Moon and Rowan continued south of the Spirit Pavilion.
~ROAR!~
A beast’s cry cut through the air from the west, followed by the sound of rustling bushes and a low tremor of ground being trampled by something heavy.
Both of them turned their heads toward the source.
The charging beast broke through the treeline moments later. Two curled horns crowned its head. Its eyes burned malevolent red. Its body was filled with muscle, ready to maul anything that came across its path.
Moon scanned the beast in a single sweep.
"Three-Star beast. Is this the one you encountered?"
Rowan shook his head, a frown visible on his face. "No... It’s a different beast. But... it’s of the same race."
Moon’s brows rose in surprise.
’Two Three-Star beasts of the same race in the same region. Interesting... Either something is brewing in the darkness, or the eco-system has changed after the death of the Spirits.’
"Let’s deal with this one first."
The beast rushed toward them, its focus locked on Rowan, who was walking slightly ahead of Moon in order to lead him towards the last known location of the beast.
Rowan’s bow came off his back in a fluid motion. He nocked two arrows at once and drew, applying the multi-arrow technique Sierra had drilled into Moon back at the training range days earlier.
~Whoosh~ ~Whoosh~
Both arrows exploded out of his bow, streaking towards the charging beast. At the same instant, Moon cast a basic Elemental Attack.
Both strikes landed on the beast within a fraction of a second of each other. The two arrows drove into its front shoulder and the base of its neck, missing the vital blood vessel by a few inches. Moon’s elemental burst caught it across the chest, throwing off its center of gravity. The combined impact halted its charge mid-stride and forced it backward onto its hind legs for balance.
Blood trickled down the ridges of its muscle, pattering onto the grass beneath its hooves.
The beast released a mix cry of pain and rage. Its head snapped down, jaws closing around the two arrows lodged in its shoulder, and it tore them free with a violent shake. Then it began charging again.
Before it could regain momentum, another wave of attacks landed.
Rowan’s next volley struck it across the ribs. Moon’s follow-up elemental burst opened a fresh wound along its side, ensuring his attacks did not kill it.
Moon stopped attacking after that.
He had done enough to soften the beast and turn its momentum. Killing a Three-Star beast at his current level of strength wouldn’t provide meaningful gains for him. Better to let Rowan finish it and take most of the rewards. That was one of the points of this hunt.
Rowan understood without needing a signal.
He didn’t waste the opening. His next five waves of arrows came in rapid succession, each one striking a specific weak point on the beast’s frame.
The technique he was using wasn’t fancy, but it did the job effectively. Every arrow landed exactly where he intended it to, costing the beast a little more of its remaining life.
Within the span of the fifth wave, the beast collapsed with a heavy thud.
[You have killed a Level 49 C-Rank Cragbrute]
[You have gained 25 Lives]
Rowan lowered his bow and turned back to Moon.
"Thank you for giving me the opening, boss."
Moon shook his head.
"That’s why we’re here."
Rowan nodded and walked over to the corpse. He stored it in his storage ring.
"I’ll keep the corpses in my ring during the hunt, but I’ll transfer everything to the base vault once we return. I won’t take any of it for personal gain."
Moon raised a hand.
"Keep everything you gather from this hunt. That’s your reward. Don’t send it to the vault."
Rowan blinked once and then nodded slowly.
"Understood."
Rowan did not thank Moon any longer, knowing that repeating that could eventually annoy Moon.
’I will show my gratitude through my actions.’
They continued walking.
Moon glanced sideways at him after a moment.
"How’s everyone finding the royalty cut?"
"Everyone’s pleased with it. Thanks to your generosity, they get to grow stronger at a much greater rate while still contributing to the base’s operations.
They’ve heard the stories about the cuts other bases take from their affiliated Evolvers.
Some of those places are in significantly less dangerous zones and still take half the loot. Others take a quarter.
Your base takes a tenth, in one of the more dangerous zones in the Second Sanctuary. The numbers speak for themselves."
Moon nodded his head. He wasn’t running a charity, he knew how profitable bases could be.
"That’s good. Let me know if anything shifts in the general mood around it. If people start asking for adjustments or if there’s tension I should know about, flag it early. Better to catch problems small than let them grow."
"Understood."
Moon paused, then changed direction.
"Did you find any clues about exit points? Any teleport formations or structures beyond the ones we already know about?"
Rowan shook his head.
"Nothing. Just like you predicted. There are no external teleportation systems and no exit points that lead off the floating island. I’ve sent teams out in multiple directions, mostly around the pavilion and along the outer ridges. Everyone came back empty-handed."
Moon had expected the answer.
’Seems like the Island Natural Treasure book is the only way back to the ground.’
The Chamber Secret Realm’s cycle would come around again in about five months. Until then, the floating island movement was going to remain functionally sealed. He would need to plan around that constraint for any subordinate rotation.
"Alright. Keep an eye out, but don’t waste too much manpower on it. I’m working on a way out. We’ll have a proper exit path soon."
Rowan nodded.
"Yes."
The duo continued deeper south as the terrain began to change gradually.
The grasslands gave way to lower brush, then to scattered rocky outcroppings. This was territory none of Rowan’s patrols had swept regularly, and the beasts here would be stronger.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter