"Damn it!"
Anom cursed as he ran with all his strength. His movements were faster than before as he traveled around the trees in his path and dodged all the obstacles smoothly.
But he was still not relieved.
Anom looked at the thing in his hands and smiled bitterly. It was a fruit as big as an apple with a hard exterior. There were some green lines covering its dark brown surface.
It was something that the sniffers gave to him a few minutes ago after they gathered back together. The group had divided themselves into small teams to make searching for prey easier.
The leader's team brought this fruit. They said that they didn't know what it was, but a "big" monster was guarding it, so they considered the fruit precious and decided to steal it. They gave it to Anom and asked if it was of any use.
To be honest, from the first moment Anom held the fruit in his hand, he knew that it was something beneficial for him. This fruit contains a huge amount of energy. Anom can use this energy to train, as the amount of energy he hadat the moment was not even a tenth of what was in the fruit. He can use it to strengthen his body and energy channels quickly, saving a lot of time.
The fruit was just what he needed. But Anom felt that something was very wrong.
The group continued hunting, gathered many fruits, and hunted some small animals. Due to Anom's presence, the Little Devils acted like they were on steroids, running around everywhere and creating havoc in the forest.
Anom was fine with it, as this area was at the border between the main forest and the human settlement, so the levels of monsters here were low.
Just as Anom and the group were about to return with their abundant spoils, they heard a roar that shook this part of the forest. All the beasts panicked, and the birds flew away. Everywhere, there was chaos as everyone tried to stay away from that terrifying entity.
"We should get out of here. Grab everything! We're leaving!" Anom shouted when he noticed the disturbance. It was best to leave as early as possible.
He and the group grabbed their bags, which were filled with their spoils, and rushed to leave.
But they had just traveled a short distance when they felt the ground shake.
Anom's expression changed as he shouted, "Hide the bag behind some bushes! We will come back for them later! Let's leave here first!"
The group acted quickly and smoothly and slid the mesh-vine bags inside the bushes. Then they started running at full speed while looking back regularly to judge the situation.
The trembling of the ground became more intense. Soon, the source of the disturbance became visible, making Anom widen his eyes.
A huge beast, bigger than an elephant, was rushing towards them. Its face carried a ruthless look. Its pillar-like legs, and its fur-padded paws made thudding sounds as they hit the ground. There were green stripes on its earthen-yellow fur, and its teeth were like razors. It roaredeyes, whileeyes, eyes full of anger, were glaring at them.
Seeing the beast coming towards them, Anom remembered something as he asked, "Is this the big monster you have stolen the fruit from?"
The Little Devil's leader shook his head. But just as Anom was about to breathe out in relief, the leader explained.
It said that this 'very big' monster looked just like the "big" monster they faced before. Their sizes were just a little different.
Anom was so speechless that he didn't even bother to act on his impulse to give these little devils a beating.
He realized that this fruit was definitely a hot potato. But he wasn't going to give it back now that it was in his hands.
He had to think of a solution, as the beast was advancing quickly. Although Anom was faster, this thing looked like it wouldn't stop before crushing them. Anom's stamina was limited, so he had to escape as soon as possible.
He also had to make sure of the safety of the little devils. Although they could use their ability to hide, it was not possible to do so in front of the beast that was behind them. Furthermore, the beast had a large area of damage. Even if they hid quickly, there was a chance that some of them might get affected by it. And Anom didn't want to take such a chance.
After thinking for a while, Anom thought of a plan. He called for the attention of the devils and explained it to them. The final part of the plan depended on their abilities, so he had to explain it to them carefully.
After a little while, the little devils separated into small groups and scattered in different directions.
But the huge beast didn't even glance at them, as its focus was on Anom. More accurately, it was focused on the fruit in Anom's hand.
Anom weaved through the trees to confuse the beast, but it was futile. The beast simply continued forward without bothering to dodge the trees.
Well, it was not like it needed to dodge, as the trees were crushed and trampled on wherever the beast passed through.
Anom realized that it would be more difficult to complete his plan than he had initially thought. He tried to think of a solution, and before long he concluded that there was only one way.
He had to improve his speed and movement techniques.
After taking a deep breath, Anom tried to focus on his movements using his mental energy.
But it was easier said than done. Anom had trouble concentrating in such a situation.
He tried to use the terrain to his advantage, like running towards the thickest trees in his path.
Although it only took a bit more time for the beast to break through the thicker trees, even a moment was what Anom needed right now.
They continued like this for a few minutes, and the beast became more irritated. Its faster movements soon negated Anom's advantage.
Just when the situation was turning for the worse, Anom finally managed to connect his movements with his mental energy.
He observed how his body moved as he ran through the woods.
The movement included more than just legs. Like moving the torso to adjust the center of gravity, different postures, the position of arms, and many other things needed to be observed and adjusted according to the situation. Sometimes the surface and landscape also demand some changes to the movement technique.
Anom had trained his movements on various kinds of terrain, and the forest was one of them. Otherwise, he would not have survived till now just based on his speed.
Anom focused and observed the use of energy and the movements of muscles inside his body. He controlled the energy used during his movements and tried to make it more efficient while reducing any waste. This also increased his understanding of how his body uses energy. All in all, this was the only positive side to this situation.
Soon, he had increased the distance between himself and the beast again, and he was still improving.
The chase continued for a few more minutes when Anom finally began to relax, slowing down his speed.
As the beast saw its target getting slower, a ruthless expression appeared on its already fierce face. It wanted nothing more than to trample on the ant who dared steal from him.
Just as the beast was planning a fierce attack, it saw its target speeding up once again and disappearing behind a sturdy and thick tree.
The beast let out a low growl. Lowering its head, it ran directly into the tree.
Bam! Thud!
And just like what happened to the trees before this one, the tree trunk shattered into pieces as it fell to the forest floor.
After it passed through the obstacle, the beast noticed Anom standing in the distance without running.
Anom looked at the beast and took out the fruit from his bag. He played with the fruit while looking at the beast. He smiled and brought the fruit closer to his mouth. Then, while giving the beast a provoking glare, he licked the fruit.
Uh! It's bitter.
This blatant provocation made the beast's rage reach a new high. It increased its charging speed and got ready to trample the ant in front of it.
Just as the beast rushed towards Anom, the ground below its feet gave way, and one of its legs got stuck inside the pit.
Due to its fierce charging speed, the beast's body rolled over as its foot got out of the pit. It stumbled forward, eventually crashing into a tree.
The beast stood up and shook its head. Although it was saved from harm due to its strength, it still let out an angry roar as it became angry after falling into the ant's trap.
But after charging out of this obstacle, the beast stopped. It looked around at its surroundings but couldn't find any traces of that ant.
It started sniffing the air to locate the target by smell. It was focusing on the smell of the fruit it was familiar with. Furthermore, the fruit emitted a slight aura of pure energy, which made it easier to detect for the beast.
The beast's nose twitched as it moved forward to search for the area with the densest concentration of the fruit's smell.
The beast continued like this for a while before it stopped in front of a tree.
It focused its senses on its surroundings but couldn't find any traces of that ant. It was as if he had disappeared. He couldn't even find the smell he was relying on anymore.
The beast knew that the ant would be nearby. It roared for a while before charging forward.
It began rampaging in this area and, little by little, increased its range.
The ground trembled, trees toppled over, and splinters of wood flew everywhere. The beast looked like it was going to uproot all the trees in the forest.
But that was not the case, as although the beast's strength was great, it was still going to expand its stamina after rampaging in the forest all this time.
Soon, it started panting and letting out low growls. Its bloodshot eyes looked around, but it still failed to notice anything.
The beast crouched on the ground and began resting. It was going to wait here until that ant decided to show itself.
But this situation only continued for a short while.
The beast raised its head and looked into the distance. There, the beast could feel a familiar and strong presence.
The beast stood up abruptly and let out a disgruntled roar.
After taking a last look at its surroundings, it left the area, going back to the path it came from. Not long after the beast left, a pair of green eyes looked at this place from a distance.
A beast with fur that looked like it was smeared in blood came to the destroyed area. It looked in the direction where the black-furred beast went with narrowed eyes.
It then looked around for a while, but after not finding anything suspicious, it left.
Fuuu~
After the beast left, a collective sound was heard, as if some creatures were sighing in relief.