Chapter 62

In Serenity Canyon, besides the Innate Nation’s budding town, there was one other place with civilization: a crystal clear lake to the south. Thousands of huts floated on the lake’s surface while wooden walkways connected them to create a bustling city home to mutated alligators, snakes, frogs, turtles, gorillas, and giant insects.

While monsters in the Grandsky Realm valued strength first and foremost, some still delved into the various crafts. On one street, a Steelskin Gorilla hawked his wares, mostly armor, to the strolling monsters while a massive grasshopper across from it chopped up meat with its scythes before hanging it on a rack. Nearby, a human-sized beaver with long fangs was selling baskets of fish. There were hundreds of monsters trading their goods at any given time.

Underneath the floating city, a gigantic black-scaled alligator rested atop a mountain of gems and shiny ore sitting at the lake's bottom. The beast’s four limbs were thick and sturdy while spikes lined its tail. The nearly one hundred thousand monsters living in the city above all submitted to this creature, for he was Monster Lord Cangu, ruler of Serenity Canyon.

[Divine, Monster Lord] Cangu the Black – Level 795

Health: 65,000,000/65,000,000

Previously sleeping, a sudden feeling caused Cangu to open his eyes, revealing two red slit-shaped pupils. His Predatory Instinct skill told him someone was gazing at him. Wondering who would dare, the Monster Lord looked around in anger before honing in on the surrounding reeds and plant life. The intruder was somehow using them as a medium to spy upon it. Revealing his jagged teeth with a grin, Cangu activated his Tracking skill, causing a hazy white line to appear that led into the distance. He immediately went out in pursuit.

Meanwhile, standing on top of a tree branch some three miles away from the monster city, Gloria opened her eyes after seeing Cangu rushing in her direction. Her expression ashen, she shouted at her teammates, “The monster lord found me, run!”

Gloria’s team specialized in tracking and scouting, so they knew they couldn’t retreat to their base lest they expose its whereabouts. Thankfully, they trained for this exact scenario and reacted quickly, so after hearing Gloria’s warning, her teammates split up and ran in different directions.

The young elf returned her palm to the tree trunk and was amazed to see Cangu riding a twenty-foot-tall wave of water through the forest at an astonishing speed. The Monster Lord reached her in moments, and as soon as the two made eye contact, Gloria stepped into the tree trunk and emerged from another tree three miles away. Heart racing, she placed her palm on the bark and prepared for a cat and mouse chase, only to find Cangu standing motionless.

Unbeknownst to Gloria, Cangu’s mind was a mess. At first, he thought the intruder was some ignorant monster or a scout sent by a neighboring Monster Lord. What he didn’t expect to find was an elf. While Serenity Canyon was along the edge of the Grandsky Realm and far from the forces of the three dimensions, he still knew not to pick a fight with them. After all, he still remembered the day a group of them came and killed the previous Monster Lord of Serenity Canyon.

Thinking it was best to lay low and not catch any attention, Cangu spun around and returned to his lair, much to Gloria’s surprise. She couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation. Still, the encounter with Cangu revealed many things. First, he could detect someone spying on him from several miles away. Second, he was far faster than his large size would suggest. Third, he had over a hundred thousand subordinates ranging from level 500-700.

Gaining such vital intelligence without losing any lives made her mission a great success, so it was time to return to base and give them the good news after regrouping with her team.

Meanwhile, back at the Innate Nation’s only foothold in the Grandsky Realm, officials finally decided on the town’s name. Now called New Hope, the town was constantly expanding in population and size, with many key infrastructures coming into place as the hours passed. Most important was the Mana Reactor-powered Mana Barrier covering the entire town, providing sturdy defense and a sense of security.

One key location in New Hope was the building used by the Central Intelligence Division. No matter how big or small, any information related to the Grandsky Realm passed through the ears of the officers working within. One report after another came in from the various scouting parties exploring Serenity Canyon, and after half a day, a map of Serenity Canyon came into being.

Finally, when word came down from above, all the adventurer parties that passed the vetting process charged toward the north in a mad rush to increase their levels and gain contribution points, while hundreds of small parties of the military’s finest followed in their wake.

Not wanting to miss out on the excitement, Keith contacted his Mom via the tablet and asked, “Do you want to party up?”

“Ah, I was just about to ask you the same,” Mariane replied. “Your aunt is here too.”

“That’s great! We’ve never hunted monsters together, have we?” Keith smiled happily before sighing, “Too bad Annallee and Elora aren’t here.”

“Funny you say that. Did you know the party Elora belongs to is one of the adventurer teams allowed at New Hope?” Mariane revealed.

“No way? I didn’t expect her party to have such a high status,” Keith replied astonishedly.

“Me either. Anyway, tell me your location so we can head out,” Mariane said while cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

A few minutes later, Keith joined up with his Mom and Aunt before leaving the safety of New Hope. This would be the first time he fought with his family, and he didn’t want to mess things up. More importantly, he wanted to show them his progress.