Speed Is King

After Elliot had made sure that Camelia was securely seated on top of Brock, he went back to acquire the Brood Mother's beast core before clambering up onto Winter's back.

"Let's go!" Elliot told his beasts.

However, the forest was not done with them yet.

Brock and Winter suddenly tensed and sniffed the air.

Elliot immediately sent out his hawk to scout the area around them and re-summoned his other beasts.

As for himself, he leapt off Winter's back and turned into his Primal Feline Warrior beast form.

With his far more powerful sense of smell and his 6th sense which was tingling in a very familiar fashion, Elliot immediately detected the incoming alien beast. It was an alien beast all of them recognized.

"The gross two-headed lizard's mother." Brock said grimly.

And strangely, it no longer felt like complete suicide for Elliot if he decided on staying and fighting it.

Elliot fingered his handy dimensional storage he got from the Grade-A Resource Box and asked Hawk, "How long till the Kaijins hatch?"

[34 minutes for the Armored Kaijins, 5 hours and 34 minutes for the Archaic Kaijin.]

"Let's get to an open space where the mammoths can be utilized before we fight the Armored Kaijin Matriarch." Elliot ordered. "We're finishing the job and taking revenge for our brother Wu Kong."

"It's a shame that I can't be with you right now." Wu Kong said softly. "But having it die under your hands is already more than I can ask for."

"Don't worry, Wu Kong. It's not getting away from me this time." Elliot assured him.

Of course, he conveniently forgot that it was him who got away from the Armored Kaijin Matriarch the previous time they met, instead of the other way around.

They quickly made their way to a relatively large, rocky clearing within the forest and prepared to meet the Armored Kaijin Matriarch in battle.

Elliot's two Giant Armored Mammoths appeared and took flanking positions on the clearing's left and right while the rest filled the central area.

"Hide in that patch of trees over there. Shoot anything that gets close to you, scream if you meet anything you can handle, okay?" Elliot told Camelia.

"Okay." Camelia nodded.

"And do not, under any circumstances, attack the beast I am about to fight, unless it is to save my life or to land the killing blow. Don't attract its attention." Elliot warned her.

"I understand. Don't worry, I'll listen to your instructions to the letter." Camelia nodded again.

"Okay'¦ Good." Elliot turned around and stood in the middle of the clearing.

"Good luck." Camelia said softly.

Within seconds, the Armored Kaijin Matriarch arrived with a startling roar.

GREEEEAAAAAAAAAAKKHHHHHHHH!!!

"There it is!" Brock cried out eagerly. He stood up tall on his rear legs and opened his mouth to let out a fearsome roar.

But before he could roar, a massive spiked tentacle shot down from the sky beyond the clouds and pierced one of the Armored Kaijin Matriarch's six arms!

Brock's roar died in his mouth and turned into a gulp instead.

After a second of flabbergasted shock, Brock's tongue revived and he immediately shouted, "WHAT IS THAT?"

"That tentacle is a disgusting sickly yellow in colour and looked rubbery. Judging by its size, its main body should be freakishly large, maybe even the size of the mammoth." Elliot muttered in his public mind space.

"And it's flying!" Brock added loudly.

"Oh wow. I didn't notice that." Winter remarked dryly.

"Hush. I think we're about to witness an incredible battle." Elliot hushed his beasts.

GREAAAAAKHHHHHH!!

The Armored Kaijin Matriarch was no pushover. It immediately gripped the yellow tentacle with her five other arms and gave it a tremendous pull!

However, the tentacle merely stretched a little like a rubberband to accommodate her downward pulling force, and rendered the Armored Kaijin Matriarch's efforts useless.

GREAAAKKHHHHH!!!

The Armored Kaijin Matriarch slashed at the tentacle with her sharp elbow blades!

But her sharp blades failed to sever the tough rubbery tentacle and merely slashed open several gashes on it.

Not one to give up easily, the Armored Kaijin Matriarch surged upwards towards the direction from which the sickly yellow tentacle had come and started to look for its main body.

However, that move took her above the clouds and away from Elliot's line of sight.

"Aww, just as I thought I could watch two giant beasts kill each other in the air." Elliot mumbled in disappointment.

"What should we do, Master? Should we go on and look for the other Brood Mothers, or should we wait for them to finish their fight?" Winter asked.

"I think we should wa-"

GREAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

GREAAAaaaaaakkkkhhhhhhhhh!!!

The rapidly fading sound of the Armored Kaijin Matriarch flying away mere moments after it tried to approach the main body of the sickly yellow tentacle sounded ominously from the sky.

Silently and without much fanfare, the sickly yellow tentacle began to follow the Armored Kaijin Matriarch.

Elliot frowned lightly.

Just a few seconds into the fight and the Armored Kaijin Matriarch was already trying to escape? Just what exactly was that yellow tentacled beast?

And just how many more powerful beasts like that did the Game Masters introduce into the world?

With the increased difficulty level, the apocalypse which Elliot had felt was fully within his ability to control and dominate, became wildly dangerous and uncertain once more.

"Well, I guess that's that. They're gone." Elliot sighed in slight regret and no small amount of relief. Regret, because he was looking forward to killing the Armored Kaijin Matriarch and taking revenge for Wu Kong.

Relief, because despite his thirst for power, he had a stronger desire for life, and fighting with a powerful beast which could drive away an Armored Kaijin Matriarch in a few seconds definitely wasn't the best way to keep one's life.

"That's alright." Wu Kong said quietly. "It's better this way. I will hunt it down and kill it myself when I get stronger."

"Right. At least there's that. Enough dallying around. Let's go hunt down some spiders and their Brood Mothers!" Elliot told his beasts.

"Camelia, we're not fighting anymore. Let's go and make our way back to the town." Elliot called out.

"Okay!" Camelia stepped out from behind a large tree and smiled at Elliot lightly.

"We'll probably be dealing with many spiders and a few giant ones like the one that caught you. Are you afraid?" Elliot said while smiling back at her.

"Very! But I am dealing with it. With the armor, and the laser guns and'¦ with you around, I think I'll be fine." Camelia replied while blushing lightly.

She was starting to develop a serious case of hero-worship for Elliot!

Which was actually pretty good since it distracted her from feeling despair and crippling fear.

"It's good that you're afraid. Fear makes you stronger, and drives you to strive hard everyday to become stronger." Elliot advised her as he helped her get up on Brock's back once more.

"En. I'll be more afraid from now on. Ehhhhh, I mean, I will try to get stronger from now on!" Camelia blushed deeply.

"Hahaha! Yes, let's grow stronger and survive the apocalypse together!" Elliot laughed from atop Winter. "Let's go then!"