5: The little white wolf whose life is in danger
Xie Ning didn't know about what happened afterward; at this moment, he was on his way back through the outer forest.
Although he had just fought over twenty Venom Toads, none of them reached the Bronze Rank, so he hadn't gained any evolution value. Therefore, on the way back, Xie Ning wouldn't let any Bronze Rank Yao Beast he encountered get away.
On one hand, he could gain evolution value, and on the other, it allowed the Supersonic Mantis to get used to its body.
The reason people said raising Demon Tamers Beasts was a privilege of the rich was because the cultivation process for every Demon Tamers Beast cost a lot of money. Xie Ning was just a solo player in this world, so he needed to find ways to get more money to ensure his evolution needs were met.
And the fastest way to make money was to become a Breeder and help others evolve their Demon Tamers Beasts. What was needed for this was a large amount of evolution value.
Stopping and going, he killed seventeen. Counting the kills from higher Ranks, he had already gained 24 evolution value. Combined with what he had gained earlier, he had a total of 133 evolution value.
"Awoo! Awoo~"
Just then, Xie Ning heard a series of immature howls. The sound was very urgent and sounded like a mammal.
"Let's go, let's take a look," Xie Ning said as he and the Supersonic Mantis rushed toward the source of the sound.
They crossed many trees and followed the sound to a giant banyan tree.
This banyan tree was over three meters wide and nearly a hundred meters tall. There weren't many leaves on the dense branches, making it look a bit bald. Layers of spider webs hung haphazardly on the branches.
"Awoo! Awoo~"
The young beast's cries became louder. Xie Ning looked toward the sound and found his target.
A ball of white, making it hard to see what kind of Yao Beast it was, was stuck to a spider web, struggling violently. The cries were coming from its mouth.
"Good heavens, I could hear it from hundreds of meters away. This will to live is something else!" Xie Ning couldn't help but exclaim.
[Yao Beast Name] Fire Wolf (Albino Mutation)
[Yao Beast Quality] Elite Low Grade
[Yao Beast Rank] Black Iron Rank 4
[Yao Beast Attribute] Fire
[Yao Beast Weakness] Water
[Yao Beast Status] Endangered, Toxin invading (Treatment method: 1. Consume...)
[Yao Beast Talent] None
[Yao Beast Description] The cub of the Gold Yao Beast Crimson Fire Wolf King (Lord). Due to an Innate mutation, its fur is snow-white and its quality is too low. It was expelled from the wolf tribe by the Crimson Fire Wolf King and wandered alone. Its resilient character dictates that it will not settle for mediocrity.
[Evolution Paths] 7 paths
The offspring of a Lord-Rank Yao Beast would normally be at the Extraordinary or Lord Rank, and a few, due to the right time and place, might even be at the Monarch Rank from birth.
In contrast, this Fire Wolf cub was, in a way, a disgrace to its tribe. And its mutated fur color would be seen as an outlier.
Seeing this lonely cub struggling, even Xie Ning, who was hunting Yao Beasts just a moment ago, felt a pang of compassion.
It was quite ironic. On one hand, people loathed the beast tides that attacked cities and wished they would all die, but on the other hand, they felt pity for a distressed Yao Beast cub. As for why it was like this, Xie Ning didn't know. He could only follow his heart; whether it was strange or not was another matter.
Xie Ning wanted to save this Yao Beast cub, but he didn't act immediately. His eyes scanned the entire tree, especially the hidden spots.
Sure enough, after a while, he heard a "ding."
[Yao Beast Name] Venomous Wolf Spider
[Yao Beast Quality] Excellent Low Grade
[Yao Beast Rank] Bronze Rank 3
[Yao Beast Attribute] Poison
[Yao Beast Weakness] Fire
[Yao Beast Status] Hunting
[Yao Beast Description] A spider skilled at casting webs and applying poison. Its toxin is fierce, but its own strength is average; it often wins by sneak attacks.
[Evolution Paths] ... As Xie Ning discovered the hiding place of the venomous spider, the Supersonic Mantis also moved. With its wings flapping, it nimbly avoided the dense spider webs and reached a high point.
Just as the Venomous Wolf Spider was preparing to launch a sneak attack, the Supersonic Mantis's figure flashed, silently appearing behind the Venomous Wolf Spider. Before it could turn around in time, the cross-blade glow pierced through its body.
Instant kill!
Accompanied by a hiss, the venomous spider fell from the tree branch and landed on the web it had spun. Its eight legs twitched a few times before finally stopping.
[Ding! The Supersonic Mantis has successfully killed a Venomous Wolf Spider. 2 Ranks higher, gained 3 evolution value.]
This was the most pathetic defeat of a Yao Beast Xie Ning had encountered so far.
After finishing off the Venomous Wolf Spider, the Supersonic Mantis also brought the Little Wolf Cub down.
The Little Wolf Cub was snow-white and small enough to be held in one hand. Its aura was weak, and its eyes were tightly closed. It seemed to know it was free from the spider web and no longer howled loudly, but it was still whimpering unconsciously. Its expression was somewhat pained, and its four legs kicked aimlessly.
This Little Wolf Cub's size combined with its pitiful appearance was cute to the extreme; it could easily charm a group of Girls.
"Its condition is very bad; its aura is getting weaker and weaker."
The Supersonic Mantis's voice rang out in his consciousness.
Xie Ning nodded and glanced at the treatment plan, then quickly took action with the Supersonic Mantis.
Soon, in the crude environment of the wild, Xie Ning made a very simple herbal paste and stuffed it into the Little Wolf Cub's mouth, but the Little Wolf Cub spat it out.
"Little brat, do you want to live or not?" Xie Ning stared at the Little Wolf Cub, frowning. "If you want to survive, eat this medicine! Understand? If you want to live, swallow it!"
Regardless of whether this uncontracted Little Wolf Cub could understand, Xie Ning continued to stuff the herbs into its mouth. Surprisingly, the Little Wolf Cub actually swallowed the medicine, devouring it greedily. Even some that it spat out were swallowed back down in its daze.
Xie Ning smiled at the Little Wolf Cub's tenacious appearance, patted its head, and said, "Your will to live is quite strong. If you can survive, you'll be my second partner."
With the Yao Beast evolution System, Xie Ning didn't need to choose high-quality Yao Beasts like others; he could evolve Yao Beasts that suited him according to his own preferences.
With the matter settled for now, Xie Ning held the Little Wolf Cub and quickly walked toward the outer forest with the Supersonic Mantis.
The effect of the herbs was good. Although it didn't heal the Little Wolf Cub and its aura was still very weak, it had at least stabilized and was no longer worsening.
Once he got back, he could buy more medicinal ingredients to treat its injuries.
The medicinal ingredients growing in this forest were still too limited... In the afternoon, Xie Ning returned to the outer forest gathering point.
Most people had already arrived, and everyone had a Demon Tamers Beast beside them. Clearly, the students who didn't have a Demon Tamers Beast had found suitable Yao Beasts for themselves in the forest.
Although Xie Ning had recalled the Supersonic Mantis into the contract space as he approached the gathering point, he was still a celebrity in the First High School over the past two days. Furthermore, the fact that he was holding a world-class cute Little Wolf Cub in his arms made all the Girls' eyes turn into hearts, nearly overwhelming them with cuteness.
"Xie Ning, you are..." The class monitor looked at Xie Ning with some confusion.
Xie Ning smiled and replied, "Old Ban, this is a little fellow I rescued in the forest."
The class monitor nodded and said seriously, "I see. As long as you didn't give up on your Demon Tamers Beast partner."
Demon Tamers Beasts were not irreplaceable. In the process of growing, many people, in pursuit of greater power, would often replace their early-stage Demon Tamers Beasts that could no longer level up in the later stages. This behavior was always condemned in the International Demon Tamer Alliance, but countless people still chose to make replacements.
As for where those Demon Tamers Beasts whose contracts were terminated went or what their fate was, few people cared to ask.
People called uncontracted beasts Yao Beasts, and contracted ones Demon Tamers Beasts. But what do you call those that were contracted and then had their contracts terminated?
abandoned demon!
The reason the class monitor cared about this was because his Demon Tamers Beast was one that had been abandoned by someone. He knew very well how an abandoned Demon Tamers Beast felt.
Xie Ning was one of those who knew about Old Ban's experiences, so he wasn't dissatisfied. Instead, he replied seriously, "My Demon Tamers Beasts are my partners. I won't abandon them."
The class monitor smiled with satisfaction.
At this time, the class monitor was suddenly called away by a teacher. Others who went along were the monitors of several other classes and the leader of the Hunter Group.
After a while, the class monitor returned with a grim face and brought back a piece of news—Flower City had been attacked by a beast tide!
There was an immediate uproar as everyone discussed it. Some were anxious, some were terrified, and some with wild imaginations began thinking about doomsday survival scenarios.
"What?! How could this happen?"
"Then what about Flower City? What about the Old City District?"
"What Rank was this beast tide? Was it repelled?"
"What should we do? Can we still go back?"
"..."
Seeing everyone shouting, the class monitor yelled again, "Everyone, be quiet! Listen to me, things aren't that bad."
Once everyone quieted down, he continued, "According to the news, the beast tide was only Silver Rank and was repelled two hours ago. They didn't manage to attack the inner city. Your families are all safe!"
"That's good, that's good. As long as everyone is okay..."
"If those Yao Beasts dared to attack the inner city, I would definitely kill them..."
The class monitor raised his hand again to signal, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
"Although the inner city is safe, the danger factor in the wild has become much higher," the class monitor said, looking around and pointing at the officer at the forest entrance. "To prevent being attacked by small groups of beasts on the way back, the City Defense Force stationed in the forest will dispatch Soldiers to escort us."
Hearing this, everyone finally felt completely relieved. In the eyes of many, with an officer escorting them, they were safe and could sleep all the way back to Flower City.
Xie Ning thought so too at first, but when he looked at the few people at the forest entrance, he felt something was a bit off.
Whether it was the leading teachers, the forest-guarding officers, or the Hunter Group leader, their expressions were not relaxed; instead, they were somewhat heavy.
He turned his gaze back to the class monitor and felt even more that the situation was wrong.
Because even the class monitor, who had delivered the news, had a very ugly expression.
"Old Ban, what's the actual situation? Give me the real story," Xie Ning pulled the class monitor aside and asked in a low voice.
The class monitor was surprised, then looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he took Xie Ning further away before telling him the truth.
It turned out the news wasn't false, but the situation was more severe.
The beast tide was broken up, but many small, scattered groups of beasts had spread out and were attacking various places. One of these groups happened to be heading toward Hope Forest. There was a certain chance they would encounter this group of beasts on their way back.
What was said just now was merely a heads-up to give the students some psychological preparation.