Chương 6: The Law of the Jungle and the Berserk Matriarch

"... Save... run!" That hoarse roar pierced through the dense forest. Rowan, who had just been preparing to stand up and negotiate, froze instantly, halfway out of his crouch. Through the edge of his tactical binoculars, he saw the previously majestic, heavily muscled martial artist now staggering backward. A fist-sized bloody hole had been blasted through his left shoulder, gushing dark blood. Roar—!! Before the native mage could even cry out in alarm, a second roar erupted from the depths of the forest.

This voice was sharper and far more furious than the bull rhino's. The earth shuddered under the weight of something massive approaching. A slightly smaller rhinoceros came tearing through the forest like a frenzied, earthen-yellow lightning bolt, earth-element mana almost materializing into physical armor around its body. Ancient trunks snapped like dry kindling as it charged straight into the center of the battlefield. Rowan saw sheer panic wash over the trio's faces. A fatal intelligence error!

The beast is part of a mated pair!

"Go!" the martial artist bellowed, swinging his greatsword to forcefully parry the matriarch's charge. The white-robed mage wore a grim expression. Waving his staff again, another of those "100% efficiency" shields appeared. The white light instantly enveloped the martial artist, forcibly saving him from the matriarch's crushing tusks. [Warning: High-frequency magical fluctuations detected within a short timeframe. Spell-Sniper V3. 2 Free Trial is strictly for educational purposes and cannot be used on a battlefield.] [Upgrade Available: Unlock "Battlefield High-Energy Analysis Plug-in" for 500 Terra Credits?]"Piss off!" Rowan cursed inwardly, hastily shutting down the software. His retina was flooded with static and red error messages. Shoddy software was completely unreliable when it mattered most. By now, the battle had completely collapsed.

The two mercenaries didn't even have the luxury to investigate Rowan, who had just triggered the containment array. Their only thought right now was saving their comrade. Gritting his teeth, the white-robed mage cast another healing spell. The white light landed on the martial artist, visibly stemming the bleeding, but against this berserk matriarch, such minor recovery was merely a drop in the bucket. The group tangled in a chaotic melee, earth and stone flying in all directions.

The mercenaries' stamina was draining frantically. The martial artist's movements had begun to deform, and Rowan could see that the webbing between his thumb and index finger on his sword hand had completely split open.

"... Break... array!" the leather-clad mage roared loudly. The white-robed mage pulled a rune-covered blue crystal from his robes—the array core maintaining the containment dome. He frantically pumped mana into it, attempting to forcefully reverse the circuit. Just as the edge of the array flickered and the dome was on the verge of collapsing, the bull rhino lying in a pool of blood actually launched a dying counterattack! Its single horn flared.

A yellow beam, concentrated with the entirety of its earth-element mana, shot out. However, having lost its aim, it didn't strike the martial artist who posed the greatest threat, but flew straight toward the white-robed mage standing in the far back! Clang! The white-robed mage reacted incredibly fast. Another milky-white shield materialized out of thin air, securely blocking the beam. However, through the binoculars, Rowan clearly caught a fleeting glimpse of sheer terror in the white-robed mage's eyes.

Because the very instant the bull collapsed, the berserk matriarch also opened her massive maw. A second, even more devastating beam followed suit with less than a second's delay! Rowan held his breath. To a mage capable of 100% mana efficiency, rapid recasting shouldn't have been an issue—at least, that's what Rowan assumed. Just throw up another shield. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

But what happened next utterly shattered Rowan's fantasy of this "overpowered mage." The white-robed mage didn't cast a shield. He didn't even make a motion to prepare a spell. Instead, a look of utter despair crossed his face as he clumsily tried to dodge to the side, just like a normal human. But how could flesh outpace a mana beam? Squelch! The beam punched cleanly through the white-robed mage's chest, leaving a charred, gaping hole.

The powerhouse capable of casting "100% efficiency divine spells" was sent flying like a torn scrap of paper, dead before he even hit the ground.

"How is that possible... Why didn't he cast a shield? Even I could react to that, he had plenty of redundant casting time!" Huddled deep in the bushes, Rowan's mind raced.

"Did his mana run dry? No, his mana signature had been steady right up until the end. Then why... Could it be that the '100% efficiency' shield wasn't a spell at all, but some kind of trigger-based magic scroll or magical artifact?" With the white-robed mage dead, the array core in his hand—having been clipped by the beam—shattered into useless dust. The surrounding blue light barrier instantly disintegrated like shattered glass.

"... No... Jay!"

"Damn it!... Broken... run!" The martial artist let out a savage, thunderous roar. Erupting with waves of Qi, he forcefully cleaved through the matriarch's interception with a single strike of his sword. Grabbing the remaining mage, without even a thought of retrieving their fallen comrade's body, he blurred into an afterimage and vanished deep into the forest. The fleeing mercenaries were simply too fast.

After failing to pursue them, the frenzied matriarch unsurprisingly redirected her boundless rage onto the corpse of the enemy left behind. Inhale... exhale... Rowan slammed himself face-first into the mud, burying his entire body under the layer of rotting leaves. [Acknowledged: Core output suppressed to 1%.] [Warning: Prolonged suppression of the Aether Core will cause circuit congestion.]"Shut up."

Less than ten meters away from him, the white-robed mage's corpse with the pierced chest lay quietly at the edge of the bushes—blown straight there by the violent beam. Thud— Thud— The matriarch's heavy hoofbeats were closing in. It was no longer just a sound, but a tangible physical impact that traveled through the damp earth and smashed directly into Rowan's chest cavity. The edge of his vision was blocked by layers of grass; he couldn't see the beast's exact position.

Beneath the skin of his left arm, the Aether Core—having all its cooling circuits forcefully locked down—felt like a red-hot branding iron searing into his bones. The agonizing backlash made his muscles instinctually want to twitch, but he ruthlessly bit down on the tip of his tongue. He used the iron tang of blood to clamp that reflex shut, locking it deep in his nerves. Fifty meters. Twenty meters. Ten meters. It took the matriarch only three seconds to close the distance to the white-robed mage's corpse.

An overwhelmingly pungent stench of sulfur mixed with wild beast musk, laced with seething, turbulent earth-element mana, blew in from his front right. Huff— Huff— The heavy, ragged breathing sounded as if it were right next to his ear. Yet, having survived multiple mutant beast swarms in the Terra underhive sewers, Rowan didn't so much as twitch an eyelid.

He knew that as long as his heartbeat didn't spike, with his current minuscule mana pool as an unranked mage, he was practically indistinguishable from the air in a mana-beast's perception. The matriarch also seemed entirely unaware that the lump radiating the smell of rotting mud beside her was a human. She let out a venomous roar, raised a massive front hoof and stomped down viciously onto the white-robed mage's corpse! Crack— SPLAT! The sickening sound of bones pulverizing rang out right beside him.

Mud, gravel, and viscous flesh splattered outward like buckshot. Several drops struck Rowan's cheek and clenched eyelids hard enough to bruise. Yet, he stayed as still as a corpse. A few minutes later, having completely reduced her enemy's corpse into pulp, the matriarch finally raised her head. A long, mournful cry tore from her throat. She turned, walked over to the dead bull, circled it a few times, and slowly vanished into the depths of the forest.

The forest returned to a deathly silence, broken only by the rustle of rain pattering against the leaves. Rowan still didn't move. He lay in the muck like a shriveled corpse. He knew that high-tier mana-beasts were extremely sensitive to their territory. Even though she had walked away, she might still be monitoring this area through some form of vibration or magical feedback. Maintaining his contorted posture, he quietly pulled out his tactical binoculars and slowly scanned the area through the gaps in the grass.

He confirmed the matriarch had vanished beyond visual range. Next, he carefully pressed his ear against the freezing ground. One second, ten seconds, a hundred seconds... He was listening for subterranean aftershocks. Back in the slums of the Terra underhive, he had relied on this exact trick to detect the Public Security Bureau's night raids well in advance. This soil could transmit the heavy footsteps of a mana-beast from kilometers away. Fifteen minutes passed.

Aside from the wind and the occasional unknown bird call in the distance, there were no signs of large biological movement anywhere. Only then did Rowan slowly push himself up from the muddy water, wiping the grime from his face. There was no lingering fear in his eyes; only the feverish gleam of someone who had just cheated death—a look that mixed pure greed with icy composure. He looked in that direction. A few dozen meters away, the bull rhino's corpse was still steaming.

And as for the white-robed mage who had died so inexplicably... the remnants of his corpse were quietly scattered to Rowan's front right. His storage pouch lay sideways in the pool of blood over there. Rowan let out a heavy breath and released the lockdown on his Aether Core. The residual waste heat flowed out along the mana pathways, bringing instant relief. This perilous jungle survival test was finally over. What came next... was the harvest.