Rise of the Strongest War God

Chapter 63  Law of jungle

Alice heard everything that happened and couldn't help but feel guilty.

"If I hadn't lost control over my spell, things wouldn't have come to this." She muttered. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Nah. Nothing would've changed." Shadow shook his head, "I say it was a good thing you were unconscious because if you weren't, we would've tried to fight them and that would've resulted in most of us dying. So, don't blame yourself."

Lisa glared at Shadow. "Is this how you console someone?"

"What?! Did I say something wrong?" Shadow raised his brows, looking confused.

Lisa shook her head and ignored him. She then turned to Alice, wanting to console her, but Alice waved her hand. "I appreciate your good intentions. I'm fine."

"Let me rest for a while, then we will go back and try to find Luke and others." She added.

Shadow frowned, "I don't think this is a good idea…"

"It doesn't matter if it's good or not. I won't leave them behind. It's up to you guys if want to go with me or not. I won't force anyone." Alice interrupted him.

"What if they are already dead? Wouldn't we be risking our lives in vain?" Shadow asked in a flat tone.

Rio and Lisa both didn't want to take the risk, but when they heard this, both frowned in obvious displeasure.

Alice furrowed her brows, and her eyes narrowed at the comment. She then said in a chilling voice, "If they are dead, I want to see their corpses. If they are lives, which I believe is the case, I'll look for them. But if they are really dead, I'll avenge them by killing every member of the rulers' faction."

When she spoke the last part, Alice revealed a scary expression that made Lisa, Rio, and Shadow feel a sense of fear.

After a moment of silence, Shadow spoke up.

"You rest for a while and recover. Then we'll go look for them. I've some tracking skills so even if they have gone in different direction, it shouldn't be too difficult to find them."

"Hm?" Alice looked at him in confusion. The same was true for Rio and Lisa.

"What is that look for? Did I ever say I was against your plan?" Shadow wore a hurt look and shook his head.

After resting for a while, the group ascertained the city wall's direction and started their journey back.

…

Luke and Julia were walking around their hideout, searching for the dry wood, when suddenly the duo heard an enraged roar, followed by a growl.

Roar!

Growl!

"What was that?" Julia came near Luke, fearfully glancing in the roar's direction, but couldn't see anything because of the thick trees.

"It seems two beasts are fighting." He said and then smiled reassuringly at her, "Don't worry, they are quite far from here."

Julia sighed in relief and patted her chest. "We have enough wood. Let's go back." She said.

Luke glanced in the roar's direction and nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

After they walked back to their hideout and dropped the dry wood, Luke glanced at the trio and said, "You guys prepare the food. I'll be back in a while. Keep the entrance hidden."

Saying this, he turned around to walk out when Julia grabbed his hand. "Don't go. It's dangerous."

Lori and Professor Nina exchanged a glanced before Nina asked, "Where are you going, Luke?"

Luke sighed and explained the situation, "…so I have to make sure those beasts don't come this way while fighting or we'll be in danger here."

Hearing this, the trio went silent. All of them wanted to say "I will go with you" but no one dared to because they knew they will only be a liability and a burden on him. If something went wrong, he would have to risk his life to protect them.

"Be careful, okay." Professor Nina said.

Seeing her worried expression, Luke squatted down in front of her and brought her into his embrace, gently patting her back.

When he realized what he had done, he blanked for a moment because he hadn't planned to hug her so intimately. It just… happened.

However, he couldn't act all shy now. So, he tightened his hug, feeling her soft body against his chest, and said, "I'll be careful. I'll avoid fighting if there is no need. Besides, I'm not that weak, so don't worry about me, alright?"

He waited for her response, but Professor Nina didn't say anything. Just as he was about to let go, he felt her heart thudding loudly in her chest.

"Hey, hey. It's alright. Don't worry. I'll be alright." Misunderstanding the reason behind her increased heartbeat, he tightened his hug even more and caressed her back to console her.

"O-Okay." Professor Nina pushed him back with a reddened face before turning her face around so he would not see her and said, "Go… go now. We'll have the food prepared food for you when you return."

"Hm?" Luke raised his brows when he saw her act like this. A moment later, he realised what was going on and this realisation made his heartbeat faster too. However, before he could say anything to her, Lori pushed him out of the cave and covered the entrance.

"Take care." Her voice sounded from inside.

Luke stood there, looking at the now covered entrance and muttered, "Professor… does she… like me, too?"

A moment later, he threw the thought to the back of his mind and rushed in the direction from where the roars had originated.

After traveling for over half a mile, the sounds of fighting became clearer. Not wanting to alert the beasts to his presence, he slowed his speed down and cautiously approached the place. After another hundred meters, he came across an open field where two beasts—a four meters tall, bulky black bear and a red striped tiger, around three meters tall—were engaged in a gruesome fight.

The bear had many deep claws and bites wounds all over its body. Behind it was a cave and at its entrance was a bloodied corpse of another bear. There were two newly born cubs sitting near the bear's face. They constantly touched its face all over with their small paws, trying to 'wake' it up.

Luke looked around and spotted six corpses of the red striped tigers strewn across the place. Some had gaping wounds on their necks, which almost separated their necks from the rest of the bodies, and some had their bellies cut with their internal organs spewing out. One even had its skull smashed in.

Seeing this scene, he understood this place was the bears' territory, and guessed that the tigers came to hunt them. The two bears fought them, killing them all, except for one, and while fighting and protecting their cubs, one bear died, leaving the other seriously injured bear to fight the last tiger.

'So, this is what they mean by the law of the jungle…' Luke couldn't help but sigh. Roar!

The tiger roared and lunged at the bear, aiming to bite the bear's neck. Despite its numerous injuries, the bear reacted and grabbed the tiger's maw with both hands and, with a growl, it started tearing the tigers' jaws apart.

The tiger struggled. Its front claws slashed opened the bear's belly and chest, trying to free itself. The bears, however, had a savage look in its eyes. It completely ignored the injuries and with another bestial growl, Ripppp!!!

It ripped the tiger's jaws apart. Then its right hand shot out and grabbed the tiger's tongue and ripped it apart too.

But it wasn't satisfied. It threw the tiger to the ground and stomped its head, breaking its skull. Immediately, the tiger stilled. The bear, however, continued to beat its dead body until there was only meat paste left.

As Luke watched this savagery, he couldn't help but cringe.

'This bear should be a stronger first order beast. I should probably get out of here before this bear notices—oh fuck!' Just as he took a step back, wanting to flee the scene, the bear suddenly glanced in his direction.

For a moment, he froze in place. He then activated his [Mana amplification] to boost his speed, turned around and, just as he was about to rush away, he heard a thudding sound.

Despite his fear, he was sane enough to notice that it was the sound of someone falling, not the bear chasing him. So, instead of escaping, he rushed behind a tree and took cover before peeking his head out and looking at the place where the bear was.

And indeed, the bear had fallen face first on the ground.

'Is it trying to trick me or is it really dead?' He thought, his eyes flashing with a greed. However, he didn't come out of hiding and continue watching it for a minute. When the bear didn't move even a little, he confirmed it was dead. His heart racing, he came out of hiding and slowly approached the battlefield.

"Oh fuck!"

When he was just five meters away from the bear, he froze in his tracks and his eyes widened in horror.