Chapter 89: The Blazing Boar King

“Whoosh—bang!” Dizzy and disoriented, Zhou Tian shook his head, at a loss for words.

He knew that increasing his agility would boost his mobility, and had added points to agility precisely to make escaping easier. Yet Zhou Tian had never imagined that after putting a hundred attribute points into agility, his speed would become so outrageously overwhelming.

He’d only meant to crawl forward a few steps, applying just a bit of force, but unable to control his newly enhanced body, he rocketed ahead and smashed headfirst into a tree more than ten meters away. With the force of that collision, if he hadn’t also invested a hundred points into constitution, Zhou Tian genuinely doubted he wouldn’t have killed himself right then and there.

Sighing softly, he carefully restrained his movements, making sure not to overexert himself, and continued crawling deeper into the heart of the Beast Forest.

The inner region of the Beast Forest was vastly different from its outer rim. Though the outer areas teemed with the most beasts, the monsters there were all of rather low rank. Aside from the low-level creatures, there was little else; even a mid-level beast was considered a veritable king among them. But as Zhou Tian ventured further in, approaching the central region, though the monsters weren’t as terrifying as those in the core, high-level beasts—rarely seen on the outskirts—were now gradually appearing in his field of vision.

When Zhou Tian realized high-level beasts were now appearing around him, he immediately halted his advance.

The higher the monster’s level, the greater the experience one gained, it was true. But Zhou Tian never forgot his own actual strength. Though his magical treasures enabled him to defeat many foes stronger than himself, if he were to face too many beasts at once, those treasures might not be enough to guarantee his survival.

Given his current abilities, mid-level beasts were his optimal quarry. Zhou Tian would rather avoid high-level monsters altogether if possible, so this area, populated mainly by those very mid-level creatures, was perfect for his training.

Once he stopped, Zhou Tian immediately began his massacre of the surrounding beasts. As hordes of mid-level monsters fell, his level steadily climbed toward fifty-one.

But Zhou Tian seemed to have forgotten something important, and it nearly cost him his life halfway through his grinding session.

Low-level monsters possessed little intelligence, acting purely on instinct. As long as Zhou Tian stayed out of their line of sight, they would not actively seek him out. So in the outskirts, mowing down small fry like chickens or deer was relatively risk-free, provided he didn’t overextend himself.

But once monsters reached mid- or high-level, they were no longer so easy to cull. With a measure of intelligence, even mid-level beasts would quickly realize something was amiss if their neighbors kept disappearing. Sensing a formidable threat in the vicinity, most would opt to flee their territory. As for high-level beasts, whose intelligence rivaled that of humans, they would actively analyze and respond to any unusual occurrence.

Slaughtering monsters en masse in the outer rim caused Zhou Tian little trouble, but employing the same methods in the central region brought real danger.

One of the beast kings of the central region, the Blazing Fire Boar King, was incensed by Zhou Tian’s appearance. As one of the apex high-level beasts, the Boar King typically disdained involvement with other local monsters. Unless it concerned its advancement to Saint Beast or threatened the survival of its Blazing Fire Boar clan, it preferred to spend its days eating and sleeping, uninterested in other matters.

But Zhou Tian’s actions forced the Boar King out of its lazy routine.

Blazing Fire Boars, magical beasts of both fire and earth attributes, possessed massive bodies that granted them ferocious strength but also imposed a heavy burden. Unlike ordinary wild boars, these creatures were carnivorous; every day, they needed to consume meat nearly equal to their own size to fill their bulging bellies.

Because of their insatiable appetite, any creature that wrought widespread carnage among the local beasts became an enemy to be expelled. The Blazing Fire Boar tribe, for this very reason, was frequently embroiled in conflicts with neighboring beast clans. If not for the Boar King’s near-Saint Beast power, which left it with few rivals in the area, it was questionable whether their clan could still dominate this territory.

Had Zhou Tian simply passed through, the Boar King might not have bothered with him.

But now Zhou Tian was not only raising havoc on its land, he was showing every sign of intending to wipe out all the nearby beasts. Naturally, the Boar King could not ignore such a threat.

The serpent horde trailing Zhou Tian was enough to give any monster pause, and if possible, the Boar King would have preferred to avoid direct confrontation. But if Zhou Tian were allowed to continue unchecked, the Blazing Fire Boars might soon be left with nothing to eat.

With their very survival at stake, the Boar King paid no heed to the deterrent of the serpent horde. Upon learning of Zhou Tian’s acts, the Boar King summoned all its kin and charged straight toward Zhou Tian’s location.

The mobilization of the entire Blazing Fire Boar clan was a spectacle of chaos and power. Their enormous bodies crashed through the forest, and even before they neared, their approach alerted Zhou Tian to their presence.

At first, Zhou Tian did not realize they were coming for him, but when he saw that vast horde of magical beasts charging his way, his instincts kicked in and he hastily assumed a defensive stance.

Just as he finished laying down a ten-meter-wide field of serpents before him, the Blazing Fire Boar horde burst from the trees to confront him.

The Boar King glared at Zhou Tian in fury, making no move to negotiate. Sweeping its gaze over the writhing serpent formation, the Boar King let out a thunderous roar, then led its clan in a ferocious assault on the serpents…