Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 125: The Gambit

The first sliver of sunlight had yet to breach the horizon when Jayden’s eyes snapped open. No hesitation. No wasted movement. He was already moving before his feet hit the floor, the embers of yesterday’s frustration now forged into cold, razor-edged resolve.

The shower was a ritual of war. Scalding water pounded against his skin, steam curling around the newly reinforced adamantine framework beneath his flesh. He dressed methodically—black tactical pants, a fitted black long-sleeve shirt, and a black sneakers. Every piece chosen for utility. Every thread a promise of violence.

But before he left, he had one last preparation. Summoning the system’s interface, he glanced through his stats.

*Name: Jayden Starrk

*Race: Werewolf

*Level: 9

*Exp: 252/1000

*Hp: 460/460

*Ep: 200/200

*Strength: 116

*Speed: 116

*Agility: 86

*Stamina: 113

*Perception: 68

*Defense: 68

*Charm: 48

Stat points: 70

[Heart Rate: 45 Bpm]

<Skills>

*Health Regeneration [Passive]

*Beastlord Aura [Passive/Active]

*Beast Gene Integration [Active]

*Partial Transformation [Active]

*Dragon Eye [Active]

*Lunar Empowerment [Passive]

<Abilities>

*Beast Energy Acquisition

*Telekinetic Force

*Poison Secretion

*Invisibility

<Titles>

*Regent Alpha

Jayden smiled in a silent satisfaction of his current status. He had managed to reach this level in just a few weeks of getting the system. It made him wonder just how far he could reach.

Then he exhaled softly and distributed the available stat points... 30 to strength, 20 to defense, 10 to speed and 10 to stamina.

_______

*Strength: 146

*Speed: 126

*Agility: 86

*Stamina: 123

*Perception: 68

*Defense: 88

*Charm: 48

Stat points: 0

_______

The opponent he was going against was a beast with extraordinary strength... he needed to match that strength, or atleast be at a level close to it.

A surge of raw power flooded Jayden’s veins as the System integrated the upgrade in stats. His fists clenched.. knuckles popping, tendons taut with newfound might.

"Alright, let’s do this." he muttered, before heading out of the house.

The AI taxi hummed silently through Emerald City’s waking streets, its autonomous systems navigating the pre-dawn gloom with eerie precision. Jayden didn’t speak. Didn’t fidget. His gaze remained fixed on the window, watching as urban sprawl gave way to dense wilderness.

After a few minutes, he arrived at Jade city.

The taxi door slid open with a whisper. Jayden stepped out, the morning air thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. Somewhere in those shadows, the Earth Smashers waited.

Unaware.

Unprepared.

He inhaled deeply, the oxygen fueling the fire in his blood. Then, without a backward glance, he crossed the tree line.

The forest welcomed him with silence. No birdsong. No rustling prey. Just the oppressive weight of territory marked by something other. Something primal.

Jayden moved like a wraith, his enhanced speed carrying him over roots and through thickets without a sound. He began heading straight to the Earth Smasher’s territory, ignoring the cautious glances of the other beasts.

He had activated his Beastlord Aura as soon as he entered the forest, and this made the weaker beasts wary and scared of him.

The earth trembled faintly beneath his feet as he neared the Smashers’ domain. The memory of their war drums—their mockery—flashed behind his eyes. His fingers twitched, aching to kill.

The inner forest was a cathedral of shadows, the towering canopy blotting out the sky, leaving only fractured beams of light to pierce the gloom. Jayden moved through this twilight realm like a wraith, his feet silent against the gnarled roots, his breath steady. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and pine.

He paused at the edge of a massive oak, his golden eyes narrowing as he peered through the foliage. Forty meters ahead, the trees thinned into a clearing—the same one where he’d been ambushed. The place where he’d been hit by the D-Rank Earth Smasher.

He took a deep breath.

But, instead of advancing, he leapt, his enhanced muscles propelling him upward in a silent arc. His fingers caught a thick branch, and he swung himself onto it without a sound. From here, the world unfolded beneath him—a network of branches, leaves, and the occasional flicker of movement.

He glanced around the area, as if searching for something. And after a while... he found what he was supposedly looking for.

A small, F-Rank Earth Smasher dangled from a nearby tree, its stubby fingers straining for a fat, overripe fruit. The beast grunted, oblivious, its beady eyes fixed on its prize.

Jayden’s lips curled. "Perfect."

With a flick of his wrist, his telekinesis stirred. A fist-sized rock tore free from the forest floor, shooting upward into his waiting palm. He weighed it for a moment, then adjusted his stance, his Dragon Eye’s Precision sharpening his focus.

The Earth Smasher’s fingers closed around the fruit. And at the moment... Jayden threw the rock.

The rock whistled through the air—a bullet of stone—before crunching into the beast’s right eye with surgical accuracy.

BAM!

A shrill scream tore through the forest as the Smasher’s grip failed. It tumbled, crashing through branches in a cacophony of snapping wood before thudding into the dirt below. Jayden didn’t move. He watched, his smirk widening as the beast writhed, clutching its ruined eye, its cries sharp with pain.

But he still didn’t leave the spot. Instead he kept waiting.

Seconds passed.

Then... Three more Smashers dropped from the trees, their hulking forms landing with ground-shaking force. They circled their injured kin, grunting in confusion, their noses twitching as they scented the air.

Jayden sighed. "I guess three would have to do."

He leapt from the branch, his body a black streak against the gloom as he landed in a crouch at the clearing’s edge. Four sets of eyes snapped to him in wary.

They felt his aura, and that made them extremely cautious, and a bit afraid.

"Hello," Jayden smiled, straightening slowly. "I’m here to kill your leader." His Knuckleclaws unsheathed with a wet schlick, seven inches of adamantine glinting in the fractured light. "But i need your help luring him out. So please, make sure you scream as loud as you can."

The beasts roared, their fear drowned by rage as they prepared to charge.

But Jayden was already gone.

They blinked in confusion, wondering where he could be.

"Looking for me?"

His voice suddenly came from behind them.

The largest Smasher barely had time to turn before Jayden’s claws punched through its skull with a sickening crunch. The second beast whirled, only for Jayden’s free hand to stab into its spine, his claws severing nerves with clinical precision. It screamed, its legs giving out as it collapsed, paralyzed.

The remaining two froze, their eyes wide with dawning horror.

Jayden yanked his claws free in twin gouts of blood, the first Smasher’s corpse slumping to the ground. Before the second could even blink, he slashed its throat open, the blade parting flesh like paper.

The remaining two beasts were stunned. But they refused to give up without a fight.

One charged, its fist swinging in a wild, telegraphed arc. But Jayden didn’t dodge, instead he raised his own hands, and their fists collided.

SPURT!

His clawed fist slammed into the beast’s knuckles—adamantine meeting flesh.

The Smasher’s howl of pain was cut short as Jayden twisted, driving his claws upward through its jaw in a vicious uppercut. The tips burst from the top of its skull in a spray of bone and brain matter.

He wrenched his hand free, letting the corpse drop.

The last Smasher... the one who’s eye Jayden had injured earlier—staggered back, its remaining eye blown wide with terror.

Jayden advanced, his claws dripping with blood. "Don’t worry," he murmured. "I’ll make sure they hear you."

Then he struck fast.. not to kill, but to maim. His claws became a blur, carving ribbons of flesh from the beast’s arms, legs and chest. Each cut was measured, precise, designed to hurt but not silence. The Smasher’s screams rose to a fever pitch, raw and guttural, echoing through the trees like a dinner bell.

Jayden raised his claws for the final blow. But before he could bring it down... he felt something.

His instincts screamed, telling him to move. And without wasting time, he listened... and ducked.

A boulder-sized fist screamed through the space where his head had been, the sheer force of the missed punch tearing the air with a crack. Jayden rolled, his instincts screaming as he leapt back, putting ten feet between him and the assaulter.

It was none other than the D-Rank Earth Smasher.

The beast loomed, its black fur bristling, its crimson eyes burning with fury. Its chest heaved, its knuckles still smoking from the speed of its strike.

Jayden’s smirk returned, sharp as his claws.

"Bingo."

Before Jayden arrived at the forest, he’d thought about all the various strategies he could use to ensure his victory. He knew he couldn’t possibly fight the entire beast troop. Which means he had to go straight for the leader. The D-Rank earth smasher. So he devised a plan to draw out the leader, and it seemed to have worked.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l