Chapter 425: Mutation

Chapter 425: Chapter 425: Mutation

Da Ya, who had followed them over, looked around the yard and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw only one sheep. "Brother Huo, you cut the meat, and I’ll handle the organs. Xiaqing, you and Yan Long can go."

The hundreds of pounds of meat and all the organs from this Python were to be sent to Territory Land No. 7. Xiaqing didn’t stand on ceremony with them. "Then I’ll leave it to you, Brother Ya and Brother Huo. Sister Yan, how do you want to do this test?"

"Follow me." Yan Long turned and walked outside.

"Okay. Leader, are you coming with me?" Xiaqing called out. Seeing the Sheep Leader guarding the doorway with no intention of following, she turned and walked out after Yan Long.

After leaving the courtyard gate, Yan Long suddenly sped up, running west. Xiaqing knew she was testing her running speed and immediately went all out to keep up.

Once they were out of the village, Yan Long suddenly stopped short, spun around, and charged at Xiaqing.

’Is she testing my combat abilities?’

Xiaqing was still slowing down, not yet steady on her feet, when Yan Long’s leg swept in. It was too late to dodge. She could only barely turn her body to protect her vitals, using her arm to block Yan Long’s flying kick.

Unexpectedly, the force of Yan Long’s kick was far greater than she had anticipated, and Xiaqing was sent flying. Fortunately, she often sparred with the Sheep Leader, so adjusting her center of gravity in mid-air for a stable landing was second nature to her.

But before Xiaqing could fully reorient herself to land, Yan Long had already sprung into the air, her iron fist whistling as it shot toward Xiaqing’s chest. Alarmed, Xiaqing immediately raised her arms to block. She never expected the punch to be a feint, however, and by the time she tried to dodge Yan Long’s leg, it was too late.

THUD!

CRASH!

Kicked out of the air by Yan Long, Xiaqing slammed hard into a half-demolished mud-brick wall on the side of the road, causing it to collapse.

Yan Long’s speed was incredible, generating immense momentum that completely overwhelmed Xiaqing, a High Level Strength Evolver.

’So this is what a true master is like? She’s incredible!’

Xiaqing’s blood was pumping. She pushed aside the debris and mud bricks piled on top of her and was about to get up to counter-attack when she heard the sound of thundering footsteps.

"MOOO—"

"MOOO—"

The Sheep Leader heard the commotion and rushed out of the courtyard, only to see Xiaqing getting knocked into a wall. It bellowed, charging over to protect its protégé.

’The Sheep Leader is too loud! The people from the Second Territory will definitely hear that!’

Xiaqing scrambled to her feet and rushed toward her companion. "Leader, calm down! It’s okay, it’s okay! We’re just sparring!"

"Sister Qing..."

Before Xiaqing could stop the Sheep Leader, she heard Eryong’s urgent shout from her earpiece communicator. Xiaqing immediately thought of the Wolf Group in Wolf Valley. Her heart sank. Turning to look north, she saw the Head Wolf clearing the wire mesh fence in a high leap, rushing toward them at an unbelievable speed.

"Queen, it’s a mis—" Forgetting all about the Sheep Leader, Xiaqing shouted as she tried to rush in front of Yan Long. But before she had taken more than a few steps, she was struck hard on the arm by pebbles kicked up as the Head Wolf landed.

Hiss—

’Damn, that fucking hurts!’

’Good thing the Queen was wearing shoes, otherwise her paw pads would have hurt even more!’

"Queen..."

BAM!

Before Xiaqing could stop the Head Wolf, the Sheep Leader had already charged right at Yan Long. Yan Long dodged, and the Sheep Leader slammed hard into the ruins of a house, getting buried in the debris.

"MOOO—"

The Sheep Leader roared from within the rubble, sending the rotten wood and broken bricks pinning it down flying. It burst out and positioned itself behind the Head Wolf. "Baaa...a...a..."

It was just a sheep, and it had only let out a simple bleat. But somehow, the Sheep Leader managed to infuse that single "baa" with an incredibly complex and winding sense of grievance.

Xiaqing was stunned. It was the first time she had ever heard the Sheep Leader make a sound like it was tattling and airing its grievances.

The Head Wolf moved to shield Xiaqing and the Sheep Leader, then turned to face Yan Long, radiating killing intent. Its tail went rigid, its body sinking into a low crouch. The stones and splinters under its paws cracked and split under the pressure of its sharp Wolf Claws, making a crunching sound.

Yan Long’s own battle lust was stirred by the wolf. Her fists cracked as she clenched them, her eyes locked on the formidable Wolf King.

Broken Waist Wolf, broken leg wolf, and Black Wolf also arrived at the Third Territory from Wolf Valley. At the same time, Huo Zhun bounded out from the village in a few quick leaps and stood back-to-back with Yan Long.

The three arriving wolves joined the Head Wolf and the Sheep Leader, surrounding Yan Long, who now held twin blades, and Huo Zhun with his machete. They were only waiting for a command from their Queen to attack. Two humans versus four wolves and a sheep. A huge battle was about to begin.

The fierce-looking broken leg wolf jerked its head at Xiaqing, then glanced at the spot beside it, signaling to the combat-inexperienced girl:

’You’re in the wrong spot, dummy! Get over here to the flanking position I saved for you!’

"Sister Qing, four wolves have now entered your territory. Do you require backup?"

Eryong’s belated inquiry sounded in Xiaqing’s ear.

"No need." Xiaqing couldn’t be bothered with saving face right now. She threw her arms around the Head Wolf, which was poised to attack, and began coaxing it in a soft, gentle voice.

"Queen, Sister Yan and Brother Huo aren’t enemies. We were just sparring, and I only got knocked down because I’m too weak. The Sheep Leader got angry because it thought I was really being attacked. Please don’t be mad, Queen. If we fight now, we’ll draw a lot of attention, and that’ll cause a lot of trouble."

"Queen, if you and Sister Yan want to fight, you can’t do it in the territory. You have to go to the Evolution Forest. It’ll be a huge problem if you attract bad guys, and Broken Leg Sister’s injury hasn’t even healed yet."

Annoyed at being shaken by Xiaqing, the Head Wolf unhappily lifted its head. Broken Waist Wolf, broken leg wolf, and Black Wolf also backed away, no longer surrounding Yan Long and Huo Zhun. Only the Sheep Leader was left, still snorting and pawing the ground, showing off its spiral horns.

Yan Long relaxed her fists. Huo Zhun was utterly dumbfounded.

’This... this isn’t Xiaqing’s combat squad, is it? Could I even get in?’

With all the commotion, there was no way to continue the test. Xiaqing asked Yan Long and Huo Zhun to head back to the village first while she stayed behind to placate the Sheep Leader and the Wolf Group.

"Leader, you saw me sparring with Sister Yan, thought I was being attacked, and rushed right over to save me. I’m so touched."

"And Queen, you heard the Leader’s cry, thought we were in danger, and immediately rushed here from Wolf Valley to save us. You looked so awesome running at full speed..."

Huo Zhun, who hadn’t gotten far, took a moment to assess his own powers of expression and concluded that joining this team would be very, very difficult.

Back in Xiaqing’s courtyard, after he had finished chopping off a huge, several-dozen-pound chunk of meat, Huo Zhun couldn’t help but marvel, "That one-eared wolf is terrifyingly fierce!"

Da Ya, packing the Snake Gallbladder into an ice box, asked in surprise, "A wolf? Didn’t a sheep charge out? Are Xiaqing’s wolves back?"

Huo Zhun explained, "That sheep summoned four Evolutionary Wolves, and we almost started a fight. Luckily, you’re fast and skilled, Brother Ya. Otherwise, the people in the Second Territory would have definitely picked up on that commotion."

Da Ya chuckled. "It’s not that I’m fast, the equipment you brought is just really effective."

After washing and disinfecting her hands, Yan Long began to portion out the Python meat. "I’ve seen that Head Wolf twice," she said. "Once, when Xiaqing was taking two injured wolves to Territory Land No. 7 for the first time; it was following them the whole way. The second time was when I was out gathering herbs with Yang Jin."

Huo Zhun’s eyes lit up. "You mean the wolf that was carrying a Weasel on its back?"

’Who knew Xiaqing’s team had such a formidable fighter in its ranks!’