Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 212: Kicking an Iron Wall

Two people were resting outside the entrance of Beast Garden, sitting cross-legged and sipping from a gourd that seemed to never run out. Mist rolled behind them, occasionally revealing the shapes of bushes, trees, or resting, lumbering figures. Gan Salin was describing his adventures in Mind Garden, adding quite a bit of flair.

“And then—bam! The snail overlord couldn’t handle my impeccable reasoning and toppled to the ground. There was foam in her mouth, too—I think I gave her insanity.”

Brock laughed, sipping from the gourd again. “Nice, bro!” he said.

Salin puffed out his chest. “Of course it was nice. As if genius could compare with insanity!”

Each person could only access one garden in Garden Ring. If they tried to enter a second, they would find themselves blocked by an invisible barrier. Therefore, both done with their gardens, Brock and Salin rested together as they waited for Jack.

The reason they chose to wait at the entrance of Beast Garden, and not Trial Garden, was that Nauja was still in the nearby Weapons Garden, standing on one hill and shooting arrows at another. From where they sat, they had a good view of her mostly fruitless efforts to master the Sun Piercing Arrow.

They had already waited for several hours when shapes appeared in the distance. Both their heads instantly snapped over to find a procession of humanoid figures, led by a black-dressed woman and a man wielding a long sword.

“Where’s Jack?” Salin asked, scanning the procession. Brock’s face tightened. Before long, the group had approached within shouting range. “Hey!” Salin yelled at them. “Did you guys forget Jack?”

“Hello, my canine friend!” the Sage shouted from just behind the leaders. “You can say that, yes.”

Salin heaved a sigh of relief. Brock only nodded, like this was natural. His big bro couldn’t die.

It was only when the Lord group reached them that they realized they seemed battered. Longsword, who walked at the forefront, had a head of messy hair, blood smears on his face and clothes, and seemed paler than usual. The Sage was unhurt, but his shirt sported a long tear down the middle. Several people were absent, too, including Vocrich and the Hand of God dryad. And Jack, of course.

All the treasure hunters were gone, as they no longer had a reason to stay.

The Sage walked ahead to explain the situation.

“I’m happy to see you both in good shape,” he said with a smile. “Our excursion, however, wasn’t bloodless. We lost several members. As for our common friend, he is currently trapped in a sealed cave of Trial Garden. It is unknown whether he can escape or not.”

“How did that happen?”

“He was running away from me.” Longsword stepped forward. He was in a terrible mood. His usually composed eyes hid twin storms, and his posture indicated that he was ready to cause trouble. “Jack Rust broke the rules of a Garden Assault to steal the Top Treasure. He then ran away like a coward, released a devil to stop us, and sealed himself in a cave to escape our pursuit.”

Brock snorted as he stood. “No,” he said. Big Bro was neither a thief nor a coward. If he took the treasure, it was fair. If he ran away, it was not out of cowardice.

Of course, his miming fell on blind eyes.

“Are you doubting me, monkey?” Longsword asked.

“Yes.”

“Good. Good! That makes things easier. We know you are his spiritual companion. Speak! Do you have a way to communicate with him or transfer him energy?”

Brock snorted and did not respond. He refused to be intimidated by an enemy.

“Well, have it your way.” Longsword smirked. “We don’t actually need your permission. Minerva; could you please use your tamer skills to deep-scan this beast? Then, everything will be made clear.”

“Of course,” she replied, “but I need it immobilized and within arm’s reach.”

“That’s easy.” Longsword stepped forward, only for a lean man to stand before him.

“Hey,” Salin said, “do you think I’m invisible?”

Longsword’s face contorted with disgust, as if a middle E-Grade standing up to him was an insult. He wouldn’t even soil his hands by acting personally. “Not invisible; weak. Bocor.”

“This is not a good idea,” the Sage intervened calmly. “I would advise you to stop.”

Everyone ignored him. Having been summoned, Bocor stepped threateningly toward Gan Salin. “Move, or I’ll make you.”

“Hah. Give it a try, bitch.”

Bocor growled. He made to attack.

Suddenly, the mist behind Brock and Gan Salin parted. The two of them had been sitting right in front of Beast Garden, with the mist only a few dozen feet behind them. Now, that same mist contorted and bent like it was blown at by a dozen giants. One shape after another emerged.

The largest creatures were a lion with a mane of fire, a giant gorilla with four arms, and a millepede the height of a horse. These three were Elites at the peak of the E-Grade. Nine more beasts followed them, each at least at the high E-Grade. The desert lizard and frog, that Brock had rescued from that first tamer, were included.

All were glaring at Longsword.

Everyone in the Lord group gaped. Even Bocor, who had been about to attack, froze mid-step. “What the—”

“Bros!” Brock said in elation. He then looked at Longsword sideways and wagged his finger. “No. Bad bro.”

“Brock is our bro,” said the four-armed gorilla, crossing his arms in two sets of two. His glare was hard. “You mess with him, you mess with us.”

Longsword’s face was trembling. Not only had a bunch of beasts appeared out of nowhere to challenge him, but Brock had even wagged his finger! Everything was so damn nonsensical and frustrating when Jack Rust was involved.

At the next moment, he remembered he was a Lord, and kept his composure. “Minerva?” he said. Unfortunately, she was even more troubled than him.

“I have no idea,” she said. “Not even I could command all these beasts. I think they are here of their own volition.”

“What are you staring at, pipsqueak?” asked the gorilla. “I already told you you can’t mess with our bro. Beat it.”

Longsword was incensed. First, Jack Rust had defeated and humiliated him. Now, some random beasts were insulting him, and he was struggling to even touch Jack Rust’s monkey, an Elite beast that was only Level 81! He didn’t know if he should shout or cry.

How did I go from the top of the world to…this?

This Garden Ring had been the worst experience of his life. He refused to take it anymore. His eyes quickly ran over the people behind him. Bocor and Eralda—the ice witch—were with him. Minerva was on his side, but she had no followers left. Priya was against him, but would she actively fight him just to protect a monkey? As for the Sage and his two followers…

There was something about this man that put Longsword on edge. Unconsciously, he already regarded the Sage on the level of the Lords, even though the latter had shown no indication of power besides his outstanding divination.

The Sage’s gaze was warning Longsword to be cautious. So was Priya’s.

However, if he stepped back now, what would remain of his honor!?

“That’s right,” Gan Salin said, “put your tail between your legs and run. Even Lords cannot stand up to the Brotherhood!”

Longsword had considered running away. Not anymore. He met Bocor’s eyes and nodded slightly. The minotaur instantly bellowed and raised his tower shield to slam it down on Gan Salin’s head—the two of them had a thirty-level difference, so it should be quick.

“Keep my Lord out of your dirty mouth!” he bellowed.

“I don’t even like men!” Salin replied. He jumped to the side, dodging the first attack as Bocor prepared to unleash a second.

Many things happened at the same time. A sharp sound came from the distance—it was sharp yet drawn-out, like someone was sucking at the entire world with a spiked straw. Before Bocor could react, an arrow was approaching his head at incredible speed, clad in a mantle of multi-colored energy. In fact, the more it traveled, the stronger and faster it got!

On a distant hill, Nauja’s face glowed with satisfaction. This was the first time she successfully used a Sun Piercing Arrow. Pressure did help one break through.

Bocor couldn’t react to this arrow, but Longsword could. He made his decision in a split-second. He jumped up and swung his long sword to intercept it. Lightning flashed. Blue light washed over him. A young man with slim features stood before Longsword, blocking the strike with his two obsidian daggers. It was Dorman Whistles.

The arrow kept going. It struck Bocor in the ribs and unleashed a piercing explosion in the direction it was facing—towards the minotaur. His plate armor shook, barely saving his life. Waves of piercing energy still ran over him, slicing open his skin. He flew sideways like a ragdoll, rolling on the ground until finally slamming down the base of his tower shield to stop himself.

Longsword’s eyes narrowed. His sword had been blocked by a random follower of the Sage. That was an insult. He jumped back and swung again, aiming at Dorman properly this time. The sword cracked through the air like a whip. Dorman’s daggers were even faster. The young man accelerated so rapidly it seemed unreal. Lightning coursed through his entire body and raised his hair into spikes. His twin daggers shone with lightning-shaped veins and crashed at Longsword’s chest from the left and right simultaneously, like a centipede’s fangs.

Longsword had to abandon his strike and fall back, taking only a scratch to the chest, which was still enough to send a lightning burst through his body. He stepped back a second time, losing his breath as he struggled to right himself. “What—”

Dorman grinned. “If you were at your best, you could fight me…but you’re injured now. Step back.”

Longsword’ eyes widened.

At the same time, a van-sized boar came at Dorman from the side, charging him head-first. It was Minerva’s summoned beast, an Elite at the peak of the E-Grade. Dorman didn’t even look in its direction. The head of a mallet appeared before the boar, meeting its forehead with pure strength. Bone cracked and split. The boar’s tremendous charge was stopped like it had crashed into a steel wall, and it bounced back, dropping to the ground and not standing again. Poppy landed lightly on the ground, holding her mallet like nothing had happened.

The moment Bocor recovered from the Sun Piercing Arrow, Salin was already on him, five fingertips glistening like diamonds. “Five Star Grasp!” he shouted. Bocor bellowed and barely managed to reposition his shield in time. He blocked well. But there was no time to block the stone staff that flew at his cheek, slapping him so hard that two teeth flew out and his entire body spun around itself once before falling to the ground.

He didn’t lose consciousness, but he was momentarily dazed. Brock put the Staff of Stone back on his shoulder and smiled. “Revenge,” he said.

“Damn right,” Salin agreed, high-fiving the brorilla. They grinned at each other.

All these things happened in the span of a single second. Everyone was still reeling when the legion of animal bros moved forward as one, ready to crash into the Lord group.

The Sage raised his hands. Green energy seeped out to heal both Bocor and Longsword, making all their wounds disappear like they were never there in the first place.

“Let’s not escalate, everyone,” he said calmly, still smiling. “What’s done is done. How about we all go our separate ways?”