Elemental Cats

Hugh and the forest wasn't the only ones who felt the earthquake. Even the windows in Yellow Sparks rattled when the ground shook. A few shacks and farmers' huts collapsed in a cloud of dust as the shockwave running through the ground spread outwards with the middle of the wasteland as the epicenter.

Towns and cities even further away also felt the earthquake, but not nearly as much as Yellow Sparks did.

The area that was struck the hardest was the wasteland and the plains and forests immediately surrounding it.

The main camp had collapsed entirely, and all tents lay crumpled on the ground. Thankfully the earthquake struck in the middle of the day when no campfires were lit, so there wasn't any risk of fire spreading. However, there were a lot of tired mages and fighters taking a break in their tents, who were now stuck inside the tangled tent cloth.

But even the claustrophobic mages were better off than everyone in the wasteland. The beasts in the forest were panicking and dodging collapsing trees and fractures tearing through the ground, all over.

The monkeys lost their precious huts and literature as the storage room tried to catch a large tree. Some of the larger beasts used their size to avoid falling down, but it was difficult for them to avoid the toppling trees. The beasts closest to the edge left the forest and went into the wasteland, where they only needed to focus on the ground below their feet instead of trying to watch out for danger from above and below.

The humans out in the wasteland didn't need to dodge falling trees, but the ruptures were larger and spread faster in the dry, cracked earth. Several convoys had to dump their cargo lest it fall into the abyssal ravines, pulling them and their beasts with it. But with how sudden the ground had torn asunder, there were several casualties from both the convoys and the two groups of exterminators.

The exterminating explorers had gradually gotten closer to the center of the wasteland, which was some distance beyond the tiny forest. As they were closest to the epicenter, they felt a low rumble right before the ground split up, but that wasn't nearly enough of a warning, and several of them still fell into the depths of the earth, leaving echoing screams behind.

Thankfully since they had been playing around with explosives more than an ordinary person should, they were constantly on alert and despite how fast the earth ruptured, quickly moved to avoid the spreading fractures.

The cracks running through the ground covered the wasteland like a cobweb, making it impossible to transverse it smoothly. The caravans and exterminators were stuck in place and wouldn't be able to get out of the wasteland for the time being.

Despite all the humans in the wasteland, however, there was no one close enough to the absolute epicenter that could see the cause of the earthquake. There was no one who could see the massive rift opened up in the middle of the ground. The rift made the canyon where the dried-up river had coursed through look like a simple furrow.

The cliffs on either side were slightly angled and led down deep enough that sunlight didn't reach the bottom.

After the earthquake, which was a result of the ground splitting apart to open up the rift, fizzled out, a certain calm covered the wasteland and its surroundings. The beasts and humans that had been panicking and jumping around crazily, trying to avoid death, were catching their breath while at the same time anxiously preparing for any aftershocks.

However, even several minutes after the earthquake passed there were no signs of any further quakes. At least not outside and at the edge of the wasteland.

The ones closest to the gigantic rift felt tiny tremors, barely rustling the loose gravel on the ground. The tremors, unlike the one hit of the earthquake, came rhythmically, with a few seconds gap between each one.

If anyone had been close enough to the rift to sense it, they would have felt the tremors originating from one of the cliffs and that whatever was causing the tremors was gradually getting closer.

The quivering got stronger and stronger, and eventually, a colossal shadow could be seen emerging from the depths of the rift.

At first, nothing more than a large moving figure was visible, but as it got closer to the surface and the light of the sun, the contours were getting more clearly defined. If it hadn't been for the tremendous size, it wouldn't be an outlandish guess to say it was a rat. The proportionally small paws, the pointed snout with its whiskers, and the round ears.

But unlike other rats, aside from its incredible size, was the ferocious glint in its eyes and the rich vitality emanating from its dark brown fur, covered in bright red lines. The first level Scorched Earth Rats looked like dirty, normal rats. They didn't have the same vicious eyes, the fanciful mix of brown and red on their backs, and they most definitely didn't possess the sheer might and power that could be felt from the Rat King.

Just the fact that it was easily pulling its own massive weight up the almost straight cliff walls and out of the rift was proof enough of its physical strength. But considering where it came from and how the rift appeared right before the Rat King started climbing, the Rat King could possibly tear open the earth and create an earthquake enough to rattle an entire plane.

The Rat King finished its climb and stood up on its hindlegs, releasing a roar. An ordinary rat doing the same thing would have merely squeaked, but the Rat King, with its size and power, bellowed with enough force to rival the first explosion the exterminators had set off during phase one of their plan. The shockwave traveled, unleashing a storm of dust in its path and alerting everyone of its presence.

The Rat King had appeared.