Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 359: When Flora Goes Full Murder Mode

“Ha ha — come here, you furry pile of meat!” Urgol roared, his aura swelling until it filled the small clearing. This new stage was the best one yet, in his opinion. Not that there hadn’t been others, but when else could you fight to your heart’s content and rack up as many points as possible? Normally he sent out his horde to scavenge treasure while taking a small hunting party with him. Not this time. They’d already found a map showing multiple safe-zone locations for this stage, which let Urgol hunt solo and slaughter beasts without splitting the experience. Allies often meant smaller shares, and he liked his shares big.He couldn’t ask his patron for intel in this system event, which irritated him. He usually pinged the Warbringer for guidance and having that information withheld left him feeling exposed. Maybe the system only counted it when an aura touched the target, and therefore it registered as an attack? Perhaps attacks so trivial didn’t grant XP. That made a kind of sense. But back to the glorious brawl. He’d found some kind of wolf-bear with massive butterfly wings sprouting from its back. The whole creature stood on its hind legs, howling in rage. It wasn’t angry because of anything natural. It was furious because Urgol had ripped its two ten-meter wings out so it couldn’t fly off.

His waraxe still hung on his back. This was a hand-to-claw slugfest, and it was pure joy. It wasn’t exactly a fair fight, but Urgol wasn’t even using his axe, just his fists and his boosting skill to ensure he outmuscled the level 103 monstrosity. His aura hummed around him as he delivered the punch of a lifetime. The beast probably hadn’t expected such speed. The blow landed on its belly button and launched the multiple-ton behemoth into a tree on the far side of the clearing. It crashed through branches; the impact and splintering wood echoed for a long distance.

This kill would net him fifty leaderboard points. Speaking of the rankings, Urgol wondered again how the top two weren’t Chosen or tied to some god. They were probably incursion leaders, but surely there’d be a way to integrate even stronger combatants into the system. His god had said that a few weeks after the event, D- and C-grade factions could send their best fighters. Maybe, given the importance of this event, everyone would be allowed to deploy top champions earlier. Many things were different this time; the outcome felt unpredictable. The First Daughter of the Hive was probably some insectoid powerhouse, while the others might be humans with devastating bloodlines. It seemed unlikely anyone was hiding a divine blessing because those were usually displayed on the leaderboard. He couldn’t even choose which name to display himself. The system decided that for everyone.

The beast before him activated a boosting skill and opened its maw to spit a massive ball of blue flame at him. “Ha ha ha—finally it’s getting warmer here,” Urgol bellowed, vaulting through the fire and slamming his shoulder into the creature’s midsection. His skin had undergone so much body-tempering that a little flame was nothing. He grabbed the beast, swung twice into its gut, and hurled it back into the clearing. It landed on its side, shook its head to clear the daze, and Urgol didn’t give it a moment’s respite. He leapt, kicked it square in the jaw, teeth and bone flying across the clearing as the upper jaw nearly tore free.

The creature howled, but Urgol seized the shattered jaw, shoved it back into place, and delivered an uppercut that snapped both bone and the monster’s massive neck. He didn’t draw his weapon to finish it; instead he kept punching the helpless carcass until it stopped moving. Fifty points, right on the dot. He tucked the carcass into his spatial amulet for another five points. Not bad at all.

Now the hunt continued. He deactivated his boost and let the brief weakness wash over him. Only a few seconds, not the hours most fighters endured, thanks to his bloodline. He’d keep killing until he clawed his way toward that top leaderboard spot. No one in the top five was a weakling, but that insect better believe it would stay hidden forever because if it surfaced, he would crush it like the rest.

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Josh was having a fantastic hunt without Jack. They had split up to see who would rack up the most points by the end of the day. Their rendezvous point was already decided for the evening, and there was still plenty of daylight left.

Josh checked his leaderboard position and he was still one spot ahead of Jack. Only thirty points separated them, which meant a single good hunt could decide everything. He really needed to pick up the pace. If Jack won this round, Josh would hear the end of it. Even though this was technically a game, he still had to stay cautious. Right now, the first stage was full of weaklings, but that wouldn’t last long.

He had already run into one man he couldn’t beat and had been forced to retreat. Thankfully, Josh was fast, faster than almost anything that could chase him. He absolutely his beast form. His problem, however, was his human form. Both his human and beast sides specialized in the same things, strength, speed and endurance, but his beast form was better at all of them. His human body had a few unique abilities, sure, but nothing that could truly compare.

He needed to find a way to make his human side stand out without changing classes, not that he even could anymore. The crystal he’d used in the tutorial had permanently locked in his current class.

Josh snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the distant sounds of battle. His sharpened ears picked up the metallic clash of weapons and the distinct of fireballs exploding. The fight had to be less than half a kilometer away.

He grinned. Time to take a peek. Maybe he’d lend a “helping hand”… and totally steal their kills. That was definitely something Jack would do.

Josh moved swiftly through the underbrush in his human form, which was much better suited for stealth, which was the only real advantage it had. He reached the edge of the clearing and spotted a group of over fifty fighters. They looked tough, though Josh suspected he might still be a bit stronger. Or maybe that was just his ego talking. Another bad habit he’d picked up from Jack.

They were battling what looked like humanoid tree-creatures, living plants shaped vaguely like men, with bark-like bodies and three thick horns sprouting from their heads. Each one stood over two meters tall and radiated the strength of an E-grade beast. Even for Josh, taking one down would take serious effort.

For now, he watched from the shadows, studying their team dynamics. It didn’t take long to see they were well-coordinated. Still, more plant creatures kept emerging, and even these trained fighters were starting to struggle.

The group’s strongest fighter was a fire mage, but not the usual frail, robed kind. This guy was built like a gladiator, mixing punches wreathed in flame with volleys of comet-like fireballs raining down on the monsters.

“Archers, cover the right flank! Healers, move closer — you can’t reach the injured from back there!” their leader barked, his booming voice cutting through the chaos. Definitely military, Josh guessed.

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Their formation was solid with heavy fighters holding the front line, assassins weaving in and out, while mages and archers provided support. The problem was that the plant beasts were physically stronger, slowly forcing the line back. In a fight with so many heavy hitters, maintaining formation was nearly impossible.

Josh decided they were competent enough to help, or at least competent enough not to die instantly. The bigger concern was that they might mistake for another monster. He’d have to join the fray in human form, keeping his shapeshifting as a trump card in case things went sideways.

He also had a special anti-backstab skill. It had been Jack’s idea, of course. Whenever someone tried to attack him from behind, the system would alert him. Jack had tested it relentlessly, sneaking up on him every chance he got. The fact that it had never been used in a fight made Josh a bit nervous, though. Hopefully, today wouldn’t be the day it got tested.

Time to help some fellow humans and more importantly, steal a few kills.

Josh positioned himself to the side, ready to flank the wooden monsters. With a good opening strike, he could probably take out two or three before anyone noticed. Translucent claws of mana extended from his fingers, gleaming faintly blue. He dashed forward, moving so fast the air around him seemed to ripple.

His claws sliced cleanly through two beasts’ necks in a single fluid motion. The severed heads toppled as he glided low across the ground, lightening his body with his gravity skill — one of the few abilities that worked equally well in both forms. Josh practically surfed over the roots and branches until he landed gracefully on a massive tree root. The trees here weren’t quite as huge as those on New Earth, but compared to the ones back on old earth, they were still giants.

“Thanks!” one of the melee fighters shouted. If Josh hadn’t taken down those two, the man would’ve been overwhelmed.

That reaction reassured Josh. These people weren’t bad. With a grin, he dove headfirst into the battle.

He fought like an assassin — darting in for rapid, precise slashes before retreating again. He stayed clear of the main group, just in case, and instead focused on flanking the beasts as they charged. Every creature he killed netted him twenty points, and before long, his total had jumped by over two hundred.

This was The ideal hunting ground and Jack was catching up now.

“Oh, Jack’s gonna be jealous,” Josh thought with a grin as he sliced off the head of one of the massive creatures.

Then the entire jungle seemed to tremble as an immense aura exploded roughly fifty meters ahead of him. Out from the shadows lumbered a colossal wooden monster — enormous, thick-bodied, and maybe even a little fat. It towered over eight meters tall, not counting the two-meter-long horns jutting from its head. Its short legs barely held up the gigantic belly that nearly scraped the ground, and dozens of thorn-covered tentacles sprouted from its back, shoulders, and chest.

It was a nightmare made flesh. Thorns protruded from its bark-like skin, its gaping maw filled with rows of sharp, backward-curving teeth — the kind designed to make sure anything bitten stayed bitten. One chomp from that thing, and you were done.

The aura rolling off the creature was overwhelming. Even Josh, usually confident to the point of recklessness, felt crushed under the sheer pressure. This was the kind of monster that required an entire army to bring down. Fighting it alone would be suicide. But the most important part about hunting in this treasure event was simple. Only the one who landed the killing blow got the leaderboard points. And this oversized abomination had to be worth at least a hundred points, maybe more.

Thornbelly Colossus – Level 115

Easily the highest-level beast Josh had ever encountered. He had to focus with everything he had just to resist the creature’s oppressive aura. It reminded him of Thalion’s fight against that vampiress in the catacombs, her presence alone would’ve paralyzed him back then. The passive energy leaking from powerful beings was far more dangerous than most people realized.

That was why Jack and he had trained so hard to toughen their own aura resistance, especially Jack, who fought like a teleporting assassin-mage hybrid. Against something like the Thornbelly Colossus, losing focus for even a second could mean death.

The creature was slow, but its tentacles were not. They shot forward like giant serpents, trying to grab or crush anything within reach. Each whip glowed with a dull greenish-brown light, clearly enhanced by some sort of skill. The tentacles accelerated mid-air, and many warriors couldn’t dodge in time. Two were snatched up immediately, while ten more were either smashed, impaled, or torn apart.

The two trapped fighters tried stabbing and hacking at the vines, but the moment they were caught, their bones began to snap under the immense pressure. Their limp bodies were tossed into the monster’s enormous maw and devoured whole, while the beast roared, spraying bits of blood and sap everywhere.

“This is bad,” Josh muttered, already preparing to bolt. Fighting something like that was way too risky. The creature was too big to chase him far — running was the best plan. Staying here was just asking to be crushed or skewered.

But things got even worse when dozens of smaller plant-beasts suddenly burst from the underbrush, swarming toward the remaining humans. The battle instantly turned chaotic.

A barrage of spells and arrows rained down on the giant. Explosions rocked the clearing, dark smoke filling the air — but when it cleared, the Thornbelly Colossus stood untouched. Not even a burn mark. If anything, it looked

Then came the thorns. They exploded outward from its body like shrapnel from a grenade, shredding everything nearby. Josh barely managed to dive aside in time. The projectiles tore through smaller trees like paper, impaling several fighters who had thought they were safe behind cover.

Still, the survivors didn’t break. They regrouped, spread out, and focused on thinning out the smaller beasts. The archers aimed for the giant’s eyes — one of the few effective tactics against massive monsters.

The hulking creature let out a bellow, raising one arm to shield its face. Josh, who had been seconds away from retreating, hesitated. Maybe… just maybe… they had a chance.

Even if they didn’t win, he could still farm points from the smaller monsters while they kept the big guy busy.

He changed direction, darting around the flank to pick off isolated targets. The battle had turned into pure chaos — tentacles whipping everywhere, thorns firing at random, and humans shouting over the roar of combat. Yet the fighters pressed on, several of them activating their boosting skills in a desperate surge of strength.

Josh held back his own power. He wanted to conserve his energy for the right moment, when the monster weakened, and he could swoop in for the final blow.

The fight was far from over, and Josh knew one thing for certain. Beasts like this had a last trick up their sleeve before they died.