Chapter 54: Beginning the Clearing
“Alright, I’ve made my choice. I want a copy of a low-grade Meditation Technique, the knowledge required for advancing into the Shepherd profession, and the knowledge on cultivating and advancing Beasts. That’s not too much to ask, right?”
Although Beast Taming knowledge was precious, that was only true for ordinary people. For the major powers, such things were standard.
“You’d better pray that the Wyvern has a Dragon Crystal inside its body.”
Seeing Zhou Ming’s smile, the Scorpion-Lion poured a bucket of cold water over his head with those words.
“My luck should… probably… maybe not be that bad.”
“Alright then, how do you plan to clear the area?”
The more he thought about it, the more Zhou Ming feared it would turn out to be an illusion—moon in the well, flower in the water. He decided to stop thinking altogether and casually asked about the Scorpion-Lion’s plan.
“I originally intended to find some bait and lure out all the watchers hiding in this jungle one by one.”
When Zhou Ming didn’t react, the Scorpion-Lion continued,
“But seeing that your strength isn’t as simple as it appears, I’ve decided we should split up—encircle them from both sides and clear out those hidden hunters in the dark.”
“Alright.”
Hearing Zhou Ming’s concise and decisive response, the Scorpion-Lion knew he had guessed right. The man in front of him—Ten Thousand Snakes—definitely had more cards up his sleeve.
“Oh, right.”
Just as Zhou Ming was about to leave, the Scorpion-Lion suddenly remembered something.
“You are not allowed to use that high-explosive grenade in your hand. Otherwise, even if I have to give up the Wyvern right before me, I’ll make sure you die.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that eager to die yet.”
Zhou Ming turned and walked away, waving a hand to show that he had heard.
They were already deep within the Green Mist Jungle, not far from the area where high-tier Ferocious Beasts roamed. If Zhou Ming really used a grenade, not only would those beasts seize the Wyvern, but he himself might be hunted down by them.
Of course, that was assuming Zhou Ming truly had a grenade.
If he did, well—who cared about consequences when one’s life was already hanging by a thread?
As for why a high-explosive grenade could trigger a beast riot while gunfire didn’t…
Zhou Ming guessed that, to Ferocious Beasts, gunshots were like people hearing loud plaza dancing outside their window—annoying, but only enough to make them want to curse. A grenade explosion, on the other hand, was like someone drilling holes upstairs in the middle of the night—it made them want to kill.
More likely, though, it was because the Blue Star Alliance had used too many artillery shells when fighting Ferocious Beasts, so they had developed a conditioned response to explosions.
But who knew—perhaps only the Ferocious Beasts themselves understood the reason.
“Let’s hope I wasn’t wrong about him.”
The Scorpion-Lion, watching Zhou Ming’s silhouette slowly fade into the distance, muttered faintly before riding his own beast and leaving.
After separating, Zhou Ming followed the ridge and smoothly reached several li away.
Whether it was because of the Wyvern’s presence or something else, he didn’t see any sign of mutated animals or Ferocious Beasts. Perhaps they had been drawn toward the Wyvern, or maybe they had fled in fear of its aura.
“Sorry, but you’re in my way.”
At the edge of the ridge, Zhou Ming looked toward the forest shrouded in green mist before him and murmured softly.
Dozens of Ironthread Snakes appeared around him, quickly spreading out to form the largest possible Radar Sensory Domain.
With the aid of the Healing Potion, Zhu Yu was also summoned from the Beast Space at full strength, coiling around Zhou Ming’s right shoulder. Alongside Inkband, it guarded his safety.
“Eight rounds left.”
Zhou Ming checked the Thunder Type-2 Revolver in his hand, calculating how many bullets he could still fire.
The revolver could deal with Ferocious Beasts not only because of its craftsmanship and structure, but also thanks to its specially-made bullets.
Ten custom rounds filled two cylinders. Since these weren’t standard ammunition, Zhou Ming hadn’t stocked many.
After confirming everything was ready, Zhou Ming stepped into the forest ahead, keeping his full attention on the Radar Sensory Domain.
To avoid another ambush like the sniper attack from before, he avoided open spaces, instead scanning them carefully through a monocular scope.
“Five hunters, three Beasts.”
Before long, Zhou Ming, relying on his Radar Sensory Domain, detected hidden targets within a dense part of the forest.
It seemed two of the five hunters weren’t Beast Tamers—one must be their sniper, and the other, if not a Gunfighter, was surely a heavy weapons user.
Analyzing the information relayed by the Radar Sensory Domain, Zhou Ming planned his next move.
Having witnessed the power of cooperation between a sniper and a heavy weapon user back in Serpent Valley, Zhou Ming decided to take them out first.
Aside from that, since those two had no beasts guarding them, they were easier targets than the three Beast Tamer hunters.
Two Ironthread Snakes slithered to Zhou Ming’s feet. He took out two Blood Ignition Potions and gave one to each snake.
He intended to sacrifice them in exchange for a brief burst of overwhelming strength, enough to pierce through the hunters’ combat suits.
“As expected of a potion meant for desperate fights.”
Watching the Ironthread Snakes’ violent aura and the blood seeping from between their scales, Zhou Ming softly remarked on the Blood Ignition Potion’s ferocity.
Not wanting to waste a second of their limited time, Zhou Ming sprang into action.
In the dense forest ahead—
“Boss, when are we going to move? If we keep waiting, we might never get another chance like this in our lives.”
A towering man over two meters tall, his body covered in bulging muscles, carried a massive ammunition crate on his back and held a heavy machine gun in his hands. He turned to the leader before him and spoke.
Judging by his physique, he had likely taken body-enhancement drugs, pursuing the brute-force martial path and relying on his physical strength to wield heavy weapons.
“What’s the rush? This mission is all about patience. We’re not the only hunter team around here.”
“Angry Bear, you should really learn some patience.”
“Boom!” A sudden roar erupted.
Before Angry Bear could respond, the Violent Lion beside his leader suddenly lifted its head, which then exploded into a mist of blood.
“Ah!”
The beast’s death instantly shattered its tamer’s mind. The team leader clutched his head and fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
“Enem—”
The word “enemy” never left his mouth. The two Ironthread Snakes, fueled by the Blood Ignition Potions, lunged at the two hunters who weren’t Beast Tamers the instant gunfire rang out.
“Bang! Bang!”
The man carrying the heavy ammunition box and the sniper perched on a tree both fell dead almost instantly.
At the same time, Zhou Ming controlled Inkband and Zhu Yu to engage the Beasts of the remaining two hunters.
“Hiss!”
A smoke grenade exploded, cutting off the hunters’ line of sight as they tried to raise their weapons.
“Tieshan, retreat now! The enemy came prepared!”
One of the hunters reacted quickly, realizing the sudden chaos meant they were at a disadvantage. He turned and fled at once, calling for his companion to retreat with him.
They both knew they couldn’t escape alone. Staying in the smoke was suicide—they had to get out first.
Relying on their Beasts for cover, the two quickly retreated from the smoke-filled area, trying to escape what they believed was the enemy’s encirclement.