Zoran followed the pack of Miasma Panthers, mimicking their pouncing motion among the sea of Miasma.
He made sure to follow them from a distance and with a coat of Miasma covering his entire body. This would ensure that the ripples of Miasma would be limited so as not to alert the Miasma Beasts.
The drawback of this was that he had to lessen his speed or else the Miasma coating would drip out of his body.
He was worried that he would lose sight of them because of how slow he was going, but this didn't turn out to be a problem.
First of all, the gang of Miasma Beasts often stopped and circled around each other like they were dancing.
Then, a fight would sometimes break out between some of them, creating chaos among everyone in the group as it became a free-for-all.
The end of this mini-war resulted in many injuries and limping legs. But somehow, they always ended up making up as if the fight didn't happen.
He even saw them licking each other's wounds as if they were apologizing to each other.
Zoran thought these creatures were mere products of Miasma, capable of only acting on instinct. But the scene before him shattered that prejudice.
The beasts continued on their journey for days until they finally reached their habitat.
A large spherical structure opened up to Zoran. This structure was embedded onto the ceiling as if it was stuck there by an adhesive of Miasma tendrils.
It was hard to judge its scale because there was no point of reference, but Zoran was sure that it was the same size as a mountain—at the very least.
It had holes of different sizes littered among the surface of the sphere which these tiny creatures used to go in and out of the structure.
Upon closer inspection, Zoran realized that those tiny creatures were Miasma Panthers.
There seemed to be a whole civilization in this Miasma, something Zoran didn't think was possible.
He saw groups of Miasma Panthers revolving around the sphere with intervals. These looked to be organized patrols.
Even the entrance of holes had security examining any creature that entered the mega-structure. They inspected the loots of the visitors, and if they deemed it worthy, then they were allowed inside the nest.
All of them had to comply. If they didn't, then they would meet the same fate as the Miasma Panther he saw getting mauled by five security beasts.
But that wasn't the most impressive thing about this civilization. It wasn't the organized militia, it wasn't the intricately planned network of workers, it was the structure itself.
The spherical lair was made out of solidified Miasma, the same as the ceiling Zoran saw a few days ago.
That Miasma was so much more dense and rotten than even Zoran could handle. He would only last a few minutes handling that Miasma.
If this structure was made out of the same material, then it could only lead to one terrifying conclusion.
Somewhere inside that structure was a being who mastered Miasma to a point even beyond Zoran's understanding.
But that was the least of Zoran's worries at the moment. While he was observing the massive den, five Miasma Panthers surrounded him, each ready to leap at a moment's notice.
He felt the ripples of Miasma around him, each clearly much stronger than the previous beasts he encountered.
These panthers had bigger fangs and had a bulkier body made out of even more condensed Miasma. These not only gave them better durability, but also explosive strength.
These were the soldiers he saw patrolling the borders of their nest.
If the Miasma Beasts he previously encountered were equivalent to 1st stage cultivators, then these soldiers were at the 2nd stage.
Zoran immediately activated his Tyrannical Miasma Strike. The white glow of the artskill temporarily blinded the Miasma puma soldiers; Zoran did not let that opportunity pass by.
He quickly landed his attack on one soldier whose head reeled in unfamiliar pain.
DUGSHH
The Miasma Beast felt its entire body scream in pain as if a mini explosion detonated right beside it.
Fortunately for it, the added bulk of Miasma on its body helped it survive that tyrannical punch that many others had disintegrated from.
Unfortunately for it, that wasn't the end of Zoran's attacks. Another explosive fist came knocking through its body at exactly the same place that Zoran's initial hit landed.
With that one-two punch combo, the puma soldier, renowned for its defensive capabilities, shattered into a rain of Miasma.
It was at this time that the four other Miasma Beasts finally recovered from the temporary stun.
What welcomed their eyes was Zoran's figure looking back at them with his two hands glowing blindingly white with Miasma roots all over his fists.
They didn't have time to wonder as Zoran started a flurry of attacks on the four beasts, with his attacks flowing smoothly from one beast to another.
The beasts tried to counter-attack, using their innate ability to cooperate with one another.
Each time Zoran focused his attacks on one beast, the other three would go behind him and attack.
One went for the leg, one went for the jugular vein in his neck, and the other tried to bite his head off.
Zoran handled them perfectly. He countered their attacks at the very last second, using a combination of grappling and kickboxing.
It wasn't a fight. He dismantled them with ease as they couldn't even land a proper hit on him. The result of their organized attacks resulted with just a few grazes on his body which immediately healed from the Miasma.
With Zoran's tyrannical fists, the puma soldiers exploded into Miasma one by one. Miasma beads fell out of their bodies as they rejoined the realm of liquid Miasma.
Zoran picked it all up and consumed one immediately.
The quality of this was one much better than the beads of normal Miasma Panthers by a factor of 10. With four more in his hands, it was the equivalent of fighting forty Miasma Beasts.
Zoran would have loved to sit here and cultivate all the Miasma beads he acquired, but there were more soldiers coming for him.
He saw troops and troops of Puma Soldiers march out of their holes and head straight towards Zoran. They were all organized in companies
He estimated that each company had about 100 soldiers, and there were rows and rows of companies strutting out.
It looked like the whole army was out to get him. And their numbers were no joke; they were at least in the thousands or tens of thousands.
Zoran couldn't deal with them all at once, so he immediately retreated out before they could get him.
But the soldiers kept marching on.
Zoran smiled. If war is what they want, then a war is what they'll get.