The moment Arthur stepped past the boundary of the forest, the atmosphere changed around him. It wasn't just the suppression pressing down on his divine sense or the thick fog coiling between the towering trees, it was the feeling of being watched.
The instant his foot touched the moss-covered ground inside the forest, several powerful auras locked onto him from different directions, like hunters who had been waiting for fresh prey to wander into their territory.
Arthur stopped walking and stood calmly beneath the shadow of the enormous trees, his expression remained unchanged as his perception spread outward in the only way still reliable to him. The forest interfered with the clarity of his divine sense, blurring details and distorting distance, but it couldn't fully hide the lifeforce of monsters from him.
Three presences stood out clearly among the countless weaker signals scattered throughout the forest. All three were at the Great Unity Immortal level, and unlike the mantis creatures he had slaughtered in the grassland, these ones radiated heavier pressure and were far more dangerous.
He didn't move immediately, he simply stood there and waited, with his hands resting loosely at his sides while a breeze stirred the hem of his newly created clothes. The forest around him was strangely silent, there were no sounds of birds, or insects.
Everything nearby had gone quiet, as if the creatures hidden within the woods understood that something violent was about to happen and had decided that being anywhere else was the smartest career choice available.
His gaze shifted slightly toward the left, then the right, then straight ahead. "Three of them huh," he muttered quietly, his tone carrying a hint of amusement. "At least this place knows how to welcome guests."
Less than ten seconds later, the first monster arrived. Trees exploded apart as a massive minotaur-like creature stepped into view, its body was easily over twenty meters tall, covered in dark brown hide that looked tougher than forged armor. Two curved horns jutted from its skull, each one engraved naturally with faint red patterns that glowed with blood-colored energy.
Its arms were absurdly thick, and in one hand it dragged a club made from what appeared to be the trunk of an ancient tree hardened by spiritual energy over countless years. Its breath came out in hot bursts, and every step caused the ground beneath it to sink slightly.
The second monster descended from above without a sound, coiling around the branches of several massive trees before revealing itself as an enormous python with black and emerald scales. Its body was thick enough to wrap around a fortress tower, and its golden eyes stared at Arthur with cold intelligence.
The third arrived last, landing lightly on a broken branch despite its size. It was another humanoid mantis, similar to the ones Arthur had encountered in the grassland, but this one was far larger and stronger in every sense. Its exoskeleton had a metallic green sheen, its scythe arms were longer than spears, and the aura surrounding it was far more refined than the others of its kind.
The three monsters did not immediately attack. Instead, they regarded one another with obvious caution, their instincts recognizing each other as rivals. The minotaur snorted and tightened its grip on the stone club, the python's tongue flickered out slowly as it tasted the air, and the mantis tilted its head in a disturbingly human-like motion while its bladed limbs clicked softly.
Arthur watched the exchange with mild interest. These creatures weren't mindless, they might not possess human speech, but they understood territory, threat, and opportunity. And right now, all three had reached the same conclusion. Arthur was their prey, but none of them wanted to let the others take him first.
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you three going to keep staring, or should I attack first?"
The minotaur responded with a deep roar that shook leaves loose from the trees. The python hissed sharply, and the mantis released a shrill clicking cry. For one brief moment, the three monsters seemed to reach an unspoken agreement. Their hostility toward each other didn't disappear, but their greed toward Arthur outweighed it. The next instant, all three attacked at once.
The minotaur charged from the front, each step cracking the earth as it swung its massive club downward with enough force to flatten a hill. The python moved from the side, its enormous body gliding through the forest with terrifying speed as it attempted to coil around Arthur and crush him before he could evade.
The mantis vanished from the branch above, its body becoming a green blur as both scythe arms sliced toward Arthur's neck and waist simultaneously. Their coordination wasn't perfect, but their timing was dangerous enough that an ordinary Great Unity Immortal would have been torn apart before forming a proper defense.
Arthur smirked, then he released his full power.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
His aura erupted outward from his body, the ground beneath his feet shattered instantly, cracks spreading in every direction as the surrounding trees bent backward and were ripped away from the pressure. The three monsters lunging toward him were blasted away at the same time, their attacks broken before they could land.
The minotaur skidded backward through the forest, crushing several trees beneath its body before stabilizing itself with a furious snort. The python's massive body slammed into a cluster of ancient trunks, wrapping around them instinctively to stop itself from being thrown farther. The mantis spun through the air before stabbing its scythes into the ground, carving long trenches through the soil as it slowed down.
Arthur remained where he stood, his aura rolling off him in waves. His eyes were calm, but there was a faint spark of excitement in them now. He had spent the past few weeks researching, cultivating, and thinking about a cosmic threat that sounded like it came from a being who had some beef against him. So, a straightforward fight, even against monsters, felt almost refreshing.
He raised one hand toward the three beasts and curled his fingers in a simple gesture. "Come."
The three monsters roared at the provocation and lunged again with even greater intensity. This time, the minotaur reached him first. Its club came down with terrifying force, but Arthur stepped slightly to the side and let the weapon smash into the ground beside him.
BOOM!
The impact created a crater and sent debris flying, but before the minotaur could recover, he placed one palm against the creature's wrist and activated Density Manipulation. The minotaur's arm suddenly became several times heavier than normal, dragging its entire upper body downward.
He then followed with a casual kick to its knee, the joint bent the wrong way with a sickening crack, and the massive beast roared in pain as it collapsed forward. He didn't finish it immediately because the python had already struck from behind, its jaws opening wide enough to swallow him whole.
He vanished from where he stood, reappearing above the python's head through a short teleportation. He dropped his heel onto its skull with Density Manipulation layered into the strike. The impact slammed the python's head into the ground so hard that the surrounding earth rippled outward like water.
The beast hissed violently, but before Arthur could press the attack, the mantis appeared beside him with terrifying speed, its scythe arm slicing toward his torso. He raised his forearm and let the blade strike him directly.
CLANG!
The sound rang out like metal colliding with metal. The mantis's blade failed to cut through his skin, but the force behind the attack was still strong enough to create a shockwave. Arthur turned his head slowly toward the creature. "Better than the small fries," he admitted. "Still not enough."
The mantis tried to retreat instantly, but Arthur caught its scythe arm with one hand. Lightning exploded from his palm, golden arcs racing across the creature's exoskeleton and forcing its body to seize.
"KRRRREEEEE!"
The mantis shrieked as its limbs spasmed, but Arthur didn't stop there. He twisted, using the monster's own momentum to swing it into the minotaur that had just forced itself back onto its feet. The mantis crashed into the minotaur's chest like a thrown spear, sending both monsters tumbling backward through several trees.
The python recovered quickly and lashed its tail toward Arthur with enough force to split the ground. Arthur raised his hand, and telekinetic force slammed against the tail mid-swing, stopping it for a fraction of a second.
That was all he needed, the soil beneath the python suddenly softened under Matter Manipulation, turning into a thick, mud-like substance that swallowed part of its lower body. Then the mud hardened instantly into compressed stone, pinning the serpent in place. The python thrashed violently, cracking the stone prison, but Arthur had already moved.
He appeared beside the minotaur and drove a punch into its abdomen. The blow didn't just rely on strength, he layered Density Manipulation into his fist at the moment of impact, making the strike far heavier than it should have been.
The minotaur's body folded around the punch, blood bursting from its mouth as the shockwave exited through its back and tore apart the trees behind it. Arthur followed by grabbing one of its horns and slamming its head into the ground, the forest shook from the impact.
BOOOOM!
The mantis recovered from the lightning attack faster than expected, and launched a flurry of attacks from multiple angles. Its scythes moved like green lightning, striking Arthur's neck, shoulders, ribs, and legs in rapid succession.
Each hit produced metallic clangs and bursts of sparks, but none managed to pierce his skin. Arthur allowed the barrage to continue for a few seconds, observing the creature's movement pattern. The mantis was fast, precise, and intelligent enough to target joints and weak points, but it lacked the raw power needed to hurt him.
He suddenly stepped into the rhythm of its attacks instead of away from them. His hand shot out between two slashes and grabbed the mantis by the face. "Predictable."
He slammed it into the ground, then released a focused burst of lightning through its skull.
"KRRRREEEEE!"
The creature screamed as the electricity surged through its nervous system, but before Arthur could crush it completely, a massive pressure descended from above. Another monster had arrived. A giant ape-like beast covered in stone armor dropped from the canopy, with both of its fists raised overhead.
Arthur looked up just as it came crashing down. Instead of dodging, he raised one hand. Telekinesis caught the falling monster midair for half a second, slowing it just enough for Arthur to pivot and kick upward. His foot struck the ape's chest, and the beast was launched back into the trees like a cannonball, smashing through several trunks before disappearing into the fog.
Arthur glanced around. More life forces were approaching, it looked like the disturbance caused by their fight had drawn attention from other monsters.
***
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