Chapter 112: Fighting the Black Tiger
Hearing Captain Kendall, Jian Chen nodded his head in approval. His impression of Kendall had once more grown, the evil in Kendall’s heart was no more than Jian Chen’s own in his previous life. With a selfless attitude like that, no person would refuse to lay down their lives for such a captain. Most importantly, with the captain’s strength of a Primary Saint Master, although he couldn’t kill a Class 3 Magical Beast by himself, he could at least give Class 2 Magical Beasts a hard time. It was a shame that he didn’t fight Class 2 Magical Beasts by himself, if he did his profits would be much higher. To join with Saints and Great Saints to hunt and kill magical beasts, although the profit distribution was merit based, his own profits would still be many times smaller than going solo. In fact, the difference would be so huge that it wouldn’t even be half the amount of what he could get by himself.
With hearing just this bit, Jian Chen truly admired Captain Kendall. However, when it came to Captain Kendall and the amount of profit they earned in the Magical Beast Forest in the past, he was shocked into silence. With the captain being of the Saint Master level and 5 other members being Great Saints, it was truly a pathetic amount of monster cores that they earned. Jian Chen just couldn’t believe it, when he had gone solo within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, in the span of a day, he had collected at least 20 Class 2 Magical Beast Cores. Even Class 3 Monster Cores had numbered around a dozen. Compared to what the Flame Mercenaries got, the difference between the two truly could not be compared.
At that moment, Jian Chen’s ear trembled slightly as he turned his head to look at the tall grass nearby. Inside, he could sense the movement of a magical beast moving about from 10 meters away. However, this magical beast was barely making any movements, so even Captain Kendall wasn’t able to detect its presence.
The magical beast paused for a moment, as if it were hesitating before it decided if it wanted to attack the group Jian Chen was in. In the end, it silently retreated.
Sensing the magical beast’s retreat, Jian Chen’s mind was filled with doubt.
“What’s happening? Could it be that the magical beasts have recognized the strength of our group and realized that its own strength was only enough to send itself to its death?” Jian Chen wondered, but as he thought about that, another question came into his mind. With the magical beast being so low in strength, how could it possibly have the knowledge to make such a decision?
When Jian Chen had traveled to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, no matter if it was a Class 1 or 2 Magical Beast, or even a Class 3 Magical Beast, they would scurry out of their hiding spots to attack him. Even if they were in a hidden area, they would try to make a sneak attack, making this situation a lot more different than what Jian Chen was expecting.
“Just what is going on, could it be our group has too many people in it? That could be why the magical beasts aren’t attacking.” Jian Chen looked backward with a doubtful look. On this single road, he had only seen the traces of a single magical beast.
At that moment, a black blur came rushing out of the tall grass toward Captain Kendall who was at the front of the group.
Everyone had already prepared themselves for this situation. So the moment the black blur came into view, it had already been spotted by Kendall and Deere. Looking at the incoming target, Kendall laughed and cried out, “One finally came!”. A large axe sharp enough to cut the air around it appeared in his hand. With a fluid motion, the axe was swung in a downward motion toward the black blur.
When Kendall had begun to attack, Deere stood behind him with his broadsword out and ready to swing.
“Ding!”
Kendall’s axe and the black blur made contact in midair, creating a large explosion of sound. The black blur came to a grinding halt as the axe was sent recoiling backward.
The black blur flew backwards into the air for five meters before landing back down on the ground. The moment it touched the ground, every single member of the group got to see what had just attacked them. It was a tiger whose mane was completely black. Both paws had many sharpened claws, while some of them had even looked to be stained with blood.
“Brothers, surround it!” Kendall called out before grabbing his axe to once more attack the black tiger. Hu Po, Chang Ning Feng and the two Zhou twins encircled the black tiger in all four directions in order to prevent it from getting away. Deere, who had the power of a Great Saint, entered the circular ring and began to fight it with Kendall.
This Black Tiger was only a Class 2 Magical Beast, and with a Saint Master and a Peak Great Saint fighting it, this Black Tiger didn’t have a chance of surviving. In a flash, the Black Tiger’s body was filled with wounds as blood flowed freely from it. As a result, its normally black body was dyed red.
Jian Chen, Xiao Dao and Yun Xuan stood and watched the battle from afar. While the magical beast had a natural superiority in instincts, this was only a Class 2 Magical Beast that was no match for a Great Saint. So for this battle, Xiao Dao and the other two Saints were unable to intervene without fear of risking a serious injury.
Watching Kendall and Deere fight it out, Xiao Dao was very eager to join in on the fight. Observing the two fight with the Black Tiger, Xiao Dao looked as if he had wanted nothing more than to reincarnate into Kendall and fight against the Black Tiger for a countless number of rounds.
“I have to work hard and cultivate so that I can become a Saint Master quickly. This way, I can hunt and kill Class 2 Magical Beasts by myself.” Xiao Dao remarked as he bit his lips in determination.
Hearing this, Yun Xuan who was standing by his side laughed and said, “Xiao Dao, your strength right now should be at the Middle Saint so its still far in the future until you become a Saint Master. With your cultivation talent, you should be around 40 years old before you become a Saint Master, if not older.”
“Forty years old, so what? Didn’t Captain become a Saint Master at that age? Either way, I’ll eventually reach the Saint Master level.” Xiao Dao replied in a slightly dissatisfied tone. With a yearning expression reflected in his gaze, he muttered, “Wait until I gain the strength of a Saint Master. Then I can adventure around Magical Beast Mountain Range alone, and fight the magical beasts at close quarters, one-on-one. It will be an impressive sight.”
Seeing Xiao Dao’s expression of yearning, Yun Xuan grudgingly shook his head and inwardly whispered to himself, “Are Saint Masters that amazing? All they do is bully Class 2 Magical Beasts. You think that a Saint Master’s strength is enough for them to rampage around Magical Beast Mountain Range without fear?” Yun Xuan turned around to look at Jian Chen as he said, “Hey, Jian Chen, how many times have you entered Magical Beast Mountain Range? You’re so small; could it be that it’s only your first time?”
Jian Chen indifferently replied, “This should be my second time.”Although Jian Chen had entered the forest at Kargath Academy and killed magical beasts there in the past, that experience couldn’t possibly count formally. In addition, the magical beasts there had been raised by the academy, so Jian Chen simply ignored that experience..
Yun Xuan’s eyes lit up. He immediately showed interest and impatiently asked, “Then how many people were with you when you first entered? How powerful were they? Did you have any experts as formidable as Kendall?”
Jian Chen turned around to eye Yun Xuan. After hesitating for a bit, he said, “The first time I entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, I was alone. However…”
Before Jian Chen had even finished speaking, he was interrupted by Yun Xuan, “What, you entered Magical Beast Mountain Range alone your first time? Wow, Jian Chen, I really look up to you.”
Jian Chen bitterly smiled and replied, “Yun Xuan, there’s no need to speak so loudly. When I had entered Magical Beast Mountain Range alone my first trip, I had only wandered around the surrounding areas.”
Yun Xuan looked at Jian Chen with an expression of admiration and said, “Jian Chen, I really respect you, especially your courage. You are really bold; could it be that you didn’t know that even the surrounding areas of Magical Beast Mountain Range are extremely dangerous? Encountering a Class 1 Magical Beast is fine; if you can’t beat it, there’s still a chance to flee. But if you meet a Class 2 Magical Beast, then your young life would be finished on the spot.” Yun Xuan patted his chest and he said with a trace of lingering fear, “However, a youngster like you was extremely fortunate to not have met such magical beasts. Otherwise, you most likely would’ve been doomed.”
“That’s right, Jian Chen. From now, you mustn’t come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone. Although our journey so far has been very tranquil, you definitely cannot underestimate the Magical Beast Forest just because of that.” Xiao Dao said solemnly, his expression serious.
Jian Chen bitterly smiled at the two’s words and replied, “Alright, I understand. For now, let’s just go back to watching Captain’s fight with Black Tiger. Watching this scene is really beneficial for you guys. You can at least learn some battle patterns; they would be pretty useful later on.”
Kabolds stood by Jian Chen’s side, his shocked gaze locked onto Jian Chen. He surveyed Jian Chen’s body up and down a few times, and his eyes flashed brightly with an expression of indefinite bewilderment. However, he didn’t say a word, and quietly stood there, motionless and silent.
Hearing Jian Chen’s words, Xiao Dao and Yun Xuan really did stop talking, and returned their attention to the fight and concentrated on what was happening in front of them.
Kendall and Deere continued to fight the Black Tiger for about the same amount of time it took for a cup of tea to be made. While the entire body of the Black Tiger was filled with wounds and blood, the combatants had finally brought out the true extent of the tiger’s ferocity. With its life on the line, the Black Tiger’s strength didn’t falter at all and began to dodge the moves of the humans nimbly. With each dodge, it tried to strike back at Kendall and Deere.