Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 404. Going even deeper

"But you need to know that since your beast is now a level 10, you are not ethically allowed to kill any level 4 beasts, Theo. It’s an unwritten rule," Lucien explained, making Theo realize that the mantis had just broken a rule without anyone noticing. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"So keep it under control until we reach the ape territory," Lucien added.

They continued walking forward, this time without attacking anything.

Theo had to tell the mantis countless times that it could not kill the boars, at least not while they were still in the lower territory.

And while it was clearly confused and didn’t really want to listen to him, the mantis still obeyed Theo’s command in the end.

Ten minutes later, Theo noticed the same sign on the ground that he had seen a while ago along the path.

"We are here."

They all took their first step into the new territory, and Theo immediately felt a shiver run down his spine.

There was nothing visibly different about the territory, nor were the beasts abnormally stronger. Yet the moment they crossed the sign, it felt as if the pressure in the air had casually increased.

Theo glanced up and spotted one of the apes perched on a branch above. The guy looked like a scout and watched them for a few seconds before hopping away from one branch to another.

"I am glad they can’t use swords," Theo joked, which only Clara seemed to have understood.

The others just looked at him in confusion, but it didn’t feel like the right time for small talk.

They moved forward, and the mantis tried climbing a tree several times, as if it had spotted something. Each time, Theo stopped it from leaving their side.

"Defeat one ape first, then you can go on your own," Theo said, making the mantis stay beside him.

"Okay, we have a group of five apes here," Lucien said as they moved into formation.

But the moment the five apes noticed the group, they began screaming at the top of their lungs, putting everyone in Theo’s group on edge.

"Won’t these screams attract more apes, elder brother? Shouldn’t we kill them as soon as possible?" Theo asked, making Lucien frown.

"These screams aren’t normal ones, Theo. I don’t usually hear this. The apes roar; they don’t scream... and this is screaming..." Lucien stated, watching as the five apes continued shouting.

"I think they’re scared, Theo. They are trying to make us leave the territory without letting us enter any further," he explained.

"Scared, huh..." Theo didn’t know what to do in this situation.

"It wouldn’t sit right for us to kill them when they clearly don’t want to fight..." he couldn’t help but mutter.

Lucien looked at him and smiled for the first time since they entered the territory.

"These beasts kill many of our people every day, Theo. You haven’t seen the reports in the town," Lucien said. "And if we leave them alone, they grow stronger and kill even more of our people. And we can’t allow that."

Theo felt bad for how his people were dying because of the apes. But it was a double-edged sword; the people entered the forest to hunt them, and in turn, they were getting hunted and killed. It wasn’t the apes that had directly come to their home to wipe them out.

Theo didn’t even know why he was thinking about that.

"Since you said it’s okay to kill them," Theo muttered, "Mantis, go finish them off."

Everyone looked at him as if he were a madman. The mantis, on the other hand, simply twitched its forelegs a few times before scittering forward.

They watched it go farther and farther away. Its size made it difficult to camouflage now, and its crimson body stood out like a beacon in the lush forest, allowing them to spot him with ease.

Just as it got close enough to the apes, the group saw the apes suddenly start shouting even more and scatter away. They fled together, hopping from one tree to another as they escaped.

"..."

Theo didn’t know what to say to that. But one thing was clear: they weren’t scared of his group. They were scared of the mantis itself.

Lucien let out a deep sigh, while Rhys simply watched everything with sleepy but knowing eyes.

"I didn’t expect the apes to feel the aura from this far away... What should we do now?" Lucien asked the group, though it sounded more like he was asking a question to himself.

Theo just glanced here and there until the mantis returned to them, making a few clicking sounds.

’Maybe I was wrong. I will have to help the mantis control this aura, or we might never hunt again... It’s like the baron’s aura, but permanently switched on,’ he thought.

"Theo, since your beast’s aura is making even level 7 beasts run away, we will need to go even deeper," Lucien said, placing a hand on Theo’s shoulder.

"But in a way, this is good. The apes won’t be interfering with us anytime soon. And if they do, it’s still a win for us."

Theo looked at his brother and nodded. He didn’t have anything else to say. His beast’s aura was making hunting difficult, and there was nothing he could do about it.

They continued moving forward, and as time passed, it became clear that the apes’ instincts were sharp enough that they didn’t approach the mantis at all.

Theo found it slightly frustrating. He had been eager to test the mantis’s new abilities, but that was becoming more difficult with every passing minute.

After walking for another thirty minutes, which was at a rather faster pace than normal, they had covered quite a distance.

This time, Theo saw another sign.

This one, however, was an ominous one.

The sign was supposed to say something, but most of it was all scratched away, and only the slab of rock remained, still there, as if trying to warn those who passed by.

"After this point, get all your beasts out. Draw all your weapons and be on alert all the time. There could be an attack coming in the next few minutes, or even seconds, everyone," Elias said in a commanding voice.

Theo looked at the forest ahead and immediately felt a pressure.

It seemed it was about time to fight some real monsters.