Chapter 421 - 276: Arriving Again

The Earthquake Beast snarled, turning to bite down, but Fuyue had already dodged away after landing his punch.

"KRRR!" The Earthquake Beast stood its ground, and a Golden Light began to emanate from its body.

Seeing this, Fuyue, who had just been acting cocky, clutched his head and ran for it, looking frantically toward the Thunderbolt War Falcon in the sky.

"SWISH!" Zi Lu flapped her wings and discharged electricity, interrupting the Earthquake Beast’s casting.

"Awooo~" Fuyue made a heart gesture toward his senior sister.

Zi Lu looked completely exasperated.

’He has a grand time showing off, but the second he’s outmatched, he remembers to call for his senior sister. It’s enough to give a falcon a headache.’

Meanwhile, Yu Bao, Shan Bao, and Wu Bao took the opportunity to rest on the sidelines and recover their stamina.

After all, the Mud Rock Battle Bear was a Fighting Element type, so he actually performed better one-on-one and didn’t need their help...

A moment later, Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing reached an agreement.

Following their strategy, they each gave orders to their Pet Beasts. Immediately, the five Pet Beasts sprang into coordinated action.

"AWOOO!"

Fuyue suddenly became incredibly brave. Without even trying to dodge, he planted a punch right in the Earthquake Beast’s face.

The Earthquake Beast was momentarily dazed by the blow. Then, as if enraged, it opened its massive maw and snapped at Fuyue.

"THUD!"

The instant the Earthquake Beast opened its mouth, it felt another sharp impact from behind.

Wu Bao, having used Doubling to grow to its maximum size, came charging in. Its glossy, pitch-black horn, like a great Lance, stabbed viciously into the Earthquake Beast’s body.

Lance Thrust—300% Full Power!

"KRRR!" The Earthquake Beast clearly hadn’t been expecting this sneak attack. It staggered forward a step, and Fuyue seized the opportunity to get clear. Having completed his part of the feint, he bolted without hesitation.

Losing the prey that was right within its grasp, the Earthquake Beast was clearly getting emotional. A rare, human-like rage surfaced on its featureless face.

’These insolent flies!’

’I’ll shatter them all to pieces!’

However, before it could unleash its fury, another commotion started up from behind.

A faint yellow Light Array materialized on the ground. Yu Bao summoned a Yellow Earth Wall, enhanced with Thick Earth Golden Might, and positioned it right beneath Wu Bao’s horn.

Meanwhile, Shan Bao had already seized the opportunity to fly high into the sky. It then folded its wings and, with Super Heavy Gold Fall fully activated, plummeted downward.

Paratrooper One, Shan Bao, ready for action!

"BOOM!!!"

Shan Bao slammed hard onto Wu Bao’s back, creating a sound like a nuclear blast. Thankfully, Wu Bao was also a tough, thick-skinned heavyweight; otherwise, that single strike probably would have been enough to end the match right then and there.

Under the immense force of gravitational potential energy, Wu Bao’s body, which had been semi-suspended from skewering the Earthquake Beast, was driven rapidly downward. The Yellow Earth Wall beneath its horn acted as a fulcrum, transferring the force of the lever to the Earthquake Beast and actually lifting one side of the creature’s body a fair way off the ground!

"WHOOSH— WHOOSH—"

Then, two sections of Yellow Earth Wall shot up from below and slammed into the Earthquake Beast. Quicksand Shield activated in concert, knocking the creature’s body to an even greater tilt and landing another vicious blow.

Yet even with all that, the Earthquake Beast still didn’t topple over, merely adopting a temporary posture with its center of gravity thrown upward.

"...KRRR!" The Earthquake Beast let out an even more furious roar, as if threatening the insolent humans and Pet Beasts.

But Yu Bao simply put on a pair of sunglasses and gave a crooked smirk, as if everything was under control.

"Woof!"

"SWOOSH! SWOOSH!"

After striking the Earthquake Beast, the Quicksand Shield seamlessly transformed in midair into a Golden Sand Battle Saber and stabbed viciously into the top of the creature’s head.

The angle of this strike was subtle; it passed horizontally in and out, not leaving a deep wound, but instead punching two large, through-and-through holes in the top of the Earthquake Beast’s head.

[Assignable Attribute Points (Yu Bao)... +0.15]

Su Zhi clenched his fist in pleasant surprise. "Nice one! I can’t believe you succeeded on the first try!"

Yu Bao remained outwardly stoic, but his eyes were wide beneath his sunglasses.

’This Earthquake Beast’s body is incredibly tough. According to my plan, it should have taken at least three or four tries... but it worked in one go?’

’Besides, the feeling on impact was strange. There wasn’t the solid feedback of drilling through something hard; instead, there was an indescribable sucking sensation... like sticking a needle into water and drawing it up.’

’But regardless, the tactical objective had been achieved—ahead of schedule, even!’

"SWOOOSH—"

A fierce wind, laced with electrical currents, howled through the air.

The instant Yu Bao’s attack was complete, Zi Lu, who had been circling high above for some time, dove straight down. Like a bolt of lightning, she arrived directly above the Earthquake Beast in the blink of an eye.

The moment she passed, Zi Lu sank her sharp talons viciously into the two handle-like wounds, then pulled up into a steep climb with a powerful flap of her broad wings.

Under the powerful lift, the Earthquake Beast was miraculously yanked into the air, floating for a brief instant!

"Woof!"

Yu Bao’s eyes and paws were quick. Seizing that precise moment, he rapidly activated Yellow Earth Wall.

The Yellow Earth Wall, bolstered by Thick Earth Golden Might, jutted out from the ground to brace the Earthquake Beast’s underside, creating a pincer effect with Zi Lu’s upward pull.

The Earthquake Beast was finally hoisted into midair, all of its feet completely off the ground.

"We did it!" Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing excitedly bumped fists.

"My young friend, you truly are sharp to have thought of such a method!"

Su Zhi hurriedly cupped his hands in a gesture of respect. "Senior, the fact that you grasped the plan so quickly leaves me in awe..."

"Haha, enough with the pleasantries. The Earthquake Beast isn’t dead yet, so we can’t let our guard down."

Tuoba Jing quickly added, "This Earthquake Beast’s combat power is definitely high-tier. Even suspended, it will probably take a good while for it to perish. During that time, it’ll likely try everything to break free. We must not let it touch the ground again!"

"You’re right, Senior. We... Huh?"

They both looked at the Earthquake Beast, puzzled.

It wasn’t struggling violently as they had imagined. On the contrary, after being hoisted up, it became surprisingly docile, to the point that Zi Lu felt as if she might be holding a rock, not an Earthquake Beast.

"Krr-ra..." The Earthquake Beast opened its mouth toward Yu Bao, emitting a series of low, raspy sounds.

Then, just like the other Earthquake Beasts, it shrank smaller and smaller until it became a pile of fertile soil, which scattered across the barren riverbank.

The Earthquake Beast had vanished. The battle was a great victory!

[Assignable Attribute Points (Shan Bao)... +0.26]

[Assignable Attribute Points (Yu Bao): 0.15... 0.33]

"Oof..." "Chirp..." "Awooo!"

The Pet Beasts all collapsed onto the ground as if dead, letting out sighs of immense relief.

Only Yu Bao stared at the pile of yellow earth, his thoughts in turmoil.

He had always thought Earthquake Beasts only made meaningless roars and were incapable of communication... But he had heard it clearly. That Earthquake Beast just now had been trying to communicate with him.

It had said, "You have returned."

’What kind of crazy plot twist is this???’

Hearing Yu Bao’s inner thoughts, Su Zhi took a tactical step backward. "Well damn. So you’re the secret final boss?"

Yu Bao paused for a second, then decided that made some sense and lifted his chin proudly.

’I knew it. I always felt I had the bearing of a Great Emperor.’

’It wasn’t just my imagination!’

Su Zhi folded his arms. "The possibility is slim. I’ve never seen such a dumb boss."

Yu Bao: "..."

’This trash Beast Tamer has to go. I’ll find an Earthquake Beast and feed him to it another day.’

Just then, Tuoba Jing cast a meaningful glance at Su Zhi. "My Sub-Pet tells me you left the defense of the village’s front gate entirely to the villagers?"

"Yes." Su Zhi nodded. "For one, I couldn’t spare the combat power to cover two fronts. For another... I believe that relying on us is not a long-term solution. The people here must ultimately rely on themselves to win their own freedom."

Having said that, Su Zhi immediately asked, "What’s the situation at the village’s front gate? Time is of the essence, let’s go support them now!"

"No need to rush. My Sub-Pet, Xuanhuang, has reported that the battle at the front is already over. All the Earthquake Beasts have been vanquished. We can relax and walk back at a leisurely pace."

Tuoba Jing smiled, patted Su Zhi on the shoulder, and pulled him up from the ground.

"’Win their own freedom,’ well said! You’ve taught me something today!"

When Tuoba Jing led Su Zhi back to the entrance of Jinshi Village, the villagers were gathering the soil left behind by the Earthquake Beasts. The ground was littered with deep pits, ropes, and wooden planks—the clear remnants of traps they had set.

Compared to their terror when they first heard the Earthquake Beasts were coming, the people of Jinshi Village were now chatting and laughing. The scene was exceptionally lively, as if they had just been harvesting crops rather than fending off monsters.

Many people also knelt on the ground, holding the yellow earth in their cupped hands, weeping tears of joy.

Tuoba Jing’s Sub-Pet, Xuanhuang, who had been waiting for some time, wagged its tail at its returning master. The young Wang Baichuan, who had led the villagers, waved excitedly to Su Zhi. He seemed to want to share the good news but was too overcome with joy to know what to say, so he simply gestured at their surroundings.

Su Zhi nodded and waved back, his smile tinged with deep feeling.

He suddenly had a feeling that this little village was on the cusp of change.

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