Greyback Forest had changed completely.
The deeper regions no longer resembled the relatively stable hunting grounds Daniel had spent the past week traversing. The forest itself now felt restless. Violent.
Beast roars echoed constantly through the wilderness while flocks of mutated birds filled the skies overhead in chaotic formations. Trees shook from distant impacts every few minutes, and the ground occasionally trembled beneath the movement of large creatures traveling deeper within the forest.
The beast wave had fully begun mobilizing.
Daniel calmly walked through the forest with Shadow resting against his shoulder. Unlike the panicked hunters already retreating toward Flamedale City, his expression remained completely unchanged.
Several awakened passed him while rushing away from the deeper zones.
"Idiot! Why are you still going deeper?!"
"There's an Apprentice Rank horde moving this way!"
"One of the scouting teams got wiped out already!"
Daniel ignored them all and continued forward.
Fear spread quickly among weak creatures. It was instinct. Unfortunately for the beasts of Greyback Forest, Daniel's instincts had long since stopped functioning like those of normal living beings.
Rustle.
A large shape suddenly burst from the bushes nearby.
A Steel Fang Wolf, an evolved version of the Iron Fang Wolf.
Its fur was covered in blood while madness filled its crimson eyes. The beast clearly had been driven into a frenzy by the movement of the horde.
The moment it saw Daniel, it lunged immediately.
BOOM.
The wolf shot forward violently but Daniel didn't even slow down.
SHING.
Shadow flashed upward once as the wolf's body split apart midair before crashing lifelessly into the ground behind him.
Daniel casually flicked the blood off the blade afterward, then continued walking.
He no longer bothered devouring Novice Rank beasts individually. The energy gained from them had become too insignificant compared to his current level.
Only Apprentice Rank beasts still held meaningful value now.
After another twenty minutes of travel, Daniel finally stopped atop a large cliff overlooking a lower region of the forest.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
Below him— thousands of beasts moved through the trees.
A living tide. Wolves surged between the forest paths while giant mutated boars smashed through vegetation like moving tanks. Swarms of insects darkened parts of the sky while massive serpents slithered across the forest floor below.
And among them…
'Apprentice Rank beasts. There are Dozens, No, Hundreds.'
Daniel silently observed the scene. Even he had to admit the scale was impressive for a Tier-4 city.
Meanwhile, far above the horde—
A massive crimson butterfly drifted slowly through the skies. Its burning wings illuminated the forest beneath it like a moving flame.
The Flameberry Butterfly. Even from this distance, Daniel could sense the dense mana fluctuations radiating from it.
'An Expert Rank Butterfly. Interesting.'
The butterfly suddenly paused midair. Its glowing scarlet eyes slowly shifted towards him.
For several seconds, Daniel and the butterfly simply stared at one another across the forest. The surrounding beasts grew strangely restless afterward.
The butterfly's instincts screamed warnings. Danger. An unfamiliar type of danger.
Below it stood a human whose mana fluctuations were weak enough to appear insignificant… yet something about him felt fundamentally wrong.
The butterfly could not understand it.
Daniel calmly looked back at the creature, 'Intelligent.'
Most Expert Rank beasts already possessed intelligence comparable to humans. Still, this one seemed unusually aware.
Then suddenly—
ROOOAR.
A massive black bear burst out from the trees beneath Daniel's cliff. The beast stood nearly six meters tall while dark rocky armor covered portions of its body.
A Stonehide Bear, Second Stage Apprentice Rank.
Its crimson eyes locked directly onto Daniel instantly. The beast wave had already pushed nearby predators into heightened aggression.
BOOM.
The bear charged forward violently. The entire cliff trembled beneath its weight.
Daniel's gaze shifted away from the butterfly calmly, then toward the incoming beast, "…You're loud."
The Stonehide Bear roared furiously before swinging a claw larger than Daniel's torso directly toward him. The air itself exploded from the force.
Daniel stepped sideways.
BOOM.
The cliffside shattered apart behind him. Stone fragments exploded everywhere.
The bear attacked again immediately afterward, this time attempting to crush him completely beneath its weight.
Daniel calmly retreated backward across the cliff edge then vanished.
The bear froze briefly, its instincts suddenly screamed.
'Above.'
Daniel appeared overhead silently. Wind mana surged beneath his feet while lightning mana rapidly wrapped around Shadow's black blade.
The surrounding lit up instantly.
"Lightning Nexus Series…"
The lightning condensed violently.
"First Move— Lightning Domino's."
SHING.
The slash descended diagonally across the bear's upper body.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then—
BOOOOOM.
Azure Lighting erupted as lightning mana tore the beast's body violently.
The Stonehide Bear released a deafening roar as lightning burst inward from its mouth and chest towards its heart simultaneously.
Daniel had directly injected compressed lightning mana into its mana pathways.
Internal destruction, Far more effective than brute force.
Still… The bear didn't die immediately.
Its rocky armor shattered apart while burning blood exploded across the cliffside, but the beast remained standing through sheer vitality. Its eyes filled with berserk rage afterward.
Then it charged again, faster this time.
Daniel's eyes narrowed faintly, 'Durable. A Second Stage Apprentice Rank beast truly differs significantly from First Stage creatures.'
The bear swung both claws downward violently. Daniel raised Shadow instantly.
BOOOOM.
The impact blasted apart the entire cliff edge beneath him. Cracks spread across the stone platform instantly. Daniel slid backward several meters before stabilizing himself again.
His arms tingled slightly from the force.
Meanwhile, the Stonehide Bear's body continued spasming internally from the injected lightning mana.
Its movements were already destabilizing, yet the beast still roared and charged again.
Daniel inhaled slowly.
Then lightning mana surged through his body.
CRACKLE.
Blue sparks erupted around Shadow instantly.
The bear arrived first.
Its massive claws descended toward Daniel's skull.
Daniel moved.
BOOM.
The ground beneath him exploded apart from sheer acceleration.
"Lightning Nexus Art…"
Blue lightning condensed around the blade.
"Second Form— Flash Fang."
SHING.
A streak of blue light flashed across the battlefield.
The bear froze mid-motion.
Then slowly—
Its upper body slid apart cleanly.
BOOM.
The massive corpse collapsed heavily onto the ruined cliffside.
Silence returned briefly afterward.
Daniel slowly exhaled. Then glanced upward again.
The Flameberry Butterfly was still watching him from afar. Its scarlet eyes narrowed faintly. For the first time since evolving into an Expert Rank creature… The butterfly felt unease.
Meanwhile, within Flamedale City—
The atmosphere had become increasingly tense.
Thousands of civilians flooded evacuation shelters while awakened gathered near the city walls preparing for the incoming wave.
Mana cannons lined the defensive sectors. The Archbound Legion moved continuously through the streets maintaining order.
Inside the Hunter Association headquarters, Brutus Griffin studied the battlefield projections silently.
Then suddenly—
One of the operators shouted.
"Sir! Large mana fluctuations detected in Sector Twelve!"
The projection immediately shifted. A scouting crystal displayed blurry footage of a destroyed cliffside deep within Greyback Forest.
At the center stood Daniel beside the corpse of a Stonehide Bear split cleanly in half.
The room fell silent briefly.
"…Who is that?" one operator muttered.
Brutus narrowed his eyes. The footage quality was poor, but the mana fluctuations radiating from Daniel were unmistakably weak. 'Novice Rank. Yet he has killed a Second Stage Apprentice Rank beast alone. Interesting.'
Then another operator paled slightly.
"Wait… the Flameberry Butterfly was nearby during that fight."
Brutus' expression changed instantly, "What?"
The operator hurriedly zoomed outward.
High above the battlefield, the crimson butterfly remained hovering silently, watching Daniel.
Brutus slowly narrowed his eyes afterward, "…That kid better start running."
Back within Greyback Forest—
Daniel calmly placed a hand against the Stonehide Bear's corpse. Dark cracks spread slowly across his arm.
Devouring Paragon activated. The enormous corpse rapidly dissolved into black particles before flowing into Daniel's body. A dense surge of energy erupted throughout him instantly.
Far greater than the Crimson Fang Tiger from before. Daniel's mana surged visibly afterward. His cultivation… moved slightly closer toward the Sixth Stage of Novice Rank.
Then suddenly—
A distant roar echoed throughout the forest. Not from a beast but from thousands.
The horde had started moving again.