Chapter 149: The Pincer and the Blood Gorilla
The pincer attack trapped the Red Monkeys in a living nightmare. From both ends of the Red Forest, the volleys from the fifty riflemen cut through the air, but the true slaughter unfolded at the center of the territory.
Several of the largest beasts broke through the firing line, leaping from the branches with resinous berries ready to detonate. However, before they could even touch the ground, a white blur crossed the air at a high speed. Freya, unleashed her claws coated in a razor-sharp aura; in the blink of an eye, she decapitated three monkeys mid-leap with the same ease as a blade slicing through butter. Her movements were so fluid that hardly a drop of blood touched her spotless fur.
Freya, don’t overdo it, Kellar transmitted through their mental bond, watching as the small creature prepared to sweep through the entire canopy. Leave some prey for the army; the troops need combat experience.
Freya let out a soft hiss of disapproval in Kellar’s mind, but she obeyed. She confined herself to staying near his shoulder, severing only the primates that managed to bypass the firing line and got too close to the shaman.
Ignis, for his part, surged forward like an unstoppable avalanche. The massive bear charged with monstrous strength, knocking down the crimson trunks in his path as if they were dry splinters. Each strike of his paws shattered the vegetation and crushed the apes trying to halt his advance, carving a violent breach straight into the heart of the forest.
The squad pressed forward in the wake of Ignis’s destruction until they reached a natural clearing. At the center, the mud and vegetation were stained with thick, black resin.
A deafening roar shook the earth. The canopies of the surviving trees trembled violently as a colossal figure leaped down, causing the ground to shudder upon impact. A gigantic gorilla four meters tall, its hide covered in battle scars and crimson scales along its back, emerged from the gloom. Its yellow eyes glowed with murderous fury as it slammed its fists against its chest, challenging the brigade.
"Pack leader!" shouted Brak, raising his blade as the squad fanned out into a semicircle. "Ready the concentrated charges!"
Kellar observed the giant gorilla from high atop Ignis. The massive bear still appeared larger and far more imposing; nevertheless, the gorilla continued to growl fiercely and slam its fists against its chest.
The giant gorilla stepped forward, making the frozen earth crack beneath its weight, and hurled a resin berry the size of a barrel directly toward the formation.
"Ignis, intercept!" said Kellar.
The massive bear delivered a brutal claw strike in mid-air, intercepting the projectile. The berry detonated in a flash of burning resin, but Ignis’s heavy paws were entirely unbothered by the heat. Without giving the beast time to recover, Ignis charged head-on, slamming his shoulder into the gorilla’s chest. The impact echoed like two mountains colliding.
The gorilla stumbled back several meters, roaring in pain, but its aggression did not wane. It extended its arms, trying to grapple Ignis’s neck.
"Not so fast," Kellar whispered from above.
Extending his left hand, Kellar channeled his shamanic mana and uttered the incantation.
"[Paralyzing Curse]."
A haze of dark, purplish energy burst from Kellar’s fingers, wrapping around the gorilla’s joints like invisible chains. The primate’s muscles seized up instantly, locking its movements mid-attack with its arms outstretched.
"Now, Ignis!" shouted Kellar.
Ignis seized the moment of instant paralysis and delivered a devastating bite to the gorilla’s throat while his rear claws tore open the beast’s abdomen. The combination of residual poison, Kellar’s curse, and the bear god’s raw strength crushed the pack leader’s resistance within seconds.
The gorilla collapsed to its knees onto the resin-stained mud and finally fell face-first with a dull thud that shook the earth one last time.
"Fire!" ordered Brak.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A concentrated salvo of ten muskets struck the fallen gorilla’s head, ensuring its death. Silence descended once more upon the clearing in the Red Forest.
"The beast has fallen," said Kellar, brushing the dust off his coat.
Kellar dismounted from Ignis and knelt down to inspect the ground beneath the charred roots, utilizing his passive skill to analyze the soil’s composition. Instantly, a glowing notification materialized in his mind:
[High-Quality Arable Soil: Rich volcanic earth with dense concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. High fertility for agricultural cultivation.]
A cold smile formed on Kellar’s face as he ran the dark, rich soil through his fingers.
"Lennis, bring the collection wagons," ordered Kellar, rising to his feet as Freya settled comfortably back onto his shoulder. "Extract the resin from this monster and begin clearing the central trees immediately. As soon as the frosts end, this soil will become our primary agricultural field."
Brak walked toward Kellar, adjusting his belt while the riflemen reloaded their weapons.
"Permission to pursue the remnants, Great Shaman?" said Brak, pointing toward the distant canopy where the surviving monkeys were fleeing.
"Only pursue them for two hundred meters before stopping," said Kellar, frowning as he looked into the unknown density of the forest. "We do not know what lies beyond. Keep the exploration limited and do not take unnecessary risks."
"Understood!" shouted Brak, turning to the troops. "First and second squads, maintain pursuit! Only two hundred meters and fall back!"
As the troops pressed into the underbrush, Ignis slowly approached the carcass of the giant gorilla. The massive bear stared at the body while salivating heavily, turning his head toward Kellar with pleading eyes for approval.
"Eat, eat," said Kellar with a faint smile.
Instead of tearing the carcass apart with a brutal claw swipe, Ignis acted with surprising precision. With the tip of a single claw, he sliced open the primate’s chest, revealing a small, glowing gem within. The bear delicately picked it up with his jaws, stepped closer to Kellar, and dropped it directly into his hand.
The moment he saw Kellar take the core, Ignis did not wait another second. He lunged fully into devouring the four-meter gorilla. As the meat and energy of the monster were absorbed, Ignis’s body began to expand.
Within moments, the bear mutated onto a terrifying scale: growing from five to eight meters in length and standing a staggering four meters tall, looking like an utterly brutal, unstoppable biological tank.