"I can see the City! Whoa! It's so big!"
The moment the high walls of the city began enlarging on the horizon, Yiren couldn't help but exclaim. It was an evening with the sun already hidden but the City wall was brightly lit, working as a lighthouse for the tired travelers.
"To think one of the smaller cities in the Heaven Realm is comparable to Earth Realm Capital…" Lisa muttered in amazement. "I'm sure we can find a Teleportation Station in here."
"That's what the Village Elder told us. We can use it to get into the Blood Land Capital and then it will be smooth sailing," Yiren reminded, giving the sweet Mona a scratch behind her ear. "Are you excited to meet Xuefeng?"
The little white fox was sitting on her arm, already fully awake.
"Mhmm, I can't wait. The way you two are praising him this whole time, you already raised my expectations to the sky," Mona admitted, accepting the pats with a murmur.
"Hehe, that's cause he is our love," Yiren giggled, imagining herself in Xuefeng's embrace. A warm feeling immediately spread around her body.
"Let's go! We shouldn't waste any time!" Yiren announced, lunging forward with a swing of her wings. "The City is right ahead."
Mona didn't have trouble holding onto Yiren's shoulder, her paws acting like glue.
"What is this barrier surrounding the whole City?" Lisa wondered as she followed suit.
"It should be the Safe Zone surrounding the City. Once we reach it, no one can hurt us else they would be banned entry from all Cities in the Heaven Realm," Mona explained before warning, "Till then, we should be careful. The life outside the Safe Zone is very chaotic. People die every day."
Lisa and Yiren didn't ignore it, getting more attentive to their surroundings. It would be bad if they suddenly got ambushed.
"Let's hope no one is hiding in the forest ahead of us," Lisa muttered as she looked suspiciously at the bloody trees in the distance.
Who would have thought her words would pull the trigger.
"We have been discovered! Attack!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Tens of figures flew out from the forest ahead while another group chased from behind, closing their exit route.
"Give us your treasures or die!" the bandits called out, raising their weapons while grimacing in the most threatening way.
To their surprise, Lisa and Yiren didn't look scared at all. Yiren even smiled, reaching out to pat Mona on the head. How could they feel any fear at all with a powerful Celestial Beast by their side?
"Are you sure? Do you really want to rob us?" Yiren asked while playing with Mona, all smiley and giggly when she licked her palm.
Even though she turned into a human, she was still a Celestial Fox from birth. She still had her natural instincts.
"What? Two little girls in God Stage dare to laugh while being surrounded by Fifty shades of Doom?! Don't make me laugh!" the Bandit Leader called out sternly as he extended his palm, letting thousands of black bats fly out from his Beast Token.
"Give us your money before I order my babies to have fun with your pretty bodies. They are already eager to get the taste of young teens and suck their blood dry. They have been starving for a while."
All the Bandits grinned when they saw the bats but froze right after. Yiren wasn't even fazed by them! The terrifying swarm of Immortal Vampire Bats was not enough to bring them easy loot.
"Oh my! So cute!" Yiren exclaimed and extended her hand to the bats. "Come here! Let's play!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Her act caused all the Bandits to laugh, the Bandit Leader included.
"Who do you think you are?! Do you think you can tame an already tamed Beasts just like that? Hahah! It has been a while since I laughed this much," the Bandit Leader called out amused as he grabbed one of the Bats and played with it on his palm. "See how Loyal it is?"
He pulled on the Bat's wing, letting it hang down and struggle for balance. Yiren never darkened with anger like that time.
"I think you fucked up," Lisa muttered while shaking her head. There was nothing that could save them anymore.
Yiren's eyes lit up with gold as she cried out an order, "Kill him!"
"Hahaha, you are delusiona— Au!"
The Bandit Leader's laugh got cut off by the Bat who bit him on the finger.
"You little bitch dare bite me?" The Bandit Leader questioned as he squeezed the bat in his fist. "Do you want to starve again?"
His question was the last stroke as the swarm of bats pounced on him.
"Fuck! Get away! I tell you to get awa— Arrrghh!!"
The next few seconds were filled with his curses and a desperate fight for survival that only ended with his dying screams. His body fell down right after, all pale with his blood sucked clean.
Yiren wasn't at all satisfied.
"Kill them all!"
The Bats didn't hesitate this time, rushing to the closest Bandit for their second meal.
"Fuck! The bats went crazy! Scatter!" the Bandits cried out upon realization but it was too late.
All they heard were screams of pain as the Vampire Bats split up, chasing every single bandit like an organized team.
"They have nice synergy," Lisa pointed out. "Do you think they can communicate with each other?"
"Of course. I can hear them talk, you don't?" Yiren asked.
"No? I'm not the Queen of Beasts," Lisa replied with a shrug causing Yiren to laugh.
"Hah, it's funny cause they all just scream one thing and yet all know what to do," Yiren revealed.
"What one thing?" Lisa wondered curiously.
"For the Queen!" Yiren said with a smile. "Do I look like a bat?"
"You don't, but you definitely deserve to be a Queen," Lisa assured as shifted her gaze at the few bats approaching them. "It seems they even present you with inauguration gifts."
From up close, they were much bigger than they thought, almost reaching the size of a small eagle. All of them carried a Storage Ring in their fingers which they dropped on Yiren's palm.
She naturally accepted the gifts, passing them on to the more responsible Lisa as she patted the bats instead.
"Don't worry, no one is going to hurt you anymore. You are free to go and live your life," Yiren proposed.
Scree!
The Vampire Bats screamed in disagreement as they flocked around her. One of the biggest bats, having two massive fangs hanging from his mouth, hovered in front of her and threw a Beast Token at her.
"You want me to take you along?" Yiren asked surprised.
Scree!
They all cried out with a nod, causing Yiren to smile helplessly. The token lit up, swallowing them one by one till the sky was once again clear.
Yiren kept the Token in her pocket and suddenly shuddered, her cheeks reddening.
"Is it 'that' again?" Lisa asked, noticing the change.
"Mhmm, but it's okay. I'm used to it already," Yiren assured, before resuming the flight. "Let's go. I can't wait to feel his hug again."