TWG Chapter 14 : A servant beast hunting
It was night at Mythical Beast Forest.
But the night doesn't signify as a moment of peace for the beasts in the forest, in fact one might say that the night is an even more dangerous time as nocturnal beasts would join in the fray too, but the battles that occur are usually more silent…if one could say.
Even if the moon was gleaming up in the sky, this overly dense forest is still dark all-round, with only specks of moonlight reaching the ground.
But that doesn't mean that every corner of the forest is dark, this was especially so within a small cave in the middle of the forest that is flaring up with light.
Usually, no one would have the courage to light up a fire in the middle of the night inside the Mythical Beast Forest, because the fire would only attract the attention of strong, powerful magic beasts instead of deterring them.
This cave might seem very normal at first, but somehow not a single beast dare to approach it. And if one would look carefully, there is a small boar sleeping at the entrance of the cave. Just this small points alone is enough for someone with a wealthy amount of experience to tell that this cave..is not ordinary at all.
Lighted up by bonfires, the cave was very bright in the darkness, with nothing noteworthy to mention except for a human girl sitting in a lotus position, training arduously even in the night.
The girl had a burnt mark covering half of her face, she had a lean body and long black hair dropping down to her shoulders.
Yes, that girl was of course Ru Wuxi.
She had been training fervently for several days, but now her eyes opened. Within them was calmness and a hint of smile.
The effects of training in a place so abundant in Heaven and Earth Qi has truly shown it’s advantages. This made her sigh with relish, never before had she experienced such luxury, not only will it would speed up the process of cultivation, it would also be easier to breakthrough bottlenecks in such a place.
Her mind gradually grew clearer as the constant training for days made her feel somewhat detached to the physical world.
It was at this moment, her hands scoured around her pockets before she took a small, bluish item out.
It was a talisman made out of blue coloured leaves.
“ Can this talisman really bring me out of here..? “ She murmured, eyes full of doubt.
If this talisman could truly bring her out, then she was truly heavily indebted to that person..but if it can't, then so be it. She would stay here and continue to train until she breakthrough to the 3rd realm, then she would break out of the inner region by herself!
Her eyes burned with determination, regardless whether the talisman could work or not..she would never fault that person. If it was not for her urgent desire for power, she too would have never be willing to ask so much of him.
Remembering the words that person, her mind began to reel back to a few days ago..
~ ~
“ Here, take it. “ While she was sitting in a lotus position, training, Li Zun shoved a talisman made out of leaves into her hands, using the winds to carry it towards her.
She stared curiously at the talisman in her hands as she began to inspect it carefully.
But no matter from what angle she looked at it, there was nothing special about it, just an ordinary talisman made out of leaves.
“ …What's this? “ She asked, confused.
Li Zun went silent for a moment before he answered. “ Your ticket to the way out.”
Ru Wuxi looked at the talisman once again. Then she raised her head to look at him, she did not say anything but her face is full of questions.
“ What? You don't believe me? Heh, it's up to you whether you want to believe in me or not.“ Li Zun smirked at her, though his face was still hidden by the hood.
Ru Wuxi did not question any further, she pocketed the talisman and returned to training, after a short while she said“ Thank you, whether this talisman is real or not..it doesn't matter. This big favor..I will never forget. To someone like you, whatever I promise you may be laughable, but I will definitely pay you back. “.
Looking at her, Li Zun could only smile wryly.
~ ~ ~
A shadow leaped out of the bushes in high speed, it was a Daredevil Dog speeding through the forest at it's fastest speed, but eventually it could advance no further as a huge river awaited it.
“ Grrraw “
It growled irritatedly at the river, but as a Daredevil dog, a magic beast that has a natural alignment to the fire element, it has an innate fear of the water. Therefore it did not try to pass through the river and instead chose to look back towards the trees, straddling on it’s feet as it huffed and growled.
It's eyes glared towards the bushes with hostility. It had been living in the forest for countless of years and it was one of the most feared beast in the outer region, but never before had it seen a beast with a rank lower than itself that could possibly so fast and fierce, it had battled with it for a time and it was actually losing against it.
“ Waaoo “
It did not take long as a roaring reverberated across the wind. A little wolf jumped out of the seas of trees and rushed through the air with a speed exceeding it's rank, lightning sparks flicker about on it’s teeth.
The Daredevil dog did not hunker down either, it's innate pride as a beast of the higher rank welled up and leaped off to meet the little wolf, it's teeth flaring up with fire.
But it could have never imagined that the wolf suddenly twisted it's small body to the left, avoiding it's charge and bit down fiercely at it's body, lightning spark fervently rushed out!
The Daredevil dog couldn't resist the lightning and it's body was charred to the bones, it is not dead but it could move no further, if the little wolf did not let go at the last moments, then it would have definitely died.
If it had known that the little wolf would have been so fierce, it would have never dared to provoke it earlier on..
The little wolf looked down at it, it's face swelling with pride. It lifted off it's paw and landed it on the Daredevil dog’s head.
It then barked ferociously at the Daredevil dog in beast language, the Daredevil dog was stunned when it heard it, it angrily retaliated but the little wolf only humphed back in dissatisfaction and willed more strength in it's paw.
The Daredevil dog, who no longer had the strength to resist could do nothing as it's poor snout was stomped to the ground, it began to whimper in pain before it eventually barked out in beast language.
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The little wolf, who was very satisfied when it heard it, summoned out a mysterious energy out of it's body, the energy then turned into small lightning sparks that engraved itself on the Daredevil dog’s forehead.
Shockingly, the mark is very similar to the mark on Li Zun's hand, it was a mark of a Vajra Thunder-wolf’s back! However, the mark of the Daredevil dog did not appear in the little Wolf’s body this time, unlike Li Zun.
The little wolf, who successfully gained itself a servant beast, howled happily and ran towards the forest whilst dragging the poor Daredevil dog along with it.
Eventually, it met with Li Zun who was on the ground surrounded by 3 little birds flying in the air a meter around him.
Li Zun who saw the little pup returning back smiled wryly at it.
The little pup had been trying to get itself an underling when it realized that it could somehow create a magic beast contract with other magic beast.
However, the magic beasts on the inner and the middle region is far too strong for him to take down, so it could only wait until it reached the outer region to hunt for servants.
But..it was actually extremely picky in picking one. Li Zun did not know the requirements it had for being it's servant, but this Daredevil dog is already the 24th beast it had challenged and it was the first beast that managed to fight against him for so long, perhaps that was the reason he finally settled with it.
What made Li Zun puzzled though, is that it could actually form contracts with other magic beast. Humans could form contracts with beast as long as the human was a high ranked mage or is in possession of a certain item, but this was the first time Li Zun saw that a magic beast could contract another magic beast..
Ah well forget it! What is the use of thinking about it right now?
He began to think about other things as he glanced at the 3 little birds, who no matter how hard he tried to chase them away, they would come chasing back at him, even if he locked out the space a meter around him.
As such, he could only sigh helplessly, but at the same time, an indescribable feeling well up in his heart. It was happiness, at the same time joy and wonder. He did not know why these little birds liked him so much but he was certainly enjoying their company.
Then..his eyes began to travel to the little pup who was still in the moment of elation.
“ Currently, this little guy is only a 2nd grade magic beast..but his speed and power is definitely stronger than a 3rd grade magic beast.. “ He did not know why, but if the little pup is stronger than ordinary beasts then it was certainly a good sign.
Looking around the forest around him, he calculated that it had already been more than a week since he had decided to travel to the human population. But he was only halfway through there.
" No rush, no rush..it's not like I will be welcomed there either. “ He smiled sardonically.
As long as this curse of his existed, living in the crowded cities would only be torture to his life..
He looked up to the sky as he continued down the road, humming a tune at times, while the 3 little birds and the little pup along with his newly gained servant beast followed closely behind him.
~ ~ ~
Somewhere in the outskirts of the Mythical Beast Forest..
" Hey newbie! Are all the goods inside? “ A bulky man shouted at a loud tone, pointing his thumb backwards towards a huge wagon.
“ Yeah, the goods are all inside. A few of them tried to resist but a good hit or two will do and they will become as quiet as a mouse. “ A lean, placid man answered him.
“ Good, you know the rules. don't let a single mouse escape or else..“ The man said, face grim.
“ I know, I know..how could I dare try out the boss' anger? “ He answered, sighing at the same time.
“ Alright, if you understand then get going!” The man nodded in agreement, just thinking of the boss made his palms wet with sweat.
The Boss..is an incredibly fearful existence among them, just a mention of his name is enough to bring them to their knees. He was so powerful that even various kings of many kingdoms do not dare to offend him.
As long as he did not cause the kingdom too much deficit, the kings of the kingdom are not willing to offend such terrifying monster.
The placid man face drooped as he went to lock the wagons with his keys. He is fairly new to the job so much of the menial tasks are left for him to do.
He would have never imagined that..he who as a kid, admired heroes and has a high sense of justice would fall to joining a highly notorious bandit group that does everything to earn money, from slavery, murdering, counterfeiting goods, blackmailing, trafficking and many more.
But reality is harsh, he is 28 years old this year and his talent in cultivation is low, so he had only reached the 2nd stage after years of hard training. As such, he did not have the confidence and power to survive in a mercenary group nor could he bear to work as an ordinary solider of the kingdom.
The pay for being a solider is very low for a 2nd stage cultivator, and it was nowhere near enough to cover the costs of her mother’s medicine. In the end, he could only end up in a bandit group like this.
Being in the most notorious bandit group sure does have it's perks though, ordinary solider and mercenaries do not dare to touch them in fear of their boss, the danger could only come from wild Magic beasts so the safety is much better, the pay is much higher than being a solider too.
But every time he is involved in their works, especially when he deals with human trafficking, seeing the children and women full of desperation, his heart felt like it was stabbed by knives.
He felt that he was better off dead rather than doing such things, but he cannot leave his sick mother alone waiting for him..
While he was in sorrow and dolor, he did not realize that behind the trees in the perimeters of the forest, a lone boy was gasping for breath, he had managed to slip away from the traffickers in the expense of his friends.
The little boy gritted his teeth, his eyes were red with anger and tears. But he could only run away from here..
Note : Alright, finally time for the next arc I guess.