William was not aware that Lilith had already started to get a better picture about his character from the beautiful Elves that served under him.
He was busy in finding a safe place to land, after parting ways with the Diabolical Hell Ape.
The Half-Elf had ordered Optimus to place a tracker on his acquaintance, and based on the System's monitoring, the Diabolical Hell Ape had secured the golden fruit, and was now being pursued by the beasts that wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.
True to his word, the Diabolical Hell Ape traveled westwards, pulling the Beasts away from William.
After half an hour of looking for a safe place to hide, William broke out of the forest, and found himself in a valley, surrounded by mountains.
The Half-Elf then landed on an inconspicuous area, and scanned his surroundings. Until he had determined that the place was indeed safe, he wouldn't allow Chiffon and Lilith to come out from the Thousand Beast Domain.
After observing his surroundings for a few minutes, he summoned the Rainbow Birds and had them explore the valley.
"Fly in different directions, and prioritize your safety," William ordered. "Never engage with any monster you may encounter along the way. Our goal is to explore this part of the Forbidden Ground."
The Rainbow Birds all voiced out their agreement and scattered in different directions. Even B1 and B2 had once again been mobilized to explore the surrounding area.
Optimus would monitor the Rainbow Birds and map the areas that they had traveled through. The System would then check for any potential threats that might endanger William and his companions.
Aside from that, Optimus could also use this opportunity to scan the land for treasures. Although there was a powerful law that prevented it from scanning treasures buried underground, scanning for precious resources that could be found above ground was still something within its capabilities.
While this was happening, the Diabolical Hell Ape was having a difficult time escaping his pursuers.
Among those that were aiming for the golden fruit were two flying beasts. One of them was an owl-like creature, the other a Wyvern. These two Beasts locked onto him from the sky, while the rats, and other beasts, chased him on the ground.
The Diabolical Hell Ape couldn't consume the fruit at the moment because it would render him immobile. If that happened, the creatures would definitely catch up to him and take the golden fruit from his corpse.
He had also suffered several injuries because some of the beasts had long range attacks that grazed his body. Although he tried to fight back by shooting fireballs, and spraying a cloud of acid behind him, the Myriad Beasts that were chasing him were not pushovers.
What made it worse was that the Beasts that were along his path also sensed the treasure he was carrying. This rapidly increased the number of pursuers, which made the Diabolical Hell Ape helpless.
More hours passed and the Diabolical Hell Ape found himself on the precipice of a cliff. In front of him was a horde of monsters. Behind him, was a long drop, where a purple river was waiting at the bottom.
The Diabolical Hell Ape would rather face the horde of monsters in front of him, than jump into the river. He might have only been inside the Seventh Sanctum for a little more than two months, but he understood that there were some things that he should avoid at all cost.
The purple river that flows all over the Seventh Sanctum was the River of Samsara. Anyone who fell on this river would experience a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth. Of course, that didn't mean that all hope was lost.
According to the information from the handful of survivors who had escaped the Seventh Sanctum, those who fell on the river had a chance of salvation. However, the chances of breaking free from the hold of Samsara was very slim
Even the Diabolical Hell Ape who was at the end of his rope didn't think of jumping in the river to save his life.
'I guess, I can only use this method,' the Diabolical Hell Ape thought, while gritting its teeth. If possible, he didn't want to do this, but he had no other choice but to do so.
The Diabolical Hell Ape undid his transformation and turned into a young man. He held the golden fruit in his hand and raised it high in the air.
"You want this? Then come and get it!" the young man roared as he threw the golden fruit towards the horde of monsters.
A Blazed-Wing Wyvern dove down from the sky and stretched out its claw to grab the golden fruit that was thrown at the center of the densely packed group of monsters.
Before the Wyvern could even grab the golden fruit with its claws, several attacks flew in its direction, which instantly gave it grievous injuries.
With an unwilling shriek of pain, it fell down on the ground and was smashed to bits by the monsters who saw it as an eyesore.
After ending the Wyvern's life, all of them stared at the golden fruit that glowed on the ground.
None dared to approach it casually because the number of Monsters aiming for it had exceeded five hundred. The Blazed-Wing Wyvern was the perfect example of what would happen to anyone who recklessly tried to grab it.
Because of this, a ten-meter wide clearing with the golden fruit at its heart appeared in the center of the group of monsters. None dared to make the first move, as they eyed the golden fruit with greed.
The Diabolical Hell Ape sighed as he glanced at the fruit one last time before leaving the area. Although he was unwilling to part with it, his life was more important.
'As long as I am alive, there will come another opportunity..' the young man consoled himself as he ran towards the East, leaving the precious golden fruit and the horde of monsters behind him.
