"Kaah! Kaah!!" The Wild Gremlins brandished their crude weapons, shrieking as they charged at the prey in the camp.

"Curse you!"

Looking at these goblin-like minor monsters, Leon, having overcome his initial shock, felt no fear. He firmly stepped forward, swung his arms, and thrust the tip of his pitchfork toward the nearest enemy.

The leading Wild Gremlin deftly dodged and raised its arm; the rusty broken blade steadily parried Leon's thrust but was pushed back a step. Another two Wild Gremlins took the opportunity to swing their weapons at Leon from both sides of the pitchfork.

Unlike facing wild beasts during a hunt, these savage yet intelligent creatures could understand the power of weapons and knew how to parry and respond.

However, despite his initial attack being blocked, Leon did not panic. The situation before him was just within the scope of his spear techniques from his previous life. Especially when facing these short creatures, he held absolute advantages in stature and reach.

He quickly stepped back and withdrew his weapon to create space, twisting his body to pull back the pitchfork that had been parried. Swiftly, he launched a diagonal thrust, toppling the careless Wild Gremlin on the left who was focused solely on attacking.

The sharpened iron tip pierced directly into the Wild Gremlin's eye socket. It screamed as its eyeball burst, blood splattering. Without waiting to look further, Leon stabilized his stance, raised the shaft with both hands, and swung it horizontally. The sweeping pitchfork tip scared back the Wild Gremlin approaching again from the center. The residual force of the fork head did not diminish, smoothly knocking away the slashing attack from another Wild Gremlin on the right.

Skillfully fending off the encirclement, Leon felt a surge of adrenaline amidst the tension. Before the three-pronged tip of the pitchfork had fully descended from deflecting the attack, he propelled the tail end of the shaft upward with force.

—Pshh.

The three-pronged fork head fiercely plunged into the unprotected abdomen of the Wild Gremlin on the right. The little creature clutched at the pitchfork head in its stomach in pain. Leon shouted and forcefully dragged the pitchfork, pushing its body toward the Wild Gremlins who were still charging.

The severely injured Wild Gremlin was forced to collide and topple over its companions behind it, clutching the three ghastly bloody holes in its belly, rolling and howling.

Seeing the opportunity, Leon quickly retreated a few steps back to the campfire, adjusting his slightly ragged breathing.

He glanced sideways with his peripheral vision. Clad in chainmail, Lohak wielded a torch in one hand and an arming sword in the other, slashing and thrusting rapidly nearby.

In his sweeping strikes, four or five Wild Gremlin corpses already lay at Lohak's feet. Wearing chainmail and an iron helmet, he was unafraid of the enemy's crude weapons. Any Wild Gremlin daring to face him wouldn't last more than two moves before being cut down.

Compared to Lohak's fierceness, Azerion was much more cautious. He stayed close to Leon throughout, holding a round shield and pitchfork, fending off several attacks from the left flank and steadily protecting their side.

Lohak's eyes were bloodshot, seemingly invigorated by the heat of battle. His boiling blood from continuously slaying enemies unconsciously drove him into the midst of the Wild Gremlins, hacking left and right. His chainmail was soon stained red with blood.

Suddenly, a bolas with stone weights was thrown from the darkness, wrapping around Lohak's ankle. The spinning stone weights entangled the boy's leg, and the unprepared Lohak was suddenly yanked off balance and fell to the ground.

Wild Gremlins who had been lurking in the shadows began to exert force, trying to drag this most threatening armored target into the dark bushes.

As he fell, Lohak immediately swung his sword to cut the rope at his feet. But two opportunistic Wild Gremlins leaped out from the darkness, bringing down their short spears and knives upon him.

"Get away!!" At the critical moment, Azerion, who had been keeping an eye on his companion, somehow arrived in time.

He used his shield to shove away the Wild Gremlins near Lohak.

Leon also noticed his companion in danger. He ceased fighting the enemies before him and sprinted over, swinging his pitchfork to drive back the foes. Together with Azerion, he covered Lohak as he got back on his feet.

"Fall back! Stay away from the bushes." Leon shouted to the other two as they fought and retreated. They returned to the campfire, narrowly averting a situation where they might have been defeated one by one.

The shouts and clashes that pierced the silent forest continued. In just a dozen minutes, another ten or so Wild Gremlin corpses accumulated around them.

These bloodthirsty Wild Gremlins were undeniably vicious. Fortunately, the three youths, hardened by hardships, were not to be trifled with in either a real or metaphorical sense.

The lingering scent of blood in the clearing soon cooled the impulsiveness of the surrounding Wild Gremlins. They circled the trio, growling and confronting them, but hesitated to charge forward again.

Azerion had an idea. He lifted a still-writhing, not-yet-dead Wild Gremlin from the ground with the tip of his pitchfork, clamping the shaft under his arm. He displayed the dying creature to the hesitant Wild Gremlins around them.

"Kaargh! Kaakaargh..." The Wild Gremlins brandished their weapons, seemingly even more enraged by Azerion's taunting. Some impulsive individuals attempted to advance but were cut down by Leon and the others with their pitchforks and sword.

Gradually, the continuous intimidation took effect. The snarling Wild Gremlins showed signs of wavering and retreating.

Even with their bloodthirsty nature, they still weighed basic gains and losses. Their surprise attack had failed, and the brief skirmish had cost them dearly.

The Wild Gremlin leader hidden in the dense forest begrudgingly eyed the armored "prey." Even if they charged en masse, risking casualties, they might still manage to kill them, but the cost seemed unjustifiable. If they continued to lose tribe members, they wouldn't survive in this dangerous forest...

After much consideration, it had to abandon the tempting spoils.

A cacophony of cackling came from the woods. The Wild Gremlins in the clearing, hearing the order to retreat, let out threatening snarls at Leon and his companions before slowly retreating into the forest.

Watching the Wild Gremlins' figures gradually disappear, after a few minutes of complete silence around them, Leon and the others finally relaxed, taking deep breaths.

Being able to force them to retreat was the best outcome.

Despite appearing to handle these little monsters with ease, it was merely a short-lived state fueled by adrenaline.

Ultimately, they were mere mortals. Had they been locked in a prolonged stalemate with these creatures, exhausted from days of fleeing, they would eventually have been injured due to fatigue, just like Lohak's near mishap earlier.

"Don't let your guard down yet. Wild Gremlins are cunning by nature. Before dawn, we need to guard against them making a comeback," Azerion reminded his companions to stay vigilant.

They retreated to the campfire, recovering their strength while keeping a watchful eye on the darkness in the forest, waiting for morning.

They didn't know how much time had passed in the tormenting wait. Just as they were becoming increasingly certain that the Wild Gremlins had truly left, Leon suddenly heard rustling sounds of movement in the forest ahead.

"Did you... hear something?"

He had just asked when, before his companions could answer, the sounds grew clearer.

Not only were there sounds of something running through branches and grass, but also the familiar terrified screams of the Wild Gremlins.

The Wild Gremlins' fearful cries grew closer. The ground began to tremble slightly. Then, after the crashing sound of trees being toppled, the wails abruptly stopped.

—ROAR!!!

A roar that shook the mountains and forests echoed like a giant stone plunging into water.

The trio's faces turned pale instantly.

Even if they didn't know what creature emitted such a terrifying roar, they understood it was something they couldn't handle.

"Run!! Drop anything that's in the way—run!" Without a moment's hesitation, Leon abandoned his pitchfork, which would be useless and burdensome against such danger. Grabbing a torch by the campfire, the three of them turned and fled in the opposite direction of the thunderous roar.

At this moment, they no longer cared about the potential threats of running into the forest at night.

From the moment Leon heard that distinctive roar, fear had triggered the original owner's memories to surge forth. He was fortunate enough to know what that roar represented.

It was the roar of a bear... but far beyond the typical bear.

"Wh-what is that? A tiger? A bear?" Lohak couldn't help but shout.

"Don't ask! Just run! Don't stop for a second!" Leon urged his companions, fleeing with all their might.

He and Azerion's linen clothes were soon torn by the densely packed shrubs and bushes around them. Clambering over rugged terrain, even if they stumbled and got bruised all over, they would grit their teeth and get up immediately.

Before long, they had no idea where the torch had gone. Panting heavily, Leon tried to confirm that his companions were still nearby. Without any light, they had to slow down until the trees around them thinned, and moonlight shone through. Only then could they speed up their escape again.

If it had been an ordinary bear, though dangerous, they might have been able to retreat calmly using torches and their weapons, without being so disheveled.

But the gigantic beast whose roar shook the heavens behind them was far beyond the realm of ordinary beasts. Staying within its territory for even a second was extremely unwise and dangerous.

The Dread Mountain Bear.

It was said to be a terrifying giant bear as big as a full-grown African elephant, with skin so tough that steel swords couldn't harm it. Such rarely sighted forest monsters were even worshipped as deities by remote villagers. In memory, the original Leon had only once, from a great distance while with his father in the remote mountains, had the fortune to glimpse one.

But even that distant sighting across mountain cliffs left an indelible impression of that terrifying gigantic figure.

Not to mention that the three of them were fleeing youths scrounging along the way; even ordinary armies wouldn't dare challenge such a true king of the forest.

Fortunately, as long as they could quickly escape the Dread Mountain Bear's territory...

Boom... Crash!

Leon heard the sudden, clear sound of trees collapsing behind them, felt the increasingly urgent tremors of the ground beneath his feet, and was instantly chilled to the bone.

What's going on? Is the Dread Mountain Bear chasing them?

Is its target the three of them?

Why?

Suddenly recalling the similarly ill-fated Wild Gremlins from earlier, Leon arrived at the answer.

—The scent of blood!

"Damn!" he cursed through gritted teeth. Undoubtedly, it was the scent of the numerous Wild Gremlin corpses they had killed in battle that attracted this monster.

Was it hunting for food? Or protecting its young?

It didn't matter anymore. Hearing the increasingly alarming sounds of massive footsteps behind them, Leon broke into a cold sweat. The important thing was that their legs couldn't possibly outrun the approaching Dread Mountain Bear.

What should they do?

How could they escape this rapidly approaching monster...

"There's... there's a river ahead!" Lohak, running at the front, turned back, gasping, to alert the others. "Should we swim across or go around... Ah!!!" His eyes widened in terror at the huge, horrifying shadow behind them, rendering him speechless.

Turning his head back, Lohak seemed to tap into some hidden potential, his legs moving like the wind as he increased his speed to escape.

Following Lohak's gesture, Leon focused his gaze. Sure enough, ahead was a rushing river reflecting the hazy moonlight, flowing noisily to an unknown destination.

"Jump into the river!" Leon shouted without hesitation.

The river's current was strong, but they had no time to ponder.

Not daring to look back to see how close the gigantic beast was, they reached the riverbank and, without pause, leaped into the surging waters one after another—

Splash!

Splash! Splash!

The three youths plunged into the river, and in the blink of an eye, were swept downstream by the swift current.

...

Boom... Boom...

The heavy footsteps gradually came to a halt at the riverbank.

Roar! Roar!!

The ferocious king of the forest let out terrifying roars toward the river, shaking the woods.

The giant bear lowered its massive head. It could still smell the scent of the intruders who had trespassed into its territory, gradually fading away. The river couldn't block its keen sense of smell.

But it slowly raised its head, gazing into the distance where the river flowed. The Dread Mountain Bear instinctively took a few steps back.

The domain at the end of this river—even the king of the forest feared it.