Chapter 73: Heavy-Armored Antelope

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Heavy-Armored Antelope

"The number of Soul Beasts on this mountain... it’s a bit much. And this mountain seems higher than I expected!"

Li Heng climbed the mountain until evening. Inside his Space Stone, he had added four Soul Beast Score Cards and two common medicinal herbs, though none were worth many points.

He estimated that night would fall soon, so he stopped heading for the summit and decided to turn back and descend the way he came.

However, the climb up had been relatively smooth, but the way down brought a small disturbance.

As Li Heng reached an area with lush vegetation, he spotted a Soul Beast he vaguely recognized.

He remembered it being specially marked in the exam information. Due to safety concerns, he had paid extra attention to the Soul Beasts at Tier Two and above.

This was also the first Soul Beast he’d encountered since entering the secret realm that gave him even a slight feeling of pressure.

Heavy-Armored Antelope: Healthy

Level: 21

Tier: Tier Two Low-Grade Soul Beast

Strength: 21

Agility: 21

Spirit: 19

Soul Energy: 380

Soul Energy Skills: Horn Thrust, Armor Slam, Woolen Defense Curl.

——

Heavy-Armored Antelope, Tier Two Low-Grade Soul Beast: 78 points.

A whopping 78 points!

That was 28 points more than a Tier Two herb of rare value.

Back on Earth, that was enough for a perfect score on an essay exam.

Of course, what really caught Li Heng’s attention was that glaring 380 Soul Energy!

And the Heavy-Armored Antelope’s body itself!

’This antelope Soul Beast... I bet it would taste delicious roasted!’

’Wait... what am I thinking? Ghost Butterfly Illusion Sword!’

Li Heng stared at the Heavy-Armored Antelope. He didn’t know why, but despite having just eaten his fill, he suddenly felt hungry again. His first thought was of a whole roasted lamb.

’That foodie Bao Yaoyao must be rubbing off on me...’

In truth, Li Heng had long since stopped fearing Tier Two Soul Beasts. He was even confident he could kill the Blood Wolf King of Wolf King Mountain without taking a single scratch.

It was just that the Blood Wolf King had no sense of martial honor. It always hid behind a huge pack of Blood Wolves and would never face him one-on-one.

If there was a fight, it was always Li Heng against their entire pack.

Now, seeing this lone Tier Two Soul Beast, Li Heng wasn’t about to let it get away.

This would be his first official battle against a Tier Two Soul Beast!

Though his mind had wandered for a moment, Li Heng quickly refocused and unleashed his strongest combo.

The Heavy-Armored Antelope was a Tier Two Soul Beast, after all. The "armor" on its torso, in particular, gave it excellent natural defense and, with it, immense confidence.

So, when it saw a human charging at it, it didn’t sense any threat. It immediately hardened its armor and charged straight at the newcomer.

Faced with a direct counterattack from a Tier Two Soul Beast—and what looked like a Soul Energy Skill at that—Li Heng decided to play it safe and avoid a direct clash, despite having superior stats.

He activated his Wolf Walk Technique, nimbly dodging the Heavy-Armored Antelope’s attack. He spun around and swung his sword, and suddenly, bright silver butterflies appeared, fluttering gracefully!

Bright silver butterflies appeared on the Heavy-Armored Antelope’s hind hooves, its tail, and a spot about three centimeters below its tail.

Its attack having missed, the Heavy-Armored Antelope saw the human with the Longsword suddenly appear behind it. For some reason, it felt a sudden chill in a certain area.

Its first instinct was to turn, readjust its posture, and attack again. But just as it began to pivot, the bright silver butterflies appeared right before its eyes!

This was the first time in its life the Heavy-Armored Antelope had ever seen such beautiful butterflies. It fell into a trance, standing stunned on the spot without taking any action.

Then, waves of piercing pain came from behind, and it lost consciousness forever...

"Whew~ That antelope’s armor is really tough! Good thing I dodged, or that might have taken some work."

The target Li Heng ultimately chose for his sword strike... well, he felt a little bad for the Soul Beast, but he had previously tried stabbing its armor.

He could pierce it, but it took a bit too much effort and was a little troublesome, so Li Heng chose a different route of attack.

The result pleased him; he had taken it down with ease.

’Hm?’

’It dropped something?’

As the Heavy-Armored Antelope fell, a ball of blue light floated out. This was the first time Li Heng had gotten a blue light orb from a Soul Beast, so he was naturally curious.

Name: Heavy Armor Arm Guard

Group: Soul Energy Equipment

Value: Rare

Effects:

1. Wearer’s Strength +9, Agility -3, Spirit -3.

2. Defense of the equipped part +4, immune to common toxins.

3. Wearer’s damage resistance +1.

4. Equip four pieces of Heavy Armor equipment to activate the Heavy Armor set effect.

[Consume 1000 Soul Energy to upgrade this equipment?]

"It’s a set piece?!"

Li Heng had been curious for a while, wondering if there was such a thing as equipment sets among the Soul Energy Equipment.

How to evaluate this piece of equipment... For someone who liked melee combat, or those who went for a "tank" build, this would definitely be a top-tier item.

But for the current Li Heng, it felt just so-so. At least, he didn’t have any strong desire to wear it.

Not only did it reduce his Agility and Spirit, but the crucial thing was that it wasn’t very good-looking. For now, at least, Li Heng didn’t want to put it on.

"I’ll just put it in the Space Stone for now and deal with it later!"

After stowing the Heavy Armor Arm Guard, Li Heng gave the Heavy-Armored Antelope a proper "look over." After a moment of thought, he decided to drag the antelope down the mountain to their pre-arranged resting spot.

’Hm?’

’Is Bao Yaoyao not here?’

’She must have gone out looking for points, too.’

Seeing that Bao Yaoyao wasn’t around, Li Heng found a spot about 60 meters from their resting point. He cut off the Heavy-Armored Antelope’s four legs and took two racks of ribs, discarding the rest in the wilderness.

He also gathered more firewood and some small plants nearby, preparing to add more fuel to the fire during the night.

By the time he had finished with these chores, night had fallen, but Li Heng still hadn’t seen Bao Yaoyao return.

Li Heng didn’t dwell on it and started preparing the barbecue by himself. Whether Bao Yaoyao was here or not, or coming back or not, he still had to eat.

About twenty minutes later...

Just as Li Heng’s first batch of barbecue was about ready, Bao Yaoyao appeared, running back!

Charging back with gusto!

"It smells so good! Ten times better than the chicken legs from earlier! Li Heng, Li Heng, what are you roasting? Are those ribs and legs?"

Bao Yaoyao kept sniffing the air, her eyes practically glowing. She stared eagerly at Li Heng and the food he was turning over the fire, which was dripping with golden fat!

She had smelled it from over fifty meters away, and she knew from a single whiff that Li Heng was the one cooking. You could say she came skipping and running all the way over!

Hearing Bao Yaoyao’s question, Li Heng answered instinctively, "The legs and ribs of a Heavy-Armored Antelope. We’re in for a treat!"

"Huh?! This... This is a Heavy-Armored Antelope?"

Hearing Li Heng’s casual reply, Bao Yaoyao was instantly stunned!