A damn talking crow, with a cultivation stage at the Plane of Ascension, yet allowed to stay on the shoulders of beasts at the Cataclysm stage…
Ryu could somehow guess that the Cataclysm beasts were using the crow’s intelligence, which seemed sharper than normal, and that bothered him a great deal.
That was why he had made it his first goal to bring an end to the creature first.
The remaining beasts stood in shock as they watched the lower body of the crow slowly fall and land onto the ground with a plushy sound. And immediately—
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARRR
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARRR
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARRR
Angered roars filled the air as thick murderous intent burst forth.
Just like Ryuk had guessed, the crow was truly allowed amongst their ranks solely due to its intelligence.
The forest had always been a constant plateau of battle amongst the beasts. And those battles were even more fatal among the Cataclysm-stage beasts, as they found it hard to kill one another, often ending up too wounded in the end.
That was until the crow came.
Informed that they were the strongest, they all could have designated territories, with each beast remaining within its domain and not venturing into others.
Since they were the strongest, they would have nothing disturbing them, and they could finally gain the peace they wanted.
The suggestion was made by the intelligent crow, and the beasts had followed after it. And truly, just as it had said—peace had reigned.
Succeeding in that decision, the crow had been respected by them—enough for it to be in their presence without worry. And as time went by, its intelligence only proved to be more useful, further increasing its status in their eyes.
Yet, the crow that had been with them, that had helped them all through these years, was now on the ground, its neck still spurting out blood.
It had been killed, even though the three of them had stood there and earlier sworn to protect it from danger.
And instantly, they turned their fiery crimson eyes toward Ryuk.
The ghostly white creature had done too much damage to their world.
The ground shook as they all dashed with speed toward Ryuk, but suddenly—
"Activate True Skill: Sovereign of Frost..."
The whisper gently echoed through the area.
Yet, everything came to a chilling crawl.
Movements slowed down to insignificance.
The battlefield, once teeming with chaos, fell into an eerie silence.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPLLLLEEEE
A pulse of frigid ice energy suddenly erupted outward from beneath Ryuk’s feet, sweeping through the entire air like silent spatial tears.
The ground beneath him fractured—only to be instantly encased in a pristine frost, spreading outward toward the entire forest like an unstoppable tide.
His eyes glowed with an ethereal blue colour, the runic image of a snowflake appearing in their depths as his body became wreathed in crystalline ice armour, glowing with intricate snowflake runes.
His short white hair turned snowy white, elongating as it cascaded down beneath his broad shoulders.
Ryuk exhaled loudly, intense icy cold frost leaving his lips with every breath.
"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!"
The brutish roar left the ape’s lips as it ignited, lunging forward toward Ryuk with full force—intense flames from friction rippling outward.
But the next instant, as it reached five meters away from Ryuk, the fire didn’t just flicker out—it collapsed into an open stillness, frozen in mid-motion, trapped in a cage of ice before shattering into pieces.
Appearing a meter from Ryuk, the massive fist—seemingly capable of pulverizing the earth—slowed down massively, its power and momentum reduced to half.
Ryuk stretched his hand to the side.
A gigantic Frost Hammer appeared, coated in various runic lines and—
The ice beneath him shattered into pieces as he took a single step forward, his body turning with precision as the head of the hammer lunged forward with overwhelming power, smashing against the fist and then—
The ground crumbled to pieces as the ape took repeated steps backward from the sheer force—its power shaking the land.
And it only came to a stop thirty meters away.
Its eyes flashed in shock as it looked at its own hands—its fingers twisted out of their position, encased in a chilling ice.
A cold harrumph left the ape’s lips as it lifted its fist, shattering the ice into nothing.
It turned its gaze back to Ryuk, who slowly stretched his hands outward toward the three beasts, runic lines flashing within them as he muttered—
"Ice Sword Graveyard..."
The sound of the ground being ripped apart rang out.
But it suddenly sounded more like blades being driven into the dirt.
The beasts’ eyes flashed with dread when they witnessed hundreds upon hundreds of ice swords forming mid-air with Ryuk’s outstretched hands.
Yet, instead of flying toward them, each and every sword was plunged into the snow-ridden ground—turning the world into a graveyard of buried ice swords.
The sound of footsteps rang out as Ryuk stepped forward, his expression colder than the ice he wielded—his long snow-white hair rustling in the air, as if gravity had been forced still around him, ceasing to exist.
"Come now..." he muttered to them as he stepped forward.
But the beasts were no cowards.
Instantly, they charged toward Ryuk—without an ounce of fear.
They were Grade A beasts—the absolute rulers of this world.
They were the absolute strongest, and never would they be found cowering before another creature.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The air parted into nothing as a powerful thunderbolt struck—racing downward toward Ryuk.
He slowly lifted his hand to the side, uprooting a sword from the ground, and then—
He slashed forward with speed, his ice sword slamming through the center of the lightning pillar, ripping it into pieces.
The sound of heavy thumps echoed, coming from the Tusk Boar, which lowered its magma-covered tusks and charged forward toward Ryuk with incredible speed—
The ice ground melted from the sheer heat of its body.
Its raised tusk piercing forward with power.