213: Hercules, the Horse King

A vast hilly area came into view—it was the Hill of the Horse Kings.

Dozens of giant horses paced across the hills, each step shaking the earth and mountains. As soon as Lin Luo stepped in, he felt the air grow as heavy as sludge, making breathing difficult—the air here had become extremely thin due to the giant horses' constant "feeding."

The nearest one was a Dharma Warhorse, standing over three thousand meters tall! Just being swept by its unintended gaze caused cold sweat to instantly break out on Lin Luo's back. This aura was several times stronger than any beast he had ever encountered! Its black face was like a god of death, radiating immense pressure.

Not far away, a Janus Unicorn with wings on its back and a single horn on its head stood quietly. Its silver-white fur looked holy and noble, but the scars on its body declared that it was by no means docile.

There were also various other giant horses: some with wings and goat horns, others with eagle heads and steel bodies... every single one was heart-stopping.

Even more shocking was a sky-propping hoof descending from the clouds! Its owner, the Sky-Supporting Giant Horse, towered into the clouds, its body covered in moss and vines. Birds circled its head, actually using it as a migrating mountain range to inhabit. The three-thousand-meter Dharma Warhorse was not even half its height!

Lin Luo also understood why the ground of the Hill of the Horse Kings was nearly five hundred meters lower than the surrounding area—these giant horses were like natural pile drivers, compacting the earth over the years.

“The Eighth Continent, a continent ruled by giant horses, truly... lives up to its reputation,” Lin Luo sighed softly. “Fortunately, they are ‘Atmosphere-eaters.’ If they were herbivores, I truly don't know what scale of grassland would be needed to fill their bellies.”

One corner of the Hill of the Horse Kings was already shocking enough. However, when Lin Luo's gaze finally turned toward the very center of the hills—to that king who lay across the land like a mountain range itself—everything he had seen before suddenly seemed like child's play.

Horse King Heracles lay quietly in the center of the Hill of the Horse Kings, occasionally turning its head to survey its territory.

At the first sight of it, all surrounding colors, sounds, and even the sense of existence seemed to be stripped away and annihilated. In his vision and consciousness, it felt as if this was the only living creature left on the entire Earth.

Or more accurately—seeing Horse King Heracles was like seeing a microcosm of the entire world: grand, ancient, majestic, and unshakable.

The aura it naturally emitted without intent was several times more powerful than the residual aura in the angry hoofprint that had triggered the storm earlier!

This was Horse King Heracles, the absolute king who ruled the entire Eighth Continent.

The patterns on its body resembled those of a giraffe, yet appeared more mysterious and ancient.

On its face, filled with supreme majesty, hung two long whiskers that resembled the legendary dragon whiskers.

Along its brow bone and both sides of its nostrils grew sharp horns that seemed capable of piercing the sky, outlining a face of awe-inspiring dominance like a mythical creation. It instantly made Lin Luo think of the legendary Ryuma!

Even as the king of a continent, Heracles's body was still covered in countless scars of varying depths. Those were the brands of its journey to the throne. It was said that during its youth, it had crossed the Rainbow Bridge to leave the Eighth Continent and battle across the world, demonstrating its unrivaled power to the entire Gourmet World.

Only through such brutal tempering and the baptism of countless battles could one become a powerhouse recognized by the world, gain the acknowledgement of the other members of the eight kings, and finally reign supreme as the eternal ruler and heart of this “Rain Continent.”

Words could not describe the feeling at this moment.

Facing the Horse King directly was completely different from resisting the residual power of a hoofprint. Even though it wasn't targeting anything, the mere pressure of its natural existence made Lin Luo feel small and terrified in the depths of his Soul, to the point where he didn't even dare to look at it for long.

“This is likely the world's peak combat power...” he thought to himself. Even Ichiryu or Jiro probably couldn't defeat it.

Even IGO President Ichiryu or Knocking Master Jiro, facing the being before him, would likely... be unable to win. This was an absolute gap in life hierarchy and power scale; it was the majesty of a continental ruler.

eight feet's voice rang out in his consciousness, carrying a rare sense of unease: “It's too dangerous here.”

Her perception was sharper. Even if the Horse King didn't spare them a glance, they were no match for any of the surrounding giant horses—the Dharma Warhorses, the Janus Unicorns, or the Sky-Supporting Giant Horses! If any of them launched an attack, there would be no escape.

And what was even more terrifying was—if they were noticed by the Horse King.

It wouldn't even require hostility; perhaps just an unintended glance, a breath, or a movement... for their tiny selves, it could mean total annihilation.

However, sometimes destined danger is hard to escape, no matter how much one avoids it or how careful one is. Food Luck is a mysterious and wondrous thing. It would have been impossible for Lin Luo to make it all the way from the Life Waterfall Pot to the depths of the Eighth Continent without some Luck. But perhaps, it was also a certain “destiny” that led him into another predicament now.

A nearby Dharma Warhorse that was pacing seemed to have taken an interest in these two “little bugs” at the edge who were out of place in their surroundings.

It wasn't the killing intent of a predator, but more like a casual, playful teasing.

Whoosh—!

A hoof covered in hard keratin, as large as a football field, descended casually from above Lin Luo and eight feet with a dull sound of breaking air, like a mountain collapsing! It wasn't aimed; it was just a prank, like a child stepping on an ant hill.

A white light flashed suddenly!

eight feet's reaction was extremely fast. Milky-white radiance instantly enveloped Lin Luo as she attempted to teleport sideways to dodge.

Thump!!!

The hoof missed and landed where they had originally been. The earth shook violently, blasting open a deep pit, and the shockwave sent the two, who hadn't completely dodged yet, flying.

However, this seemed to be only the beginning.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Dharma Warhorse seemed to find it interesting. It lifted another hoof and, alternating with a powerful and rhythmic beat like a drum, began to stomp repeatedly in the direction the two were dodging!

Every landing point seemed casual, yet they always blocked their retreat at the last possible second. The gales kicked up when the hoof was raised and the tremors caused when it fell both constituted fatal interference.

The white light flickered in and out among the hoof shadows. eight feet pushed her speed and flexibility to the limit, leading Lin Luo to narrowly avoid every stomp that seemed like a joke but was actually enough to crush them into pulp.

This wasn't a battle, but a one-sided, malicious game. To the Dharma Warhorse, this might just be a bit of diversion from boredom. But for Lin Luo and eight feet, every dodge was a dance on the edge of life and death, and their consumption of mental energy and power skyrocketed.

Worse still, the commotion here seemed to start attracting the faint “gazes” of other giant horses on the hills. The air grew more stagnant, and the invisible pressure doubled.

Lin Luo's eyes were cold. Being toyed with like a bug was not something his personality could tolerate. But the absolute gap in strength left him with seemingly no choice but to dodge for now.

“This can't go on...” His mind raced. In the interval before the Dharma Warhorse's next hoof fell, he had to find a way to escape this deadly “game.” Otherwise, if his strength ran out or if he attracted the “interest” of more giant horses, the consequences would be unthinkable.

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Luo's eyes! The fury and sense of crisis from being toyed with like an insect drove him to make a risky counterattack!

Buzz—!

His resilient Divine Sense, which had been tempered by the hoofprint earlier, was no longer spread out for defense. Instead, he instantly compressed and solidified it, transforming it into an invisible Divine Sense heavy hammer, and smashed it fiercely toward the head of the Dharma Warhorse that was toying with them!

This was not a physical attack, but a pure spiritual shock!

Roar?!

The Dharma Warhorse was in the middle of its fun when it was caught off guard by this “spiritual sap.” Its massive body swayed violently, a flash of daze and dizziness crossed its eyes, and its limbs went weak. It actually crashed sideways, crushing a section of the hills!

A Divine Sense shock of this level couldn't possibly harm its incomparably powerful Physical Body or its naturally robust Soul; even the dizziness would likely last only a brief moment.

But the effect of provoking it had been achieved!

“Neeeeeigh—!!!”

The Dharma Warhorse quickly regained consciousness and scrambled up from the ground, letting out a furious roar filled with the rage of being provoked by an ant! This roar was like a clap of thunder, instantly drawing the attention of other giant horses on the hills! Several massive “gazes”—some indifferent, some curious, some displeased—swept over like physical substances.

The air tightened abruptly!

Lin Luo thought things were going south and was just about to flee with all his might alongside eight feet—

Boom—!

Without even knowing which giant horse it was, its nostrils twitched slightly, and a highly compressed, solid-like column of violent air, like an invisible supersonic shell, instantly tore through space and accurately blasted the mid-air position where Lin Luo and eight feet were!

Bam—!!!

It exploded in mid-air like an air bomb! The terrifying shockwave and tearing force churned that area of space into turbulence! Lin Luo only had time to push his protective halo and eight feet's white light to the limit before being violently blown away like a broken kite, his blood and qi churning inside him as his protective light flickered wildly.

He finally managed to barely steady himself in the air—

The sky suddenly darkened!

It wasn't clouds, but a sky-covering hoof, unimaginably large, that had quietly descended from even higher up at some point! Its coverage was vast, and though its speed seemed slow, it carried a terrifying aura that locked down space, leaving no room for escape!

This was by no means comparable to the hoof of the Dharma Warhorse from earlier! It was the Sky-Supporting Giant Horse! Its casual stomp was like the heavens collapsing!

Lin Luo's pupils shrank; his brain didn't even have time to think of a strategy!

Survival instinct took over his body at the last moment!

He violently twisted his body, head down and feet up, concentrating all his strength and eight feet's white light into a single point. He became like a high-speed earth-driller, plunging downward without looking back!

Rumble—!!!

Almost at the same instant, the sky-propping hoof crashed down, brushing past his back! The earth collapsed and cracked layer by layer like a fragile cracker!