Chapter 68: The Black Giant Rat

With each step he took, Rod could clearly feel the increasing gravity. What had once been something he paid no attention to now required him to resist it, even using some combat energy. At this moment, Rod’s expression was grave. Besides the gravity, there was also an unsettling force in this forest—one he had never encountered before. There was only one possibility for this: this forest was not safe!

Walking through the forest and feeling the gravity, Rod couldn’t help but admire the trees and leaves. The trees were tall, and the leaves were thick. It was truly incredible that they could still grow well under such heavy gravity. Especially those deep in the forest—those could be considered miracles.

He picked up a leaf casually, but it felt incredibly heavy in his hand. It took a lot of effort to tear it apart. Such durability made Rod feel ashamed—this material was probably as strong as metal. And this was only the outer area, just the outermost part! So what about deeper inside?

In an instant, the mystery of this forest and cave grew ever greater, becoming increasingly unfathomable. The more he delved into it, the more he tried to imagine and guess, and the more incredible it seemed. It seemed the mysteries only kept increasing, never decreasing.

After advancing about 300 meters, the gravity here had reached 400 times normal! Although Rod wasn’t too concerned about such gravity at the moment—his physical strength and combat energy could handle it—he couldn’t sustain the constant consumption of energy. Moreover, he could sense that the danger was getting closer. As he moved forward step by step, under the added pressure of gravity, he could still resist, but his physical strength and combat energy were being drained rapidly. His physical strength was reduced by half in just one step, and his combat energy was depleted by two layers! The mental strain also left Rod feeling exhausted.

Looking around, he found a flat and safe spot nearby. After confirming there was no danger, he sat cross-legged on the ground and began to cultivate.

Closing his eyes, he used his mental power to gather the fire elements around him. Like in that passage, the ratio of elements here was fairly normal, without the abnormality he had seen in the outer areas. So cultivating here wasn’t particularly troublesome or difficult.

In the dark forest, a pair of huge, bell-like black eyes flashed by, revealing a cold, fierce glint. A faint murderous intent emanated from those dark green eyes, and soon, a glistening drop of saliva could be clearly seen dripping down. Breathing grew heavier, accompanied by a low growl.

Watching the human sitting in seiza in the distance, that guy practicing over there! The figure in the darkness slowly approached cautiously.

It had been watching this guy since he entered the forest! It had followed him all the way here, being extremely careful. It hadn’t acted until it was fully confident, and now, at this very moment, it had finally seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It finally took action.

Rod, who was in the midst of his practice, suddenly felt a chill invade his body. As the chill spread, he couldn’t help but shiver—there was indeed a hint of murderous intent within it.

Yes, it was murderous intent. He felt it clearly; there was no doubt about it. Any other sensation might be mistaken, but this one was unmistakable.

His expression turned cold. After practicing for a while, although his combat energy, mental strength, and physical strength hadn’t fully recovered, they had recovered by about 80-90%, so it was no longer a problem. He became alert, grasped the Dark Dragon at his side, stopped practicing, and projected his mental energy, instantly covering an area of dozens of meters around him! The scenery within those dozens of meters appeared in his mind.

Though his eyes were closed, Rod’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he felt a surge of excitement. He saw something slowly approaching him, very cautiously.

If he hadn’t been paying attention, he might not have noticed at all. His mental energy had almost failed to detect it, showing just how perfect this guy’s concealment skills were.

In the dark environment, clad in black, the figure blended in perfectly with the leaves on the ground, making it extremely difficult to spot. The murderous intent he had felt earlier also came from this guy.

Feeling this, Rod didn’t feel any sense of danger at all—instead, he felt a bit excited, a calm excitement.

The strength of the enemy doesn’t matter. At least now, he had some confidence—this side wasn’t that formidable either. If nothing happened at all and everything remained so quiet and peaceful, he would have been even more uneasy. But since something had appeared now, aside from its strength, at least he had some basis for confidence. As the saying goes, it’s not the appearance of the enemy that matters, but its absence.

Since it had appeared, what he needed to do was find a solution.

With this in mind, Rod held his breath, concentrating and channeling his internal fighting energy to bring it into optimal condition, then locking his mental focus tightly on this black creature.

It was still over ten or twenty meters away from him, appearing extremely cautious, taking every step with great care. Rod had to admit that if it hadn’t been for the murderous intent it inadvertently revealed, he would never have noticed its presence—otherwise, his only outcome would have been death! Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. Such a meticulous and cautious magical beast was indeed extraordinary.

As for the exact appearance of this magical beast, Rod couldn’t see clearly. Recalling the descriptions of magical beasts on the continent from the “Compendium of Beasts” he had read and studied, he hadn’t encountered anything like this before. Perhaps he had forgotten, or maybe the “Compendium of Beasts,” hailed as the most comprehensive guide to magical beasts on the continent, simply didn’t record the existence of this kind of beast and had overlooked it. What surprised Rod even more was that this extremely cautious magical beast actually possessed quasi-saint-level strength.

Quasi-saint-level magical beasts weren’t rare, nor were they hard to find. On the contrary, they were quite common. For example, in the few days since he arrived in Collins Forest, he had already killed a quasi-saint-level Flaming Lion and a low-stage saint-level Black Rock Leopard. They were quite frequent, especially in such deep areas.

What truly surprised and puzzled Rod was the behavior of this creature! Quasi-saint-level magical beasts, though not among the absolute pinnacle, could certainly be considered among the top tier. They had their own pride and personalities.

As members of this class, they were all arrogant and impulsive, charging at their enemies head-on without any hesitation. They were nothing like the cautious and cunning beast he was facing now. Despite its quasi-saint-level strength, its threat level was no less than that of a mid-stage saint!

Fortunately, he had discovered this early enough and couldn’t let it get close before launching an attack. Not knowing the characteristics of this beast, Rod decided he had to strike first. He took a deep breath, then held his breath and focused intensely!

Watching the black magical beast get closer and closer, with its wolf-like body now less than five meters away, Rod suddenly let out a fierce shout. The strength stored in his tense muscles erupted in an instant.

Facing four hundred times normal gravity, he dashed forward in a flash and unleashed his “Heaven-Shattering Sword” with a howling sword strike.

The moment he used the sword move, Rod immediately felt the impact of gravity on him. Horrified, he realized that under such conditions, gravity had such a severe effect—not only had his speed slowed by more than half, but his strength had also been reduced by at least half!

That was still manageable, but more importantly, he couldn’t fully use his steps, and his center of gravity shifted. He almost lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The “Heaven-Shattering Sword,” which he had built up to full strength after so long, failed completely due to various reasons—it couldn’t exert any power, and its accuracy was lost as well.

Squeaking… A sharp sound came as the black magical beast, skillfully dodging Rod’s sword strike, jumped to the side upon realizing it had been exposed. It growled at the human in front of it.

Then, with another jump, it lunged at Rod, revealing its sharp fangs and sharp claws that appeared out of nowhere at his feet.

Its fur stood on end, giving it an appearance akin to a hedgehog’s armor—extremely intimidating. Only now could Rod see clearly that this black monster resembled a rat, with a pointed head and body that was utterly repulsive.

“Beast!” With a roar of anger, Rod glared at the rapidly approaching black magical beast. He was furious that his “Heaven-Shattering Sword” was so useless here! Such gravity could severely limit his combat effectiveness. He wasn’t even surprised that a top-tier warrior with excellent combat skills and experience could easily kill him without being affected by gravity. Under this gravity, his strength was greatly diminished!

As the sharp fangs neared him, Rod suddenly raised his sword across his chest, stared coldly at the attacking black monster, then suddenly stepped back. At the same time, he kicked out with great force, moving from bottom to top straight at the flying black monster.

Boom… A dull sound came as one of the black monster’s claws touched Rod’s foot, producing a muffled impact. With just that single grasp, the black figure managed to block Rod’s furious attack; it only paused briefly before charging forward again.