Divine Emperor of Death

Davis gathered twenty different King Grade Herbs, each one at a different level while two were at the Peak-Level King Grade, but most of it was unable to be identified by him as he was not versed in King Grade Alchemy above Low-Level. Nevertheless, he picked whatever he came across and didn't leave the Sky Grade ones either, as there were literally hundreds of them growing like patches of rare-colored grasses.

This whole region was an unscavenged, virgin land and would be so for years to come until the Alstreim Family's expedition or the invasion, or so he thought.

In any case, he needed all of these ingredients to improve his alchemy skills one way or another, so he kept robbing, storing them into sealed jade boxes before throwing them into his space ring. He did it cleanly and silently, not garnering the attention of any Scorched-Crystal Crimson Apes roaming around, minding their own business.

However, some did look confused, wondering why the herbs that were present all this time were missing. Of course, it was after he had swiped them into his spatial ring.

Davis knew time was ticking, so consequently, he didn't bother with collecting these precious herbs which he would never find outside here, at least never find in the remaining Alstreim Family Territory. He reluctantly left, looking for heavily guarded places for a good while before he came across a 'heavily-guarded' cave right before he could enter the core region.

It was secluded with foliage from red, brown, and yellow leaves covering the entire place, as well as the elevated rocky mound above the cave, but the Low-Level King Beast Stage Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape who stood in front of the cave's entrance, picking its nose while lazing off, gave it off to him.

Davis evilly smirked as he got past the Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape without facing trouble. Once he entered the cave, he walked for about five hundred meters inside the narrow pathway before entering an open space. Simultaneously, his gaze fell on the center of the area where a peculiar herb grew.

It had three symmetrical leaves that glowed in a reddish-yellow glow. However, the leaves were not one full component but looked as if they were stitched with dotted grey lines, similar to ashes from burnt particles.

"Judging from the aura alone, it is a Peak-Level King Grade Herb...?" Davis blinked in confusion.

There was something special about it that he couldn't place his fingers on. Besides, it still seemed to be growing. Nevertheless, he didn't just stand and carefully collected it by referencing a few gathering records in his mind and stored it in a special jade container to preserve its energy before heading out.

*Roar!~~*

Davis let out a wry smile as he heard the roar. He could tell that it was from the Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape that stood guard outside, and it likely knew that its treasure was stolen.

'My bad... Did it place its mark on it or something...?'

Davis omitted to check as he didn't want to tamper with the herb's efficacy or garner a reaction from it in case it reacts to a touch of soul sense. It wouldn't be strange if it attacked him. After all, they can defend themselves as a King Grade Herb.

That was why Davis was careful in digging them out.

Footsteps could be heard in the narrow pathway before the silhouette of a woman appeared in front of his sight, looking extremely angered.

Davis became momentarily taken aback when he saw the crimson-haired hot lady stand in front of him, unaware of his presence.

She wore scanty crimson cloth, not much different from a modern woman wearing a bra and a panty. With her big bosoms and big butt, she appeared extremely sexy, making Davis become flabbergasted as he never expected to witness an eye-watering sight.

He inwardly coughed as he walked two steps ahead and went past her as she looked around, wondering how could the treasure she was protecting disappear like that. As she moved around, her neck suddenly bled before she fell to the side as it plunged to the ground with a thud!

"You!-" Her lips moved as her voice echoed out, but her soul was also instantly exterminated at that moment!

Davis held Yama in his grasp as he looked at the sexy woman transform back into a headless Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape again, with her human head also transforming back into an ape head that had an unwilling expression while bleeding out.

'Magical Beasts are weak in their human form, so my Yama was easily able to cut her flesh, but the only way these Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape could get in here is to transform to their human form or face the destruction of their terrain with their big magical beast form...'

Davis felt that this poor Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape was the easiest Eighth Stage kill he ever had through his own strength. He stored her carcass in his spatial ring with a wave of his hand and left through the narrow passage without feeling pity as she was his target.

With her soul essence, he had obtained three King Beast Stage Soul Essences already. He needed one or two more, but to hunt here was dangerous.

Davis decided to leave as he exited the narrow passageway of the cave, and at the same moment, his foot refused to move as he saw the Scorched-Crystal Crimson Apes gather in front of him, sealing his escape route as they stared at him as if seeing right through his concealment.

'Were these magical beasts purposefully hiding their undulations...?' Davis felt incredulous as he saw them surround him. Otherwise, he would've at least noticed!

These were all King Beast Stage Scorched-Crystal Crimson Apes! There were seven of them! Two at the Mid-Level and five at the High-Level!

Davis knew he was practically doomed if even one of the High-Level King Beast Stage ones attacked him, but since he didn't move, it looked as if they were stuck in a stalemate, both parties seemingly sizing up the other side.

'Wait, did they actually not find me but are looking at the entrance of the cave...?' Davis incredulously thought.

To test it out, he silently and harmlessly moved towards the right and also saw their wide pupils clearly glancing at him as they followed him.

'Fuck! My concealment doesn't work on them in this close range...' Davis knew the situation had turned bad.

He had no choice but to use Fallen Heaven now, sacrificing his soul essence, perhaps a bit too much for his own good.

Davis didn't let go of the opportune moment. He had used his Death God Eyes for a good while as he stared at them, coming to know their names after a while. He was just about to kill when a voice echoed, interrupting him.

"So you killed Koara too?" The solemn voice of a man echoed, causing Davis to look above as he saw a seventy-five-meter tall Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape carelessly hanging on a branch while looking at him with cold eyes.

"If it's the Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape guarding this cave, then I was the one who killed..."

Davis didn't bother to use his concealment anymore as he stopped using Dark Concealing Shroud Art. However, he did use his Death God Eyes and learned all their names, except this Peak-Level King Beast Stage existence hanging on the branch as he could not see through its lifespan or name no matter how he stared at it.

Nevertheless, Davis knew that names are not a requirement to kill as long as the target is visible to him. It was just he would lose the means to kill them from a long-distance where he could not see them from.

The Peak-Level King Beast Stage Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape frowned, its nostrils flaring with flames, "What about Tazon and his group? Were they killed by you too?"

Davis stared back at it, not bending his gaze as a smile appeared, "If it's the Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape far away from here, traveling with a group of six others, then yes..."

"I see..." The Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape's light-red eyes became bloodshot, "Then die!"

It reached out his drooping hand and targeted Davis, its palm scorching with intense heat while brilliant crimson flames were about to blaze out!

*AWOOOO!~~~~*

However, the cry of a wolf suddenly echoed, causing the Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape's eyes to turn even more bloodshot!

*ROARRR!~~~*

It roared out in pain as it let go of the branch and held its head, struggling in mid-air before it plunged right into the ground, creating a tiny crater as it rolled around, still screaming in pain.

The other Scorched-Crystal Crimson Apes were all stunned as they looked at their Ruler suffer like they had never seen before. Momentarily, they didn't know what to do as they became panic-stricken. It was only after two seconds did they come out of their reverie and saw that the human had disappeared somewhere.

A few kilometers away in the distance, Davis sat on Nadia's back as he softly caressed her dark fur. Her two dark wings that soared through the air took him away from danger.

Back when he faced the Peak-Level Scorched-Crystal Crimson Ape, he smiled because he knew Nadia had found him. From that moment on, the sense of danger he felt had entirely disappeared.

He turned to look back and saw that the Ruler was still rolling around in pain while the other Scorched-Crystal Crimson Apes scrambled to search for him, even destroying the cave in the process.

'Damn, if it weren't for the crimson crystal on its forehead that suppresses soul attacks, it would have definitely died at least six out of ten times after being hit with Nadia's Species Technique that targets the soul...'