Chapter 797: Toll Tax?

Chapter 797: Toll Tax?

"...Poor," Agnivar muttered when he reached the female Wyvern’s nest. Aside from a few large bones from hunted, eaten beasts and comfort items, her nest held nothing worthwhile.

It was a cave on the side of a tall, rocky mountain. Though the cave’s interior was spacious and warm with flame energy, it was otherwise empty, save for the half-eaten beasts and scattered bones.

"I didn’t see any settlements around here. Maybe she... or he simply couldn’t find anything to loot." Saying that, Agnivar flew off once again to catch up to the Wyvern.

He wasn’t sure whether the Wyvern was female or male, though the faint scent in the cave made him hopeful.

He was right. The female Wyvern’s nest was already outside the Academy’s boundaries, and since it was technically her territory, no humans or other intelligent beings had settled there for fear the Wyvern might attack them.

A Low 4-Star beast was no joke.

In fact, people were already wetting themselves when they saw Agnivar flying through the airspace above their territories and cities.

Thankfully, Agnivar wasn’t in the mood to attack them, and Leo hadn’t allowed him to.

Flap!

Whooosh!

Agnivar increased his flight speed, steadily catching up to the Wyvern. With his superior speed, he easily caught up to her within a few days.

"A female!" Agnivar’s eyes sparkled, but...

"She’s... weak," he muttered after observing her.

Compared to his advanced bloodline, which made him an Intermediate Draconic being—a status extremely rare among Wyverns—the female Wyvern in the distance was still a Lesser Draconic being.

Even if that were put aside, she was still at the lower end of the Super Bloodline category.

"She seems to have reached her strength limit," Agnivar muttered after sensing her strength. She was in the early stages of Low 4-Star—a strength cap for beasts in the lower end of the super bloodline.

"She’d better have a good temperament, or else I can’t take her as a mate," Agnivar muttered.

Agnivar was highly confident that the female Wyvern would easily accept him as her mate if she didn’t already have one. However, if she wasn’t willing to become his second wife after Ashira, or if her demeanour didn’t meet his standards, he could only return dejectedly.

He couldn’t bring himself to kill her. Who knew? His future attempts might yield some results. Not to mention, finding Wyverns in the wild was extremely difficult.

In other words, he needed to persuade her.

As for the female Wyvern in question...

Flap! Flap! Flap!

"Who the hell?!?!" she cried in panic when she realised the draconic presence behind her was getting closer.

Her wings flapped frantically, and even though they ached terribly, the fear of being killed forced her to endure the pain.

She didn’t know that the draconic presence behind her belonged to another Wyvern. The pressure of such a ’higher quality’ was simply not something a fellow Wyvern could exert. In other words, it had to be some other kind of flying draconic being that had come to hunt her.

"Just leave me alone... I don’t even have kids yet."

---

2 Days Later...

Howl had covered nearly 500 kilometres by now, and his slow progress was because they had stumbled into an area rich in low-ranked beasts that could be domesticated.

Leo picked up large herds of three kinds of beasts.

Cloudwool Sheep (Low–Mid 1-Star) — Ordinary Bloodline

A gentle, round-bodied beast covered in thick, cloudlike white fleece, with curled horns, short legs, and soft blue eyes. They were no taller than 1.2 metres.

He picked up 50 of them: 30 females, including 10 lambs born to the mothers, and 10 males. The males and females would obviously serve breeding purposes, providing him with meat, wool, milk, leather, and manure. Their thick fleece could also be processed into fire-resistant insulating layers for tents and buildings, helping protect the territory’s residents from extreme temperatures.

Bristleback Boar (Low–Mid 1-Star) — Ordinary Bloodline

They were stout beasts with pinkish skin, a thick layer of coarse bristles along their backs, short ivory tusks, and powerful snouts. They were no taller than 1 metre.

Leo picked up 36 of them, including 20 females, 6 males, and 10 piglets. The females and males would serve breeding purposes, while the piglets would be raised for future production. They would provide meat, fat, leather, tusks, and manure. Their powerful snouts could also be used to uproot weeds and loosen compacted soil, making them useful for clearing farmland after harvest.

Softfur Hare (Low–Mid 1-Star) — Ordinary Bloodline

Small rabbit-like beasts with velvety cream-coloured fur, long ears, powerful hind legs, and bright green eyes. They were no taller than 0.5 metres.

He picked up 64 of them, including 40 females, 8 males, and 16 kits. The females and males would serve breeding purposes, while the kits would be raised to expand the population. They would provide meat, soft fur, and manure. Their soft fur could be processed into insulating stuffing for pillows, blankets, and winter clothing, creating an additional source of income for the territory.

All of them could help keep the territory tidy and lively by grazing on overgrown grass, consuming waste meat where appropriate, and simply going about their daily lives.

As for how they would be kept under control? Howl was the heavy lifter. He could make them obey through his authority as a Guardian Beast and by applying his superior aura.

Things were going smoothly, and Leo sat calmly, examining the Riftweb Spider the Emperor had given him.

"This guy... whenever he wakes up, he tries to attack..." Leo muttered with a chuckle as he poked the sleeping spider’s bulging abdomen.

At first, the spider refused to sleep for an entire day, staying wary of Leo and using its web attacks. It had even tried to float and fly away whenever it gathered enough mana to do so.

However, after realising Leo wasn’t harming it, the spider finally settled down and fell asleep.

At that moment, Aeila contacted Leo.

’My Lord! There’s a large territory ahead of us. And it’s the only passage between the two mountains wide enough for the Noble Beast Howl to walk through!’

Leo furrowed his brows upon hearing that.

"Large territory?"

Howl had been following the shortest feasible route towards the wastelands, which naturally meant encountering mountains along the way. Whenever Howl came across tall, wide, and sturdy mountains, a detour would be planned.

They had already done so once before.

However, the current obstruction clearly had a mountain pass wide enough for Howl to pass through, so they kept walking straight ahead.

Leo had never realised there was a territory in their path, let alone one so well established.

Unfortunately, the two mountains were extremely wide, stretching well over a thousand kilometres. That meant a detour would take a long time.

First, Leo had Howl sit down at a spot nearly 20 kilometres from the territory. He then went ahead himself to take a look.

If things looked good, Leo could make Howl bore through the mountain using [Earth Manipulation].

Along the way, he would also get a chance to see what a well-established territory looked like.

As he made his way forward, he spotted 5-metre-tall walls and a sturdy gate.

Several people riding various beasts were lined up, waiting to enter the territory.

"Pay up! 5,000 AC per person and 10,000 AC for a beast up to 5 metres tall! Every additional metre will cost you another 2,000 AC!" a guard shouted.

"That’s too expensive!" one of the men in the front line retorted.

"Then get the fuck out and cross the mountain by yourself!" the guard roared before kicking the man.

When the 3-metre-tall Monkey Beast tried to defend its master, a massive 6-metre-tall Bear Beast stepped out of the walls to confront it, frightening the monkey into backing down.

"B-but the mountains have so many 3-Star and even 4-Star beasts..." the man stammered.

The guard’s eyes flashed with anger.

"Is that my problem? Step aside and let others through!"

The guard kicked the man aside and welcomed the next person in line, who promptly paid the required sum.

"Are they collecting toll tax?" Leo muttered, furrowing his brow.

---

*Image Sheep*

*Image of Pig*

*Image of Hare*

*Image of previously captured chicken*