Chapter 409 - 270: Retreat (Part 2)

Somewhat to Su Zhi’s surprise, no major commotion came from outside. Even the roars were gradually fading.

Su Zhi blinked curiously.

Yu Bao pondered for a moment, then created a clone with its Sand Shadow Guard and sent it into midair using the Sand Manipulation Technique. The entire process was pure Elite skill.

’Damn, what a periscope...’ Su Zhi hurriedly asked through the Beast Taming Space, ’What’s going on? Give me the details!’

"ARF!" Yu Bao leaped onto the top of the wall, gesturing for Su Zhi to come and see for himself.

Su Zhi blinked curiously. Seeing how brave it was, he followed it back onto the wall.

The heads of the grandfather, father, and son peeked over the wall once more—

The Earthquake Beasts were gathered around the spot where the battle had just happened, motionless and silent.

Su Zhi watched in surprise as the Earthquake Beast they had knocked to the ground began to shrivel rapidly like a deflating balloon. Soon, it turned into a large mound of yellow earth that dried upon the ground.

Several Earthquake Beasts of varying sizes crowded around the mound of yellow earth, chewing on it clumsily. The tallest individual among them stood nearly six meters tall.

Su Zhi scanned it with his dedicated Beast Tamer device—

[Pet Beast: ???

Attribute: Earth, Gold Element

Race: High Level Elite

Real-time Energy Value: 9000]

Su Zhi: "..."

’Shit, good thing I didn’t just charge in. I’d probably be dead by now...’

The Earthquake Beast that his three little treasures had teamed up to take down was only a fresh Two-star, and even that had taken a great deal of effort. They hadn’t even killed it in the end, merely tipped it onto its side.

’If I had to face this pack of Earthquake Beasts, including that Three-star one...’ Su Zhi felt he had almost no chance of victory.

Su Zhi also noticed the difference in their Race. The one that had just passed the gate was only a Low Level Elite, while this one was a High Level Elite.

It seemed this Exotic Beast known as the Earthquake Beast was different from the norm. Despite being the same species, it was divided into different Race Tiers.

In other words, they actually had Evolutionary Types, it was just that their appearance didn’t change much from their base forms.

"A-wooo..." Yu Bao propped up its chin, looking thoughtful.

’They evolve but don’t even get new character art. That’s pretty tragic.’

"KLAARAAAA..."

Suddenly, the pack of Earthquake Beasts let out a unified roar.

Su Zhi tensed instinctively, but then he saw the Earthquake Beasts turn around and head out of the village in unison.

Their yellowish-brown heads of all sizes, packed tightly together, looked like a colossal, slow-rolling mudslide from a distance—a truly stunning sight.

"Whew... it’s finally over..." Wang Yichuan let out a long sigh of relief and staggered back a few steps.

"Will those Earthquake Beasts attack again?" Su Zhi didn’t relax in the slightest, his gaze still locked on their distant, retreating forms.

"They won’t."

Wang Shichuan let out a long sigh of relief. "Once the Earthquake Beasts leave the village, they won’t be back until tomorrow night at the earliest. At least, that’s how it’s always been."

Su Zhi nodded, but he didn’t completely relax either.

’Frankly, that’s all just anecdotal. There’s no hard evidence. What if they decide to come back for round two tonight?’

’Best to stay prepared.’

Fortunately, the Earthquake Beasts weren’t stealthy. On the contrary, it was as if they wanted everyone to know they were coming; their footsteps alone created a huge ruckus.

The villagers could detect them, so he didn’t need to worry about being caught off guard.

Wang Yichuan bowed repeatedly. "I’m so sorry. To have you run into this right after you arrived..."

Su Zhi waved his hands. "Not at all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I almost put you all in danger."

"In any case, the worst is over for tonight!"

Wang Baichuan pushed open the main gate.

Su Zhi looked outside the gate. Sure enough, every household had opened their doors. Many people had witnessed the previous scene and were now casting curious and awe-filled glances at him.

"Is that... a Beastmaster?"

"He looks much younger than the other master."

"I saw it just now! His Pet Beast took down an Earthquake Beast! It was so powerful..."

"This is wonderful! Now that a Beastmaster is here, we in Jinshi Village can finally have a better life!"

The overlapping chatter rose in volume, finally erupting into excited cheers. The joy of having survived a great danger was written on every face.

Many villagers hurried back to their homes, returning a moment later to offer Su Zhi gifts. There was fine wine, cured meat, and steaming hot white rice.

Su Zhi frowned, looking troubled. "What’s all this...?"

Wang Yichuan cupped his fists in a formal salute and bowed deeply.

"Lord Beastmaster, this is just a small token of our gratitude! In a poor, remote village like ours, this is all we have to offer. It’s a shameful repayment for saving our lives..."

"No, no, not at all."

Seeing the villagers’ fervent expressions, Su Zhi gave a somewhat resigned smile.

’Given the circumstances, continuing to refuse would just seem cold and ungrateful... I suppose it’s more polite to just accept.’

But then, Su Zhi’s gaze fell on a little girl standing all alone in her home, her family lost to the Earthquake Beast attack, and he found he could no longer smile.

·

「Fuguang Lakefront.」

"Alliance Leader, sir! Using Fuguang Lake as the center, we’ve identified eleven potential ruin sites where Su Zhi might be buried. We’re conducting a full-scale search of them now."

"Yes. As quickly as possible."

Chopper, who was usually so approachable, gave an uncharacteristically terse reply.

The Flying Shadow Alliance Member giving the report didn’t dare to delay. He immediately jogged back to the rescue site and rejoined his teammates in the rescue efforts.

The current theory was that Su Zhi might have recalled his Pet Beasts into his Beast Taming Space to conserve oxygen in a confined area, which was why the rescue team’s Pet Beasts couldn’t sense any Energy fluctuations.

However, this was an extremely optimistic assumption... After all, with the strength of Su Zhi’s Pet Beasts, breaking free from this level of rubble should be no trouble at all.

For there to be no sign of him by now... it likely meant something terrible had happened.

Chopper let out a long sigh, his gaze turning to the nearby lakefront.

Shao Ya sat at the edge of the police cordon, staring blankly at the field of rubble and the busy Alliance Members.

The humidity in Hundred Rivers was intense. Despite the summer heat, the nights carried a damp chill that went right to the bone. It was unbearable if you didn’t change into dry clothes.

Shen Chuqing had tried to persuade her more than once, but when Shao Ya stubbornly refused to respond, she huffily draped her own jacket over the girl’s shoulders and left her be.

"Xiaoya, why don’t you go back to the temporary camp on the outskirts of the city. We’ve got things covered here."

Chopper crouched in front of Shao Ya and said softly, "Your father just called... He’s worried sick about you and Su Zhi. Put his mind at ease a little, won’t you?"

The young woman seemed to ponder this for a moment, then shook her head like a stubborn mule.

"I’m sleeping here tonight."

"It’s too damp and cold here, you won’t sleep well..."

"I’m waiting for him right here. I’m not going anywhere."

Chopper opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing. He could only shake his head and walk away from Shao Ya.

He knew he couldn’t change her mind.

"Don’t worry, I’ve got a sleeping bag ready for her."

Selena patted Chopper’s shoulder and said softly, "I’ll stay with Xiaoya tonight. I’ll keep an eye on her."

"Mm..." Chopper smiled at her. "Thank you, Xiaosai."

"It’s Captain Sai," Selena huffed.

Her gaze fell upon the field of rubble, and she too took a deep breath.

"Su Zhi will be okay... right?"

"Yeah, he will be. Don’t worry."

·

The sky in the Secret Realm was different from the sky in the Current World. The moon was a bit larger, as if it were closer to the ground.

In stark contrast, the atmosphere in Jinshi Village was nothing like the rescue site at Fuguang Lake. The villagers sang and danced around a bonfire, their distinctive melodies rising with the sparks deep into the night sky.

Su Zhi sat in the middle of the crowd, offering laughter and applause while eating the food the villagers brought him.

Though he put on a show of hearty enjoyment, he was actually trying to eat as little as possible.

’This place isn’t like the highly developed Current World.’ Su Zhi knew this was likely the villagers’ long-saved stockpile, food they would normally be loath to eat.

Yet they had brought it all out just to host him.

’This wasn’t some simple peasant honesty... History had taught Su Zhi that while farmers might seem loyal, honest, and pure, they were in fact more calculating than anyone.’

’But what had made them this way?’

Su Zhi’s heart was heavy, and the meat in his hands suddenly seemed tasteless.

"ARF!"

It wasn’t until a bark sounded from nearby that his attention was drawn elsewhere.

·

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