In the vast forest, the dinosaur siblings ran desperately as the ground trembled behind them, trees collapsing one after another.
"Big sis, there's light ahead!"
"Charge through it!"
The siblings burst out of the forest, only to find themselves facing a cliff. They immediately stiffened their legs, braking with all their might.
"Boom!"
The rocks beneath their feet crumbled continuously. At the very last moment before plummeting into the abyss, they managed to stop just barely.
"Huff... huff..."
The two gasped for breath, having narrowly escaped death.
Staring at the endless frozen world below the cliff, even with their considerable experience, the siblings couldn't help but feel utterly awestruck.
Such an enormous landmass would likely take months to traverse. Moreover, they had discovered a serious problem.
Page One swallowed hard. "Big sis... do you remember the way back?"
"How could I possibly remember?!"
Ulti fumed with rage.
They were lost.
Without guidance, finding their way out on their own was nearly impossible.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The ground continued to shake violently.
The siblings turned around, their backs against the cliff.
A massive wolf emerged from the forest, its bloodthirsty gaze sending chills down their spines.
As powerful dinosaurs, they had always stood at the apex of the food chain, hunting other creatures. This was the first time they truly felt the vulnerability of being prey.
Page One gnashed his teeth.
"That bastard Gurd!"
"Page One, don't you dare insult Gu Jiang!"
Ulti glared at her brother.
Page One was stunned.
Even in a life-or-death situation, his sister was still defending that bastard brother-in-law?
"Why can't I insult him?!"
"Because only I get to bully Gu Jiang!"
"..."
"It's freezing! That bastard Gu Jiang actually abandoned us in this godforsaken place. I'll never forgive him!"
"And that damn Red Hair—it's all his fault! I'll definitely kill him!"
Ulti's temper flared even more, her gaze toward the giant wolf shifting. It was just a bit bigger—what was there to fear?
With no escape, they had no choice but to fight.
"Page One, let's go together!"
"Right!"
The giant wolf looked down at the two tiny lizards charging at it, a hint of disdain in its eyes as it raised its massive paw.
"Wham!"
The siblings were swatted away, crashing into a giant tree trunk with a thunderous impact, their bodies embedded deep within.
Like swatting flies.
"Bastard!"
Ulti's body rapidly shrank, transforming into her Beast Form. Her mask was stained with blood, her eyes glowing red.
The dinosaur girl bent her legs and shot forward like an arrow, Haki concentrating on her forehead as she rammed into the wolf's head.
"Ulti Headbutt Gun!!!"
"Boom!"
The wolf's head jerked upward from the impact, then slowly lowered to glare at the siblings. The coldness in its eyes no longer held the previous playfulness of toying with prey.
"Grrrrrr—"
Its fangs bared.
The siblings gulped hard.
"Big sis... I think it's angry!"
"Sorry!"
"I didn't ask for an apology!"
"Awooo!!!"
"Waaaaahhh!!!"
Meanwhile, deep in the Underworld.
An enormous snow fox lay collapsed on the ground, its body riddled with arrows.
"Huff... huff..."
Speed panted heavily, kneeling in the snow with only a few arrows left in her grasp, her body covered in wounds.
This battle had pushed her to her absolute limits.
However, the oversized fox before them was merely the lowest-tier creature in these snowy mountains, only slightly stronger than the rabbits encountered earlier.
Speed took a moment to recover before turning to look at Gurd, who sat atop a snow leopard. The mountain-sized leopard was as docile as a house cat, its head still swollen with bumps.
"Now that we're done, let's keep moving!"
Gurd patted the snow leopard, and the massive beast immediately put on an ingratiating expression, willingly carrying the three of them forward.
With the giant snow leopard leading the way, ordinary creatures dared not approach. Only other Numbers roared warnings from a distance.
They drew closer to the World Tree.
The snow leopard let out a low, aggrieved growl.
"Rururu~~"
"Is that guy your friend?"
"Ruu!"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt him."
Gurd chatted idly with the snow leopard. Though he couldn't understand its language, he could roughly guess the meaning behind its growls. These giant beasts were surprisingly human-like.
Chikara's cheeks were flushed red from the cold as she approached with a coat. "Lord Gurd, I made you a cloak from the fox fur."
"Thanks."
Gurd draped the coat over himself, immediately feeling much warmer. While he wasn't afraid of the cold, he preferred hotter environments.
Chikara pulled out tea utensils from her skirt.
"My lord, would you like some black tea?"
"Sure."
Gurd glanced at the girl's skirt, lost in thought. Did women really have pocket dimensions in their chests and skirts?
After tea time, the path ahead suddenly opened up.
"Clank! Clank!"
The sound of rattling chains reached their ears.
"So huge!"
"It's as big as the Numbers!"
Speed's pupils trembled violently, while Chikara beside her shook with fear. It was her first time seeing a human of such colossal size.
An enormous horned giant sat at the base of the World Tree, bound head to toe in chains. Hearing their approach, it slowly raised its head.
The giant's eyes were bandaged, its long tongue lolling out as it revealed a sinister, cunning grin.
"State your names, intruders!"
"Groudon Gud!"
Gurd jumped down from the snow leopard and strode toward the horned giant.
"So you're the Cursed Prince, Loki?"
"Wrong!"
Loki's lips curled. "I am Loki, the [Great Sun God] who will bring about the world's end! Trespassing here without my permission is a capital offense, human!"
"Looks like you're itching for a beating."
Gurd snorted coldly.
Loki remained unfazed. "What a cocky bastard. But you do have some skill—you're the one who tamed this Mountain Master, aren't you?"
"Mountain Master?"
Gurd glanced back at the snow leopard.
Loki's smile turned icy. "Every snowy mountain here has its own Mountain Master. I befriended them all when I was just a child. You bullied my leopard friend—I can't let that slide!"
"Oh? And what do you plan to do about it?"
Gurd's gaze remained calm.
Loki grinned threateningly. "See these chains? If you can break them, I'll let you go. Otherwise—"
"ROOOAR!!!"
One after another, enormous Ferocious Beasts emerged from the forest, surrounding Gurd's group. But before they could bare their fangs, massive pillars of molten rock erupted from the ground, launching them into the sky!
Then, blinding light flashed at the tips of the lava pillars.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
A series of earth-shattering explosions!
When the explosion ended, all the Mountain Masters were charred black and smoking as they plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the snow.
"BOOM!!!"
The earth trembled, and violent winds surged.
Gurd stared coldly at Loki.
"Otherwise, what?"
"..."
Loki's smile froze on his face.
Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding me!
Just what kind of human is this?!