Awakened: SSS Ranked Soul king-Chapter 23: Giant Beasts

"Double jump!" Guilliman shouted at the top of his lungs, propelling himself into the sky one more time as he stepped on the very air itself.

Just then, the massive creature bit down on the spot they had occupied moments earlier.

If he hadn't moved when he did, they would both be dead by now.

However, the beast didn't stop there. As soon as the two landed on a hill a few hundred meters away, it pursued them relentlessly, intent on devouring them body and soul.

"Hold on tight! We need to keep running!" Guilliman barked, leaping up once more and continuing his movement through the air.

This was extremely bad. If the team from the outpost couldn't take down this beast, what chance did they have of surviving? Moving through the myriad hills and dodging the teeth of the black monster, Guilliman couldn't help but feel frustrated.

How had he even come into such bad luck?

Unlike him, however, there was a trace of delight in Victoria's eyes—and it wasn't from merely surviving the beast's attacks.

No, she seemed happy that this enormous creature was chasing them, was she on something? Or just too terrified to show it?

"Guilliman! I have a plan," Victoria called, gripping his shirt tightly as she clung to him.

"Hm?" He was taken aback. She looked thrilled. Was this girl crazy?

"Just listen to me and follow my instructions," her eyes gleamed with determination and confidence.

Seeing the confidence in her gaze, Guilliman involuntarily nodded slowly. Victoria had never steered them wrong all this while, and it wasn't as though he had a better plan.

On his next jump, he turned in the direction Victoria pointed, blasting forward at maximum speed and moving as quickly and nimbly as he could.

After about ten minutes of running for his life, Victoria's voice resounded in his ears again.

"That hill over there—stop there!" she shouted, pointing at a giant hill standing at the center of three smaller ones.

"Hmm... We've never gone this deep into the communal zone before. Are you sure this is safe?" Guilliman asked skeptically.

"Safe? Not really," Victoria replied, shaking her head. Yet, her gaze didn't falter as she pointed firmly at the hill.

With no choice, Guilliman stopped atop the hill and unsheathed both of his rabbit blades. This was going to get messy.

Not too far away, a massive beast, the size of the hill itself, could be seen rushing toward them with ferocious speed. It was shaped like a giant ground mole, with claws as sharp as blades and a red snout atop its black body.

There was no doubt—it was coming to kill them.

"I hope your plan works," Guilliman said calmly, ready to run for his life if her plan didn't seem feasible. His loyalty to Victoria was not as strong as she might believe.

"Don't worry. If you play your cards right, you might actually hit level three today—maybe even higher!" Victoria broke into a grin, but this time it wasn't the usual awkward smile.

This one was filled with madness.

She really is crazy, Guilliman thought, watching her. This smile seemed more natural than anything he had ever seen from her, from the very first day they met.

"Roar!!!"

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As the beast reached them, it let out an ear-splitting roar. In the next moment, the most unexpected thing happened.

The smaller hills below them slowly began to move, raising their heads as they lumbered toward the beast.

"Torties?" Guilliman frowned in disbelief.

Those hills were living beasts? What the hell was going on?

Victoria smiled. He was clueless, as expected. This communal zone was known as "Tortie Hell" by the upper echelon of the shelter. It was an extremely dangerous training ground. Nobody in the shelter dared to enter it.

Nobody, except for people who didn't know better—and even they were usually killed at the entrance.

This was why Victoria and her team had never ventured this deep before.

But now? She had the confidence to risk it.

"Roar!!"

The black-furred behemoth slashed down at the three torties as they approached. Its claws, made of razor-sharp metal, could cut through the toughest rock.

But fighting creatures with literal hills on their backs was a different matter entirely. These were rocky formations that had stood the test of time, and cutting through them was harder than slicing through any metal structure.

Guilliman watched in awe as the three torties crowded the beast, forcing it back several steps. It was a monstrous battle.

But then, everything changed.

The beast, previously being overwhelmed, raised its claw—this time consumed by a red, horrifying light brimming with violent, bloody energy.

This creature was a Black-Devil Mole. Extremely rare in the sector due to the strength of their genes, they typically reached the sacred stage upon adulthood.

It had likely migrated here from another region. But this particular mole seemed more advanced than the average specimen.

"A king-code Black-Devil Mole," Victoria muttered with a smile, a glint appearing in her eyes. When they first encountered it, she hadn't been able to get a good look at it.

But now, she could see it clearly.

This was truly a terrifying beast.

Guilliman, standing behind her, watched in horror as the Black-Devil Mole dominated the three torties. It even went as far as to completely sever one of their heads. The remaining two were clearly no match for it.

"We have to get out of here," Guilliman said urgently. It was obvious the torties couldn't win. This was their best chance to escape.

"What? Why would we do that? The main show is just about to start." Victoria turned to him, confused.

She hadn't told him everything, but Guilliman didn't notice that something was off until...

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble violently, slowly lifting them higher into the sky.

All this time, they had been standing atop another tortie.

And this particular one was at least twice the size of the others.