, their fur soaked with congealed blood, leaving two deep, dark red trails on the ground that stretched to the end of the forest path.
A strong, lingering smell of blood filled the air.
Behind them, only a mess remained on the riverbank.
The Bear King stood on the edge of the riverbank, watching the figures of the man and the demon disappear into the depths of the dense forest, remaining motionless for a long time.