Chapter 149 Monster Stampede [Part 1] After Adira dealt with the Warsor Black Hounds, Cristopher fired one cross bolt after the other. Standing behind him was Brutus, who handled the reload of his weapon, allowing the chubby boy to put all his focus into shooting the ammunition. His bolts were dipped in the poison of the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute, so it had a corrosion effect that harmed the Hyenas from the inside out. However, their bodies were very sturdy, so even when their bodies were riddled with arrows and cross bolts, they didn't die right away. They only died after O1 and O2 discarded their shields and pulled back the wagons, allowing the Ogres to pass through the blockage and engage their blinded enemies in close combat. Bruno kept his shield up and used it to bash the Rank 4 Monster, pushing it into one of the holes in the ground. It might already be blinded, but there was still the possibility of it escaping. Bruno knew that he mustn't let the leader of the Hyenas escape no matter what, so he put all of his attention on the strongest threat on the battlefield. Cristopher's bolts only bounced off the body of the Rank 4 Monster, so he no longer attacked it and focused on the other Hyenas, whose bodies weren't able to resist his attacks. After making sure that he had hit every last one of them, the Trolls and the Ogres teamed up to attack the blinded Monsters, aiming for their heads with their swords. The battle was very bloody, and despite their lack of sight, the Hyenas fought with everything they had, relying on their bestial instincts to swipe, bite, and charge at the opponents that were attacking them at close range. However, since they couldn't see their opponents properly, most of their attacks missed. Some of them had also fallen into the holes in the ground when they tried to tackle their opponents. Brutus and Bruno, who understood the importance of landing the killing blow to their enemies, told everyone to back away as they dealt the killing blow to the Monsters, who were on their last legs. Brutus used a bow and arrow to attack the Hyenas that had fallen in the hole, while Bruno took one of the jagged swords and handled the rest. Simply put, the Hyenas suffered a one-sided beating, but this beating still took a lot of time due to their strong bodies. Three hours later… Cristopher sat beside Thirteen, who was now sleeping on a bedroll The younger boy still hadn't regained consciousness, so Christopher decided to stay by his side to keep watch on his condition. Tiona was coiled up on Thirteen's chest. Just like Cristopher, she was very worried about her Master's condition and was also waiting for him to wake up. The three Black Hounds were now inside cages. All of them had their hind legs broken, preventing them from even standing up. Adira made sure that none of them would be able to run away so that she could give them to Thirteen as a gift in order to make the boy owe her a debt of gratitude. While everyone in the camp was still awake and keeping watch of their surroundings, Vassago descended from the sky and landed beside Thirteen's sleeping body. Seeing that his Master was in no condition to give orders, the Pocopoco started to make noise. "Run! Run! Run!" Vassago shouted. "Danger! Danger! Danger! Leave this place now!" The Pocopoco was imitating Thirteen's voice in order to give out orders. "A Monster Stampede is coming! Run! Run! Run!" Before they had begun their trip, Thirteen told Cristopher that Vassago could be trusted and that his words should be taken seriously. Although the seven-year-old didn't say anything else at that time, the chubby boy had seen that the Pocopoco and his Master communicated a lot, with the dumb-looking bird scouting their surroundings on a regular basis. Seeing the bird shouting orders using his Young Master's voice, Cristopher knew that Vassago wasn't just making it up. And even if the bird was just spouting nonsense, he would still believe him since he could let his Young Master punish it at a later time! "Everyone, prepare to leave!" Cristopher shouted. "Brutus, carry the Young Master to the First Wagon! As for the rest, get the horses. Move, people!" Percival, the Trolls, the Ogres, and the Tigerkins, who were Thirteen's slaves, frowned after hearing Cristopher's orders. Since he wasn't their Master, they were reluctant to obey their orders. However, when the chubby boy threatened them that he would tell the seven-year-old that they didn't follow his orders, all of them started to take his orders more seriously. Adira then ordered the Ogres to attach the five steel cages, which contained the four Black Hounds and the Black Panther that Thirteen had caught on the day they arrived at the Furvus Grasslands. With each wagon pulling a steel cage, they hastily left their camp, not even bothering to extinguish the campfire. Ten minutes after leaving their camp, they all heard the sound of countless Monsters running in their direction, which made them feel as if the ground was trembling. "Move faster!" Adira ordered. "Those who get left behind will have to fend for themselves!" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶 Within the darkness of the Furvus Grasslands, countless glowing orbs of light could be seen in the distance. These glowing orbs were none other than the eyes of the Monsters, who were trying to flee as fast as they could from something terrifying. Just behind this massive Monster stampede, hundreds of Golden-Eyed Hyenas were spread out, killing the stragglers that were being left behind. Leading them was the Rank 5 Hyena Overlord, who planned to break through to the next rank in a hurry so that it could face off against the Purple-Eyed Honey Badger, who had decided to challenge it to a turf war. The two had fought briefly, with the Hyena getting injured by the Honey Badger. It was only a minor injury, but it was enough to tell the Hyena that it couldn't beat its opponent with its current strength. The hundreds of Hyenas it had brought had also attacked the Honey Badger, but their attacks were unable to penetrate its steel-like body. They only died a pitiful death after being swiped or bitten by the Honey Badger, whose ferocity wouldn't lose to a Jinn. Because of this, the Rank 5 Overlord ordered its forces to retreat, leaving behind the Honey Badger, who then busied itself with eating the Hyenas that had died in battle. Knowing that the Purple-Furred Honey Badger would continue to pursue it, the Rank 5 Overlord decided to hunt en masse, alongside its remaining subordinates, in order to recover from its injury, as well as break through to the next rank. Truth be told, if given a month or two, the leader of the Hyenas would also become a Rank 6 Overlord. Perhaps, knowing that this was going to happen, the Purple- Furred Honey Badger decided to kill it before it could become stronger. It naturally had no plans of letting its rival grow in strength, and killing it would end all of its worries. Unfortunately, the Purple-Furred Honey Badger wasn't really a long-distance fast runner. It could run in quick bursts, but it was not capable of running for long distances non-stop. Using this to its advantage, the Hyenas decided to distance themselves from it and hunt the Monsters they encountered along the way as they headed toward the Furvus Grasslands. Because of this, a Monster Stampede was created with both the Herbivores and the Carnivores of the grasslands running for their lives. Those who couldn't run fast enough were devoured by the Rank 5 Overlord, allowing it to take another step closer to its evolution.