Starting Out As The God of Beasts

Deep within the quiet stone cave, the faint scent of damp earth and moss was suddenly broken by the heavy, dragged weight of a massive carcass.

Duchess Eurenia stepped through the narrow entrance, grinning widely as she hauled the multi-ton body of the Four-Horned Deer behind her with one hand.

Blood dripped slowly from the shattered skull of the Beast-stage F-class Abomination, staining the stone threshold.

Duchess Alisa followed closely behind, wiping a thin thread of dark blood from her leather gloves.

However, the moment both Martial Generals stepped into the central chamber, their relaxed expressions vanished.

The cave was completely empty.

The spot beside the large boulder where Roy had been resting just half an hour ago was vacant.

Not a single trace of his presence lingered in the air—no residual mana, no scent, no thermal heat. It was as if the Apostle had vanished directly out of reality itself.

Eurenia dropped the heavy carcass with a loud THUD, her golden eyes narrowing as her hand instinctively went to the hilt of her sword.

Her wild, predatory instincts flared with immediate alertness.

”Where is Lord Jarden?” Eurenia whispered, her voice laced with sharp, defensive tension. She scanned every dark corner of the subterranean room, her ears twitching for the faintest sound.

”He was resting right here when we left. How could he vanish without leaving a single ripple in the spatial barrier?”

Alisa stepped past her, her dark eyes calm and unbothered.

She walked up to the cold stone where Roy had laid, reaching out a pale hand to feel the smooth surface before turning back to her companion.

”Calm yourself, Eurenia,” Alisa said softly, her voice smooth and composed. ”You are worrying over nothing.”

Eurenia frowned, her fangs baring slightly. ”We are in foreign territory, Alisa! The Jura Eastern Continent is crawled over by human sects and hidden old monsters. How can you be so unconcerned?”

Alisa let out a soft, amused sigh, crossing her sleek arms over her chest. ”Because you are evaluating our Lord by the mundane standards of mortal cultivators.

Have you forgotten who he truly is? He is the Apostle of the God of Beasts—a being whose true standing rivals, if not completely surpasses, a supreme Martial Demigod.”

Alisa looked toward the dark mouth of the cave, her eyes gleaming with deep, unshakeable faith. ”In a backwater region like the Ouyang Forest, there is not a single entity, trap, or sect array capable of posing a threat to him. If Lord Jarden left, it is because something drew his divine attention. He will return when it pleases him.”

She gestured toward the dead monster lying on the floor. ”Now, set the bonfire. Dissect the carcass and let us roast the meat before the blood cools. We must replenish our stamina so we do not drag down our Lord’s pace when he returns.”

Eurenia stared at Alisa for a long moment before letting out a sharp snort. Relaxing her tense shoulders, she drew a curved hunting blade from her belt.

”Fine. But I get the prime backloin.”

Meanwhile, miles away from the hideout, deep within the uncharted abyssal trenches of the Ouyang Forest...

A silent, golden blur glided through the pitch-black canopy.

Roy had abandoned his avian Moonlight Bird form as he drew deeper into the corrupted heart of the woods.

Recognizing the gravity of the strange resonance he had felt earlier, he shifted smoothly back into his divine human vessel.

His long, luminescent golden hair cascaded past his waist like a river of spun light, swaying gently in the cold night wind.

Draped in high-collared, gold-trimmed robes, his dual golden-crimson eyes glowed with a firm, sharp brilliance in the darkness, cutting through the thick mist like twin suns.

He landed silently upon the thick branch of an ancient, withered oak, looking down into a massive, yawning sinkhole that dropped into the black bowels of the earth.

Roy’s sharp eyebrows furled into a deep, calculating frown.

He raised a clawed hand, letting his fingertips graze the ambient air currents.

”This... this isn’t mana,” Roy muttered softly to himself, his voice thick with profound suspicion.

The energy rising from the abyss below was not the volatile, unrefined spatial mana of standard F-class Abominations, nor was it the harmonious elemental aura utilized by human cultivators.

It was far denser, far heavier, carrying a distinct, primordial frequency that vibrated directly against his soul.

SWOOSH!

Before Roy could contemplate the strange energy further, the dark foliage surrounding the sinkhole exploded!

Two massive, corrupted Beast-stage F-class Abominations burst from the shadows, intent on tearing the divine trespasser into shreds.

From the left, a monstrous, thirty-foot Two-Headed Serpent lunged with open, venomous fangs; from the right, a gigantic, iron-skinned Corrupted Bull charged with its razor-sharp horns lowered to impale him!

Roy didn’t even blink.

His physical movements were sleek, fluid, and impossibly nimble.

With a casual, effortless sway of his body, he leaned backward in mid-air, allowing the two-headed serpent’s massive jaws to snap empty air just inches above his chest.

In the very same breath, he pivoted on a single heel, stepping lightly over the charging bull’s iron horns with the graceful elegance of a feather floating in the wind.

The two massive Abominations hit the earth, turning back in a blind, violent frenzy to launch a second assault.

They never got the chance.

Before the monsters could even recover their balance, Roy’s golden-crimson eyes flashed with an absolute, terrifying divine light.

He didn’t raise a hand; he didn’t activate his Divine Authority.

He simply unleashed a minuscule, suppressed fraction of his raw crimson Divine Essence.

BOOM!

An invisible, god-like weight slammed down onto the clearing like the falling of a mountain.

SPLATT!

In less than a millisecond, the Two-Headed Serpent and the Corrupted Bull were completely pulverized.

Their massive, iron-like bodies exploded into a misty rain of crimson gore and bloody paste, scattered across the dark soil without a single bone left intact.

Roy landed lightly upon the blood-stained earth, his golden hair settling smoothly over his shoulders.

He didn’t even look at the gore coating the grass, his complete focus locked onto the pitch-black abyss yawning before him.

He took a slow, deep breath, tasting the air. His eyes narrowed into sharp, dangerous slits.

”I can sense divine essence down there...” Roy murmured, his voice dropping into an icy register as he stared into the impenetrable darkness below.

A cold thought struck his mind, his eyes flickering with deep suspicion. ”Could this be... an arrangement left behind by Damascus before his fall? A hidden altar? Or perhaps a divine anchor planted by another True God?”

Roy stood at the edge of the pit, looking down into the deep, silent void.

He knew that stepping into an uncharted divine anomaly on a foreign continent was inherently risky—especially while keeping his presence hidden from the ancient sects of the Ten Continents.

Yet, leaving a rogue source of divine essence unmonitored right at the border of his kingdom was a vulnerability he could not tolerate.

”I need to investigate,” Roy said firmly.

He stepped off the edge, descending directly into the deep darkness below.

With every foot he sank into the abyssal trench, the ambient pressure grew heavier, and a cold, instinctual warning echoed deep within his soul.

Roy realized with absolute clarity: this expedition into the Ten Continents was going to be anything but safe.