Chapter 693: I’m Going to Catch a Divine Beast!

How was he supposed to deal with this?

Marcus considered his options for a moment before casting Insight on the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf. Unfortunately, the target was a Divine Beast, and his skill couldn’t reveal its exact attributes or abilities.

—

Ice-Fire Howling Wolf

Rank: Divine Beast

Level: ???

HP: ???

Skills: ???

—

Well, that was helpful. He would have to work with what he could see.

Marcus studied the Divine Beast carefully. The four Millennial Spider Demonesses were pouring every last bit of their venomous energy into maintaining the Venomous Sky Spider Silk wrapped around the wolf. As long as the binding held, the beast couldn’t move or use its skills, leaving it completely at their mercy.

However, there was one significant problem. The four Millennial Spider Demonesses were already devoting all their strength to keeping the wolf restrained, leaving them with no energy to attack it directly. That meant the Divine Beast’s HP was probably still close to full, which, considering its rank, could easily amount to five or six million.

"Taming!"

An idea suddenly struck Marcus, and he immediately put it into action. He activated his Intermediate Taming skill, sending its power toward the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf.

His plan was simple, if a little ridiculous; he was going to catch a Divine Beast!

Unfortunately, reality had other ideas.

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, your Taming attempt has failed. You were unable to capture the Divine Beast, Ice-Fire Howling Wolf. Please keep trying!]

Marcus wasn’t particularly surprised by the notification. He had known from the beginning that capturing a Divine Beast wouldn’t be easy. Without wasting another second, he raised his divine artifact, the Blackflame Ice Flower Sword, and swung it at the immobilized wolf with a basic attack.

Bang!

A damage number appeared above the beast’s head.

-500!

"Shit!"

Marcus nearly jumped out of his skin. He had known there would be a difference between his strength and that of a Divine Beast, but he hadn’t expected the gap to be this absurd. Staring at the pitiful damage number, he felt as though someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head.

’Mother of God!’

He had been so confident about taking down the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, yet a single basic attack had barely scratched it. At this rate, he couldn’t even keep up with its natural HP regeneration, let alone kill it.

For a moment, Marcus didn’t know what to say. He had reached Level 50, possessed ridiculous attributes, and wielded a divine artifact, yet his damage against a Divine Beast was practically a joke. It was a rather humiliating reality check.

Fortunately, he wasn’t fighting alone. If he had to rely entirely on his own strength, he would have no choice but to abandon the idea and look for another way out. Thankfully, he had a formidable group of pets at his disposal, and he wasn’t about to let such a rare opportunity slip through his fingers without trying everything he could.

"Boys, I’m counting on you! Let’s take this thing down!"

At Marcus’s command, his pets immediately launched their assault on the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf.

One Yin-Yang Giant Panda stood beside him, wielding the Green Bamboo Yin-Yang Sword as it unleashed Yin-Yang Twin Dragon Slash. The other remained at a distance, beating the Yin-Yang Divine Drum to activate Drumbeat Shakes Yin and Yang. Their attacks complemented each other, and together they managed to deal approximately 2,500 damage per cycle.

Goldie, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, and Vixen Queen Camillo took up positions behind the four Millennial Spider Demonesses, unleashing ranged magical attacks against the restrained Divine Beast. Their combined damage amounted to roughly 3,000 per cycle, a respectable contribution considering the opponent they were facing.

Meanwhile, the five Royal Sorcerers summoned through the Dragon Dynasty Command Flag stayed farther back, bombarding the wolf with a dazzling barrage of elemental magic. Fireballs, bolts of lightning, and other spells exploded against its body, their combined damage reaching approximately 6,000 to 8,000 per cycle.

Finally, there was Pebble, who stood beside Marcus and unleashed his strongest skill, Quadruple Surge. Bang, bang, bang, bang! Four consecutive strikes hammered into the Divine Beast, with critical hits occurring only occasionally. Even so, each cycle dealt around 2,000 damage.

"Not bad at all!"

Marcus’s eyes brightened as he watched his pets attack. Every single one of them was pulling their weight, and the results were better than he had expected. Individually, their damage wasn’t particularly impressive against a Divine Beast, but together, they were a different story.

With everyone attacking at full strength, their combined damage reached approximately 15,000 per cycle. That might actually be enough to overcome the wolf’s HP regeneration, provided they could maintain the pressure.

There was no time to waste.

"Taming!"

Marcus immediately resumed his attempts, repeatedly casting Intermediate Taming on the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf while his pets continued their assault. He couldn’t help hoping that his exceptionally high Luck would trigger some kind of miracle and allow him to capture the Divine Beast.

If that happened, it would be the best possible outcome. Not only would he gain an incredibly powerful pet, but he would also avoid having to fight the beast to the death.

Of course, he wasn’t naive enough to assume everything would go according to plan. While repeatedly activating Taming, he kept a close eye on Lady Silvia and the Spider Demoness’s soul, whose struggle was still unresolved. If anything went wrong on their side, he would immediately activate the Raging Tides skill of the Jade Purification Vase, unleashing a massive wave to separate the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf and the four Millennial Spider Demonesses from the rest of the battlefield. He could then use the opening to grab Lady Silvia and retreat.

With the treasures in his possession, Marcus wasn’t particularly worried about escaping the current predicament. He had enough trump cards to protect himself if things took a turn for the worse. What truly mattered to him was capturing the Divine Beast while he had the opportunity.

After all, the seawater stored inside the Jade Purification Vase was a limited resource. Every time he used Raging Tides, some of that precious water was consumed, and replenishing it wasn’t something he could take for granted. He would much rather save it for a genuine emergency than waste it on a situation he could potentially resolve without using it.

More importantly, though, he wanted a Divine Beast!

Unfortunately, the system showed him no mercy. One failure notification followed another, each extinguishing his hopes a little more before he stubbornly tried again.

His pets continued attacking, Marcus continued spamming Intermediate Taming, and the minutes slipped away as the battle dragged on.

The Ice-Fire Howling Wolf’s two heads glared at him with unrestrained fury. One was wreathed in blazing red flames, while the other was enveloped in a layer of misty blue frost. Both bared their fangs, their eyes filled with such murderous intent that Marcus could almost imagine them tearing him apart and swallowing him whole.

If looks could kill, he would have died a hundred times over by now.

Unfortunately for the Divine Beast, it could do little more than glare. The Venomous Sky Spider Silk held it firmly in place, preventing it from moving even as it struggled with all its might.

Marcus glanced at the four Millennial Spider Demonesses and couldn’t help feeling a little impressed. Who would have thought that he would one day find himself cooperating with a group of monsters to suppress another monster? Stranger still, their teamwork was surprisingly effective. He didn’t need to communicate with them or explain his intentions. As long as they continued restraining the wolf, he and his pets could concentrate on attacking it.

It was an arrangement that worked almost too well.

He looked toward Lady Silvia and the Spider Demoness’s soul, whose battle had reached a stalemate, then turned his attention back to the Divine Beast, the four Millennial Spider Demonesses, and his own pets. With all these powerful beings gathered on the third underground level, the entire scene had become something straight out of an unbelievable fantasy.

Fortunately, Marcus had the foresight to activate his recording function earlier. He was capturing the entire spectacle, including his repeated attempts to tame the Divine Beast. Once he returned, he would have something truly outrageous to show his girls. Even if they didn’t believe his story, the recording would speak for itself.

Twenty minutes passed.

Then, just as Marcus was beginning to wonder how much longer the stalemate would last, the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf suddenly underwent a startling change.

A fierce red-and-blue radiance erupted from its body, the two colors intertwining as an overwhelming surge of water and fire energy spread through the surrounding area. The light grew brighter and brighter, enveloping the Divine Beast in a violent aura that made the air itself seem to tremble.

The wolf’s body twisted as it struggled against the Venomous Sky Spider Silk, and the energy surrounding it surged with each violent movement. Flames and icy mist swirled together, creating an increasingly unstable mass of opposing elemental forces.

"What the hell?"

Marcus immediately grew alert. Was the Divine Beast evolving, or was it preparing to unleash some terrifying ability? Either possibility was bad news, especially if it meant the beast could break free of its restraints.

But why now?

As he watched the red-and-blue radiance intensify, a faint sense of familiarity crept into his mind. He had seen something like this before, although he couldn’t immediately recall where.

Before he could think it through, the four Millennial Spider Demonesses reacted.

"Sssss!"

The Level 68 Golden Bosses hissed almost simultaneously, their twisted faces turning noticeably paler as they poured even more venomous energy into the Venomous Sky Spider Silk. The black silk trembled under the strain, but the four demonesses refused to loosen their grip. They understood perfectly well that if the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf broke free, all their previous efforts would be wasted.

"That’s it! Keep going!" Marcus shouted, encouraging them to hold on. If their restraint failed and the Divine Beast escaped, he would have no choice but to grit his teeth and activate the Jade Purification Vase’s Raging Tides skill. He had been trying to avoid wasting its precious seawater, but there was no point saving a resource if he ended up dead because he had been too stingy to use it.

With the four Millennial Spider Demonesses pouring their venomous energy into the black-glowing silk, Marcus and his pets continued their relentless assault. Magical attacks of every kind converged on the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, and the combined force of their strikes erupted into a massive explosion centered on the Divine Beast.

The results were immediate.

The wolf’s body jerked violently as the red-and-blue radiance surrounding it began to flicker. Its surging elemental energy faltered, the brilliant light dimming before finally sputtering out.

Marcus’s eyes widened. They had stopped its evolution!

Or at least, that was what he thought until a system notification appeared before him.

Ding!

[The Divine Beast, Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, has failed to evolve with 10% HP remaining. Its attributes have been enhanced, but it has entered a weakened state after sustaining heavy damage.]

"Ten percent HP remaining?"

Marcus stared at the notification, momentarily stunned.

That explained why the red-and-blue eruption had seemed so familiar. He had seen boss monsters exhibit similar behavior when they were on the verge of evolving or entering a new phase. He simply hadn’t realized that their relentless attacks had brought the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf so close to defeat in just over twenty minutes.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

"Well, well. I guess I’m stronger than I thought!"

He couldn’t help feeling pleased with himself. Considering the ridiculous gap between his strength and that of a Divine Beast, bringing it down to 10% HP was no small accomplishment. His pets had certainly done most of the heavy lifting, but he had assembled the team, coordinated their attacks, and kept the pressure on. He was more than happy to take a little credit for the result.

Unfortunately, Marcus was overlooking one rather important detail.

The Venomous Sky Spider Silk was doing far more than simply keeping the Divine Beast in place. By binding the wolf and preventing it from moving or using its skills, the four Millennial Spider Demonesses had effectively crippled its ability to fight back. Under normal circumstances, the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf would have been a far more dangerous opponent, and Marcus and his pets would have struggled to deal even half their current damage.

There was also the poison.

Fueled by the venomous energy of the four Millennial Spider Demonesses, the Venomous Sky Spider Silk was continuously poisoning the Divine Beast, inflicting an astonishing 10,000 damage every second. That steady loss of HP had played a crucial role in bringing the wolf to the brink of defeat.

Without the poison, the situation would have been completely different. The Ice-Fire Howling Wolf possessed a water-attuned body that regenerated approximately 20,000 HP per second. Meanwhile, Marcus and his pets could deal only around 15,000 damage per cycle. Even if they continued attacking without interruption, they wouldn’t have been able to overcome the beast’s natural regeneration.

The Divine Beast could have recovered its lost HP faster than they could inflict damage, turning the entire battle into a hopeless exercise in futility.

Thanks to the Venomous Sky Spider Silk, however, the situation had been reversed. Between the poison’s continuous damage and the attacks from Marcus and his pets, they were inflicting a net loss of approximately 5,000 HP per second. Over the course of twenty minutes, that was more than enough to bring the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf down to the brink of death, leaving it with less than 10% of its original HP, or roughly 600,000 HP.

And now, with the Divine Beast weakened, Marcus finally had the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"Everyone, stop attacking!"

He issued the command immediately, unwilling to risk killing the wolf after coming so close to capturing it. His pets ceased their attacks, and Marcus turned his full attention to the battered Divine Beast.

This was it. With its HP reduced to less than 10% and its body weakened by the failed evolution, his chances of successfully taming it should be much higher than before.

"Taming!"

Marcus unleashed Intermediate Taming again, his eyes fixed on the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf as he waited for the system to deliver the result.

Failure.

He tried again.

Failure.

Another attempt, another failure.

But Marcus wasn’t discouraged. The Divine Beast was already in a weakened state, and he had no intention of giving up when success might be just around the corner. He continued casting Intermediate Taming one attempt after another, growing more excited with every passing second as he imagined what it would be like to have a Divine Beast as his pet.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The four Millennial Spider Demonesses, who had been positioned roughly ten meters away from the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, suddenly changed their approach. The venomous energy pouring from their bodies intensified dramatically, surging into the Venomous Sky Spider Silk with a force far greater than before.

The black silk immediately responded. Its glow grew fiercer, and the strands began tightening around the Divine Beast as though they had come alive, coiling around its body with renewed aggression.

"Shit!"

Marcus’s expression changed.

The Divine Beast’s weakened condition had apparently done more than improve his chances of taming it. The four Millennial Spider Demonesses had also grown stronger in response to its deteriorating state, and they were now capable of using the Venomous Sky Spider Silk to attack the wolf directly rather than merely restraining it.

Before Marcus could react, the tightening silk tore into the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf with merciless force.

"Awwooooo!"

Both of the Divine Beast’s heads howled in agony as the strands constricted around its body. The pain was so intense that even its furious struggles could do nothing to alleviate it, and its HP began plummeting at a terrifying rate.

Forty thousand HP per second!

Marcus’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"What the hell is going on?!"

This was completely beyond his expectations. He had finally managed to weaken the Divine Beast to the point where capturing it seemed possible, only for the four Millennial Spider Demonesses to suddenly ramp up their attacks and threaten to kill it before he could succeed.

If the wolf died now, all his efforts would be wasted.

And as if that weren’t enough, the struggle between Lady Silvia and the Spider Demoness’s soul was also approaching its decisive final stage.