Chapter 474 - Taming Opportunism

Published Mar 17, 2026, 07:41 AM

Chapter 474: Chapter 474 - Taming Opportunism Zhao barely had time to process the massive shadow plummeting from the heights before his survival instincts launched him into a desperate flutter to one side. Death brushed past his left shoulder. The body of the Cat Bear, an enormous creature 20 meters tall, crashed into the ground with an impact that made the earth tremble. "Damned cursed luck!" hissed Zhao, canceling his silent flight while moving away from the crater the creature had created. The massive feline rose slowly, golden blood dripping from multiple wounds. The marks of pincers and perforations in its fur told the story of the recent lost encounter against the hunting trees. It had escaped, but barely. The wounds were showing a desperate struggle. Deep gouges where the trees’ specialized appendages and massive claws had found purchase, puncture wounds and patches of missing fur where the sharp beaks had pierced through its natural armor. This was a predator that had learned the hard way about the price of overconfidence. The giants above didn’t move to pursue. Their beaks couldn’t reach all the way down anyway. Zhao could see their imposing forms remaining erect, conserving energy thanks to their structure adapted for upright rest. The cost of moving from place to place with that enormous mass was astronomical, so they only did it when absolutely necessary. Their patience was a method of hunting and living. Why waste energy chasing prey when greed for the forbidden fruit would eventually deliver it to them anyway? The forest had become a vertical killing field where the trees held almost all the advantages. But the giants weren’t his immediate problem. The wounded Cat Bear growled, especially annoyed by the pain and loss. Its eyes, normally sharp as blades, moved erratically, seeking something to take its frustration out on. The bark of the enormous trunk became its outlet for a moment first. Massive claws raked furrows in the surface, each swipe carving trenches deep enough for a man to hide in. The display of raw power was both impressive and deeply concerning for anyone small or weak enough to become a target for such rage. Zhao reactivated his low profile silent flight, luckily in time, using his Mist Owl’s ability to glide away from the grumpy cat without making noise. It was then that, distracted by the enormous feline bear’s tantrum, he touched something he didn’t realize was there. The "root" wrapped around the trunk felt like flesh, moist and pulsing. Zhao realized his mistake the same instant the thing coiled around his arm to trap him with enormous constrictor force. It wasn’t a root; it was more like a tentacle, a feeding vine, part of something much larger and hungrier. "Golden Carrion Sprout!" he cursed, immediately recognizing the trap he had fallen into. The carrion plants were enormous flattened formations that lived under the extremely compact earth, adapted with bodies adapted to the enormous pressure of the creatures above them. They were like giant plates waiting for food to fall from the tops. Their "roots" were actually also sensory organs that extended toward the tree trunks, feeling the vibrations of the Cat Bears’ climbing. Flat as dinner plates but spread across acres of underground territory, they had transformed themselves into living "safety nets" for the deadly game playing out in the canopy above. They were constantly waiting for the result of the deadly game above. When a thief fell, whether dying, or in pieces, they were ready to drag it toward their digestive mouths. A complete corpse or a half-eaten fruit were the best prizes, but any piece would do. The tentacle interpreted Zhao’s presence precisely as a piece of the Cat Bear that had just fallen nearby, perhaps a fragment torn apart by the trees’ claws. The suction force increased, trying to drag him toward the main mouth hidden under the earth. The pulling sensation was terrible, like being grabbed by a giant underwater current. Zhao could feel the creature’s digestive anticipation through the tentacle, its biological systems already preparing to process what it assumed was fresh meat. "Not like this!" Zhao growled, his instincts activating. Three feathers materialized in his free hand, each glowing with maximum energy. He launched them in rapid sequence, each projectile finding its mark at the junction where the tentacle connected to the main root system. It wasn’t very high damage since Zhao was almost a full rank below... But thanks to being a double and his high precision, the small damage hit the precise points to multiply the effect. His Mist Owl’s eyes allowed him to see the tiny gaps in the creature’s armor, the vulnerable connection points where nervous tissue clustered near the surface. The Carrion Sprout reacted immediately, its tentacles writhing in pain as the disruptive sensation interfered with its nervous system. The pressure on Zhao’s wrist loosened enough for him to break free. Without wasting time, he activated his flight to the maximum again, spending energy reserves he preferred to conserve. The air became his ally as he rose away from the reach of the tentacles that now thrashed furiously searching for the food they had lost on the surface. But he had lost stealth again. The attack with the feathers had created flashes of light that cut through the dense air like beacons in the night. And this time something had noticed them. Zhao felt the change in the environment before seeing it, a presence moving with impossible grace jumping between the tree trunks. His enhanced senses caught the distinctive pattern: black and white spots moving behind him. The movement was different from the previous wounded Cat Bear’s desperate thrashing. This was a different beast inside the same body, purposeful, the approach of a predator that had chosen its target and was now closing in with its fastest jumps. "The damned Cat Bear saw me," he murmured, his heart sinking. Now the camouflage or the silent flight wouldn’t work against the beast activated mana eyes. The Cats were ’playful’... It might sound cute, but with Gold Rank 3 creatures that had developed a pathological obsession with anything that moved or shone... They didn’t hunt anything other than fruits for evolutionary hunger; they pursued any other things for entertainment. And once something caught their attention, they didn’t stop until it ceased to be "fun".

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