A new power surged through him. A second-tier demonic beast, Luo Zhen thought, feeling the raw, primal energy coursing through his veins. It was a potent, heady rush that sharpened his senses and flooded every inch of his new form. His strength had exploded, but more importantly, he now possessed an innate ability: the Venomous Fangs.
He glanced at his internal map. The sea of red dots that once signified danger had thinned out considerably. It was a satisfying sight; with his newfound power, most of the common beasts of this land were no longer a threat.
But just as the thought crossed his mind, his entire body went rigid. A primal, instinctual alarm bell screamed in his head.
Beasts, whether wild or demonic, are born with a hair-trigger sensitivity to danger. Luo Zhen immediately coiled, his narrow serpentine eyes scanning the undergrowth, every muscle tensed and ready.
Rustle.
A sleek demonic leopard burst from the shadows. Luo Zhen's head snapped up, fangs bared in a defensive posture. Before he could even react to the first threat, a massive black boar crashed through the foliage to his side. And it didn't stop there. The forest came alive with menacing sounds. A fiery red fox, a hulking cyan tortoise, a grey demonic wolf—they poured out from all directions, a horrifying menagerie of predators.
"Where the hell did all these things come from?" Luo Zhen hissed to himself. The air was thick with their power, each one a lethal threat.
Then he caught it. The coppery tang in the air. "Blood." His sense of smell was razor-sharp now, and he instantly understood. The scent from his earlier kills—the venomous snake and the great crocodile—had drifted on the wind, acting as a dinner bell for every hungry demonic beast in the area.
This is bad. Time to go.
He scanned the chaotic scene. Most of the beasts were focused on the swamp's edge, where the smell of his leftovers was strongest. Seeing his chance, he took advantage of his smaller size and began to slink back toward the treeline. No one noticed. He was just moments from vanishing into the dense woods when the world seemed to shatter.
"ROAR!!"
A sound like a thunderclap ripped through the clearing. A colossal bear, easily ten feet tall, slammed into view. The roar was a physical force, a shockwave that rolled over the landscape and sent the other demonic beasts cowering.
At the same time, a terrifying paralysis seized Luo Zhen. He couldn't move.
You have been stunned by the Demonic Aura of the Earth Tyrant Bear, a voice echoed in his mind. Movement is temporarily impossible.
Demonic Aura?! The realization hit him with a jolt of pure terror. He was completely helpless, his body trembling uncontrollably against his will. He wasn't the only one. Across the clearing, the other powerful demonic beasts were pinned to the ground, paralyzed by the same overwhelming force. This bear was on another level entirely; its mere presence was enough to dominate them all.
Then, the Earth Tyrant Bear began to move.
It lumbered forward and, with a casual swipe of a paw the size of a manhole cover, snatched the demonic wolf.
There was a sickening crunch.
The wolf let out a choked whimper as it was crushed into a bloody pulp. The bear opened its massive jaws and devoured the remains in two swift, brutal bites. Wiping its maw, it turned its attention to the next victim.
It was a massacre. Within minutes, the boar, the fox, the tortoise—every last beast was gone, consumed by the unstoppable behemoth.
"This thing is a monster," Luo Zhen thought, his mind reeling as he watched from afar. The bear's aura was so oppressive that its prey couldn't even fight back. They could only lie there and wait to be eaten.
It's got to be full by now, right? Luo Zhen prayed. Just leave. Please, just turn around and leave.
But his hope evaporated as the bear's massive, bronze-colored eyes swept the clearing and locked directly onto him. It started walking his way.
"Oh no. It saw me."
Adrenaline surged through him. He fought against the crushing paralysis, forcing his sore, numb muscles to respond. He had to run. He couldn't just lie here and die.
But the bear's aura was a physical weight. Luo Zhen thrashed his tail, fighting for every inch, but his movements were agonizingly slow. The bear closed the distance in a few massive strides.
A giant paw descended, and his world went dark as he was snatched from the ground.
This is it. I'm done for.
Despair washed over him. The bear rolled him into a ball and, with one gulp, swallowed him whole.
He was plunged into darkness and crushing pressure. Every part of his body screamed in protest. Forcing his eyes open, he found himself in a warm, fleshy cavern.
Wait, I'm not dead? Then it hit him. It didn't even chew. It must have thought I was too small to be worth the effort.
He was in the bear's stomach.
Chunks of the other demonic beasts floated around him in a churning sea of foul, stinking acid. The liquid burned, his scales sizzling and dissolving on contact.
I can't die here. I have to get out!
A desperate fury ignited within him. He opened his jaws and sank his fangs into the stomach wall. He bit down with all his might, but the muscle was impossibly tough. It was like biting leather.
"I will not be digested!" he snarled, a vicious light burning in his eyes. He locked onto a single spot and bit again. And again. And again. It was his only chance.
With each frantic bite, his venom flowed, sizzling and eating away at the tough flesh. Slowly, agonizingly, the venom began to work. It melted through the muscle until, finally, a small hole opened up.
Elation surged through him. He squeezed through the opening, his own body burning and raw from the stomach acid. A moment longer and he would have been dissolved completely.
"ROAR!"
Outside, the bear let out a shriek of agony as its stomach was ruptured. It began thrashing wildly, smashing against trees as it tried to dislodge the searing pain from within.
Luo Zhen ignored it. He was out of the stomach, but he wasn't out of the bear. He kept biting, kept injecting his venom, tearing a path through the bear's insides. He was a storm of destruction trapped within the beast, and the bear was a raging hurricane on the outside, maddened by a pain it couldn't comprehend.
He had no idea how long he had fought.
Then, he saw it—a pinprick of light. As his venom dissolved more of the flesh and muscle, the light grew brighter. Two minutes later, a bloody hole had opened to the outside world. He seized the chance and lunged forward, pulling himself out of the dying beast.
The bright light of the forest blinded him for a moment. He collapsed onto the grass, his body a wreck, and gasped for air.
He was out. He was alive.
Beside him, the Earth Tyrant Bear gave one last, shuddering roar before it crashed to the ground, shaking the earth one final time.
You have slain the sixth-tier demonic beast: Earth Tyrant Bear, the voice in his head announced. 100 experience points gained.
Sixth-tier... Luo Zhen thought in disbelief. No wonder it was such an absolute monster. He was just lucky it had swallowed him whole. If it had bothered to chew, he'd be nothing more than another chunk of meat in its gut.
But for now, all he felt was the deep, aching pain in his bones and the overwhelming exhaustion. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to think. All he wanted to do was sleep.