Armipotent

The forest was giving off the same vibe as the Gigante Forest at the Ortis Continent. The enormous trees took over the forest, where the leaf was about the same size as his body. However, there was something off with the forest, the beasts that stayed in the forest, to be exact.

Tang Shaoyang glanced at his right hand. He was holding a giant bird, a giant dying bird, at its last breath. "This is the same." He muttered in a low voice as a frown formed on his forehead.

The giant bird in his hand was similar to an ostrich, having a long and featherless neck but lush feathers on its wing and body. Its size was twice of Tang Shaoyang's body, but its strength did not back up its size. The giant bird was weak, too weak for Tang Shaoyang.

[Karican - Level 892]

That was right; the bird was not even an Epic Rank beast. Tang Shaoyang felt like the beast was too weak for the beast on the eleventh floor. He expected the beast and monster would be at least at Epic Rank. He thought it was an infant or adolescent stage at first, so he hunted more Karican, and all the birds he had caught so far were below level 900. At this point, he concluded that the average beast in the forest was around level 700 up to level 900.

"Do I have a high expectation for the eleventh floor?" Tang Shaoyang thought he was overestimating the native on the eleventh floor. At this point, the eleventh was not different from the demon he faced on the tenth floor. The matured demon would be around level 850 to Epic Rank; in fact, the tenth floor had stronger natives than the eleventh floor.

[I think you have way too high of expectations for the eleventh floor than anything else. These beasts might be much weaker than you, but a pack of Karican may wipe out your exploration group.] Rosalie, the Flame Empress, responded to Tang Shaoyang's disappointment.

[Also, remember, you are not that far from the Starter City. From how the System named the city, the monster around the city should be the weak one. I think you need to go further if you want to find stronger beasts.]

"That might be the case, but it makes the forest the best training ground for Tarrior." Tang Shaoyang nodded. "I guess I have to go deeper into the forest…." His right way twitched a little as he stopped midway. "I need to get rid of the rats who followed first. I don't like being spied on."

He had his [Spirit Vision] activated as per usual, and he noticed a group of white-armored knights in range of his vision. There was no need for him to investigate to find who they were. The armor already told him that these white-armored knights were from the Divine Church.

"What did I do to them for them to be hostile toward me?" Tang Shaoyang was genuinely confused with the Divine Church. While they were not that close, they were not to the point where they would point their swords at each other. He thought the first conversation with Saintess Marisha was fine.

[Your Eye, Your Majesty. You have a demon eye, and that might be the trigger for them to be hostile against you. All human religions I face so far detest the demon race. It is as if they are created to exterminate us, the demon. I can say that because the churches and temples actively wage war against us demons even though we don't do anything to harm humans.] Orlean, The Demon Prince, voiced his guess to answer his master's confusion. He could say that based on his experience when he was alive.

Tang Shaoyang subconsciously placed his right on his black eye. He indeed had a demon's black eye after he combined his race with Tang, the new race that was born from High Human, Dragon, and Demon. "That does not make sense. They did not show any hostility in our first meeting, but why now?"

[That…. I am not sure.] Orlean could not answer that. It was indeed confusing when his master brought up the first meeting. At that time, his master did not feel any hostility and also did not hide the black eye from anyone.

"At this point, it does not matter anymore." Tang Shaoyang shook his head. "Let's get rid of our tail, and maybe they have the answer for me… Huh!?" He was about to fly toward the white-armored knights. However, he then spotted another group following the white-armored knight. A smaller group of three followed the white-armored knights from a distance. He quickly realized the identity of the second group. The three were the people who stood near Reinar Thamsen.

"This is getting even more interesting."

Tang Shaoyang was certain that the Divine Church came to kill him, but there were two possibilities for Reinar's people following the Divine Church. First, Reinar wanted to finish him off in case the Divine Church failed to do so. Second, Reinar wanted to help him against the Divine Church. Even though the second was the least likely case, it still made sense. The Giteron Dynasty might want to deal some damage to the church's force by helping him. While they were in the same alliance, they were still rivals. Reducing their rival's force would help the Giteron Dynasty to contest the resource.

*** ***

The group of ten Holy Knights stopped their track. The knight in the front that was tasked to track Tang Shaoyang suddenly stopped, and the other nine stopped also. "Do you find him? Is he near?" The leader of the group asked.

The tracker looked up and around. "It's weird. His track suddenly disappeared." The knight still looked around while the other knights followed in tow, observing their surroundings. It was an ability to track someone based on mana, and the knight suddenly could not find any trace of mana, whether in the air or the ground.

"Are you looking for me?" A voice came out from one of the trees around them. The ten Holy Knights subconsciously pulled out their sword in high alert. In the following moment, they found the person they were looking for. Tang Shaoyang was on one of the giant branches, leaning his back against the giant trunk, observing the ten knights with an amused expression.

The ten Holy Knights grouped in one spot, having their backs touched each other. The leader of the ten felt like there might be a trap waiting for them. His suspicion was not groundless; that was because Tang Shaoyang dared to confront them openly.

"Three Ancient Ranks and seven Epic Ranks…." Tang Shaoyang muttered in a low voice. "The Divine Church thinks of me highly for sending three Ancient Ranks."

The Holy Knights were uninterested in entertaining Tang Shaoyang with the conversation. They kept observing the surrounding in case there was an ambush. The tracker soon came closer to his leader and whispered. "It's safe, Sir. There's no ambush; it should be safe unless they can fool me."

"Keep your guard. This heathen can hide his track and presence, and the ambush may have the same ability." The leader of the Holy Knight reminded his subordinates.

"Heathen, huh?" Tang Shaoyang heard the whisper, and he chuckled. "It seems you are right, Orlean. This church despises me because of my demon eye."

"So, why are you following a heathen? Are you just gonna stare at me like this?" Tang Shaoyang rubbed his cheek and jaw. "I might be handsome, but I am a straight man." He then jumped off the branch and landed twenty meters away from the group. He landed on the giant root, expecting the knights to attack him. However, the knights betrayed his expectation. They remained on the spot, staring at him intensely.

"What is this? Don't you want to kill me? Come at me." He motioned toward the knights to come at him. Provocation after provocation, yet the knights remained in the same spot and formation.

'Did I misunderstand these guys? They might not be following….' Tang Shaoyang suddenly doubted his judgment, leading him to think that the Divine Church might not come for him. The Divine Church might send this group to look for the other Starter Cities.

"Since you have no business with me, then farewell…." Tang Shaoyang turned around and dashed back toward the city's direction. He slowed his speed a lot, baiting the Holy Knights to follow him. It took a while before the knight tailed him again. At this point, he was a hundred percent sure the knight had come for him.

'Good. Keep following me.' An evil smile formed at the corner of his lips.

Tang Shaoyang purposely provoked the knights. He wanted them to chase after him, and he would lead them to the group from the Giteron Dynasty. The Giteron Dynasty's group was not that far; he quickly led the Holy Knights toward the Giteron Dynasty's group.

"I have baited them. Get ready to attack them." That was the plan, bringing the holy knight to clash against the Giteron Dynasty. He wanted to create a misconception that the Tang Empire worked together with the Giteron Dynasty.

The three Ancient Ranks from the Giteron Dynasty were caught off guard by the well. They took out their weapon, getting ready to protect themselves. Meanwhile, the ten Holy Knights stopped their pursuit, staring at the group of three warily. They were also ready to clash as Tang Shaoyang disappeared from sight, leaving the two groups in a tense atmosphere.