Chapter 694: I’m Going to Catch a Divine Beast! [II]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the relentless bombardment of the Lustflower Staff’s crimson light, cracks began spreading across the white barrier protecting Lady Silvia. The Hundred-Beast Heaven Seal Ring, the divine artifact sustaining the barrier, trembled violently as it struggled to withstand the continuous assault. Inside, Lady Silvia’s elegant, peerless face was twisted with pain, her expression betraying the immense strain she was under.

She looked utterly helpless, almost heartbreakingly so. Yet Marcus knew better than to let her appearance distract him from the situation. The barrier was on the verge of collapsing, and Lady Silvia clearly wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. If he continued hesitating, he might lose his chance to save her altogether.

There was no more time to waste.

Saving Lady Silvia had to come first. With that thought firmly in mind, Marcus immediately relayed his next set of instructions to his pets, preparing to unleash everything they had left.

All in!

Of course, there was another possibility worth considering. If he could kill the Divine Beast, the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, with his own hands, the rewards would undoubtedly be tremendous. The experience points alone would be substantial, and the loot might even include a divine artifact. After all, it was a Divine Beast. Surely, a monster of this caliber wouldn’t drop anything ordinary.

Still, Marcus wasn’t about to let greed distract him from the situation at hand. He had to act quickly, and if his next move failed, he would need to be ready to deal with the consequences.

"Taming!"

He cast Intermediate Taming one final time, no longer caring whether the attempt succeeded. The moment the skill took effect, he activated the passive ability of the Ghost-Face Mask, Nameless Fear.

A wave of black light erupted from his body, spreading in every direction and engulfing all enemies within thirty meters. Any enemy caught within its range suffered a 15% reduction to all attributes.

At almost the same instant, Pebble unleashed his own powerful ability.

"The Ascendant’s Domain!"

Golden light burst outward, enveloping the surrounding area as the skill took effect. All nearby enemies had their attributes reduced by another 10%, further weakening their already diminished strength.

The two abilities activated in rapid succession, their effects overlapping as they swept across the battlefield. And at the center of it all stood the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, whose HP had already fallen to a mere 10% of its original total.

Under the combined effects of Nameless Fear and The Ascendant’s Domain, the Divine Beast’s attributes would plummet even further. In its current weakened state, it was entirely possible that the combined assault would be enough to kill it outright.

The Ice-Fire Howling Wolf sensed the danger. Despite its overwhelming strength, it was no longer the untouchable Divine Beast it had been at the beginning of the battle. Its body was battered, its energy was unstable, and now two powerful abilities were bearing down on it, threatening to deliver the final blow.

For the first time, genuine fear stirred within its heart.

’What should it do?’

Fight back? It could barely move, much less unleash its full strength. Continue resisting? Its body was already at its limit, and the next attack might be enough to end its life.

Just as the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf struggled with its predicament, Marcus’s Taming finally took effect.

The energies within the Divine Beast immediately descended into chaos. Its two opposing elemental powers, the blazing red flames and the blue water energy, surged wildly through its body, clashing against each other with increasing intensity. The situation was made even worse by the Mythic-grade fire energy contained in the Three-Hundred-Year Fire Turtle Core, which the wolf had yet to absorb completely.

The unstable energy within its body became increasingly difficult to control. Already weakened and unable to suppress the conflicting forces, the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf found itself in an increasingly desperate situation.

It had no choice but to submit.

At that critical moment, Marcus’s extraordinarily high Luck finally came into play. His Taming succeeded, and the result was far beyond what he had initially hoped for.

As the black light of Nameless Fear and the golden radiance of The Ascendant’s Domain swept over the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, the hidden effect of Taming was triggered. The Divine Beast’s unstable internal energies, combined with its weakened state and the overlapping effects of the two abilities, created the conditions necessary for an extraordinary transformation.

The Ice-Fire Howling Wolf began to change, its enormous body enveloped in a swirling mixture of red and blue light as its form rapidly condensed.

A system notification rang out.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Player Stonehaven! You have successfully captured the Divine Beast, Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, through Taming. Furthermore, thanks to your exceptionally high Luck, Taming’s hidden effect has been triggered, transforming the Divine Beast, Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, into an Ice-Fire Howling Wolf pet egg![

Marcus’s mind went blank for a moment.

Then, overwhelming excitement surged through him.

He had actually done it!

At the very last possible moment, his high Luck had come through for him, allowing him to successfully capture a Divine Beast. After all the failed attempts, the desperate attacks, and the constant threat of the wolf breaking free, his gamble had finally paid off.

He had a Divine Beast!

Before Marcus could fully savor his success, another system notification appeared.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Player Stonehaven, on successfully capturing the Divine Beast, Ice-Fire Howling Wolf! Your Taming proficiency has increased, and Intermediate Taming has advanced to Advanced Taming!]

"Swoosh!"

A surge of experience points flooded in, causing Marcus’s Taming skill to advance rapidly. Not only had Intermediate Taming evolved into Advanced Taming, but the skill had also risen directly to Advanced Level 30.

Marcus couldn’t help letting out a silent sigh.

Capturing a Divine Beast really was something else. The rewards were every bit as extraordinary as he had imagined, and the improvement to his Taming skill alone was worth celebrating. With Advanced Taming now at Level 30, his future attempts to capture powerful monsters would undoubtedly become much easier.

Still, he had no time to stand around admiring his good fortune. Lady Silvia was still in danger, and the struggle between her and the Spider Demoness’s soul had yet to reach its conclusion.

Marcus quickly turned his attention back to the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf.

Amid a rapidly spinning radiance of red and blue, the Divine Beast’s enormous body began shrinking at an astonishing rate. Its massive frame contracted, the swirling elemental energy drawing inward as its once-terrifying presence diminished before his eyes.

In less than two seconds, the transformation was complete.

Where the mighty Divine Beast had stood moments earlier, a round pet egg now rested on the ground, its surface shimmering with intertwined red and blue patterns.

Marcus stared at it, his excitement rising all over again.

So this was Taming’s hidden effect. Rather than simply capturing the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf as a pet, it had transformed the Divine Beast into a pet egg.

And now, he had a Divine Beast waiting to hatch.