“Boss, that should be the Red Rock Fruit. I’ll go…” Stout turned to Billy and spoke.
“Focus on the main task!” Billy interrupted him directly.
“Alright!” Stout smacked his lips.
Just as they were about to head to the right, a commotion came from behind the stone wall.
In no time, a beast resembling a giant pangolin emerged. It was ten times larger than a regular pangolin, with golden scales and eyes that gleamed with intelligence.
“A fourth-rank Sacred Beast?” Stout’s eyes lit up upon seeing the creature. “Boss, it won’t let us leave without a fight.”
“Make it quick!” Billy replied.
Without waiting for Stout, Billy continued forward.
“Got it!” Stout responded and walked towards the beast.
The beast charged at him, breaking trees in its path. As it leaped towards Stout like a small mountain, he stepped forward and struck with his palm.
Being a sixth-rank Sacred Realm cultivator, Stout wasn’t afraid of a fourth-rank Sacred Beast.
With a dull thud, the beast was sent flying into the stone wall, causing rocks to fall. Though heavily injured, it roared and charged again.
“Still not running?” Stout’s eyes narrowed as he struck again.
The beast flew several hundred meters, crashing into trees and spitting blood. Yet, it got up and charged once more.
“I didn’t want your beast core, but since you’re offering it, I’ll take it!” Stout said, charging at the beast.
“Stout, watch out!” Billy’s voice came as an arc of light flashed past Stout.
A four-horned beast was sent flying, leaving a trail of blood before disappearing into the forest.
At the same time, Stout’s strike hit the fourth-rank Sacred Beast, causing its head to explode in a mist of blood. It ran a few steps before collapsing and twitching on the ground.
“Boss, what was that beast that ran away?” Stout asked Billy. “I didn’t sense its presence.”
“I didn’t either,” Billy said thoughtfully. “It might be a mid-to-high-rank Sacred Beast with intelligence that can hide its aura.”
“No way,” Stout was surprised. “This foggy forest is really something!”
“Be careful,” Billy nodded.
After retrieving the beast core, they continued forward. They encountered several more beasts but found no sign of humans.
“Hmm?” Billy paused after walking for a while.
“Boss, what’s wrong?” Stout asked.
“There’s something ahead. Let’s go!” Billy said, flying towards the left.
Stout hesitated but followed closely.
After flying for several kilometers, they heard a loud explosion. The shockwave broke trees within a kilometer radius, sending leaves flying.
Roars of beasts echoed in the air.
“What the heck is going on?” Stout exclaimed upon seeing the scene.
Two groups of beasts were facing off. One group consisted of four four-horned beasts with golden scales, resembling oversized rhinos. The other was a bird with a long beak and wings spanning tens of meters, covered in white feathers with colorful ones around its neck and a tuft of red on its head.
“Boss, was that beast that ambushed me one of those?” Stout pointed to a four-horned beast with a wound on its back.
“Yes,” Billy nodded.
“It has companions,” Stout remarked.
“Boss!” Casey and Azure Dragon arrived beside Billy.
“Do you know what’s happening here?” Billy asked.
“Not really,” Azure Dragon shook his head. “We came because we heard the commotion.”
“Boss, what rank are those four-horned beasts?” Stout asked Billy.
“Mid-rank Sacred Beasts,” Billy replied.
“So strong?” Stout was surprised. “What about the bird?”
“I can’t tell,” Billy shook his head, puzzled that he couldn’t sense its rank despite its exposed aura during battle.
“You can’t either?” Casey and Azure Dragon were equally surprised.
Before they could discuss further, another loud noise came from the battlefield below. One of the four-horned beasts was sent flying by the bird’s gust attack, crashing through trees before falling lifelessly to the ground.
The remaining three roared and charged at the bird in frenzy. The bird took to the air and countered with powerful gusts from its beak. The clash created shockwaves that broke trees and cracked the ground.
The four-horned beasts were clearly at a disadvantage, retreating as they fought.
“Boss, should we take them out while they’re busy fighting?” Stout suggested to Billy. “Mid-rank Sacred Beast cores are decent!”
“And I bet that bird’s core is even better!” he added before Billy could respond.
Casey and Azure Dragon exchanged glances, their expressions unreadable.