"Hmph," Tu Tian snorted.
"The academy's promotion has nothing to do with me; I'm not working for the academy."
"Speaking of which makes me angry. When there's something good, I'm 'dear nephew,' but when there's nothing, I'm just 'student Tu Tian.' My aunt treats me purely as a tool."
The white-browed old man chuckled and said no more.
They continued deeper, climbing a slope, when they suddenly found the area ahead in disarray. The corpse of a contracted beast lay on the ground, covered in numerous wounds. Its valuable parts had all been removed.
It was clear a fierce battle had taken place here, and not long ago.
The white-browed elder looked at the bloodstains on the ground that had not yet dried, as well as the traces of fighting in the woods, and said faintly, "A classic two-on-one. Judging by the extent of the destruction, the contracted beast of the beast tamer must have had a combat power of at least 500."
Tu Tian became a little interested.
"Can you tell who did it?"
The white-browed old man looked at the empty corpse, from which all valuable parts had been scavenged, and pondered for a moment.
"Judging by the method of killing, it's likely related to hired beast tamers. These guys value money over their lives. Before we came, we contacted the head of the Wenmin City Association responsible for this area, and she mentioned that there were two hired beast tamers active in this region."
Tu Tian's expression brightened.
"Old man, let's go back! They've already killed everything, why are we still here!"
"Heh heh, don't rush, let's go a bit further in."
The white-browed old man continued to lead the way inward. Before long, they arrived at the side of a stream.
A simple grill was set up there, with charcoal fire underneath. At the same time, there were also gnawed-clean bones scattered around.
"Who dares to camp here?" Tu Tian picked up a bone from the ground and examined it carefully. After a moment, his expression changed. "This is the bone of a contracted beast!"
"I didn't expect there to be someone who understands how to live better than me. The Beast Tamer Association explicitly forbids the arbitrary slaughter of contracted beasts. Taking advantage of the beast tide, they've come directly to the forest for a buffet."
The white-browed old man looked around, but his attention was drawn to the beast hide nearby. The beast hide was still attached to the contracted beast's head. He reached out and flipped open the eyelids of the beast's head.
Before the old man could speak, the young woman beside him screamed, "Red eyes! This is a berserk contracted beast! Someone is eating a berserk contracted beast! Are they not afraid of death!"
Several young women felt nauseous and involuntarily took a few steps back.
Experts have pointed out that berserk contracted beasts are wild contracted beasts infected with a special virus. Once this virus invades, the contracted beasts lose their reason, and neither friend nor foe can escape their wrath.
But since it's a virus, it's likely to be contagious. What if humans eat berserk contracted beasts and get infected by the virus?
They dared not think further, feeling as if a pair of eyes were watching them from the darkness!
"Was it done by hired beast tamers?" Tu Tian asked.
The white-browed old man shook his head. "There was only one person here before, so it's unlikely to be them." He looked at the sky. "Why don't we spend the night here? I must say, this place, nestled by the mountains and waters, is indeed a good spot for camping."
"No!" Tu Tian said decisively, "I absolutely refuse to use a place that others have used!" He looked at the young women. "What do you say?"
The young women vied to speak, "Brother Tu Tian is right!"
"We listen to Brother Tu Tian!"
The white-browed old man sighed helplessly. "I said earlier that some of the more ferocious berserk contracted beasts are active at night. However, if there is danger, my abilities are limited, and I can only protect one person."
He smiled at the young women who were chiming in and fanning the flames. "If there's a risk to your lives, I won't be able to look after you all, so you should think carefully."
One of the young women swallowed hard and took a few steps back. Just as she was about to speak, Tu Tian pulled her over.
"Don't worry! I'll protect you from any danger!"
Tu Tian raised his head proudly, a look of disdain on his face.
The young women cast surprised glances at him, a sense of security surging in their hearts.
"Ai..." The white-browed old man shook his head and gave a wry smile.
As they were talking, a "rustling" sound suddenly came from the ground.
Soon, the sound grew louder and closer, and the ground began to tremble faintly, as if a large contracted beast was charging toward them.
The white-browed old man's expression tensed. "Be careful!"
Just then, in the darkness ahead, a large, dense mass of black dots surged forth, like a tide, vying to get ahead!
The white-browed old man shouted, "Quick, get up the trees!"
The group was also startled and scrambled up the trees.
Once they were all in the trees, they looked down. The place where they had been standing was now covered in dense insect beasts, numbering over a thousand. Their eyes were all scarlet, and they glared menacingly at the people in the trees.
The young women felt their scalps tingle.
"Ah! What is this! It's so scary!"
"Brother Tu Tian, I'm so scared!"
They shrieked continuously, terrified and at a loss. These young women were only at the beginner beast tamer level, some not even that. Seeing this scene, how could they not be scared?
Tu Tian remained calm, his expression becoming grave. "Could these be [Marching Ants]?"
The white-browed old man nodded. "Indeed, but these [Marching Ants] have all been infected."
"Hmph! A mere low-grade contracted beast, what can it do even if it goes berserk!"
Tu Tian smiled wickedly. "My [Earth New Star Cannon] can blow them to death with one shot!" As he said this, Tu Tian took out a beast scroll, preparing to summon his contracted beast.
This super manly moment immediately drew shrieks from the young women. They collectively climaxed again, unaware that the thick trees, several meters in diameter, were already beginning to sway.
With Tu Tian's strength, dealing with a normal swarm of a thousand or so insects would be incredibly easy. This was his innate pride.
"Wait!" The white-browed old man stopped him. "Ordinary [Marching Ants] have almost no combat power, but they have all been infected. Their current combat power is immeasurable!"
The white-browed old man took out a piece of evenly textured, bright gemstone from his storage space and hurled it towards the ant swarm. What happened next stunned everyone.
The bright gemstone dissolved instantly before it even hit the ground!
This scene terrified everyone. What if it had been themselves falling down?
Tu Tian's eyes widened. "Is this a Light Stone?"
The white-browed old man nodded sternly. Light Stones are important materials for forging contracted beast equipment. They are hard, and ordinary contracted beasts cannot break them. When mining them, specific contracted beasts are sent. Yet now, this high-quality Light Stone had simply vanished in an instant!
Feeling provoked, the [Marching Ants] became even more frenzied. They climbed up the trees one after another, and under their fierce assault, the several large trees began to shake violently.
They were in danger of collapsing at any moment.
"No! These trees are about to break! We have to act!"