Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Kegali's Balance
Kanundra's Hell's Gate. A massive raging river in the heart of Kegali's vast forest. One of the rivers that acted as an active barrier, preventing the infamous Peasant evolution line from crossing over. Monsters stationed in the river acted as guards of the Hell's Gates, ensuring that no red knights could escape from the Red Island and wreak havoc on the other side of the river.
The leader of the group was known as the Bakunawa, the Warden of Hell's Gates. Bakunawa's death caused significant disruption in this area of the forest. However, the Bakunawa was not the only one who had such a significant impact on the forest... All of the level 50 monsters had. Level 50 monsters were the ones who kept the monster hierarchy in this part of the forest in check. They were acting as stumbling blocks for other species, effectively keeping other races of monsters in check; without them to eliminate monsters ascending the power hierarchy in Kegali's forest, all monsters' growth would be out of control.
Powerful monsters would become stronger, and the average level of monsters in a specific region would rise, filling a specific area with powerful monsters that each required the combined power of armies from two or more humanoid kingdoms to deal with.
The dominant humanoids averted this disaster by dispatching extermination raids led by their most powerful warriors from each kingdom, eliminating the overly powerful monsters—but not all of them. The raid would leave only a few monsters to rule the region, monsters weak enough not to cause a major disaster but powerful enough to eliminate powerful monsters rising in power. It usually included one or two powerful monsters from each species.
The monsters would then naturally establish their own territories, bringing balance to the region's power scale.
These raids would take place every 50 years or so, without annihilating any monster species. Monsters could be extremely dangerous if left unsupervised, but they could also provide very valuable resources. As a result, completely destroying them would be a huge blow to Giera's economy. In the eyes of those who could benefit from them... Monsters' benefits far outweighed their dangers.
However, this strategy was not always successful. Because, no matter how well they kept everything in check, monsters becoming extremely powerful without their knowledge until it was too late was not an uncommon occurrence.
The Kegali forest was enormous... and the Red Island and its surrounding forest were only a small part of the Kegali forest.
The infamous Queen of Peasant evolution line was the most powerful monster in the heart of Kegali. However, in comparison to the Soverant, there were far more powerful monsters in the other part of the forest. Those powerful monsters were the result of an unchecked average level in a region; they had grown so powerful that dealing with them was now nearly impossible. Some of those monsters also managed to breed powerful monsters under their protection; the areas these monsters inhabited were regarded as forbidden zones.
The heart of Kegali, including the infamous Red Island, was one of the well-kept regions of this forest, with a very low monster average level thanks to level 50 monsters whose sole purpose was to eliminate rising monsters before they became threats. However, now that the other deadlocks had been eliminated, the Red Queen, Soverant was free to dominate the area without being stopped... Or was it the Soverant who was the real threat?
The Soverant would be an unstoppable force... At least, that was the thought of the human scouts as they flew above the sky above the center of Kegali forest. They had watched the movements of every level 50 monster in the area from afar. For years, they would come here once a month and make the same observations... The monsters' activities did not change; they continued to do the same thing and go through the same cycle over and over. This time, however, things were different.
Human scouts rode in groups on their Hippogriffs, transportation monsters with the body of a horse, wings, and the head of an eagle. If they were agility-based, which they were most of the time, Hippogriffs would have the skill Complete Concealment, which allowed them to completely conceal their presence, making Hippogriffs one of the best rides for scouts. Hippogriffs and their riders, on the other hand, were not required to be great in battles; their main job was to observe and report; as a result, they tended to observe from a safe distance and would never go near any dangers. They had all of the necessary skills and equipment to fully observe their targets.
Multiple groups dispersed, inspecting all of the level 50 monsters acting as forest deadlocks. They examined all of them except the Soverant, which was hidden in the deepest part of Death Canyon; all they knew was that it was alive because the entire colony was still operational. To find each other again and regroup, they would only communicate by gently ringing the bells on their belts, which the Hippogriffs could hear from afar.
The scouts gathered at the location where the Bakunawa used to open the passage for the monsters to cross. This was also where the Bakunawa was staying on a regular basis, so it was the first place scouts would go to check on it. However, despite hours of searching, they were unable to locate the Bakunawa. They only discovered an albino Slug sleeping on top of a tree. Which they promptly ignored because no one would suspect a harmless white Slug of killing level 50 monsters.
The groups of scouts communicated in silence thanks to their equipment, which possessed a very specific type of skill that allowed them to see stealth units. They spoke in a language that they could easily understand... and the fear on their faces told the others everything they needed to know.
The dreadful news was delivered...
***
As he awoke to the strange sounds of bells ringing nearby, Eon raised his Slug gooey eyes. His Slug body was hidden among the leaves of the tree where he was napping after eating fruits. He looked around for the source of the gentle jingles, but he couldn't find anything. Even in his Lesser Bildabear form, he couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from. At this point, detecting Complete Concealment was extremely difficult for him.
Eon growled and bit into the yellow, circular fruit that lay next to him. He waited, but the bell rings never came back... The sources of the sounds were no longer present.
Eon looked down and took in the river scenery. The raging flow of the river could be heard all over the place. The song of the birds in the nearby trees served as the afternoon's soothing music.
Eon couldn't sleep any longer, so he finished his fruit and crawled down the tree. He then went to the riverbank and lowered his head to drink. He had used this river earlier that day to clean himself after the battle with the Sageslugs. Fortunately, Eon was able to get rid of the foul odor in his body by swimming in the river for an hour. Then he decided to rest and slept on top of a tree.
Eon looked up to see that the sun was still shining.
[Deceitful Shapeshifter has been activated.]
[Ice Armor has been activated.]
[Ice Armor has 2550 HP.]
[Vanguard has been activated.]
[Vanguard has granted you 425 damage reduction.]
Eon spread his wings and stretched his arms while growling. The reflection of the water revealed his winged Lesser Bildabear form. As his body changed, so did his Ice Armor, which adapted to Eon's new shape. Eon then jumped and flapped his wings. He flew higher and higher, heading in the direction of the infamous Death Canyon. The Death Canyon, which housed the most numerous monster in the entire Kegali forest.
Also, the Red Queen's lair, the only remaining ruler of this part of Kegali.
The Soverant had failed to kill Eon the last time they met. And as a result of that failure, the Soverant was about to face the consequences. Eon was on his way to her.
Eon spun in the air, his movement becoming increasingly rapid... It was time for him to pay a visit to some old friends.
The Queen of the Red Knights of Kegali Forest.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone