CHAPTER 230: CHAPTER 229: DRUMBEATS OF RAGE

Grokk was already waiting at the village gate, his massive frame armored head to toe. A broad shield rested against his back, and two axes crossed over his shoulders like silent warnings to anyone foolish enough to stand in their way.

Beside him snorted his mount, a Dire Tuskwrought boar, its hide thick as stone, tusks glinting like blades.

"You’re early," Lumberling said as he approached.

"I don’t like making my Lord wait," Grokk replied with a grunt, patting his boar’s neck. "Besides, this one was restless. I think it knew a hunt was coming."

"Or maybe it just doesn’t like standing still, same as you,"

Grokk chuckled, the sound deep and gravelly. "Perhaps. Either way, I’m ready."

Lumberling gave him a nod. "Good. Let’s go then. The sooner we set out, the sooner we’ll reach bear territory."

With that, they rode out side by side.

The journey stretched for three long days. The sun rose and fell over winding paths, dense woods, and cold streams. At night, they camped beneath the stars, the crackle of fire keeping the silence at bay.

Grokk often broke the quiet with small talk, questions about the war on the human cities, or simply grumbling about dried meat being too bland. Lumberling, in turn, shared bits of his thoughts, sometimes lighthearted.

By the third day, the air grew heavy. The forest was thicker here, the shadows deeper. Lumberling knew this place, every twisted root and gnarled branch pulled at his memory. It was here he had once fought just to stay alive. But this time, he had come back stronger.

Before they even crossed fully into the heart of the territory, the silence shattered.

A roar boomed through the trees, so deep and powerful it rattled the ground beneath their mounts. A second roar followed, then a third, closer than the first.

Grokk tightened his grip on the reins, eyes narrowing. "They already know we’re here. How?"

"They don’t need to see us," Lumberling answered calmly, his eyes scanning the dark treeline. "Their sense of smell is sharper than any hound’s. Unless we hid ourselves miles away or masked our scent, they would’ve found us."

Grokk frowned. "Should we mask our scent then?"

Lumberling’s shook his head. "No. Why run from prey that’s already offering itself to us?" He drew his spear. "Prepare yourself, Grokk. This is our first meal."

From the shadows, hulking shapes emerged, massive bears with fur dark as midnight, eyes burning with primal rage.

There were eight large bears waiting for them. Two were Dire Bears, their sheer size and power giving them the strength of Knight Apprentices. The others were common bears, but even they had the raw strength equal to Knight Pages.

The beasts growled louder, their eyes fixed hungrily on the intruders as though they were prey.

Grokk draw his twin axes while nudging his boar forward. The massive beast snorted and pawed at the ground, eager for battle.

Beside them, Lunira’s fur bristled, her muzzle curling back to bare long fangs. Her yellow eyes glowed with feral light, and a low growl rumbled in her chest. The moment the bears advanced, she lunged forward, her massive frame striking like a shadow of death.

The clash was brutal but quick. Grokk’s axes split through claws and tendons, toppling one bear with a heavy strike. His boar thundered ahead and rammed its tusks into another, lifting the beast clean off its paws before hurling it aside with a broken ribcage.

Lunira tore into her enemies with ruthless precision. She leapt onto the back of a bear, her jaws snapping down on its forelimb. With a violent shake, bone cracked under her bite, and the bear collapsed with a roar of pain.

Another swung its paw at her, but she ducked low, then surged upward, her weight slamming into its side and toppling it hard onto the ground. She pinned it beneath her massive paws, her fangs hovering close to its throat, forcing the beast into submission without the killing blow.

None of the bears died by their hands. Limbs shattered, bones broken, bodies crippled, but still alive, barely clinging to life.

Lumberling steadied his grip on the spear as another bear lumbered toward him, jaws snapping and eyes wild. He surged forward, the weapon spinning in his hands, point flashing like a streak of light. The bear swung a massive paw, but the strike cut only air, Lumberling was already moving, slipping past its guard.

His spear darted low, slicing across the beast’s leg. Before it could even stumble, he twisted and drove the butt of the weapon into its snout, sending it crashing back with a roar.

Another bear charged from the side, but Lumberling’s body flowed like water. He pivoted, spear sweeping in an arc, the blade carving across the beast’s shoulder. Blood sprayed, and the bear staggered, eyes rolling with fury.

He didn’t give it a chance. Stepping in close, Lumberling spun the shaft of the spear in a blur, every strike finding its mark, neck, ribs, thigh. The animal’s strength meant nothing against his precision.

The battle ended swiftly. The bears, no matter their size, had no chance against them.

"Gather up. We’ll start absorbing their essence," Lumberling said, then turned to Lunira.

He brushed his hand over her thick fur. "When the essence reaches you, don’t fight it. Just let it flow. You might glimpse the memories of those we’ve slain."

Lunira gave a low rumble in reply, her amber eyes fixed on him with quiet understanding.

One by one, Lumberling stepped forward, delivering the final blow to the struggling bears. Violet threads burst from his chest, latching onto each corpse as his Essence Devour skill activated.

The essence poured into him before splitting off into new threads, directed by his will. Grokk and Lunira each received their share through his Essence Weave, their bodies drinking in the stolen power.

(You have devoured the Common Bear’s essence. 150 essence absorbed. Absorbing a portion of the Common Bear’s memories and experiences.)

(You have devoured the Dire Bear’s essence. 350 essence absorbed. Absorbing a portion of the Dire Bear’s essence memories and experiences.)

But when Lumberling reached the last bear, the largest of them all, it let out a deafening roar that echoed across the forest, one final cry, as if calling to its kind.

Lumberling ended it swiftly, his spear piercing clean through its heart. The violet threads appeared once more, and with deliberate control, he guided the essence toward Lunira.

Lunira let out a low, guttural rumble. Her hackles rose, fur bristling as faint sparks of violet light flickered in her eyes. For a breath, her aura swelled, straining against its limits. Lumberling’s gaze narrowed. He could sense it, she was teetering on the brink of evolution.

Just as the group settled after absorbing the essence, the silence of the forest shattered. Deep, guttural roars rolled through the trees, one after another, like a drumbeat of rage.

Lumberling frowned. "That... doesn’t sound good."

The ground trembled with heavy footfalls, branches snapping one after another, the air thick with the scent of musk and earth.

Then came the glow, dozens of eyes glinting from the shadows, a sea of wild light cutting through the dark. When the first hulking bear stepped out, it was followed by another, and another, until fifty beasts stood in formation, their presence blotting out the forest itself.

Their bloodshot eyes locked onto the corpses of their fallen kin. And the air instantly turned heavy with fury.