Chapter 105: The Battle Bear’s Pursuit

The moment he turned around, he sensed a powerful force rapidly approaching him—extremely powerful, beyond anything he had ever seen before; it was the strongest energy he had encountered.
“Ao…” A loud, guttural roar echoed through the air, causing the birds in the forest to fly away in panic. Even the birds in the sky seemed to sense some terrifying force and fled swiftly into the distance, emitting frantic chirping sounds.
A huge black shadow rushed toward him at high speed. As the distance shortened, Rod could even feel the ground shaking—yes, the entire landscape was trembling under the onslaught of that creature.
“A Battle Bear! No good!” Although there were still hundreds of meters left, he could clearly see its massive figure—it was indeed a Battle Bear, the last creature he wanted to encounter here!
A Battle Bear, a gold-tier magical beast, yet it was even more powerful than all other gold-tier beasts. It belonged to the upper tier of gold-tier creatures, with strength on par with that of a Martial Emperor.
Also known as the Earth Bear, a earth-type magical beast, it had astonishing defense and immense strength, making it one of the most powerful beasts. Despite its size, it could move at an astonishing speed, exceeding 60 kilometers per hour—this was even faster when moving over long distances, showing its extraordinary endurance.
With its earth-type magic defense and its own formidable defenses, even a gold-tier warrior attacking at full strength might not be able to injure it. It was even considered comparable to a Martial Emperor in terms of power.
Rumors said that an adult Earth Bear had once single-handedly killed a mid-tier Martial Emperor beast by crushing it to death, leaving the latter unable to fight back and dying in agony.
From every perspective, this creature’s terror was evident. As this thought flashed through Rod’s mind, his expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he turned and rushed outside at top speed.
He pushed his speed to the limit, racing like a gust of wind toward the edge of the forest.
Another roar came from behind, causing the ground to shake even more violently. Along with countless creaking sounds, every tree in the path of the enraged Earth Bear was knocked down as it forced its way forward, relentless in its pursuit.

“Damn it, this won’t work!” Anxiously, he realized that his speed was starting to slow down as time passed. The battle with the Wind Leopard earlier had drained much of his energy, and the situation was obvious. Meanwhile, that black bear seemed to have endless stamina, maintaining its speed without any reduction.

There were sounds ahead! Yes, the sounds of a battle. Suddenly, hearing the combat noises from ahead, Rod rushed there quickly as if grasping at a lifeline. He no longer hoped to escape—this creature clearly had its eyes set on him. The only hope was to encounter some powerful mercenaries or a mercenary group who could help him escape at this critical moment.

……

“What’s going on over there?” At that moment, the fighters suddenly heard a huge commotion ahead. From afar, they could see trees falling one after another, and the ground trembling with roaring sounds.

“Deal with this guy first!” A warrior shouted coldly as he waited for the silver-ranked Fire Bull Beast in front of him.

It had taken their mercenary group a long time to find this beast, and they had gone to great lengths to lure it out of the herd and surround it here. After fighting for so long and exhausting countless efforts, they were on the verge of defeating it—how could they give up now?

“The situation is bad. Finish it quickly and leave this place ASAP!” a mage roared. Such a huge disturbance in Collins Forest could only be caused by a powerful magical beast.

Their goal for this trial was the Fire Bull Beast—they couldn’t miss this opportunity. The school had given them little time; they had to complete the trial quickly and return for their graduation exams.

“Hmm, it seems like someone is calling for help. What’s going on? They’re in danger!” The first warrior stopped fighting and faced the Fire Bull, asking in confusion. Hearing such noises during a dangerous battle was a very bad sign.

“It seems so, but I can’t hear what they’re shouting!” said the second warrior.

“No, someone is running towards us!” the mage exclaimed in alarm!

“Moo…” It seemed to have noticed what was happening in the distance as well, as if realizing something. The war bull, which had been fighting against several enemies just moments ago, let out an uneasy roar and slowly retreated with signs of anxiety. A moment later, it turned around and fled at an incredible speed.

“What… what’s going on?” The few people who couldn’t even stop it in time asked in confusion. After all, even in such a life-threatening situation earlier, this guy hadn’t run away. Now… how could this be?

……

“Damn it! You damn bastard! Do you have your eyes set on me? Can’t I even live in peace?” Feeling the distance between himself and the guy behind shrinking, Rod was at his wits’ end, about to be caught.

After running for a while, he finally saw people ahead—three of them: two warriors and a mage. Judging from their clothing, they were less than 500 meters away, shouting loudly in hopes of getting their help!

Yet it seemed they didn’t hear anything at all, showing no reaction.

“Help!” A huge bear paw landed nearby, creating a large crater in the ground that sent up dust and debris, making Rod break into a cold sweat. The guy was now less than three meters away from him.

……

“Bad news—it’s the Earth Bear! Let’s go!” The three of them were frustrated by the war bull’s escape when they almost dropped their eyes in shock. As they got closer, they finally saw what was in the distance—a huge black figure appeared before them.

“Damn it! How did this guy end up here? Let’s go!”

“Wait, that person being chased looks familiar… It’s Rod! It’s really him!”

“Knight Rod, that bastard! He must have brought this guy here. Ignore him! Let’s run!” It was the Earth Bear! Running into it here? Their expressions changed instantly, and ignoring the fleeing war bull, they turned and started running.

“Don’t run! Help me!” Rod shouted loudly as he saw the others turning to flee.

“Kiro, you bastard! Don’t run!” With a hint of excitement on his face, Rod recognized the people ahead and shouted loudly.

Running into Kiro’s gang here was quite lucky. With them around, he might be able to get some help. But seeing them run away, Rod hurriedly shouted again.

“No, it’s Knightrod! We can’t leave—if we do, he’s dead!” Kiro said anxiously, shaking off Anderson’s hand and looking back.
“That damned bastard! Why did he come here to seek death? And to deal with such a guy—Earth Bear, a warrior even the Martial Emperors avoid! Kiro, stop worrying about it. There’s nothing we can do. That guy is too strong. Even if we team up, we have no chance of winning. Let’s go quickly!” Anderson shouted frantically, looking at Kiro in panic. He knew all too well the terror of Earth Bear; textbooks even featured this terrifying foe.
“There’s no time! Running won’t work. Hurry up and go help him!” Unexpectedly, Alice, who had remained silent until now, spoke first. A series of complicated spells came out of her mouth, and intricate hand seals were formed as water elements quickly condensed!
“Water Veil Barrier, go!” With a sharp cry, an advanced water-based defensive magic appeared, covering Rod just as Earth Bear was about to strike him. Water elements condensed around his body, and in an instant, a transparent water magic formed, shielding him. Rod was secretly relieved—good luck, meeting an old acquaintance who was willing to help him.
“That annoying Alice still seems pretty cute!” It was obvious that it must have been Alice, the mage, who cast the defensive magic for him. Rod was surprised that she would help him at such a time.
“Thud…” In his distraction, he was caught by Earth Bear. A bear paw descended swiftly, causing a dull thud as it hit the magic barrier.
“Boom…” He flew backward like a kite with its string cut. The defense of the advanced magic did nothing against Earth Bear. It was shattered instantly, throwing Rod along with it, who then crashed heavily in front of Kiro and the others.
“Knightrod, you bastard! You brought this guy here! Hurry up and leave!” Anderson yelled, eyes red, as he rushed to pick up Rod along with Kiro and Alice, then fled. The battle bear behind them was too terrifying; even if they all worked together, they had no chance against it.

“We can’t run anymore! Damn it, we have to fight! If this goes on, we’ll be caught sooner or later!” They watched as this guy pursued them endlessly. They encountered several groups of mercenaries along the way, but as soon as they saw the battle bears behind those people from afar, they ran away immediately. Yet the battle bears focused on Rod and the others, ignoring the rest as they pursued them relentlessly, which caused great distress to the group. Anderson complained nonstop, Alice’s gaze was murderous, and although Kiro remained silent, his face was pale, showing his extreme displeasure.