Lord of Annihilation

Wave after wave of invisible energy spread out with the brightly shining dark gold crystal as the center. On the rectangular screen of light projected by Ka'lor'ah, a detailed 3D map of the surrounding forest started to take shape.

This map was incredibly detailed to the point that it recorded everything in great detail; the tall tree, swaying leaves, the traces on the ground where Lucius had fought with the Beast group, not a single detail was missed!

Seeing this ability, even Lucius showed his astonishment on his face.

A map was very important for traveling and during hunting as it would increase the efficiency of the trip. Although he had managed to make do for the last three months by relying on his experience and senses, he could not continue doing so anymore.

The Stage 2 Wild Beasts also possessed a considerable amount of intelligence. When they perceive danger or feel that something is wrong, they would not hesitate to avoid it and move away.

"Hahaha, that's how awesome I am! Your hunting efficiency would increase by at least 10 times!!" seeing the surprise on Lucius' face, Ka'lor'ah broke into spirited laughter and bragged.

Facing her self-serving remarks, Lucius rolled his eyes not bothering to reply.

With Ka'lor'ah's deliberate attempt, the previously awkward and grim atmosphere was washed away. The matter of Lucius' almost losing his life was quickly forgotten.

"What's the range of the ability?" Lucius questioned. 

"Just watch." Ka'lor'ah mysteriously replied while hastening the spread of her power. Soon, a large detailed picture of the surrounding formed within the map.

"1km…5km…10km…" Ka'lor'ah quietly mumbled as the map continued to grow.

"15km…20km…30km…Strange," Ka'lor'ah sounded confused, "how come I haven't detected a single Wild Beast in a 30km radius?"

She continued to infuse more and more of her power, continuingly increasing the range of detection. The map expanded by a dozen-fold and soon displayed the 50km radius surrounding them in detail.

If Ka'lor'ah had possessed a physical body, right now, beads of sweat would be forming on her forehead. The greater the range of the map, the greater the consumption of her power.

"…it can't be. Is this broken?" A dejected voice exited the crystal body.

"What happened?" Lucius plainly asked.

"I scanned the 55km radius surrounding us, but couldn't detect a single life from. Heck, there is not a single living organism present in a 55km radius surrounding us!" Ka'lor'ah's tone sounded unsure.

Her initial excitement had already dampened, as she started to wonder whether she had used the correct spell.

Leave aside the large beasts, to not even detect small insects and bugs within such a large radius. Wasn't it too strange and eerie?

Ka'lor'ah then canceled the spell and started to recast it. This time along with [Greater Area Detection], she also used [Life Sense].

Usually [Greater Area Detection] also had the function of detecting life forms within its range. Casting [Life Sense] along with it, was redundant and a waste of soul power.

However, Ka'lor'ah cast it anyway, to check whether her first spell worked correctly.

The process was repeated and detailed map of the terrain was formed. 

Their current position seemed to be somewhere deep into the dense forest terrain. Other than humungous trees, grossly overgrown grass and shrubs, strewn leaves, there existed an innumerable number of mushrooms each one colored exotically and vibrantly. 

Some of the mushroom stalks were as large as a finger's length, while some were almost as large as Lucius. They existed in almost every color imaginable and radiated a dark, poisonous aura. 

While Ka'lor'ah was busy trying to figure out what was wrong with her spell, Lucius was busy studying the map and comparing it with his memories, to check whether or not he had already explored these areas.

"Come on, this can't be real! Doesn't a single life exist within such a large area?! Not even a worm, or a mosquito?!" Ka'lor'ah was on the verge of pulling her 'hairs' out.

After her second attempt, not even [Life Sense] detected any signs of any living beings whatsoever. 

'It's almost as if some kind of disaster has swept through these lands. Wait, a second…disaster?' she immediately turned around to face the deeply pondering Lucius.

Inhaling a breath of the natural spiritual energy, Ka'lor'ah questioned Lucius in the most neutral voice possible.

"Say, you wouldn't have anything to do with this extreme and utter lack of any and all living being, would you?"

Awakened from his thoughts by her question, Lucius thought for a moment before replying.

"I'm not sure. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was devouring. I had my shadow fully expanded and [Devour] constantly activated during all times."

"Oh and, I have already explored all these areas, clearing all the beast groups within. We can head in this direction." He calmly replied and started to run in the North-East direction.

It was Ka'lor'ah's turn to become speechless.

'Void Eaters…truly deserving of their title as the Ender of All Life.' Ka'lor'ah thought to herself.

With a low voice, she quietly said, "Freak...," before chasing behind Lucius.

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Sometime later in an unknown portion of the Dark Shade Forest.

"Two Silver Fist Apes, directly above you!" 

"GWAARRHH!!" a pair of beastly roars echoed.

Having their position exposed by the enemy, the two 3m tall ape-like beasts, having grey-colored fur and silver fists, leapt from their base atop the large, pillar-like tree, no longer caring about their ambush.

With their fists drawn back and angled downward, they infused their silver-colored soul power into their arms to accumulate the strength of their punch. Their auras revealed their strengths as Stage 2 beings.

Their eyes had already turned bloodshot, as hatred clouded their thoughts. 

Right now, the only thought that occupied their mind was to utterly crush this hateful creature that was swinging a large, stick-shaped weapon with a curved blade attached to its top.

Underneath his feet were a mountain of corpses formed of the men, women, and children of Silver Fist Apes. Blood flowed from each of the corpses forming a lake underneath the mountain.

Each body contained gruesome injuries; some having their heads cut off, some having their limbs chopped off, some had their chests pierced and their hearts crushed.

A mixture of blood, flesh, and bones created a twisted scene that seemed to be straight out of hell. 

『KILL!!』they screeched in unison, punching forth with all their might.

A condensed pillar of silver light exploded forth towards the scythe-swinging enemy, slaughtering their kin.

To understand what's going on, let's go a few hours back.

Silver Fist Apes was a Grade 3 life form that resided within the humongous trees inside the Dark Shade Forest. Their builds were large and muscular and their stature ranged from 2.8m in children and almost 4m in adults. 

They were an intelligent species that possessed both brains and brawn, living within properly constructed houses and having established the tribal system. Many tribes of Silver Fist Apes, lived across the Dark Shade Forest and were one of the dominant races within. 

Being a Grade 3 species, the Silver Fist Apes weren't born with an awakened soul. Upon reaching adulthood, each member of the race would undergo a special ritual hosted by the 'Shamans' of the tribes, after which their soul cultivation journey would officially begin.

Being Wild Beasts, they were endowed with greater physical strength compared to the other humanoid races such as the Lacermen, Terran, and Humans to name a few.

Rumor has it that, a tribe of Silver Fist Apes had established a city within the depths of the Dark Shade Forest with a Stage 3 Silver Fist Ape acting as its protector. This Stage 3 Beast was one of the few Stage 3 beings on Pectron.

One such tribe was the Stone Skin Tribe. 

The Stone Skin tribe was a relatively new tribe, having been established only in the last 100 years or so. Its entire population consisted of almost a thousand Silver Fist Apes, with a few hundred Stage 1 being and almost a dozen Stage 2 beings.

According to the records left by the previous Tribe Leaders, the Stone Skin tribe was established by a Peak-Level Stage 2 couple, when traveling through the Dark Shade Forest. 

This couple, having met by chance near a prosperous lake had fallen in love with each other and decided to copulate and settle down, thus having established the current Stone Skin Tribe.

Located in the Outer-Middle Region of the Dark Shade Forest, the entire village was built on the wooden houses atop trees, surrounding this serene lake. The inhabitants did not bother to explore much, being self-sufficient and contained with their present area.

However, all of this changed today, when a group of adventurous teenage Silver Fist Apes decided to leave the boundaries of their village and explore the unknown.

Kroon was one of the adventurous teenagers, a young adult on the cusp of reaching adulthood.

Reaching adulthood meant undergoing the ritual to become an 'Enlightened' and harsh training for the next 10 years of his youthful life. For a vigorous teenage Silver Fist Ape, this period was hellish, albeit a necessary part of their life.

A few days back, one of his close buddies had the idea of adventuring past the borders of their village. The idea of exploring the unknown, coupled with the looming fate of harsh training had instantly spurred these teens into moving.

As fate would have it, they ran into a solitary Traveler and his talking crystal. The majority of their group was instantly killed, all except Kroon who luckily survived. 

With his mental state having collapsed under the death of his companions and fear, Kroon ran like the wind towards his village, hoping to have the warriors save his life.

Little did he know, this exact action of his brought the greatest disaster faced by the Stone Skin Tribe ever since their founding, right to their doorstep.