System's POV

Chapter 597: Retreat Wasn’t An Option [Part 1]

Giga pounded the sign firmly on the snow using a big wooden hammer, making sure that it wouldn't fall off even when the ice melted.

The Blaze Chad Skunk looked at the signs he had posted all over the place, all of which were pointing in the direction of the cave where the portal was located.

"Looking for the Portal? You are in luck! Go this way, and you'll find it!"

"Erectile Dysfunction? Say no more, Fam! Salvation is over there!"

"Looking for a Happy Ending? We got you!"

Giga nodded his head in satisfaction as he looked at the signs that he had planted on the ground.

The one who wrote on them was his Master, Thirteen.

Although he didn't understand the meaning behind some of the words written on the signs he posted, he didn't bother trying to find out, thinking it was simply part of human culture.

Similar signs were being put in place all over the 11th Floor.

Due to how vast the floor was, Thirteen made sure that people would at least see one of the signs, which would lead them closer to the portal for the 12th Floor.

This massive undertaking took five hours to complete, and after everything was done, Thirteen finally ordered everyone to return inside Rocky's Mobile Fortress so that they could proceed to the 12th Floor of the Temple of Courage.

Thirteen knew that the second to the last floor would be very challenging to clear.

The only reason they succeeded in taking down the Chenoo was that they were given enough time to lay down a trap on its dwelling place, making sure that it wouldn't be able to escape.

The plan worked well, and they did manage to defeat it.

However, he believed that the same trick might not work on the Boss Monster of the 12th Floor.

The Absolutes had managed to reach the 12th Floor in the past, but after seeing the Boss Monster, all of them decided that it was impossible to clear, so they all retreated in haste.

Thirteen had asked the First Guardian, Aries, about what kind of monster it was, and his answer was a Rank 8 Sovereign, Grievefoot.

The Grievefoot was a giant ape that was at least eight to ten meters tall.

Similar to the Chenoo, it was very agile, and it could even launch itself like a cannonball using its Adamantine-like body to deal great damage to its foe.

It was a monster that both had brawn and brain, making it an extremely difficult enemy to fight.

The only monsters that could be seen on the 12th Floor were Monkey-Type and Ape-Type Monsters, and they were all under the leadership of this cunning beast.

Just like the 11th Floor, the weakest Ape on the 12th Floor was Rank 4 Monsters.

But unlike the Chenoo, who fought alone, the Grievefoot liked to fight with its subordinates, which numbered over a hundred.

The scary part was that it was also guarded by four Rank 6 Steel Ape Sovereigns, making the already difficult battle much more difficult.

Given that it had a powerful army at its beck and call, the Absolutes made the right choice in retreating. A battle against these monsters, especially when their strongest fighters were only of the Champion Rank, was suicide.

And now, Thirteen had no choice but to fight these monsters in order to pave the path for the other Wanderers so that they, too, could reach the 13th Floor, where their final trial was waiting for them.

To Thirteen's surprise, there was a record about the 12th Floor of the Temple of Courage, stating that its size was thirty square kilometers.

But aside from that, nothing else was recorded in his Soul Core.

'The trees are so tall,' Thirteen thought as he observed his surroundings.

He found himself in what seemed to be a great forest, where trees stood up to fifty meters tall, almost blocking out the sunlight due to how dense their foliage was.

The sound of monkey screeches and howls reverberated in the forest, which made Thirteen frown.

"Guys, you already know what to do," Thirteen said as he summoned his Black Flag. "Search for the Boss and the Portal."

The members of the Parade of the Hundred Demons scattered in every direction, burrowing into the ground so that they wouldn't be detected by their enemies.

Thirteen also entered Rocky's Mobile Fortress for his own safety, not wanting to get ambushed while looking for his target.

Somewhere in the 12th Floor, the Grievefoot opened its eyes before scratching its backside.

"We have visitors," the Grievefoot said in an amused tone. "It's been decades since we last had visitors."

"Should we kill them?" one of the Rank 6 Steel Apes asked.

"Capture them alive," the Grievefoot replied. "I don't care if their limbs are broken as long as they still hold breath. It has been a long time since I last talked to other creatures aside from you and those monkeys. A change of pace is good too."

The Steel Ape nodded and moved out of the cave, bringing over a dozen of its subordinates to help him look for the "guests" that had entered their domain.

News that someone had entered the 12th Floor started to spread like wildfire.

The Monkeys, who usually fought against the Apes, found this news quite interesting, so they also told their brethren to look for these visitors and beat the Apes in finding them first.

The turf war between the Monkeys and the Apes had lasted for decades. Unlike the Apes, who had a Rank 8 Sovereign leading them, the Monkeys only had a Rank 7 Sovereign on their side.

However, since the Grievefoot couldn't be bothered to deal with the Monkeys, it made an agreement with the Rank 7 Sovereign—the two of them wouldn't interfere in the affairs of their subordinates.

The Apes still had the upper hand since their High-Ranking fighters were greater than the Monkeys.

But when it came to mischief and cunning, the agile monkeys were unparalleled. They used the trees as their support and hiding place, so from time to time, they would have the upper hand.

Thirteen still didn't know about it, but he had unknowingly become the center of attraction between the two hostile forces vying for the dominion of the 12th Floor, which had remained unconquered for the past hundreds of years.

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