Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 160: The glorious hunt must go on

"Oh god, please, no more hunts," Eddie pleaded. Sweat was running down his face, and his hands trembled slightly. Kargul, Evelyn, and Vorlok had been hunting relentlessly ever since the encounter with the vampires. Kargul was always loudly roaring about how the glorious hunt must continue. Eddie and Chloe, however, had different opinions. They were far too weak to hunt constantly, and the beasts they encountered tended to be extremely dangerous.

It reminded Eddie of the third stage, where most beasts were of a similar level, except for a few outliers who were far stronger. On the fourth stage, however, the beasts were on a completely different level. Even Kargul, Vorlok, and Evelyn had struggled significantly. Eddie and Chloe mostly stayed out of the direct fighting, only stepping in to land a hit when a beast was sufficiently weakened. They had acquired a few new forms that were far more powerful compared to their previous ones.

One of their new forms was a giant black spider, which was extremely fast and capable of shooting webs at enemies. Its bite was also highly venomous, killing most beasts instantly. However, they hesitated to use this form against strong beasts because the spider’s defenses were poor, and Vorlok had an unfortunate tendency to view them as prey in the heat of battle. For this reason, they tried to avoid using the spider form whenever possible.

Their second form, which they used more frequently, was that of a mantis akridon. This beast stood over four meters tall, with incredibly powerful claws and mandibles. It wasn’t as fast as the spider but had much better defenses. Most importantly, Vorlok didn’t seem interested in eating the mantis form, which made it their preferred choice in fights—though they still stayed on the sidelines most of the time.

"No, we can’t stop now. The hunt has just begun," Evelyn said with a smile.

Since the fight with the vampires, the young teenager had changed dramatically. Her strength was now on an entirely different level than before. She never got hit in fights, even when situations looked dire. Somehow, Evelyn was always in full control.

Her healing and buffing skills had also become much more potent. She could now buff multiple people at once while simultaneously dodging attacks and healing. Eddie and Chloe had no idea how she had grown so strong, especially after being so weak for several days following the vampire encounter.

Vorlok, meanwhile, had become an unrelenting meat grinder, devouring everything in their path. The skyturtle had even grown larger during this time, which was remarkable considering how slowly it gained levels despite all the killing they’d been doing. Vorlok was now very close to level eighty, and both Kargul and Evelyn had been urging the turtle not to evolve immediately but to keep eating. Whether the turtle understood them was anyone’s guess.

Evelyn's confidence was justified, as Vorlok suddenly started sniffing the air and shaking its massive head from side to side.

"Oh, look, he’s already found something. Good boy, Vorlok! Go find the beast," Kargul cheered, his tone resembling that of someone encouraging a dog.

It didn’t take long before the skyturtle took off at full speed, with Evelyn perched on its back, looking remarkably relaxed despite what must have been a rollercoaster-like ride. Kargul roared and sprinted after the skyturtle. Eddie and Chloe exchanged helpless looks before transforming into their mantis akridon forms and chasing after Evelyn, Vorlok, and the roaring orc.

"What do you think it is this time?" Chloe asked Eddie as they tried to catch up with the others.

"I think it’s one of those insect hives. They’ve been growing a lot lately," Eddie replied after a moment of thought.

"True. It almost seems like insects have it easier in the system. At least, most of the beasts we’ve fought lately have been insects," Chloe agreed, leaping over a fallen tree trunk.

"I just hope we find Jack and Josh. They must be having a really hard time. Do you remember how picky they always were with their forms? Almost every form we got wasn’t good enough for them," Chloe said, a note of melancholy in her voice.

"Hopefully, they’re okay. I’m looking forward to meeting them again. They’ll be green with envy when they see our new powerful forms," Eddie said, grinning as he leaped onto a massive clearing.

"Yes, that will be funny at least. But… what is that?" Chloe exclaimed in shock as she saw what Kargul, Evelyn, and Vorlok had found.

Standing in the middle of the clearing was a massive level eighty-six griffin. Its head reached a height of roughly seven meters, and its body was the size of a school bus. The beast had the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, all covered in black feathers. Its aura alone was so intimidating that Chloe and Eddie instinctively stepped back several meters.

The beast had to be incredibly powerful to emanate such an aura. Even Kargul was forced to dodge the mighty claw attacks, and Vorlok, for once, stayed back. Normally, the turtle would divebomb anything like a rocket and devour it within moments. The fact that Vorlok didn’t even dare to attack the griffin right away was yet another testament to its immense strength.

“Haha! Truly a foe worthy to be called our prey!” Kargul roared, his body erupting with power as he charged at the griffin.

The griffin screeched in response, unleashing a shockwave that blasted the orc straight into a tree thirty meters away. The impact zone landed just a few meters from Eddie and Chloe, who heard the sickening sound of bones breaking.

Before they could move to assist Kargul, the griffin appeared in front of him, biting down with a beak that glowed ominously. Evelyn arrived just in time to intervene, casting a mana barrier that sprang up between Kargul and the griffin. At the same time, green light erupted around Kargul as Evelyn activated a healing spell.

Vorlok, now flying at full speed, barreled toward the griffin. But the griffin somehow sensed the incoming turtle and sidestepped at the last moment. This caused Vorlok to smash through Evelyn’s mana barrier and crash into a tree beside Kargul.

Evelyn reacted quickly, casting an illusion that made it appear as if Kargul and Vorlok were lying three meters to the right of their actual position. This gave her just enough time to heal Kargul’s injuries and allow Vorlok to take to the air again.

Eddie and Chloe briefly considered intervening but hesitated, fearing the griffin would kill them with a single attack. For now, they stayed back.

The griffin pounced toward the illusion of Kargul, crashing into the tree next to him and sending splinters flying everywhere. Using this distraction, Kargul leapt to his feet and swung his massive mace at the griffin’s front leg.

The bone didn’t break, but the impact was strong enough to force the griffin to stumble back several meters. This was the first time Eddie had seen anything withstand a blow from Kargul’s mace. Vorlok, who had seemingly anticipated more damage from the hit, flailed in midair, trying to change direction to avoid crashing into the griffin.

Kargul pressed the attack, swinging his mace again, but the griffin was faster this time. It lashed out with one of its claws, only for Evelyn to summon another mana barrier in the nick of time, blocking the strike before it could gain full momentum. A grin spread across Kargul’s face as he swung his mace again, this time shattering the griffin’s front leg under the extreme force. The beast roared in pain as its right leg gave out, and it began beating its wings in a desperate attempt to escape.

At that moment, Vorlok slammed into the griffin’s side like a bullet. The entire creature was forced four meters sideways and crashed to the ground. The griffin thrashed and screamed, trying to dislodge Vorlok, but it was too late. The turtle had already begun tearing into its side. The griffin tried to use its sharp beak to bite Vorlok, but Kargul appeared in front of it, swinging his mace down with a skill that made the weapon grow several meters in length.

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The earth trembled as the mace connected with the griffin’s head. Its eyes widened in shock just before the impact. Despite its injuries, the griffin managed to wound some of Vorlok’s flippers, but the turtle wasn’t deterred and continued devouring the beast from the inside. The griffin tried to rise again, only for Kargul to bring his mace down a second time. Then a third. And a fourth, for good measure.

One thing Eddie and Chloe had learned about the orc was that he loved smashing things and wouldn’t stop anytime soon—especially with such a massive target in front of him. This was their moment. Eddie and Chloe sprinted toward the fallen griffin. With Vorlok buried in its side and Kargul preoccupied smashing its head, they had the perfect opportunity to acquire its form.

As they succeeded, both of them broke into a joyful dance. Opportunities like this were rare, as most beasts were much smaller and often disappeared into Vorlok’s belly before they could take their forms.

“Oh look! It’s a legendary race!” Chloe cheered.

“I can’t believe it. Now we’re powerful and not completely useless!” Eddie exclaimed, his excitement palpable.

“I can already picture Jack and Josh crying about how unfair this is and whining that they want such a cool form too,” Chloe said, grinning widely. She shifted back into her human form, just to make sure Vorlok wouldn’t try to eat her when it emerged from the griffin’s carcass.

“Oh yes, they’ll be so mad,” Eddie grinned.

Then a piercing screech interrupted them all. Eddie looked up, his heart sinking. Two giant griffins were descending from the sky. Both were even larger than the one they had just killed—and they looked furious.

“Oh god, those are its siblings—or worse, its parents! We need to run!” Eddie screamed in panic.

“Haha! No one runs from a challenge! Vorlok, look! There’s more meat!” Kargul roared, lifting his mace high into the sky.

Hearing his name mentioned alongside meat, Vorlok’s head popped out of the dead griffin, his eyes filled with greed and anticipation.

“Uh, are you sure you want to fight both of them?” Evelyn interjected. “Look, they’re getting even bigger as they dive closer!”

“No, no, it’s just another challenge! There’s no way the children of a bird and a cat can defeat us,” Kargul proudly announced.

The time for running was over as the two massive griffins came crashing down on them. Kargul roared and swung his mace at one, but the griffin erupted with power, sending a mana wave that blasted the orc backward. Vorlok’s eyes widened as he sensed the newcomers’ overwhelming aura, and for once, he fled—flying upward as fast as his flippers could take him. One of the griffins, unwilling to let the turtle escape, shot after Vorlok in hot pursuit.

Eddie and Chloe stood frozen in fear, unable to move. Eddie’s mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan. These griffins were far stronger than the one they had barely managed to kill before. Even with their griffin forms, it seemed unwise to test their strength now.

Meanwhile, Kargul launched himself at the remaining griffin, his mace raised high above his head. He seemed to have fully recovered, thanks to Evelyn’s healing. The griffin, however, scoffed at his attack and opened its beak, unleashing a steady stream of fire.

“What?! Why can they do that? We don’t have that ability!” Chloe exclaimed in shock.

It was true. They had no special skills, whereas these griffins had two. Perhaps the previous griffin was weaker and hadn’t unlocked these abilities yet. Normally, this would have been good news. They could acquire the better skills from these stronger griffins after Kargul and Vorlok killed them. The problem was, it didn’t look like these griffins were going to die anytime soon.

Kargul was clearly struggling. He barely managed to avoid the fire breath, thanks to one of Evelyn’s mana barriers. He tried to counterattack, but the griffin unleashed another mana wave, blasting the orc away once more. Things looked grim as the griffin shattered Evelyn’s mana barrier like it was nothing, its glowing beak descending rapidly toward Kargul.

Before the beak could strike, an incredible force sent the griffin flying across the clearing. It crashed through a tree on the far side and was just starting to get back on its feet when a giant squid—dark purple and monstrous—appeared above it. Multiple tentacles wrapped around the griffin, lifting it into the air.

The griffin thrashed violently, using its powerful mana waves and fire breath. The squid screeched in pain and dropped the griffin, only to use a telekinetic skill to smash the griffin into the ground repeatedly with incredible force. Bones cracked audibly, even from a distance. As the griffin struggled to rise, the squid grabbed it again, attempting to devour it. But the griffin refused to give up, slashing with its claws and unleashing more powerful attacks to free itself.

The squid, undeterred, used its telekinetic skill once more, slamming the griffin into the ground with bone-crushing force.

Suddenly, a humanoid figure in insect-like armor descended from the sky. It looked alien, larger than a typical human, with a sleek yet menacing form. Moments later, the massive corpse of the other griffin—the one that had been chasing Vorlok—crashed into the ground nearby.

“Faster. See, Jack? My form is clearly better!” the insect-like figure said triumphantly.

“No, no, Josh, you’re wrong. Mine died before yours. I saw it!” Jack retorted, dragging the dead griffin closer to his mouth.

“Nah, you’re clearly mistaken, my dear friend,” Josh said with a smug bow. “It just took longer for my kill to arrive here, so mine obviously died first.”

Before the argument could escalate, Vorlok dove from the sky, attempting to swallow Josh in a fearless attack.

“Hey! You stupid turtle, I already told you. I’m not the enemy, and I’m definitely not food!” Josh shouted. His body shifted unnaturally, like gravity had bent sideways, allowing him to evade Vorlok’s attack with incredible speed.

“No, I don’t admit defeat until you’ve killed the turtle,” Jack said in a cheeky tone, while munching on the griffin.

“Come on! The turtle isn’t even an enemy!” Josh yelled back, easily dodging another one of Vorlok’s lunges.

“Looks like an enemy to me. This is always the same with you. You just can’t accept that I have the better form,” Jack said smugly, his mouth still full.

“Hey, that’s not fair! I had to kill a flying beast while this annoying turtle was chasing me the whole time, and all you did was ambush your target on the ground. I’m the clear winner!” Josh argued, jumping over Vorlok, who crashed into the ground where Josh had been standing a moment earlier.

“Nope, I’m the winner,” Jack said with amusement.

“No, you’re not!” Josh countered, his claw like fingers raised in Jack’s direction.

“Yes, I am,” Jack replied, clearly enjoying the argument but not taking it seriously.

“I’m just stating facts, but you never listen!” Josh yelled in frustration.

“Excuse me... who are you two?” Kargul asked, tapping Josh on the shoulder.

Josh spun around in shock but relaxed when he saw Kargul and the others.

“Josh, Jack, is that you?!” Chloe shouted in surprise, tears in her eyes.

“Of course, it’s us! And since we saved you, can you please tell Josh, that I’m stronger?” Jack said before Josh could respond. If insects could blush in anger, Josh would have been bright red.