Chapitre 3: Territory of Kore
The territory of Kore had bad terrain that made it very difficult to hunt in that region. Due to the uneven nature of the landscape, those unable to adjust while battling there are prone to death. Not to mention it houses some of the most dangerous beasts ever found. Not only was the terrain rough but; there were lots of canyons which are hiding places for wild beasts. If you were careless when passing such areas, you won't know when they would spring up and devour you.
Though the terrain was uneven, there was greenery everywhere except for a few patches here and there. The grasses had grown to ankle level. Four men walked through a thicket of trees and towards a craggy canyon. They halted at the edge then Lin pointed towards a naturally formed cave in the side of the canyon.
"That is where they live. You should be careful; though they live independently, they are territorial beasts and do not tolerate…" Before he could finish, a beast almost the size of an average person poked its head out of the crystal-clear water in the canyon with fish in its mouth. It was a beast that had webbed and clawed feet with dark red fur. It had large fangs and pointy teeth that could easily gouge out the toughest meat and weird-looking gills at the back of its ears.
Its crimson eyes looked towards the four standing above the canyon. It did not seem bothered by the presence of the four but instead proceeded to swallow the fish in its mouth in one gulp. Lin stopped talking and looked at the calm-looking beast. He knew it would soon finish with its meal and would be coming for them next. It was like the calm before the storm.
He unconsciously withdrew a few meters from the edge of the canyon. He felt a chill down his spine and broke out in cold sweat. His brow was covered with sweat instantly. "You sure that is the Hell Flame Hound? It does not look that strong." Kai said with doubt turning to Lin. He soon realised Lin was nowhere near them. He was already about a thousand meters in the opposite direction.
"Damn it. I knew this guy was a scaredy cat. We should not have hired a wimp like him." Kai angrily growled. Wong also seemed disappointed as he thought he tricked them. He was disdained by Lin's behaviour and said, "That lying scum. I knew he was not a good person. He only wanted to extort money from us."
"I do not think so." Michael rebutted. "Something doesn't seem right. It is indeed the Hell Flame Hound. Why is it so calm?" He looked towards the beast eating its fish and felt an instant chill. The beast that ignored them and was eating had now turned towards them. The water within five hundred meters of the beast began to evaporate. Even the rocks that were around were melting.
The three were instantly frozen. They knew this time they had bitten more than they could chew. They always held their own against top-rank Ace beasts as mid-rank Ace yet, who would have thought the beast that would appear before them this time wouldn't be a top-rank Ace beast but rather a top-rank Jack beast?
At this moment, they knew they had gravely underestimated how dangerous the territory of Kore was. They would have accepted Lin's suggestion to switch locations had they known. Alas, it was too late to revel in regret now. They had to do everything they could to protect themselves.
The three didn't waste any time tackling the beast rather, they used all their energy to escape. They all cast their powers and began to flee. Within ten breaths, they had already bypassed the fleeing Lin. Lin saw the three bypass without trying to help him out. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Hey, you guys, don't just leave me here to be killed by that monster. That wasn't our deal."
They ignored him and did not even spare him a glance. "Damn it. I shouldn't have trusted these guys. Protect me my ass. Am I going to die here like this? I haven't even had a girlfriend yet." He gritted his teeth and kept running as fast as he could. His resistance was futile as he soon felt an intense heat blast against his back, sending him soaring into the air.
He coughed up a mouth full of blood. Half his hair was singed; his now bare back was on full display. The heat burned his bag strap; it fell off his back somewhere around. He came crashing down with a loud bang. The crash broke his bones and he couldn't gather enough strength to lift himself. Blood was spilling from his nose and mouth. He knew too well that the beast was only toying with him. He would have been dead on the spot if it wanted to kill him.
As he lay down waiting for death, the ground beneath him began to crack. A three-meter-long sinkhole was forming under him. He quickly fell through without even the slightest resistance. "A sinkhole? Shit! Am I really this unlucky? You three will never have children in this life." he cursed. But there was nothing he could do as he was falling at a fast pace.
The three men who thought they had had it easy soon realised they were gravely mistaken. The beast that had already caught up with them suddenly retreated. Its retreat sent a chill down their spines and made their throats numb. "I think we just entered another beast's territory." Michael broke the news none wanted to think about.
A strong presence was steadily approaching them. Sandwiched between two beasts, they had nowhere to run. One was ready to burn them to a crisp once they stepped into its territory; while they had no idea of the other. But they knew it was as strong as the Fire Otterfox, if not stronger.
"I am not going to wait here for death," Wong remarked, picked a different direction and zoomed off. The other two looked at each other and followed. Before they could even cover a hundred meters, a powerful sonic attack blew them away. As soon as they entered the Hell Flame Hound's territory, their bodies disappeared. Not even ash was left of them. They had burnt to a molecular level.
The Hell Flame Hound returned to where Lin had fallen through however, there was no longer a sinkhole there. It looked around in confusion for some time before heading back to where it first emerged meanwhile, Lin was still falling.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone