*Grrrrrr*
The beast glowered in anger at the three humans on top of the mountain. Its long bluish-black tail whipped the ground and went forward with steady steps, hammering the trio's chests with each step, causing them to hitch their breath for a second.
Ever since the beast was young, it had always displayed a ferocious dominant attitude and always stood at the top, purely because of its innate bloodline.
The beast had a faint trace of The Devouring Lion's bloodline. Although the Devouring Lion was not categorized as a Divine Beast, it was close to becoming one. This was enough to indicate how insanely powerful it was.
The beastly lion was casually resting in its 'humble' abode, when it suddenly felt its spiritual mark on the 5-Leaf Clover was forcefully eradicated.
This unfortunate situation overturned the beast's mood and, for a good reason. The beast was currently at Rank 4 – Peak Stage.
Even Shattering Sea Realm cultivators would find it tough to escape from the beast, much less defeat it. Its extremely sturdy skin gives the beast an extremely good defensive strength. Once the Overlord lays its sights on someone, it will not stop targeting the person until he/she is dead.
If it had to cultivate with its usual speed, the beast would take another year or two to advance to Rank 5. By chance, the beast had 'accidentally' discovered the 5-Leaf Clover and instantly knew that this was a fortunate opportunity.
It had imprinted its spiritual mark on the 5-Leaf Clover, so when the herb had fully matured, the beast would consume it and reap the benefits.
But out of nowhere, someone had meddled with the 5-Leaf Clover and greatly angered the beast.
"RUN!"
Ash shouted and they ran away from the beast like their life literally depended on it.
*ROAARRRR*
*Boom*
The beast shattered the ground and jumped towards the escaping humans.
Since the beast was a Peak Rank 4 magical beast, its speed greatly outclasses the trio's speed. Even Ray would not be able to outrun the oncoming beast.
The commotion caused quite a few disturbances in the Outer Region and almost, everyone knew that the Overlord was on the move. The other cultivators had to be cautious lest they accidentally make their way towards the Overlord.
*Crash*
Even the gigantic trees could not stop the Overlord's forceful chase. Trees were hurled away and a trail of dust were left behind.
Ray looked behind and his eyes widened with slight worry. The distance between them and the beast was being shortened. He knew that the beast would catch up to them eventually, so he had to think of something.
So far, they weren't attacked by any other beasts but that's mainly because of the Overlord chasing them. Its mere presence can instill deep fear onto the other beasts, thus somewhat helping the trio.
*Whoosh*
With an additional burst of speed, the Overlord quickly caught up to them much to the trio's dismay. The sharp claws of the Overlord shaved past the trio many a times as they were trying their best to dodge.
They knew without a fact, that if the sharp claws hit them, they would be fucked and dumped into the stomach of the beast.
Their clothes were clawed with tears and they looked worse for wear. The fact that they could hold on for so long against a Peak-Stage Rank 4 magical beast, proved they were nothing to scoff at.
Instantly, Ray moved as if he transformed into a bolt of lightning. With the beast purely focusing on attacking, Ray took this as a risky chance and his hand flashed out, piercing towards an eye of the beast.
Even a Peak-Stage Rank 4 magical beast is susceptible to multiple weaknesses and its eye is always a major weak point.
Ray wasn't entirely optimistic about his surprise attack, considering the speed of the Overlord beast is well faster than his and the others. But at least it was worth a try.
*Whoosh*
The result came out exactly what he had thought. The Overlord moved at a quicker speed and easily dodged Ray's piercing strike.
*ROOAAARRRR*
The Overlord roared in annoyance and rage as it pounced towards Ray, who was currently unguarded.
In the next second, Ray was knocked back into the ground by the Overlord.
But, before the Overlord even had the chance to follow up, Bryan and Ash interrupted its advance and garnered its attention by executing Phantasmal Fists and Hail Strikes. Sadly, this did absolutely nothing to the beastly lion as it merely felt a tickle brushing through its skin.
The beast opened its mouth and tired to bite off Bryan's arm, who narrowly dodged the bite but was left with a bloody gash on his right arm.
The beasts' strong muscles on its hind legs bulged with power as wisps of fire slowly covered its sharp claws. With a roar, the beast swiped its claws at Bryan and Ash.
A giant fiery claw appeared and lashed out with immense speed. There was no time for them to dodge the fire claw so they clenched their teeth and took the attack head on.
*Splurt*
To no avail, the fiery claw was just too powerful. They flew back from the force and smashed into a tree. A trail of blood followed them and one could see multiple bloody gashes inflicted on their chests.
"Ugh…" Bryan groaned weakly and stood up with difficulty. He positioned himself in front of Ash to act as a defensive barrier.
The intense burning pain brimmed with lethality as a bulging vein appeared on Ash's forehead. Ash trembled in pain as he tried his best to get up.
*ROAARRR*
The beast let out a bloodthirsty roar into the sky. Bryan and Ash couldn't help but pale at a visible degree.
The beast didn't give them time to breathe and dashed forward with the intention to rip them into shreds.
*Whoosh*
*Boom*
Ray appeared in between the beast and his friends, successfully attracting the beast's attention. A pair of lightning wings grandly sprouted from his back.
The beast didn't stop its momentum as it marched on forwards. Its tail waved threateningly before it swiped against Ray, leaving a shrill sound of the wind.
*Crackle*
Ray's eyes constricted with a flash of lightning as he dodged the incoming tail. The beast didn't stop and continued to whack its tail.
Every time the tail swiped against the wind, it would either break numerous trees or create multiple craters on the ground.
The beast realized the human in front of it was good at dodging and stopped its attack. Ray used this small window and launched a kick that resembled a missile at the beast.
The beast sensed the attack and shifted its head towards the attack. The beast growled ferociously and opened its mouth, biting towards his leg.
Ray's leg was already in front of the beast and could not retract his attack. The Lightning Wings on his back flapped heavily towards his right, forcefully propelling himself to the left of the beast, narrowly avoiding getting his leg chomped up by the beast.
This, unfortunately, left his back wide open for the tail.
*Whip*
The beast whipped its tail and crashed heavily into the back of Ray.
*Boom*
"AAGH!"
His back almost folded in half before he was sent crashing into the ground. He blinked his eyes and saw that Bryan and Ash were right beside him.
Ray got up from the ground, wincing in pain and stood next to Bryan and Ash.
"This is fucked up!" Ash said in frustration.
*Cough*
Ash coughed out a bit of blood from being agitated too much.
Bryan frowned and said, "Control yourself, Ash. You're hurting yourself."
Ash weakly smiled and gave him a thumbs up in agreement.
*ROOAAARRRR*
The beast didn't wait and sent out another gigantic fire claw. The fire claw blasted its way towards the three and it looked very bleak for them.
The gigantic fire claw and the three humans on either side created quite a tragic scene.
Bryan and Ash were heavily injured. Ray wouldn't have enough time to drag the two out of the way.
*Sigh*
Ray placed a hand on both their shoulders and said, "We'll be fine…"
"Huh…?" Ash confused eyes stared at Ray, meanwhile, Bryan stared at the oncoming fire claw with grim eyes.
4 metres…
3 metres…
2 metres…
1 metre…
When the fire claw reached the 1 metre mark, Ray smiled and muttered, "Activate!"
*Bloop*
The fire claw passed through and crashed into the gigantic trees.
*ROOOAAAARRRRRRR*
The beast observed that the three humans had mysteriously disappeared and let out an enraged roar.
[Obsidian Teleportation Amulet Used!]
-Few thousands of miles away-
In a dark underground musky cave, a bright light appeared, illuminating the cave, revealing screeching bats and mossy walls.
*Bloop*
Ray, Bryan and Ash appeared in the cave, escaping the dangerous encounter with the Overlord.
[One charge has been used.]
[Remaining charges: 4]
The blunt reminder of the system echoed in Ray's ears as they observed their surroundings.
Bryan groaned and sat down. He looked up and asked Ray, "I assume you used the Teleportation Amulet?"
Ray nodded and gently laid Ash down on the ground.
"Nice one, Ray." Ash gave him a thumbs up.
"It's unfortunate we had to use it so fast but what's the point if I don't use it?" Ray spoke softly but, in the cave, his voice echoed rather loudly.
"We're safe and that's what counts." Bryan huffed and started meditating to recover.
Ash was cross-legged as well and asked, "Where are we though…"
"No idea…" Ray muttered as he closely observed the cave.
"This looks like a normal cave but I'm not stupid enough to believe this is anything but normal." Ash whispered.
"For now, let's rest up and recover from the wounds. There are two possible paths for us to take, left or right." Ray said and continued, "Which path should we take, guys?"
"Left!"
"Left!"
Both Ash and Bryan answered simultaneously.
Ray smiled and said, "I had the same thought in mind…"