Chapter 2197

2197 – Shadow

Planet Donara—

At this moment, the evacuated half of Planet Donara was not empty. Holak was gazing at over a hundred Nascent Space Beasts that blotted out the horizon.

They were pitch black—whether a beast had wings, tentacles, or even fins, all were as black as the darkest night. Their presence, crowded together in this small space, made Donara's daylight resemble midnight.

Any one of them would be enough to trigger a crisis for a planet the size of Donara. Any one of them could destroy it and devour the planet's core if left alone for a few hours.

A hundred Nascent Space Beasts... This was a terrifying number by any measure. Entire sectors lived in fear due to just one or two of these creatures. According to estimates, there were only about two hundred of them in the entire universe, hunted by the Star Academies because of their danger. Yet half that number was gathered here on a single planet.

But they were not alone.

And strangely enough, if any ordinary citizen saw this sight... they would feel pity for the beasts.

"One, two, one, two, hop, hop..." Holak stood beside the wide-open Passage Gate, clapping enthusiastically, then pointed in a specific direction. "Third Legion, your turn is almost here. Prepare for the rotation."

"Yes, sir!!"

…The Space Beasts, who thought they had found freedom and an endless feast, were surprised by ten thousand Imperial Guards waiting for them.

Because he was permitted to bring this number of Imperial Guards, and had received direct orders from the leader that he must deliver at least five thousand Nascent Space Beast crystals this time, Holak devised a primitive and brutal plan.

He reorganized the guard squads into teams of twenty-five guards each, with every team responsible for one Nascent Space Beast, and assigned every hundred teams to a legion.

This meant the hundred beasts before Holak were now fighting only two thousand five hundred Imperial Guards.

What about the other three legions?

They were in the back… drinking elixirs, roasting some of the fallen beasts' flesh, and some were devising plans for their teams to bring down beasts faster and collect more points.

They were completely detached from the battle, indifferent to what was happening to the fighting legion, merely waiting for their turn.

As for the Royal Spirit Masters, they were far in the rear, merely watching, intervening only to prevent any beast attempting to flee using the formations prepared in advance… If a formation failed or weakened, they would step in with their immense power to crush the escape attempt before the beast could exit the planet's envelope, then request a brief rest period for the army to repair the formations before resuming the fight.

Everything moved automatically; everyone knew their role. The killing machine operated with terrifying smoothness.

What would happen if one of the newborn beasts tried to enter after the count of one hundred was complete?

“…One, two, one, two, one, tw—” Holak was clapping vigorously until he felt something breathing at the back of his neck.

He turned with clear annoyance, only to find behind him a hideous creature… something with a deeply wrinkled face and no visible features, sweating profusely a substance resembling tar!

“You filthy creature…” Holak's expression grew angrier as he felt the tar covering the back of his neck. “There’s no spot opened for you yet. Get lost.”

BAAAAAM

Holak pulled his arm back and struck.

His immense power, combined with shockwaves, left no room for the beast to escape. Its face instantly crumpled inward, and it was hurled back into the portal.

"Khaaaaa!!" The beast let out a pained and furious roar from behind the gate, ready to charge through it again.

But it found Holak standing in the middle of the entrance, pointing at it. "Go play with your siblings until it's your turn. If you come back again, I'll bite your face off!"

"..!!" The beast didn't understand a word of Holak's raised voice, but it understood the pressure emanating from him perfectly well... that tiny creature could undoubtedly kill it.

So it turned and began to move away.

It would likely forget what just happened and return after a lap around its surroundings... that's what happens with all the beasts that run into Holak at the wrong time.

Holak took on this burden so he wouldn't have to ask the chief to open and close the gate every hour, because according to him, it was exhausting and very costly.

So he would strike hard enough to push them back and hurt them a little, but he didn't hit with full force so as not to drain his reserves quickly... it could be said he had chosen for himself the task of the guardian of the guardians.

"...Hmm," Holak furrowed his brows slightly as he returned to watching.

The number of space beasts had become approximately ninety after some had fallen, and the guards who were now free joined their comrades in killing the remaining beasts. This liberation would create a wave of slaughter that would finish off all the remaining newborn beasts within twenty or thirty minutes at most… Then the next legion would enter, and the same pace would begin.

"…." Holak cast a glance toward the leader, who was writing something very calmly on the edge of the cliff, not the least bit disturbed by the epic unfolding right under his nose.

Then he sighed, turned in another direction, and shouted loudly, "Hey, Relative of the Leader!"

"Hmm?" The Royal Spirit Master in charge of the squad smiled at the way he was called. "What do you want?"

"I'm going to open the entrance for more newborn beasts. From now on, two legions will be working at the same time," Holak called out. "I'll need you to expand the circle a bit and stay more alert. That's all."

"Two legions?" The Royal Spirit Master didn't like the idea much. "You'll reduce rest time to a quarter, double the pressure on the formations, and increase our work tenfold because we'll be trying to keep the beasts away from the mountain where His Majesty resides. Besides, we—"

"Third Legion, advance!" Holak called out, then stepped back a little from the entrance of the gate.

Raaaaar.

As soon as Holak moved away, the soul-shaking howls of the beasts began to draw closer.

"Hey!!" The Royal Spirit Master shouted in frustration, but he ultimately restrained himself and began issuing orders to his followers… Arguing with the First Guardian was futile.

At least he showed him some respect this time by addressing him as Relative of the Leader…

"Alright, alright, one two, one two, one—" Holak resumed clapping beside the gate, watching the newborn space beasts sweep across the planet while the Third Legion dealt with them.

He had already started formulating new, primitive plans to crush the obstacles.

But suddenly…

Whoosh

A small shadow slipped through the gate.