I Built a Divine Zoo in Another World

The formation began moving again. Slowly. But always forward. Every step cost the horde dozens of lives. Bodies began piling into mountains around them. The smell of blood mixed with damp earth and burnt fur.

Then another idea emerged.

The soldiers carried torches strapped to their packs to light the forest during the night. One of them threw his torch onto a pile of dry leaves. Another did the same several meters ahead. Soon after, another.

The flames spread rapidly through the vegetation. Fire raced across the ground, climbed the bushes, and scaled the trunks of the trees. A wall of fire began surrounding part of the horde, creating a corridor of flames that isolated the monsters.

The mage immediately recognized the opportunity. He smiled. He raised his hands once more.

”Gale!”

A powerful current of wind swept through the forest. The small flames instantly transformed into a raging wildfire. Fire raced across the ground, climbed the bushes, and scaled the trunks of the trees, creating a living inferno.

Hundreds of rats shrieked in desperation. The smaller ones died almost instantly. The larger ones tried to push through the flames, only to be met by sword strikes the moment they emerged. The smell of burning flesh became even stronger, blending with the thick smoke rising into the sky.

The wildfire illuminated the entire forest. Shadows danced among the trees. The sky took on an orange hue. Smoke rose rapidly, forming a dark cloud that spread over the battlefield.

Even amid the chaos, Lukas remained protected. Tilbo stayed one step ahead of him. Any rat that broke through the main line was immediately crushed by the ant’s powerful mandibles.

Prata had temporarily left the battle line to remain beside the boy. Whenever a monster managed to get too close, she fired a strand of silk that bound its legs before Tilbo finished the creature off.

The support mage remained just behind them, continuously maintaining her enhancement spells.

Lukas took a deep breath. The battle was completely beyond his reach. He knew that. He couldn’t help but face such an absurd number of monsters. So he would do the one thing only he could do.

He partially closed his eyes. His eagle eyes expanded. The world seemed to slow down. Every leaf. Every branch. Every movement. Everything became incredibly clear.

His awareness spread across hundreds of meters. Then... Nearly a kilometer.

The wildfire helped. The light of the flames revealed parts of the forest that would otherwise have remained hidden by the darkness. Lukas carefully examined every direction.

Nothing. Only rats. More rats. Thousands of them.

Then... His body froze.

Far away. Approximately one kilometer ahead. Between gigantic trees partially hidden by the smoke... There was something. No... Someone.

First, he saw the eyes. Hundreds of them. Red eyes. Black eyes. Golden eyes. All gathered within a single body.

Then he managed to distinguish the silhouette. It was gigantic. At least five meters long. Perhaps more. The creature remained perfectly still. Watching.

Even from that impossible distance... Lukas felt as though those countless eyes had found his own.

A chill ran down his spine. His breathing faltered. His instincts screamed. Danger. A primal fear seized his body. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It wasn’t merely strength. It was a presence. A suffocating aura that made his mind want to look away.

For a brief moment, Lukas wished he had never found that creature.

Then he took a deep breath. He forced his body to react. He immediately turned toward Clavor, who had just cut down another group of monsters.

”Father!”

Clavor glanced back without slowing down.

”What is it?”

Lukas pointed deep into the forest.

”The King! I found the Rat King!”

The boy’s voice made Hark turn as well.

”Where?”

Lukas stretched out his arm.

”About a kilometer in that direction!”

The two men followed the direction of the boy’s finger. Naturally, they couldn’t see that far through the smoke with perfect clarity. But one look at Lukas’s face was enough to know he was serious.

Hark smiled. A savage smile. He tightened his grip on the shaft of his spear.

”Excellent.”

Clavor wiped the blood from his sword in a swift motion. His gaze became even colder.

”So we’ve finally found you.”

The two exchanged another glance. Without saying another word, they both understood exactly what they would do next.

Clavor and Hark did not hesitate for even an instant.

Lukas’s confirmation was all they needed.

The two erupted with mana simultaneously.

The pressure they released was so overwhelming that the surrounding leaves were blasted away, while an invisible shockwave forced even the nearest rats to recoil instinctively.

Hark pointed his spear toward the direction Lukas had indicated.

”Clear the way! The King is in that direction!”

His voice echoed above the cries of battle.

Clavor smiled for the first time since the battle had begun.

”It’s time for the hunt. Don’t let the horde slow us down!”

The twenty soldiers answered with a battle cry.

”YES!”

Hark was the first to charge.

Golden mana completely enveloped his spear, forming a radiant blade dozens of meters long.

He spun the weapon a single time.

”Martial Technique: Falling Sun Spear!”

The thrust tore through the air.

The blade of mana shot forward like a golden bolt, piercing through the entire forest.

Everything in its path vanished.

The rats were obliterated before they could even comprehend what was happening.

Massive trees exploded into thousands of wooden splinters.

The ground split apart, leaving behind a gigantic scar wherever the attack passed.

A true road was carved straight through the horde.

At that very moment, Clavor charged.

His sword shone with such intense silver light that it looked like a fragment of the moon.

He raised the blade above his head.

”Martial Technique: Cleaving Crescent Moon!”

The sword came down.

A gigantic silver arc swept across dozens of meters, widening the path Hark had created even further.

The monsters were simply split in half. Those who escaped the first slash were caught by the second. Not even the trees could withstand it. Entire trunks toppled as the forest was forced open by force.

”Advance!” Hark roared.

The twenty soldiers charged immediately behind the two of them.

There was no longer a defensive formation.

The formation had transformed into the tip of a spear.

The shields protected the flanks while the spears eliminated any rat that tried to close the corridor opened by the two leaders.

The mage continued unleashing blasts of wind and blades of ice to prevent the horde from surrounding the group again, while the healer maintained her active spell, strengthening everyone during the charge.

Tilbo ran beside Lukas like a tireless bodyguard.

Prata remained on his back, watching for any threat that slipped past the front line.

Behind them, the wildfire consumed more and more of the forest.

Ahead...

Somewhere beyond the smoke, the flames, and the endless tide of monsters...

Their true enemy was waiting.