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“My King, we’re almost there.” On the way, Inola reported to Wayne.
“Based on our distance, Jekain should have already entered that forest by now.” “Mm.” Wayne considered for a moment.
“Let Jekain make contact with the Hollows inside first.
A forest region this vast will certainly have no shortage of intelligent High Hollows.
If they’ve formed a coalition of several dozen, they won’t be easy for us to handle — let Jekain probe their strength first.
Inola, the moment Jekain fires a Cero, push your detection to full.
Try to sense how many High Hollows there are and how many have been eliminated.” “Yes.” Inola acknowledged and then focused intently on listening.
Fislina, meanwhile, used all eight eyes on her face to scan the surrounding area without pause.
Under that vigilant watch, they advanced slowly, step by step, toward the forest.
“SKRAWR!” Before long, a strange cry tore out from deep within the forest, Jekain’s voice.
Immediately after, an enormous surge of Reiatsu flooded the entire forest.
Even Wayne and his group, who had only just reached the forest’s edge, felt a faint but unmistakable discomfort.
The instant they sensed Jekain’s Reiatsu erupt, Inola’s eyes blazed with light and the tentacles across her body stretched outward, she had activated some kind of Reiatsu-detection ability.
Very quickly, an explosion-like boom resounded from the forest’s center.
Jekain had released a Cero.
At that same moment, the Reiatsu around Inola began to recede.
She turned to Wayne.
“Just now, seventeen High Hollow Reiatsu signatures spiked in total.
After the Cero, only ten remain.
Eight of those readings have already dropped to the lowest possible state.” “Mm…
keep watching.” Wayne nodded.
He knew this first wave was just there to be thrown away.
Hearing the order, Inola released her sensing ability again and turned her focus back to the forest.
Before long, another thunderous boom rang out from deep within the trees, Jekain’s second Cero.
“Twenty-four Reiatsu signatures.
Ten eliminated.
Eight diminished.” “The same eight as before?” “Of those eight, only two remain.
The other six have vanished.” “Two of them…” Wayne hesitated.
“Wait a little longer.
Fislina, go call the others.” “Yes.” Orders received, Fislina stretched her eight legs and scurried swiftly back toward where the other Hollows had been hiding.
BOOM!
Another tremendous blast.
A thick column of smoke rose from the forest’s center.
“Fourteen Reiatsu signatures.
Four vanished.
One weakened.
The remaining nine intact.” “Finally found it.” A strange note crept into Wayne’s voice.
“Inola, we’re going in.
But after Jekain fires his next Cero — if you can still sense that weakened Reiatsu, head back immediately and meet the reinforcements.
The moment they arrive, send them straight to the center.
Jekain is close to his limit.
I need to go support him now.” “My King, I don’t understand — why move now?” No objection, just a question.
Inola fell in at Wayne’s side and kept pace as they moved quickly.
“A forest this vast will certainly have a community of intelligent High Hollows.
Since Jekain first encountered them, he has already fired three Ceros.
A Menos Grande-level Reiatsu is something High Hollows should have absolutely no answer to, yet the enemy has forced Jekain to fire three.
That proves they’ve adopted a deliberate war of attrition.” Wayne explained while locking onto Jekain’s Reiatsu.
“Tactics?” Inola’s surprise was plain.
“Yes.
The Wolf Pack Tactic combined with the Reinforcement Wave Tactic.” Wayne said with certainty.
“It’s an attrition tactic built entirely on numbers.
Scattered individuals attack from every direction, biting and tearing so the enemy can’t concentrate their strikes, bleeding their combat strength dry.
Then fresh fighters get fed in continuously, keeping the psychological pressure relentless.
As the saying goes: the first charge is full of spirit, the second falters, the third is spent.
After three Ceros, Jekain’s Reiatsu has already started to fall and his accuracy is dropping.
I’d wager he’s been drawn in by the enemy’s taunting.
And that taunter is almost certainly the one Hollow that has survived all three Ceros, already weakened, but still alive.” “AROOOOOOO!” Just as Wayne was closing in, a near-frenzied roar tore out of the forest, Jekain, and moments later a massive Cero detonated deep within the trees.
“Ten Reiatsu signatures.
Three dispersed.
Two diminished.
The rest intact.
That weakened Reiatsu from before…
it recovered?!
How is that possible?” Inola took in the chaotic Reiatsu churning inside the forest and couldn’t keep the bewilderment out of her voice.
“Just as I thought, it has a means of recovery.” Wayne steadied himself.
“Inola, go back and wait for the reinforcements.” “Yes.” One word, and Inola turned and ran.
Wayne pushed his pace harder.
A single Shadow Step launched him a hundred meters forward, and he vanished into the trees.
On the other side.
“Damn it, how is this Menos Grande so resilient?” At the center of the forest stood a grotesque High Hollow Beast before a Gillian-class Menos Grande towering twenty meters tall.
Three meters in height, twin scythe-arms, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion, Elorot, leader of this forest, with dozens of High-level and elite-class Hollow Beasts under his command.
He cursed under his breath without stopping.
Through constant devouring and hunting, Elorot’s Reiatsu had built up to the very threshold of advancement.
He had originally planned to devour some of his own subordinates to force his breakthrough to Gillian, but just as he was about to turn them against each other, a massive black shadow came striding heavily into his territory.
“A Gillian?!” The Reiatsu hit him like a tide.
Elorot’s heart leapt.
A pillow arriving the exact moment you felt drowsy.
Cunning intelligence working fast, he hatched a scheme on the spot.
Devour this Gillian and his Reiatsu would advance in an instant.
And with so many subordinates on hand, he could send them in to die first, saving him the trouble of eliminating them himself.
Mind made up, Elorot issued the order immediately.
“Group one, move!” On his command, over a dozen greedy Hollows surged headlong toward Jekain’s position.
Sensing those feeble yet numerous and clamoring Reiatsu signatures, Jekain let out a furious roar.
A Cero gathered before him and erupted.
A Menos Grande-level attack was far beyond what these High Hollow cannon fodder could withstand.
The first assault group was devastated.
“Hmph.
Let’s see how long you last.” A cold snort, and Elorot signaled the second wave.
This time, nearly twenty Hollows surrounded Jekain and a barrage of Reiatsu attacks rained down on him.
“Insects!” A shout of fury.
Jekain condensed another Cero.
Sensing the attack sharper than anything before, the Hollows scattered in every direction, the Cero swept through them in an instant and took a great many of the cannon fodder with it.
“I refuse to believe I can’t wear you down!” Elorot’s gaze hardened and he charged in with his troops.
“Dunka, prepare to defend.” “B-but…” Dunka was a massive Hollow Beast, yet standing before a Gillian dozens of meters tall, even this so-called massive creature barely reached the Gillian’s waist.
“That is an order!” Elorot released a cold, crushing wave of Reiatsu and forced Dunka forward.
Then he stretched his tongue, spat out something that writhed like a flesh worm, and flung it straight at Jekain.
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted against Jekain’s chest.
The Flesh Worm Bomb, Elorot’s true method of attack.
The hit enraged Jekain completely.
He aimed a third Cero directly at Elorot’s position.
This one was noticeably slower than the first two.
“Heh.
Running out of steam.” A smug grin spread across Elorot’s face.
Dunka moved into position in front of him.
“Hold on, I’ll back you up with my Reiatsu.” The words were barely out of his mouth before another flesh worm appeared on his tongue.
He flung it at Jekain.
HMM!
The Cero in Jekain’s mouth condensed and fired.
Elorot was already prepared, Dunka planted himself in front of his master.
A thunderous roar.
The blast wave sent the surrounding trees flying and kicked up a massive wall of dust and debris.
The forest around them had already been riddled with craters and scorched earth.
After this blow, it lost all claim to the name.
What remained was rubble.
“Ptch!
Damn it, how many Ceros does he have left!” The dust settled.
Elorot staggered out from under the debris that had buried him.
Dunka, who had shielded him, was gone.
Reduced to nothing.
“He really is a tough one.
This approach isn’t working anymore, drain him one last time, then finish it in one go.” He fell back quickly to the side, grabbed a Hollow nearby that had already collapsed, tore off its Hollow Mask, shoved it into his own mouth, and retreated to the edge of the battlefield.
As he went, he called out to the rest: “He’s out of strength!
Spread out!
Give him the killing blow.
That is a Menos Grande-level Reiatsu, bring it down and everyone gets a share!” Those words ignited the last spark in every Hollow present.
Each one pushed their Reiatsu to the absolute limit, ready to deliver the final blow.
And yet, before any of their attacks could take shape, another Cero came down on them.
Feeble now, far weaker than those before it.
HMM!
The fourth Cero struck.
The majority of the Hollows that had swarmed in were killed or wounded.
When the blast cleared, Elorot’s satisfaction deepened.
Because what stood before him now was a Gillian whose Reiatsu had fallen to an extreme low.
“Tch.
Any survivors left?” The eyes beneath Jekain’s Hollow Mask narrowed slightly.
He had given everything.
Four consecutive Ceros, no small burden for someone who had only recently advanced to Gillian.
“Damn it.
Am I going to fail the King’s mission?” “Ha!
Keep talking!
Come on, fire another one of those precious Ceros you’re so proud of!” Elorot taunted.
“Men, tear off his Hollow Mask!” Roarrrr…
The few Hollows still standing on the battlefield let out one howl after another.
They had all sensed it.
The Gillian before them had dropped to a certain threshold.
The next strike would be the last.
Once it landed, a Menos Grande-level Reiatsu would be theirs to feast on.
“Ugh…
is it going to end here?” Jekain’s thought was bleak.
He knew now that he had underestimated the intelligence of this group.
A coalition of dozens whittled down to seven, and those seven still had fight left in them.
An ordinary group didn’t have that.
“Fall back.” Jekain stepped back half a pace.
Taking the combined strike of these remaining Hollows in his current state would mean critical injuries.
That wasn’t a trade worth making.
But even as the thought formed, he found that the Hollows had already cut off his retreat.
“Trying to leave?
Die here!” On Elorot’s order, the Hollows charged.
A torrent of Reiatsu attacks swept toward Jekain from every direction.
“This is bad, no time!” Jekain’s body tensed.
He moved to raise his hand and defend himself.
His arm never made it up.
From behind him, a calm, cold voice cut through the noise.
“To lay a hand on my men — you’re hardly qualified.” BOOM!
A thunderclap erupted inside a burst of lightning.
The three High Hollows at Jekain’s back were instantly reduced to Reishi.
A Humanoid Hollow standing just under two meters tall stepped into position behind Jekain.
At his right claw, arcs of lightning crackled with silver-blue light.
“You…
who are you!” The smoke cleared.
Elorot had not a single kind word for the person who had ruined everything.
“Ace Wayne.
The King of the Gillian standing in front of you.” ➤ Next: Occupation [FULL STORY ACCESS] Unlock (100+ Chapters) ahead of the public release!