A series of prompts flashed before Charles’s eyes, and a wave of joy washed over his face. Defeating a Gold-quality ferocious beast had not only given Max and Mousie a level up but also bolstered their strength!
“After this battle, Max’s loyalty has increased to 90 points!”
Charles recalled reading in the Beast Master Beginner’s Guide that once a mystical beast’s loyalty reached 90 points, it would become absolutely loyal to its Beast Master, willing to follow them through any danger, no matter the cost.
A surge of emotion filled Charles’s heart; this wasn’t just a cold, lifeless number.
Just moments ago, when faced with danger underwater and a far more formidable foe, Max and Mousie had instinctively chosen to protect him.
Before Charles could fully process what had just happened, Max suddenly pounced on him, nuzzling its fluffy head against his body. “Master, wasn’t I awesome in that fight just now?”
Charles chuckled as he rolled on the ground with Max a few times, a genuine smile spreading across his face. As Max continued to level up, he could see the growth in his companion.
Max’s body was now as large as Charles himself, with three big, fluffy tails swaying behind him, looking even more plush and soft.
After playing around with Max for a bit, Charles didn’t forget to praise the little flying squirrel circling overhead. “Mousie, you were amazing too!”
“Humph, a fight like that was no challenge for Mousie…” Mousie said, its round little eyes twinkling as it glanced at Charles. “So, do you still have any tasty nuts and cookies?”
Charles laughed and pulled out a large bag of nuts from his storage space, tossing it into the air.
Mousie’s loyalty had also risen to 74 points, and their teamwork in battle was becoming more seamless. As Charles fed Mousie, he couldn’t resist giving its big, bushy tail a little pat.
Just as Charles was about to collect the spoils from the Giant Freshwater Crocodile, a streak of cyan light flashed across the sky, followed by a deafening explosion that reverberated through the air!
Under the cyan light, a massive creature with nine heads dominated half of the sky, while on the other side stood a slender, graceful woman.
In the sky above, a woman wielded a cyan longsword, surrounded by six mystical beasts that circled her protectively. Among them, a blue-ringed octopus had swollen in size after unleashing its skill, occupying a significant portion of the sky as well.
The battle had raged on for nearly six hours, and it was a scene of utter devastation.
“Human woman, you have successfully awakened my bloodlust!” the Devouring Serpent roared, blood gushing from its three severed heads. The excruciating pain was driving it into a frenzy.
“I’ll say it once more—submit to me, and I’ll spare your life,” Emma’s voice was cold and unyielding. The blue-ringed octopus circled before her, while the outline of a cyan longsword shimmered faintly behind her.
“Arrogant woman! You dare think you can tame me as a mystical beast? Dream on!” The Devouring Serpent bellowed, its entire body shrouded in cyan light. Its aura surged, and the waters of the Nine Hell River began to boil, sending torrents of water soaring into the sky.
“Crushing Suppression!”
With the Devouring Serpent’s command, a massive water sphere, spanning over a kilometer in diameter, suddenly engulfed Emma and her mystical beasts. Moments later, the sphere began to contract violently!
“Wind walker!”
With a soft chant, Emma summoned a hundred-meter-long cyan sword behind her, drawing in the surrounding water attribute energy until it became a solid entity! The giant sword cleaved through the water sphere, splitting it in two, and the razor-sharp sword energy shot towards the Devouring Serpent!
Clang!!!
Where the sword energy passed, the very fabric of space seemed to distort. In an instant, it reached the Devouring Serpent, which hastily conjured a protective shield to fend off the woman’s attack. But the shield was effortlessly sliced in half.
Lightning Demon Ape!!!
With a single stroke, the woman severed five of its heads. The enormous heads fell from the sky into the Nine Hell River, creating massive waves upon impact.
Having lost eight of its heads in rapid succession, the Devouring Serpent was now paralyzed with fear, but even more so, it was consumed by confusion.
Just moments ago, it had been utterly dominating the battle against this woman. But in the blink of an eye, the tide had turned completely against it. It couldn’t comprehend what had gone wrong.
Suddenly, its gaze shifted to the depths of the Nine Hell River, where a ghostly blue light had vanished.
The [Heart of the Ninefold Abyss], like a vortex, had continuously absorbed water attribute energy from the world, empowering the Devouring Serpent. However, it now realized that the Heart of the Ninefold Abyss was gone! Without the Heart’s nourishment of water attribute energy, its combat strength had been severely diminished.
As the Devouring Serpent briefly scanned its surroundings, it quickly spotted the boy on the shore, eagerly dissecting the Giant Freshwater Crocodile.
This human woman had never left its sight, and there was no one else around. Who else could have stolen the Heart of the Ninefold Abyss but that boy?
“You wretched brat, you’re courting death!!!”
The Devouring Serpent roared in fury, its face contorting with rage as it whipped its tail fins, hurtling towards the boy’s position with a fierce wind-breaking sound.
In the instant that the Devouring Serpent was distracted, Emma seized the opportunity to unleash her ultimate move.
“Thousand Threads! Annihilation!”
A blue hexagram magic circle appeared in front of her, with her six mystical beasts positioned at each point. The water attribute energy converged into an incredibly fine thread.
…
On the ground, Charles was completely absorbed in harvesting materials from the Giant Freshwater Crocodile.
[Obtained Giant Freshwater Crocodile Skin ×1!]
[Obtained Giant Freshwater Crocodile Tail Fin ×1!]
[Obtained Giant Freshwater Crocodile Fangs ×10!]
[Obtained Giant Freshwater Crocodile Blood ×500kg!]
[Obtained Giant Freshwater Crocodile Meat ×1000kg!]
With practiced precision, Charles methodically separated all the valuable materials from the Giant Freshwater Crocodile and stored them in his inventory space. Given the immense size of the creature, there was more meat than he could carry, so he carefully selected the choicest cuts from the chest.
As he was stuffing pieces of meat into his storage space, a sudden whooshing sound from above caught his attention. Almost reflexively, Charles darted into a nearby shadow, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
Looking up, Charles’s eyes widened as he saw the Devouring Serpent rapidly growing larger in his vision, its massive form bearing down on him. He couldn’t help but wince. He was just an innocent bystander, watching the action from the sidelines—so why was the Devouring Serpent suddenly targeting him?
The full-force attack of a sixth-tier mystical beast brought with it an overwhelming pressure that made Charles feel as if he could hardly breathe.
Just as he was about to activate [Darkness Cloak], the massive, hundred-ton body in the sky suddenly came to a halt. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
“What the…?” Charles’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him. It was as if time had frozen; the enormous creature hung motionless in the sky.
Upon closer inspection, Charles noticed that the Devouring Serpent was entangled in a thin, blue thread. The thread spread like wild vines, and in the blink of an eye, it had tightly bound the creature.
The thread continued to constrict, digging into the serpent’s flesh. With great difficulty, the Devouring Serpent turned its head one last time to gaze at the woman in the sky behind it.
“Thousand Threads! Annihilation!”
At the sound of her voice, the massive body of the Devouring Serpent, along with its bewildered eye, was instantly sliced into countless pieces.
Thousands of ferocious beasts simultaneously witnessed the fall of the once-mighty king of the Ferocious Beast Mountain Range. The terrifying spectacle sent a wave of fear through every creature in the mountain range.
The forest, which had previously echoed with the roars of beasts, fell eerily silent. Even the cicada chirping noisily near Charles had gone quiet in fear.
Moments later, the blood mist from the shattered remains of the Devouring Serpent began to drift down, turning the waters of the Nine Hell River a deep crimson. Countless piranhas swarmed to the surface, eager to feast on the remnants.
As the saying goes, “When a whale falls, all life prospers.”
“What a waste! What a terrible waste!”
Charles rushed to the edge of the Nine Hell River, watching in frustration as the chunks of meat floated downstream. He was so upset he nearly cursed aloud.
This was a sixth-tier ferocious beast! Even its meat, let alone its blood, would fetch a fortune at any auction. But now, with everything shredded and washed away into the Nine Hell River, he hadn’t even managed to salvage a single scrap!
“Ah well, at least I’ve got that big crocodile as a consolation prize. That should still bring in a decent amount of money.” Charles sighed, a bit deflated, as he got up from the ground.
He had discovered an incredible golden treasure during his dive into the sunken ship in the Nine Hell River. No matter how he looked at it, it was a massive win for him!
As Charles was lost in thought, a figure quietly descended behind him. He snapped out of his reverie and found himself locking eyes with a captivating gaze.
The woman wore a cyan gown that accentuated her graceful figure. Her long, pale blue hair was tied back with an intricate golden hairpin, and her stunningly beautiful face was cold as ice.
Despite the breathtaking beauty standing before him, Charles felt no trace of desire. After witnessing the death of the Devouring Serpent at her hands, seeing Emma again filled him with unease.
“Congratulations!” Charles forced a grin, quickly averting his gaze from the longsword in Emma’s hand as he took a half-step back. “I still need to continue my training in the Ferocious Beast Mountain Range, so let’s part ways here, shall we?”
“Give me the Heart of the Ninefold Abyss,” Emma’s voice was icy and unyielding.
Charles froze for a moment before feigning ignorance. “The Heart of the Ninefold Abyss? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Whoosh!
Before Charles could react, Emma was suddenly right in front of him, her longsword pressed against his throat. Her tone was almost commanding, and droplets of fresh blood dripped from the cyan blade.
“You can leave if you wish, but hand over whatever you just found at the bottom of the Nine Hell River first.”
The Heart of the Ninefold Abyss was a treasure Charles had risked his life to obtain—there was no way he would simply hand it over. Yet, Emma was a seventh-tier Beast Master, and facing her, Charles knew he didn’t stand a chance.
