A Few Minutes Earlier
While the trio eliminated the monsters with great efficiency, Danilo, from a distance, kept hitting everything. Mikaela, with her agility and precision, was the most dazzling. Lesliana, little by little, was adapting to the battle.
After some time, excited and wanting to imitate Leila, she jumped and struck the ground with her sword. But the expected crater did not appear. First, she was using a sword, not a hammer. Second, that was a technique—skill was required, something she did not have. The only thing that went right was the weapon breaking.
Looking at the scene that did not turn out as expected, she felt embarrassed. Danilo looked at her with an expression saying, "What the hell was that?" and, in response, she stuck out her tongue in a cute way.
After a while, the rodents began to back away from them. The same aura Danilo had was now emanating from them as well, leaving the rodents terrified.
This time, they had to chase after the monsters. And since they were faster, the slaughter continued.
They kept going like that for a while. And they could do it infinitely. After all, the passive skill Infinite Regeneration of the Incomparable allowed the user to regenerate 10% per second—mana, vitality, blood, limbs, and more. Even though the process was annoying, it was possible.
But it wouldn't be like in the beginning, when the rodents attacked people as if they were treasures. Now, they themselves had to chase after the monsters.
Looking at the current dynamic, Danilo didn't like it and wanted to change it, but he didn't know how.
Only then did he remember that he had used the Monarch's Heart so many times that he forgot the title was far more extensive.
"If we continue like this, it's going to take too long. Let's change strategies. Come here," Danilo said.
The three women were also a bit frustrated.
Originally, when they learned they had to kill 10,000, it was a shock. But after seeing the disparity between them and the monsters, they relaxed.
After all, even if oppressing the weak is despicable, life has never been fair. Never has been, never will be.
And they had to kill more than 60,000.
"I want to test something. If it works, our trips through the later floors will be much smoother."
"What are you going to do, Big Bad Wolf?" Lesliana asked, curious.
"Patience is a virtue you clearly need to cultivate a lot," Danilo said, tapping her forehead lightly with two fingers.
She rolled her eyes, half-frustrated at not receiving the answer she wanted.
Danilo then activated Word of the Monarch and let out the loudest shout he could:
"All who hear my voice, come to me!"
Upon hearing the voice, the three were also affected and instinctively snuggled even closer to Danilo.
Thus began what would later be known as the Beast Tide.
The slaughter began. And, due to the enormous number of monsters, the four formed a small square, defending their space.
The monsters were reaped without mercy. Danilo, as he killed them, used the Monarch's Heart and specified the drops. He only felt sad that the title did not affect his allies' kills—otherwise, they would all have become rich.
Of course, that would be when he finally found a way to take all the items out of there. Thousands of items fell, and none of them were storage rings or skill books. All they could do was keep praying to eventually find something useful to store items.
A short time later, while fighting, Danilo heard Mikaela calling him and pointing in a direction.
There, he saw Pancho and Kiala—who should not be there. Apparently, they had also been affected by the Word of the Monarch.
The two were inexperienced, and Danilo didn't know whether they had the courage to dirty their hands. He wanted to assist immediately, but held himself back to observe first.
And he liked what he saw.
Pancho, with his knife, was cutting down monsters. He showed some practice. Not as exceptional as Danilo expected, but also not as disappointing as he had imagined it would be for his first time.
Kiala was also killing, but her expression still showed she would rather be somewhere else.
As they fought, Danilo watched his children and noticed something interesting:
Some of the monsters attacking them simply fainted, and Kiala finished them off after saying something he couldn't hear—perhaps due to the rodents' screeching.
From her hands came out a rusty chain that moved according to her will.
She wrapped the rodents, tightened, and strangled them.
Danilo remembered the children's talents:
Spiritual Eyes and Sealing Chains.
Though weak, the disparity between them and the monsters was so great that the abilities became lethal weapons.
Danilo grabbed his halberd and cleared a path toward the children. Before long, they joined the group, and soon the skies seemed to grind down upon the battlefield as the slaughter continued.
Time passed.
Hours went by.
And in that interval, the rabbits they thought were finite and unique to the first floor dwindled until they disappeared completely.
---
The strategy of Danilo and his group was perfect for this situation. He used Word of the Monarch from time to time, and all creatures around—whether they wanted to or not—had to crawl toward them, and the slaughter continued. Over time, he improved the ability to the point where it no longer affected his allies. He also enhanced the usage of Monarch's Aura, allowing him to subdue whoever he wished.
And thus, with time, the bloodthirsty rodents ended, and they only realized it when they entered a new area of the jungle.
They were all covered in blood. It was far too much killing. Physically, they were fine, but mentally, they were exhausted. Infinite regeneration does not regenerate the spirit, only the body.
Danilo Afonso: 10,012
Mikaela Morningstar: 6,150
Leila Chronos: 4,915
Kiala Afonso: 3,558
Pancho Afonso: 3,215
Lesliana Vermilion: 2,150
---
Killing 30,000 Creatures (C)
Since they joined the battle, Pancho and Kiala had proven to be of great help—especially Kiala. Danilo had truly underestimated his daughter. Her chains could easily strangle several creatures, becoming a true headache. Who would have thought a level F talent would shine so much?
Pancho, with his spiritual eyes, also improved during these fights. He and Kiala trained to the maximum within the group. Only the two of them could use their talents for now; the others were limited by their own talent restrictions. So, during this beast tide, they took the chance to develop their abilities even further.
In the second zone, the scenery had not changed, but the atmosphere was different. After crossing through, they felt they had entered a new area. The same pattern: a zone with a forest ahead—but unlike before, there were no rabbits. There was nothing. Everything was silent.
Silence can be comforting at times, but this was obviously not one of those moments.
Danilo and his group entered the attack zone. At first, they thought that once they stepped inside, a surprise attack would greet them. But strangely, nothing happened.
"All who hear my voice, come to me," Danilo repeated, following the standard procedure to lure the rabbits out of their burrows.
He waited for a while, but nothing happened.
So the group only had one option left: enter the forest—so they did.
---
They walked for five minutes and were not attacked. They were not foolish nor arrogant enough to think nothing would happen. The enemy was lurking, and if nothing had happened yet, it meant the enemy had a way to resist the Word of the Monarch—or simply did not move, like a tree.
Like a tree!
Danilo stopped, raised his hand, and the group halted. The ring on his hand transformed into a giant axe, and with full force, he struck a nearby tree.
Suddenly, from the ground, thousands of thick trunks rose and lunged at them.
Cruel Strangler (Common)
Level: 1
Strength: 20
Body: 20
Agility: 0
Intelligence: 3
Spirit: 4
Talent: Strangle (C)
They all jumped, because beneath their feet more and more trunks emerged. It was a true evasion exercise. Of course, to them everything was very slow, but still a headache.
The Cruel Strangler was a tree with purple flowers and fruits of the same color. It was a tree many would consider beautiful—if not for the fact that all trees around were the same type and determined to kill them.
Danilo switched to his bow, and since the Cruel Strangler did not move, he kept reaping it while dodging. The others followed the same procedure. Each tree had at most four trunks. After surpassing those initial trunks, the remaining three were like regular trees waiting to be chopped down.
After three hours, the beautiful forest was cut down.
They rested for another hour and continued.
Danilo Afonso: 21,187
Mikaela Morningstar: 11,037
Leila Chronos: 6,217
Pancho Afonso: 4,467
Kiala Afonso: 3,818
Lesliana Vermilion: 3,274
Killing 48,000 Creatures (B)
After clearing the area, the group decided to eliminate all monsters first and collect the crystals later. If they stopped to gather every crystal at that moment, they would not withstand the exhaustion.