Rank 50357: Kouske Kasiwagi "Fuck." Liam's heart did a flip flop as he stared at the name in disbelief. This guy was like a ghost that kept sneaking up on him, popping out every now and then, without any prior warning and giving him heart attacks! In reality, the incident was not that shocking and was also completely a self-inflicted one. He was the one who was stalking or trying to stalk the poor guy to steal his inheritance and his fate. Though Liam understood this, the whole thing made him very uneasy. It was as if a car was closely following, right on his tail. He could be overtaken at any given time or worse could be hit and run over to the side. It was not a pleasant feeling. Affected by this, Liam hurriedly walked over and took out the portal scroll to tear it open. There was an urgency in his movements that was not there before, but he stopped quickly. "I should not rush." He reminded himself. He did not know why but despite all signs pointing towards the right direction, he felt that something was off. Was this really the right way for obtaining the inheritance? Kouseke was here and everything was falling in place, but still... He took a few deep breaths and then slowed down his actions. "Hmmm. I should take a look at things in the city after this mission." He also took a second to check if there was any urgent call or message from his sister or Shen Yue. Only then, after he had calmed down sufficiently, he looked up to see his new group and waved his hand. "Here we go. Prepare yourself." He also took out his black mask and first wore it before activating the portal. The last time was a bit too close for his comfort and he did not want to get caught in the middle of a prime player zone with someone accidentally recognizing him. A bright glow immediately surrounded the group and when the blinding light disappeared they found themselves in the midst of a tall gigantic waterfall. The loud gushing sound of the waters falling from the astronomically high cliff and hitting the stream of water rang in their ears. And all the demons, Luna and Liam fell down into the water one after the other with plopping sounds. For the previous missions, they had always landed on dry ground but now that they were in the water, it took them a second to stabilize. However, before they got a chance to do that, a set of thundering noises echoed and loud angry shouts resounded. OOO! AAAAH! OOOO! AAAH! A horde of purple-bodied apes emerged from the tall trees surrounding the waterfalls, quickly encircling Liam and the five demons. They snarled angrily looking at Liam and the other demons with pure hatred in their gaze. They were so angry that their eyes that were originally white in color looked dark crimson, because of the number of veins that had popped out. OOO! AAAAH! OOOO! AAAH! OOO! AAAAH! OOOO! AAAH! They also did not stop their loud racket. Because of the horrendous noise, they were making, all the birds in the vicinity flew out, fearful of the commotion. As if this was not enough, more and more purple apes also slowly started coming out. The number of beasts encircling them quickly compounded. Even Liam couldn't remain calm in this situation. He had never seen beasts that had this much viciousness in their eyes. They all stared at them as if they were their mortal enemy. This did not look like simple aggro at all. [Level 26; Rainbow Purple Ape] [Level 24; Rainbow Purple Ape] "Luckily, their level is still not too high." Liam started mentally thinking about the various strategies he could use. He felt that he sorely needed more AoE attacks. He also hadn't comprehended the technique behind such attacks. When using the system's help many attacks consumed similar levels of mana. But in reality, AoE attacks were higher-end attacks and couldn't be executed that easily without assistance. The principles behind them were also totally different. Liam's reaction was quick. While other demons were still staring wide at the apes, he hurriedly stepped out of the turbulent water onto a huge rock to gain more balance. As if responding to him, the next second, a dozen apes landed with heavy thuds on the other rocks scattered on the stream. And every time an ape came down from the trees, the five demons shuddered. They were all somewhat experienced, but they were only used to raiding in a huge group. Even before, they had faced a huge number of enemies at the same time, but their own group had also been big in numbers. This was the first time they were in a smaller group, having been enticed by the silver coin, which from the looks of it, had essentially sealed their fate. No one had any hopes that they were going to survive this and stood completely frozen just like the rocks on the river. The anger and the viciousness in the beasts' eyes also did not make things easier. Liam saw this. However, he didn't care. He was never reliant on these demons for finishing the missions. Training them was only a side perk. He unsheathed the crimson blade hanging around his waist and grinned. "Tch. This is going to be a bloody one." He was about to step out of the river onto dry land, but he stopped himself. Instead, his figure changed direction and dashed towards another rock on which an ape was standing. The apes did not remain idle and shouted and screamed loudly, wanting to tear apart the intruders. However, when they started jumping towards Liam's current location, they quickly realized that something was amiss. Only three or four apes were able to stand on the rock and that too when they did, it became a crowd and their balance was compromised. Otherwise, only two apes were properly able to stand. "He He. Only now you are noticing? Too late!" Liam smiled as he waved his sword casually. Sure, facing hundreds of these apes at the same time would have been a challenge but two or three at the same time, was a piece of cake, especially when his attributes were so much higher than these apes. Not able to withstand the humiliation, some apes did not give up and tried to jump directly on top of Liam or grab him and toss him onto dry land to pummel him to death. But Liam's body was like a strand of grass. His flexible body swayed, bent, and jumped, nimbly dodging all the attacks coming for him, while simultaneously balancing himself on that single rock. And when things went out of control, he simply moved onto another rock, evading everything together. The apes were completely enraged. From the beginning to the end, they were not able to land a single attack on him. They also only had the physical attack and physical defense and lacked any sort of magical attacks. So they were completely helpless against him and were being slaughtered without having a chance to fight back. Watching Liam fight, the other demons started feeling more confident. They as well mimicked his strategy and jumped onto a rock, exchanging blows with the apes. However, watching it and doing it personally were two different things. After moving around on the small surface while continuing to block and attack, they realized that they were just as much disadvantaged as the apes. Unlike Liam, who was slicing and dicing the apes left and right, clearing out two to three beasts at a time, they were only able to fight one or two and it was a long fight. It only took them a few seconds and their admiration for their leader shot up. Usually, the other squad leaders stayed at the back safely and commanded, but this leader was fighting at the front and leading them by example. So strong! Now, they understood why the previous group had not taken any other missions and waited for this specific squad leader to return. They also wanted to stick to Liam and stared at him with worshipping eyes. They fought with a lot of gusto and energy, doing their best to impress him. Fighting together, they were putting away many of the purple apes at the same time, collecting a lot of experience points. Everybody's movements also became more fluid and they were improving steadily. Liam danced around without any restraint, his sword dripping with blood, forming puddles of crimson in the stream that were quickly washed along as more water gushed down. His balance had always been good because he had trained his body to an extreme in his previous life. Without having the capability of wielding mana, his body was his only tool at disposal and he had trained day and night like a lunatic. How could all of that hard work disappear? Everything was ingrained in his bones. Even if he died again and was reborn, he would still remember it all! His hard work and efforts showed in his movements and the wobbly rocks on the stream were only a hurdle to the apes. Liam twisted and turned his body, dodging and slashing at the apes with relative ease as if he was simply standing on dry land. There was simply no difference for him. With every move of his sword, aimed perfectly at the ape's vital points, one critical hit after another popped up and the lifeless bodies dropped into the stream, carried by the currents. The apes were completely overpowered and were being massacred mercilessly. But surprisingly, they were still fighting back. Liam also noticed this peculiar behavior and silently wondered if there was something else going on here. Level 20 and higher beasts were very intelligent. In fact, their moves right now could be compared to a professional boxer fighting at the ring. However, they still persistently kept coming and fighting against an enemy who was far higher than their level. Why didn't they simply turn tail and run? Why were they fighting against him with such ferocity and hostility?