Chapter 1147: A Wounded Team

Unknown Land

The Tier-9 Tiger Beast further inquired among the other beasts. It wanted to know whether other Human Tier-9 Beast Tamers were present at the wilderness border.

However, the Tier-8 and Tier-7 beasts had only sensed the presence of a single Tier-9 Human Beast Tamer. The Tiger Beast then decided to observe.

It had originally decided to send the beasts to the wilderness border, but now it had changed its mind.

Roar!

The Tier-9 Tiger Beast was enraged by the current situation.

Not only had a Human Tier-9 Beast Tamer appeared at the border, but some of the capable Tier-8 beasts had also been killed by it because of the revolt. It was facing back-to-back setbacks.

Roar!

It raised its head and roared toward the sky. The roar sent a shock wave across the land, suppressing the other gathered beasts.

If that furious roar had been directed at them, they would have died instantly. Fortunately, the Tiger Beast held back its range.

[Don’t leave my territory until further notice.]

The Tiger Beast commanded the others. Hearing this, the corrupted beasts obeyed immediately. They were relieved they were not being sent to the border again.

Swoosh!

The Tier-9 Tiger Beast then retreated into its hideout. It did not want to stay out in the open any longer; otherwise, it might have lashed out and attacked the beasts gathered there.

A moment later, it was gone.

The remaining corrupted beasts dispersed one by one, returning to their respective dens within the territory.

...

Wilderness

As time passed, Jeremy Night crossed paths with other Beast Taming Teams. He learned from them that governors and other high-tier beast tamers had intervened to eliminate the Tier-8 beasts.

He was not surprised. He already suspected something had happened, which explained why those beasts had pushed so far into the inner land earlier.

Now, the Beast Taming Teams were falling back. In particular, the Beast Tamers who had sustained injuries decided to retreat and recover.

There was no need for them to remain behind. The most Tier-8 beasts were already dead, and the remaining beasts were being handled by other capable teams, giving the wounded a chance to pull back safely.

Jeremy Night did not ask further questions, though he still lacked clear answers. He understood that this was only a temporary pause.

If the crisis had truly been resolved, orders to return would have been issued immediately. He decided to set up camp and spend the night where he was.

He had met and rescued several teams lately, and his name along with Stella’s was quickly spreading through word of mouth. People were beginning to recognize that someone skilled was roaming the inner land.

He found elevated ground, a natural mound to rest on. The view from the mound was clear, allowing him to spot threats from all directions, so he felt no need to conceal himself in caves or rocky crevices.

As long as there was no beast tide composed of higher-tier monsters, he was relatively safe anywhere.

Time slipped by.

The night deepened. The six-winged butterfly rested within his mental space, steadily recovering her energy. She had expended a great deal of power slaying a couple of Tier-7 beasts earlier.

While Jeremy Night could handle one or two of them at a time, Stella was capable of wiping out an entire pack within seconds.

For a while, he had not spotted any beasts nearby, nor were there any other Beast Taming Teams in the vicinity.

He lay flat on the ground, still clad in his full set of armor. It served as passive training; he was accustomed to fighting in full gear.

He did not even bother removing his helmet for comfort. Gaping up at the stars overhead, he felt a brief sense of calm wash over him.

Exhaustion eventually overtook him without his realizing it, and he closed his eyes to sleep. The surrounding landscape was pitch-black, steeped in the raw scent of the wilderness.

A cold breeze swept past.

Past midnight, a six-member Beast Taming Team passed through the area.

They all belonged to the Beast Taming Association-official members whose families shared deep ties with the organization, bearing no allegiance to other factions.

Their current condition was grim. Battered and bruised, the Tier-6 squad, comprising three middle-aged men and three middle-aged women of similar age-struggled forward.

They were retreating toward the city after barely escaping a Tier-7 Centipede Beast deep in the core zone.

If the beast had not already been injured, it would have wiped them out entirely.

Even so, the beast’s sheer size had inflicted severe damage on the team, and they had only survived thanks to their lifeline beasts.

Along their route, they noticed a prominent mound ahead. Just as they took a detour to skirt around it, their lifeline beasts alerted them to someone lying motionless atop the rise.

Swoosh!

The team halted abruptly, exchanging uneasy glances.

"What’s going on?"

"Is someone dead or injured?" a female Beast Tamer asked.

"My lifeline beast says the tamer is still alive," one of the men replied.

The other beasts confirmed the same detail.

A brunette Beast Tamer stepped forward.

"Let’s go check. It could be one of our own. If they’re injured, they might need our help," she urged.

The others looked conflicted. They were already running for their lives from the Tier-7 Centipede, with no guarantee the beast had abandoned the hunt.

"We don’t have time, Leonora," one of the male tamers objected, his tone sharp and dismissive. He had no intention of lingering.

"He’s right, Leonora. We need to reach the city perimeter immediately. That centipede could still track us by our scent," her female companion added.

Leonora remained hesitant. As a fellow Beast Tamer, she could not stomach abandoning someone in need.

If she walked away now, she knew she would regret it later. Even so, the rest of the group pressed on, knowing her stubborn nature and urging her to keep moving with them.

Everyone looked towards her.