The moonlight tonight was not bright, and the forest made it seem even darker.
A green lizard was walking through the forest. Strangely, the green lizard was carrying a silver level wolf corpse, the corpse’s blood decorated the path with its blood.
“Doing this is making me easy to track.” The green lizard was a transformed Zhen Jin. When he sensed the bloodstains, he stopped.
His current position was far from where the blue dog fox wolf had died.
Zhen Jin sunk into pondering: “It would be unfortunate if all this wolf blood fell to the ground. Perhaps I can gather it and give it over to Zi Di for research, she can examine why the poisonous spotted green moss can restrain the blue dog fox wolf. Maybe Zi Di can make more poisons.”
Thinking of this, Zhen Jin tossed the wolf corpse to the ground, then sprayed acid.
He emptied his venom sac of acid and made sure it was completely clear.
Then, he put his mouth onto the wolf corpse and used the special muscles in his mouth and neck to produce a strong suction force.
Zhen Jin quickly sucked in all of the wolf corpse’s remaining blood into his venom sac.
Even if Zhen Jin weren’t worried about being poisoned, he could use his magic crystal to detoxify himself.
Turning around, Zhen Jin decided to scout out the magic beast corps and their associated blue dog fox wolf.
“Wait a moment.” Zhen Jin was just about to transform into a bat monkey when he suddenly had a new notion.
He thought of before, when he overlaid the spear scorpion transformation with the poisonous spotted green moss transformation.
“What if I used the green lizard body but transformed my head into a bat monkey’s?”
Zhen Jin tried to do this and quickly succeeded.
Now he was a green lizard with a bat monkey head.
“If I spray acid now, I will certainly die. The acid can travel through the green lizard neck, however when it arrives at the bat monkey mouth, it will not shoot out of it.
With this form, Zhen Jin attempted to produce ultrasound.
His vocal cords were similar to a bat monkey’s; however, his lungs were still that of a green lizard’s.
After failing twice, Zhen Jin succeeded the third time.
The probing sounds echoed without a hitch.
The area he was originally at was in chaos, the magic beast corps left behind was being pincered by the other two magic beast corps.
Without a blue dog fox wolf commanding them, the remaining magic beast corps was sure to lose and have its survivors annexed.
What made Zhen Jin amazed was: “These two magic beast corps are not fighting against each other and the two new blue dog fox wolves are not hostile to each other, as if they are in some cooperative relationship.
“Do they want to first annihilate the remnants of this magic beast corps before attacking each other?”
“Or have they begun to join hands because of the prior howling?”
Zhen Jin guessed, if it were the latter situation, that would indicate that the dying blue dog fox wolf might have left behind a lot of information in its howls.
Zhen Jin then stopped producing ultrasound and transformed back into a complete green lizard.
“The overall result is still pretty good.”
Perhaps because the green lizard had a longer neck and airflow compared to a bat monkey, Zhen Jin was able to have an adequate perception and controlled his airflow better.
As a result, the ultrasound he produced no longer swung between extremes, it maintained a frequency range.
However, the frequencies this form could produce was far lower than what a bat monkey could produce.
“I was using green lizard lungs, in contrast, bat monkey lungs can contract and expand, making them more powerful.
“Anyways, I really managed to combine the life forms of the bat monkey and the green lizard together!”
“How wonderful, the green lizard is a cold blooded animal while the bat monkey is a warm blooded one, it is a contradiction for both to coexist together.”
Zhen Jin had once asked Cang Xu for guidance.
Every lifeform had their own unique system, it was not possible to combine the best parts of each creature to create the strongest beast.
But now, Zhen Jin clearly was trending towards this achievement.
To his surprise, the bat monkey head and the green lizard body coexisted harmoniously.
“However, this multilayered transformation severely consumes the core’s magic!”
Zhen Jin’s eyes suddenly flashed.
“Maybe I found the reason. The position of these body parts does not need to rely on themselves to be assembled and coexist. Their real core is my magic crystal.”
“By constantly consuming the magic core’s magic, I can transform and possess the form and organs of other creatures.”
In fact, Zhen Jin had already done a multilayered transformation earlier. When he was dealing with the fat ball flying fish in the oasis, he had transformed his arm into a bear’s and his eye into a lizard’s.
Zhen Jin’s thoughts continued to diverge.
“Hold on, can I sprout bat wings as a green lizard?”
A pair of bat wings quickly sprouted from Zhen Jin’s green lizard form, he seemed to resemble a wyvern.
Zhen Jin tried to flap his wings.
He could fly; however, it was very strenuous. Regardless of whether it was the altitude, speed, or flexibility, all were inferior to a bat monkey’s.
“Bat monkeys have special muscles on their backs that allow them to flap their wings more powerfully and at a higher frequency.
“The muscles on a green lizard's back are for running or swimming. It is very tough for these muscles to support a pair of bat wings.
With practice came real knowledge.
After trying, Zhen Jin immediately had many profound experiences.
“I got a little carried away. Now is not the time to be experiential.” Zhen Jin quickly reversed the spell and canceled the transformation, then he continued to run with the wolf corpse.
Without wasting too much time, he finally returned to the hilltop he had jumped off of.
He succeeded in finding his clothes and equipment.
Looking at the wolf corpse again, Zhen Jin sank into hesitation.
“What should he do with it?
Zhen Jin knew he had two choices.
The first choice was to return with the intact wolf corpse and give it to Cang Xu for dissection, maybe he could analyze the secrets behind the fragrance the blue dog fox wolf used to control other beasts.
The second choice was to absorb and convert it with the core.
The first was dependable while the second was actually a gamble. Zhen Jin understood that absorbing just one blue dog fox wolf would not allow him to transform into a complete form. However, if his gamble paid off, Zhen Jin would have the organ that produced the fragrance, it would be extremely profitable.
Zhen Jin thought for a while, then decided to gamble.
He used a spider blade to cut off a few blue wolf hairs. Then he poured out the water pouch and sprayed the wolf blood in.
Then, he activated the core to absorb and convert the wolf corpse.
“Now I can transform……a wolf nose? And wolf hair?”
Zhen Jin felt very regretful.
His gamble failed. There was nothing great about the two options.
The wolf nose’s sense of smell exceeded a human’s; however, Zhen Jin had the spear scorpion and green lizard form, both of which had a pretty good sense of smell.
The wolf hair could protect against the cold, however in this weather it was unnecessary.
Without any other options, Zhen Jin transformed back into a human, put on his clothes, strapped on his sword and water bag, then set out once again.
After a few steps, he pursed his brows.
He had been fine when transforming into other forms, but after he had put on his clothes, every movement caused his clothes to chafe genitals, deepening the pain and injury there.
“If I eliminated the strong life white rhinoceros and absorbed it, with luck this injury would not pose a problem for me.”
Zhen Jin sighed, he had no alternative but to take off his clothes and equipment and transform again.
He transformed into an iron level bat monkey, he then grabbed his clothes, rapier, boots, and water pouch as he flew through the night sky.
Flying through the treetops saved him a lot of time.
He would fly for a bit, then stopped to scout with ultrasound to guard against anyone seeing this particular scene. Although at night, human line of sight was greatly limited. However, if by any chance?
Zhen Jin was still very cautious.
His trip to camp went smoothly and no inconveniences were encountered.
He then dropped into a dark corner and transformed into a human. After putting on his clothes and enduring his indisposed crotch, he arrived at the camp’s large gate.
“Who are you?!” Zhen Jin’s appearance caused the guards to become vigilant.
When the other guards clearly saw him, they shouted with pleasant surprise: “Ah, it’s you Lord Zhen Jin.”
“Lord Zhen Jin, it really is Lord Zhen Jin.”
“Lord Zhen Jin has returned!”
The two guards opened the gate together. Zhen Jin came and saw a gigantic snake corpse.
“Is that?” Zhen Jin’s eyes flashed.
The snake corpse was six meters long and resembled a forest boa. However, its head and tail were unusual. It had a crocodile head and a bloated tail that looked like a giant hammer.
Zhen Jin scanned again and found that the snake’s scales were also nonstandard, they looked like crocodile skin.
“The prey Zong Ge killed was a silver level magic beast.”
“Cang Xu has dissected a portion of it and called it crocodile head hammer tail boa!”
The two guards had introduced Zhen Jin to it.
“So that’s how it is.” Zhen Jin nodded and asked, “How did Zong Ge eliminate it and is he wounded?”
The guards shook their heads, indicating that they did not know.
“Your Lordship and Zong Ge pursued the hidden hand together, Zong Ge has returned with something, but your Lordship has not.”
“Lord Zi Di, Lan Zoa, Hei Juan, and the others went over to the other camp to interrogate Zong Ge.”
“Zong Ge gave us this crocodile head hammer tail boa.”
“It is truly good that your Lordship has returned.”
Zhen Jin muttered to himself, the guards found that he looked a bit sorrowful. It was clear that when Zong Ge returned while he was missing, Zi Di, Cang Xu, and the others were faced with great pressure.
“Ah, Lord Zhen Jin it really is you!” Xi Suo was the first to hear the commotion and ran over.
Although Zhen Jin had seized his authority, his heart was joyous when he saw Zhen Jin.
Zhen Jin nodded to Xi Suo and commanded: “Now that I have returned, there is an important matter I need to discuss with everyone, in addition, please ask Zong Ge and Tripleblade to come over.
Half an hour later.
The wooden house.
On the wooden table, there were many candles illuminating a pile of wolf hair.
“That is approximately what happened.” Zhen Jin had finished narrating to the others in the house.
Mu Ban gasped in surprise: “That is hard to imagine! With just a scent, it can control other beast species?”
“Scholar Cang Xu, what is your opinion?” Zhen Jin inquired.
Cang Xu muttered: “Scents have a wide range of effects on creatures.”
“Take the ant for example. When ants are searching for food, they will leave a scent behind so others can follow it and collaborate to find food.”
“Another example is bucks. When bucks are seeking for a mate, they will wipe their bodies on trees and leave behind their scent. When a doe smells the scent, they will search for the buck at once.”
In addition, hyenas, lions, wolves, and others all use urine to mark their territory, and as road signs so they don’t get lost.
“Skunks use foul odors to defend themselves by assailing an enemy’s nose so they can flee. Ring tail lemurs use foul odors to duel each other, whoever wins acquires a higher status in the lemur group.”
As Cang Xu spoke of this, he shook his head: “But I have never heard of a scent subduing other types of beasts.”
“The actions of the blue dog fox wolf are actually similar to that of a sheepdog’s.”
“Farm owners keep sheepdogs that help the farm raise sheep, prevent the escape of cows, goats, and horses, and defend against the attacks of bears and wolves.
Zi Di started talking: “According to Lord Zhen Jin’s description, only the artificial magic beasts are affected. It is extremely likely that the effects of the blue dog fox wolf’s scent were specifically arranged by the island master.”
“Think about it everyone, the island master so many conflicts and
weapons,
how could there not be an army? The island owner made the blue dog fox wolves to be the commander of the beast groups.”
Zi Di had always been a supporter of the weapons conjecture, in fact, she was the first to mention it.
Afterwards, Cang Xu also changed his mind and backed this conjecture.
“It's a pity that we do not have an intact wolf corpse on hand, otherwise I could dissect it and understand more of its secrets.” Cang Xu shook his head regretfully.
Zi Di immediately retorted: “No, what Lord Zhen Jin did was correct. How could his Lordship carry such a heavy wolf corpse so far in the woods late at night?”
“His Lordship had been tailing the beast group for a long time, and just as the blue dog fox wolf attempted to subdue a monkey tail brown bear, he risked his life to ambush and kill the blue dog fox wolf.”
“Lord Zhen Jin, to just use a human’s strength to resolve the persistent threat to the camp is already extraordinary.”
Zhen Jin looked at the girl’s beautiful amethyst eyes, he slightly smiled and reached out to hold Zi Di’s hand on the table.
Zi Di subconsciously pulled back her hand slightly, however she stopped and let Zhen Jin hold her hand.
Zhen Jin continued: “Unfortunately I heard two additional blue dog fox wolves howling. I do now understand what the howls were expressing and passing on. However, we must be vigilant, according to the worst circumstances——we might very well be faced with the combined forces of two blue dog fox wolf magic beast corps!”
Everyone looked grave.
“It seems we need to change our strategy.” Mu Ban said, “We cannot just cut wood, we need to make powerful crossbows with all speed. Lord Zhen Jin once led the exploration team and annihilated a flying squirrel group with short bows. We can draw from this success.”
“We know many models of crossbows and we discussed it with Lord Zi Di during dinner. Lord Zi Di can provide potions that can corrode metal. As long as we have enough metal crossbow prods, wood, and time, we will have a steady flow of crossbows.”
Everyone listening nodded, this was a good suggestion.
Zong Ge then opened his mouth: “It is extremely likely the blue dog fox wolves’ magic beast corps will continue to trouble us. Rather than passively waiting for their attacks, it would be better to take the initiative and attack them.
“We are a lone army in a boundless sea of trees, that is too risky.” Xi Suo immediately shook his head.
Zong Ge laughed: “I am of the opinion that we should purge all beast groups near the camp!”
Everyone’s eyes shined.
Tripleblade agreed: “Lord Zong Ge is right. According to Lord Zhen Jin’s information, the fragrance has a time limit. The scopes of the magic beast corps are also limited by food, they cannot increase without restrictions.”
“If all nearby beat groups are cleanly purged, the blue dog fox wolves cannot find support. At the same time, we can obtain beast meat and increase our food reserves by purging them.”
“If we want to do this, we need more detailed information first.” Zhen Jin muttered.
Zong Ge laughed heartily, there seemed to be spears behind his gaze as he looked at Zhen Jin with a challenging attitude: “Then let's investigate first. You are in charge of half and I will be in charge of the other. Let's use the camp as the center and investigate all the terrain and beast groups within a kilometer. What do you think about that templar knight?”
Zhen Jin looked at Zong Ge silently for a moment.
He knew what Zong Ge was thinking.
This time, Zong Ge had massacred a silver level magic beast, but in the end, lost track of the blue dog fox wolf. But Zhen Jin had achieved that, even according to the description he gave, he had used his human strength to kill the greatest threat, the blue dog fox wolf.
This accomplishment would certainly be made public, and everyone would know about it.
Thus, Zong Ge would undoubtedly be compared.
Zong Ge’s status was a flaw, and with the addition of being compared to this military success, Zhen Jin’s influence over the group would rise rapidly.
Zong Ge did not want to see this happen.
“Perhaps because you have trained in the army, you are well acquainted with intelligence gathering. But is it really beneficial to have a competition with me?”
After thinking of this, Zhen Jin sighed and slightly nodded: “Then let's do that.”
The discussion ended and everyone dispersed.
As Zhen Jin was thinking, he came to Zi Di’s tent.
“Zi Di, are you sleeping?”
“I’m still awake, my Lord. Please come in.” Zi Di’s voice came from inside the tent.
Zhen Jin opened the flap and entered.
Zi Di was still wearing her hooded magic gown, the spacious magic gown made the girl appear more petite and pitiful.
Seeing Zi Di’s appearance, Zhen Jin sighed as he walked over to Zi Di and hugged her.
Zi Di’s body slightly trembled, but she did not resist.
“What are you afraid of?” Zhen Jin quietly comforted.
He understood that the blue dog fox wolf had been an immense psychological shadow over Zi Di.
“With your Lordship here, I am unafraid.” Zi Di softly replied.
“Yes, I will always be by your side. The first blue dog fox wolf died under my foot and the second one is dead too. The third and the fourth, even if more appear, as long as you have me, none of them will harm you. I guarantee you!” Zhen Jin consoled.
Zi Di raised her head up in Zhen Jin’s chest: “Lord Zhen Jin, I trust you.”
As if sensing something, the girl’s expression became peculiar.
“Oh, right. The main reason I found you was because of some blood.” Zhen Jin smiled at Zi Di.
“I need you to do something covertly.”
“Don’t tell anyone else about the outcome.”
Zi Di’s face suddenly blushed.
“My Lord, what……do you want to do?”
Zhen Jin looked at Zi Di’s expression, after a moment of reflection, he realized that she had misunderstood him.
“Don’t misunderstand me, I am referring to……” His words were interrupted by Zi Di.
“My Lord, your nose is bleeding.”
“Ah.” Zhen Jin also felt the blood flowing down as he said with extreme awkwardness, “Listen to me Zi Di, it is not the thing you are thinking of.”
Notes
The scene of lizard Zhen Jin attempting to open his water bag and then proceeding to barf blood into the bag is so hilarious to visualize. Since the author didn’t say he transformed his arms into those that have thumbs, lizard Zhen Jin probably had to rip the cap off with his giant lizard mouth, all while attempting to not eat it. Also the name of the new boa is so long, I’m starting to think that names giving the literal description of something is reminding me too much of JP novel titles. Stop please, get some help.