Chapter 191: Capturing a Beast Tamer
Alliance Calendar year six hundred and eighty, early June.
Mountain ranges rose and fell, the terrain majestic. In the Panlong Mountain Range, lush with vegetation, the Snake Guards who had undergone a year of tempering were resting at this moment inside a dense forest within the mountains.
They wore black Saint Elephant Type-2 Combat Suits. On the holsters strapped to their left and right thighs were respectively placed a Blood Hunter Type-3 Handgun and a Thunder Type-2 Revolver.
In their hands, they still held other firearms of different models—Storm-series Rifles, Vulcan Type-2 Heavy Machine Guns, and Roaring Type-3 Sniper Rifles—while on their backs were all kinds of supplies required for wilderness survival.
Dozens of kilograms of load pressed upon them as if it caused no sensation at all. Even during a brief rest, none of them put down their backpacks.
Long-term slaughter in the wilderness had left them carrying an intense aura of killing intent, their gazes sharp enough to seem capable of piercing the soul.
Compared to the Snake Guards, Mu Ye and Ding Mowen, who had come along with them, appeared much more inexperienced.
The two wore Leopard Type-2 Combat Suits, each with a Storm-series Rifle slung over their shoulders, and were currently sitting on a rock to recover their strength.
“Mu Ye, do you think that once I have a Phantasmal Beast, I’d be able to beat a Snake Guard?”
Ding Mowen, round-bodied with a wealthy-looking face, looked at the Snake Guards standing alert around them and spoke with a trace of excitement.
The two had already successfully condensed their Spiritual Seeds. This trip into the wilderness alongside the Snake Guards was precisely to search for a Phantasmal Beast suitable for themselves.
Compared to the chubby-looking Ding Mowen, Mu Ye, who kept his hair in a messy cut, looked far more cold and handsome.
Upon hearing Ding Mowen’s question, Mu Ye directly sent him a white-eyed glare, not even wanting to answer such an idiot-like question.
Earlier, they had encountered a Tusked Battle Boar, and a Snake Guard had used a Thunder Type-2 Revolver to solve it with just two shots.
Only someone as thick-nerved as Ding Mowen would still harbor such fantasies.
“What kind of look is that? Don’t think that just because you condensed your Spiritual Seed first, you’re something special. The quality of your Spiritual Seed is a bit worse than mine.”
Speaking of this, Ding Mowen could not help but reveal a smug expression.
Although the two were both Beast Taming prodigies cultivated by the camp, Ding Mowen had always been inferior to Mu Ye in every aspect, and even the condensation of the Spiritual Seed had been completed by Mu Ye a step earlier.
Unexpectedly, after the Spiritual Seeds were condensed and tested using professional instruments, Mu Ye scored only eighty-five points, while Ding Mowen scored eighty-six.
If they could reach ninety points, they would be qualified to implant their Spiritual Seeds into the spiritual consciousness of high-tier Ferocious Beast cubs.
Unfortunately, a difference of just a few points was the gap between a genius and a favored genius.
After spending half a month in the wilderness, Mu Ye’s Phantasmal Beast had already been found. It was a hegemonic existence among low-tier Ferocious Beasts—the Ghost-faced Moth.
Its wingspan reached one meter. On its abdomen grew ferocious ghost-face patterns, and its mouthparts, thirty centimeters long and resembling steel needles, primarily fed on the prey’s brain marrow.
Its twin wings could release highly hallucinogenic powder, and it could also emit extremely powerful low-frequency infrasound waves that caused intense headaches to all living beings within a hundred-meter radius.
Fortunately, Mu Ye’s Ghost-faced Moth had not yet fully matured. Otherwise, capturing it alive would have been extremely difficult.
Because Mu Ye’s Phantasmal Beast was a Ghost-faced Moth, Ding Mowen no longer held any interest in ordinary Ferocious Beasts. They could only continue searching in the Panlong Mountain Range, over a hundred kilometers away from Qinghui Base.
Regarding the only aspect in which he could surpass Mu Ye, Ding Mowen had brought it up an unknown number of times recently. Mu Ye, whose ears had practically grown calluses from hearing it, did not want to pay him any attention.
Because as long as he said even one extra word, Ding Mowen’s mouth would never stop.
At this moment, movement came from the distance, and the Snake Guards immediately adopted defensive stances.
“It’s me.”
A clear and forceful voice sounded out, and Su Mei appeared before everyone, standing atop her Sword-tailed Lizard.
Half a year had passed. Although Su Mei had still not reached the point where she could advance her class, her Phantasmal Beast had undergone considerable changes.
With the help of various resources as well as the essence blood of the Phantasmal Scale Snake Lizard, the Sword-tailed Lizard’s body length had exceeded seven meters. Not only were its abilities in all aspects far superior to its peers, it had also gained the ability to conceal its aura.
“Teacher, did you find a Phantasmal Beast suitable for me?”
Upon seeing Su Mei return from scouting, Ding Mowen rushed up to her immediately.
“A Variegated Tiger. Satisfied now?”
Facing her two students, Su Mei rarely revealed a trace of a smile.
With the stable life at the camp, as well as the two students Zhou Ming had handed over to her as companions, her temperament was no longer as cold as before.
“Satisfied, absolutely satisfied.”
“A Variegated Tiger? Kid, your luck is pretty good.”
Mu Ye walked over together with Li Hu. Upon hearing that Su Mei had discovered a Variegated Tiger, Li Hu also sighed at Ding Mowen’s good fortune.
The Variegated Tiger was also one of the top ten hegemonic existences among low-tier Ferocious Beasts.
Its body length approached four meters, and it earned its name from the five-colored, brilliant fur covering its body.
It had no special traits, but its strength, speed, agility, defense, Ferocious Beast perception, and the sharpness of its claws and fangs all reached the limits of low-tier Ferocious Beasts.
Describing it as a hexagonal warrior would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
“Don’t get happy too early. This Variegated Tiger is already close to adulthood. Whether you can successfully implant your Spiritual Seed is still an unknown.”
“Teacher, don’t worry. The quality of my Spiritual Seed is better than Mu Ye’s. There definitely won’t be any problems.”
Standing beside Li Hu, Mu Ye turned his head away the moment Ding Mowen brought this up again, unwilling to listen any further.
The quality of a Spiritual Seed represented talent, something that was practically impossible to change in one’s lifetime. With Ding Mowen’s personality, he would probably bring this up for the rest of his life.
Forget it. This is the only thing he can surpass me in. I’ll just consider it giving him a bit of confidence.
“Captain Li, we’ll have to trouble your Snake Guards for this matter.”
Su Mei ignored Ding Mowen and instead turned to Li Hu to express her thanks.
“This is a task given to us by the higher-ups. There’s no talk of trouble or not.”
“We should capture the Variegated Tiger as soon as possible to avoid any accidents.”
“Alright.”
Su Mei did not waste any words and immediately agreed to the proposal.
More than ten minutes later, under Su Mei’s guidance, everyone arrived at a forest thick with vegetation.
Using binoculars, they saw a Variegated Tiger with glossy fur and a powerful, majestic posture, currently lying atop a massive boulder basking in the sun.
The moment Ding Mowen saw the Variegated Tiger, saliva nearly flowed from the corner of his mouth. Seeing his reaction, Mu Ye could not help but move farther away from his speechless companion.
“Begin the operation.”
After surveying the surroundings, Li Hu immediately gave the order.
The Variegated Tiger possessed keen perception, so the sniper attacked first. The bullets had been specially processed, with powerful anesthetic agents concealed inside.
However, this method could only reduce the Variegated Tiger’s counterattack strength.
“Roar……”
A tiger’s roar filled with fury resounded.
The highly perceptive Variegated Tiger reacted in time to the Snake Guards’ ambush, though the bullet still struck its back.
Yet with the physical toughness of the Variegated Tiger, the bullet merely scraped its hide. Aside from causing pain, it did not inflict any other substantial damage.
If the anesthetic agent could reduce even one-tenth of its combat strength, that would already be considered lucky, and time was still needed for the drug to take effect.
The Variegated Tiger would not give the Snake Guards that time. It immediately charged toward Su Mei and the others with a wild and ferocious posture.