Chapter 231: Three Ancient Beast Altars
[An unknown Ancient Beast Soul has sensed your summoned creature.]
Zich stared at the notification that only he could see. Before he had time to react, another deep rumble echoed across the skies above Myriad Beast Mountain.
Buzz!
A massive dark gold projection, even larger than the one before, slowly unfolded above the mountain range.
This time, it was not something only Zich could see.
Every player still inside Myriad Beast Mountain, regardless of where they were, instinctively raised their heads toward the sky.
[Hidden Regional Event Triggered: The Last Roar of Myriad Beasts.]
[Three Ancient Beast Altars have awakened.]
[Obtain the three Trial Marks to open the path toward the source of the roar.]
[The event duration has been synchronized with Myriad Beast Mountain’s remaining open time.]
[Remaining Time: 5 Days, 23 Hours, 58 Minutes.]
For a brief moment, complete silence filled the mountains. Then, from countless distant peaks, violent surges of energy erupted one after another.
Everyone capable of entering Myriad Beast Mountain was an elite among the players in the First Layer.
The moment they realized what a Hidden Regional Event truly represented, players who had been scattered across the mountain gathering rare magical beasts and materials immediately began changing their routes.
The resources within Myriad Beast Mountain were already incredibly valuable. A hidden event capable of notifying the entire region could only be worth even more.
While everyone’s attention was fixed on the dark gold projection in the sky, several new lines of text quietly appeared before Zich’s eyes.
[Your summoned creature, Tiamant, has established a faint connection with the unknown Ancient Beast.]
[Tiamant can sense the true location of the Ancient Beast Altars.]
[Current Direction: Northeast.]
A flicker passed through Zich’s eyes.
The last time something like this had happened was back in the Golden Realm, and it had been connected to Tiamant’s original identity.
"Could it be..."
Zich’s eyes flashed as countless possibilities raced through his mind.
Moments later, he tried to sense the connection, but because the gap in power between the two sides was simply too great, the so called resonance was so faint that it felt as though it could disappear at any moment.
But whenever Zich focused on the northeast, he could clearly feel a subtle pull.
"Roar..."
Nearby, under Kane’s command, the Golden Armored Lion slowly lifted its head.
However, compared to when it had first appeared, the arrogance and overwhelming dominance it carried had noticeably diminished.
Kane crouched beside it and placed a hand upon its forehead.
As a Level 24 Beast Tamer, he understood the condition of contracted beasts far better than ordinary players.
After only a few moments, the ugly expression on his face gradually relaxed.
For a moment there, he had thought Zich was the one who had suppressed the Golden Armored Lion earlier.
Instead, it had originated from somewhere deep within Myriad Beast Mountain, a bloodline pressure so overwhelmingly superior that even the Golden Armored Lion instinctively feared it.
But that only created another question.
Why had the roar appeared the moment Zich stepped out of the teleportation array?
Why had the Hidden Regional Event begun at precisely that moment?
Kane slowly looked toward Zich.
Zich ignored him completely.
As the regional event officially began, every Myriad Beast Mountain Token in the hands of the players projected a simple terrain map.
The map did not reveal the true locations of the Beast Altars.
Instead, three enormous dark gold regions appeared, one in the northeast, one in the north, and one in the southwest.
The first Ancient Beast Altar was hidden somewhere within the northeastern region.
The search area was enormous and covered at least dozens of mountain peaks.
For Zich, however, the highlighted area was almost meaningless.
Tiamant’s connection had already pointed him toward a far more precise direction.
Putting away the token, Zich immediately began walking.
Watching his departing figure, Kane narrowed his eyes and said, "We’re heading northeast too."
One of his teammates hesitated.
"Young Master... the other two directions are equally possible..."
"The first Beast Altar is most likely in the northeast," Kane interrupted him.
More importantly, he wanted to know whether Zich possessed information that no one else did.
Who knew? It might be one of the perks of being the champion.
The six of them quickly set off.
Throughout the journey, the two groups maintained a distance of several hundred meters from each other.
Less than ten minutes after entering the deeper forest, Zich suddenly stopped when he sensed something, his eyes narrowing.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
Flocks of birds and numerous low level flying magical beasts burst out of the forest in panic.
Moments later, towering ancient trees deep within the mountain began collapsing one after another.
"Something’s coming!" Kane’s expression changed drastically, his eyes widening. "Prepare for battle!"
The instant his voice fell, the first magical beast burst out from the forest.
It was a Level 21 Black Pattern Horned Deer.
Following it were three more Black Pattern Horned Deer.
Within seconds, dozens of magical beasts between Levels 20 and 23 charged out of the forest in complete panic.
None of them showed any intention of attacking nearby players.
They were simply fleeing desperately from the deeper regions of Myriad Beast Mountain.
But that very panic was enough to create a small scale beast tide.
"Golden Armored Lion! Hold the front!"
Kane issued his orders without hesitation.
"Defensive classes, spread to both sides! Ranged attackers, cover the flanks! Don’t chase them! Let the beast tide pass first!"
"Understood!"
His five teammates immediately dispersed.
The Golden Armored Lion roared and charged forward, smashing aside a Level 22 Fang Beast with its massive body.
Behind Kane, the two ranged players simultaneously unleashed their skills, forcing several beasts that had strayed from the main stampede back into the tide.
Watching from a distance, Zich gave him a brief glance.
At the very least, this guy wasn’t merely some useless young master relying on his family’s influence.
As a Beast Tamer, Kane’s battlefield judgment and understanding of contracted beasts were genuinely excellent.
Just then...
Boom!
A section of the forest ahead exploded apart.
An enormous beast nearly eight meters long crashed through several ancient trees, showering the surroundings with splintered wood.
Its body was almost completely covered in gray white bone armor.
Even its head was protected by three overlapping layers of thick bone plates.
Most terrifying of all was the pale horn extending more than two meters from its forehead, shrieking through the air as it charged.
[Bone Armored Rhinoceros]
[Level: 30]
Kane’s pupils contracted sharply.
"Scatter!"
Level 30 magical beasts were in an entirely different league from ordinary Level 20 monsters.
The Golden Armored Lion attempted to intercept it from the side.
The rhinoceros ignored it completely.
Using the momentum of the stampeding beasts, it broke straight through the opening in Kane’s defensive formation.
Its target was, of course, Zich.
"That idiot!"
One of Kane’s teammates couldn’t help cursing.
Kane himself stared fixedly ahead.
Level 18.
Against a Level 30 Bone Armored Rhinoceros, one renowned for both overwhelming strength and incredible defense, the correct decision for any Summoner was to retreat immediately.
But Zich did not move back. He simply waved his hand, and a pale gray light flashed beside him.
Three skeletons emerged simultaneously from the Graveyard Space.
Seeing this, Kane frowned even more deeply.
"Using Level 1 skeletons against a Level 30 beast?"
The Bone Armored Rhinoceros continued charging, disregarding the skeletons that had appeared.
It crossed fifty meters in the blink of an eye.
The earth trembled violently beneath its feet.
Zich could already clearly see the dark red flesh visible between the gaps in its bone armor.
One skeleton suddenly dashed toward the left, and Zich himself moved to the right.
Without the slightest hesitation, the rhinoceros forcibly altered its charging direction, its massive pale horn remaining locked onto Zich.
Ten meters!
Just as Kane assumed Zich would finally command a skeleton to block the attack, a silver gray light flashed within Zich’s eyes.
[Spirit Exchange!]