[Last Emperor] Chapter 20 - Sadistic Glee (Patreon)

Tao Zi ducked a bit lower in the bushes so his head did not stick out. He noticed movement in the forest behind the HellHounds who were enjoying their momentary meal. Tao Zi had a secret suspicion that the two beasts were doing it on purpose. Trying to drive fear into the hearts of their enemies.

He couldn't wrap his head around why they were so dedicated to searching for such horrific things like the clothes tied onto the spear. The same clothes being used as a banner by the chimps. It was nothing more than contamination and waste.

All of which secreted from his body to purify him.

Then again, the HellHounds were after the soiled underwears he burned as well. Or anything that had a strong smell. A weakness he was happy with considering how well it should work out for him in the long run. Tao Zi would be flying through the ranks by baiting them into massive fights.

One of the HellHounds stopped munching on its impromptu meal. An arm sticking out of its mouth as it looked back towards the forest at the same thing Tao Zi had noticed. The other, more aggressive, one between them did not. It busied itself with a meal until it was done. Slamming into the crowd one more time and grabbing another chimp after it crushed its spine with a swipe of its massive paws.

Tao Zi focused on the forest around the camp. He could see things move and he doubted any of them were chimps.

Whatever it was out there was larger. Faster. Stronger considering how the trees seemed to shift out of the way when they walked through the area. The HellHound that noticed began to growl and alerting its more brute counterpart. Everything in the clearing turned to look.

Silence descended upon the camp for a moment.

Tao Zi knew this was nothing but the calm before a massive storm that was coming. More than what he planned. He was thankful that he hadn't followed his original plan. It would have had him down there in that forest right now. Waiting for chimps to run towards him so he could farm and hunt them for as much experience as he could gain.

Only to be met with whatever was in the forest at this moment that attracted the attention of the HellHounds over the hundreds of chimps behind them.

He sighed. Getting lucky was not something he wanted to make a habit of. He was thankful for how it played out, but being lucky tended to end in brutal fashions. Tao Zi had read enough books to know better. Yes, it was better to be lucky than good sometimes, but most of the time the opposite was true. A mix between the two was the only thing that would keep him alive until he was strong enough to beat anything else in the rift.

Something moved in the forest. The HellHounds barked and tensed up—

"Die!" Zarfu and two other orcs, with varying shades of gray, burst out of the forest. Weapons held high as they charged the HellHounds. Not waiting a moment or hesitating slightly. Regardless of how outmatched they were to the large beasts.

Fuck! The bastard is alive and well! Is the crazy bastard still looking for me?

Chaos broke loose. The HellHounds charged back, the entire chimp army surged forward. The shaman blasted one of the orcs back with a bolt of lightning. The injured one threw a ball of acid that killed more chimps than it caused any damage to the HellHounds. The chief tried to tackle the aggressive HellHound only to bounce off of it.

Things erupted in violence, pandemonium that Tao Zi struggled to make sense of. Chimps fought chimps and everything else that was near them in a frenzy that overtook them all. He could see a red haze originating from the chief that clung to the chimps like pollen.

So he did what any sane person would do. He ran away and let them kill each other for his benefit. It didn't matter who came out at the end of this three way royal rumble battle. Whether it was the orcs, the HellHounds, or the chimps.

He would win in the end. Level up to Journeyman and hopefully be well on his way to the second stage too.

Tao Zi couldn't help but smile as a rush of energy passed through his limbs during his run. He was unusually anxious as he made his way through the forest. Dodging trees a second later than comfortable. Tripping because he didn't place his steps where they were supposed to be. Tiny things that all made a difference in his pace.

Most of the forest was dead silent as he took a very large loop around the battlefield to get to his cave. Not wasting even a moment to enjoy the peace he felt when he knew everything that was out hunting him was most likely busy murdering each other.

It felt like it took ages until he finally broke out of the clearing and found his familiar boulder covering the entrance to his cave. The amount of relief that flooded his veins nearly dropped him there, but he pushed on. The thundering in his head, heart beating out of his chest, and jittery he felt. All of it seemed to start fading away the moment he opened the entrance enough for him to enter.

Everything vanished as he pushed the boulder back into place.

Tiger greeted him by jumping on to his shoulder. A flash of orange and white that slammed into him and nearly toppled him over. He hugged the rascal and gave it the best scratches and pets he could. Tiger was not amused, but was willing to tolerate it.

He found out why pretty quickly.

Tao Zi, in his haste, to get out and get his plan moving had forgotten to fill up the food bowl before leaving. That and the currently empty water bowl too. Both of them sat toppled over. Tiger had clearly not been happy with being left without basic resources. It chirped at him.

He walked up to the elevated area that was the little camp. Filled the food bowl with more cat food. Sent the bowl into the ring pocket and out for it to be filled with water again. Then gave Tiger a few more scratches under its chin. It nipped at his fingers to get away so it can get to eating its meal already.

Sometimes he wondered if the orange rascal liked him or not. Only for it to sleep snuggled tightly next to him when there was no risk of a breakthrough or black sludge touching its fur.

It left him confused. Was it just tolerating him only?

A business partnership?

Was he the pet?

Tao Zi returned to sit on his bed. Waiting for anything to pop up from the system. It felt like hours passed with nothing happening. Just the unnatural silence that filled everything around him, except for Tiger munching without a care in the world.

He laid down.

Maybe I should get some shut eye instead of stressing this whole thing. Sleep will pass the time quicker.

So, he tried it. Rolling left and right. Closing his eyes and keeping them open. Nothing seemed to work, leaving him with staring at the ceiling above the entire time. For hours, or however long it took. He wasn't confident to give an estimate of any kind.

Should I go check? What if they ended up making an alliance?

He chuckled at the absurdity of what he was saying. Nothing like that was possible when all three sides wanted to see the other two murdered in grim fashion without a chance to negotiate any sort of peace. Yet, the idea crossed his mind.

What if he woke up to an army waiting for him outside the boulder? He doubted someone like Zarfu couldn't push the boulder out of the way. Orcs had opposable thumbs right? He was sure that they did or they wouldn't have been able to wield weapons the way they did—

A notification appeared in his vision.

Scrolling down and down and further down without any pause in sight. He stared in awe as it kept growing. Turning into something he had not expected at all.