Chapter 345: Ten Miles Outskirts (3.5k)
“Rumble!”
Accompanying the sound of thunder, several silver lightning bolts inexplicably appeared in the sky. A misty aura filled the air. In just a few minutes, under the glow of the streetlights, fine strands of rain began to fall.
Since it was only a drizzle, Su Jiu wore a bamboo hat and a black robe, arriving at the top of the city wall to gather with everyone. She knew they had seen her face, but it was safer to remain hidden once outside the city.
Looking at the unusually gloomy sky outside the city, she landed in a corner, leaning one foot against the wall as she did so, to avoid getting wet from the rain.
On the city wall, on a higher tier, the burly bounty hunter with a scar on his face waited for a while longer. People kept arriving. After taking a headcount and confirming everyone was present, he solemnly said, “According to information from some scavengers, five hours ago, the Black Cloud Beast appeared about ten kilometers away from the city. We need to go out of the city. The location has been sent to your phones, please head there as soon as possible.”
Scavengers were people who lingered outside the city without official affiliation. They mainly survived by collecting materials dropped by monsters to sell for money. Most did not have high cultivation levels, generally being around the Advanced Stage Warrior level.
“Ten miles out of the city?”
As soon as the burly bounty hunter finished speaking, some people began to question him. Another Master Adventurer, looking directly at the bounty hunter, spoke up and asked,
“Esteemed employer, setting aside the fact that monsters’ ferocious nature is further aggravated in such a rainy night, and that it is currently the dark tide defense period, if we go that far, there’s a high chance we’ll encounter powerful monsters.”
Following the Master Adventurer’s doubts, whispers quickly spread among the adventurers. This made the burly bounty hunter’s expression somewhat displeased. Letting the rain hit his face, he looked at the crowd below showing signs of retreat and hurriedly said,
“Everyone, if you are willing to join our team, after we successfully capture a Black Cloud Beast, any other monsters captured afterward, including Black Cloud Beasts, will be yours to keep.”
“Mr. Employer, your reward is not enough for me to take such a risk. We’ll cooperate next time.”
“Heh, with that meager reward, you expect us to risk our lives.”
Hearing these somewhat exaggerated promises, the adventurers frequently let out cold laughs. No one was foolish enough to believe such empty promises. Some even shook their heads and turned to leave.
“You guys…”
The burly bounty hunter was instantly dumbfounded. He wanted to call them back but didn’t know how to increase the reward. After all, capturing the Black Cloud Beast required him to share with his original team, and the actual reward offered wasn’t that generous.
Squinting her eyes, Su Jiu actually felt that the idea of going ten miles out of the city was somewhat unstable. If they were truly attacked by a horde of monsters, without absolute strength, they would likely be torn to shreds.
A woman who was also dressed as a bounty hunter waved her hand, scanned the remaining adventurers, and then said loudly, “Everyone, don’t rush. There is some danger this time, but it’s definitely not as much as you think. This information wasn’t just obtained by us. That scavenger dealer also sold it to others, and some students participating in the world competition have already gone to scout.”
Looking at the remaining team of about ten adventurers, the burly bounty hunter’s expression grew more and more grim. Then, after a reminder from his female companion, he reacted and waved his hand, saying, “That’s right, everyone, don’t panic. It’s not just us going there. As far as I know, the Holy Son of the Divine Elephant Kingdom, who is at the Battle King level, is also heading there. We are very safe.”
“Tsk, a bunch of useless trash. It’s just going out of the city, and they’re panicking like this. No wonder they’ll spend their lives as high-level adventurers and die waiting.”
Just as the bounty hunter finished speaking, a somewhat rough voice rang out. Su Jiu turned her head in that direction and saw the buzz-cut guy from before. His eyes were full of disdain.
The enchanting woman, half-leaning on his arm, her slender eyes glancing at the adventurers who wanted to leave, chuckled and said, “Heh, you people are truly useless. If there’s no danger, why would they give you rewards?”
The people in the crowd blushed and paled upon hearing these words. They exchanged glances for a moment before stopping their retreat, looking helplessly at the bounty hunter, awaiting instructions.
Meanwhile, Su Jiu, in the corner of the wall, felt a flicker of surprise. The Holy Son from the Divine Elephant Kingdom was also coming to capture the Black Cloud Beast?
While the Black Cloud Beast indeed had a chance to evolve into a Dark Erosion Attribute Unicorn, its value shouldn’t be enough for that Holy Son to snatch it. This made Su Jiu feel that it might not be as simple as just the Black Cloud Beast…
Through the competition data, Su Jiu also learned information about that Holy Son. His name was – Aishi. In his photo, he had a bowl-cut hairstyle, and his strength was at the Initial Stage Battle King level. His father was a famous wealthy businessman in the Divine Elephant Kingdom, whose family possessed enough wealth to hire experts at the War God level.
“Everyone, the location is on your phones. I’ll go ahead to meet with others. You must follow up within an hour.”
Seeing that everyone was pacified, the burly bounty hunter didn’t dare to delay. He stomped his foot, leaped into the sky, gave a brief instruction, and then swooped down, quickly heading towards the target point under the cover of night.
Seeing the employer personally heading ten kilometers away to the mountainous terrain, the adventurers exchanged glances and then charged out. Soon, only Su Jiu and the buzz-cut guy were left on the field. The latter blocked the rain with an energy shield, leisurely smoking a cigarette, seemingly not in a hurry.
“Little sister, it’s very dangerous outside the city. Don’t think that the Adventurer King honor obtained by relying on adults is your own honor.”
As if noticing Su Jiu by the wall, the buzz-cut guy raised his eyebrows and spoke with an inexplicable meaning. He recognized Su Jiu as the person who had previously been certified as an Adventurer King, but his words still held disbelief, given her age and qualifications.
“Uncle, mind yourself. Don’t wait for me, a little sister, to save you.”
Su Jiu pressed down the brim of her bamboo hat, chuckled, and then transformed into a shadow, landing below the city entrance. However, unlike others who walked through the rain, she discreetly took advantage of the night and, with a “bang!”, transformed into a cluster of bloody butterflies and rushed towards the destination. On the butterfly wings, there were small white flowers that emitted a faint glow in the night.
This was a change brought about by Bairnis’s cocooning. It seemed that the current Su Jiu was not just Vivian’s descendant, but rather a new bloodline of the blood clan.
“If you don’t listen to the elders, you’ll suffer.”
Watching Su Jiu’s departing figure, the buzz-cut guy flicked his cigarette, shook his head, and followed with the enchanting woman at a very fast pace.
However, he quickly discovered that Su Jiu’s shadow had completely disappeared. No matter how far he chased, he couldn’t find her. This was a very strange thing, considering he had avian bloodline and was known for his speed.
“Swoosh-swoosh—”
Su Jiu’s figure glided through clusters of bushes, but the monsters dared not attack these little butterflies. Their scarlet eyes showed signs of apprehension.
As she was about to approach her destination, she suddenly stopped controlling the butterfly swarm, slowly coalesced into human form, squinted her eyes, and looked up through the rain, murmuring softly, “There’s a Battle King level combat aura. It’s indeed not simple.”
Golden light continuously flickered in the dark night sky. Intense energy fluctuations repeatedly produced sounds like muffled thunder. Even from below the ground, Su Jiu could feel the earth-shaking sensation.
Her eyes were fixed on the distant night sky, where gold and black almost covered half the sky. The energy ripples from their collisions made Su Jiu’s black outer robe flutter loudly.
A thunderous roar echoed again. Su Jiu, using the forest as cover, scrambled to the top of a rather tall tree. From here, she could clearly see the two sides fighting in the sky.
The golden figure was a skinny monk. Opposite him was a horse-like creature that was seven to eight meters long. Its mane had a dark luster, and the light on its black unicorn was so dazzling that it was somewhat blinding even at night. Its four slender legs had hooves that emitted black gas resembling flames.
And Su Jiu was very familiar with that black flame – it was the Dark Erosion Attribute! She realized that the creature before her was not a Black Cloud Beast at all, but a legendary high-level monster…
A Unicorn!
Looking at the battle erupting above, Su Jiu leaned against a tree and sighed inwardly, “That skinny young monk should be Aishi, right? Coming here for the extremely high-value Unicorn is understandable. This black unicorn should be the leader evolved from this group of Black Cloud Beasts, with strength reaching the Half-King level.”
Then, her gaze shifted further, looking at the mountainous terrain not far away, where the figures were dense, and several monsters resembling the black unicorns in the sky were being pursued.
“As expected, there’s a herd… However, it’s unlikely that only Black Cloud Beasts are in such deep territory.”
Su Jiu also spotted the burly bounty hunter from before. He was now grinning widely, as if his teammates had already captured a Black Cloud Beast.
In the night sky, Aishi raised his staff again, releasing a golden ring that controlled the unicorn. Then, his eyes filled with a bit of yearning. He suppressed his voice and said, “You will be my number two Battle King level beast pet, and I will surely help you advance to the Battle King level.”
“Heh, human, don’t say such fine-sounding things. I don’t need your help to advance to the Battle King level.”
The unicorn actually let out quite a neutral voice, its eyes fixed on Aishi, with strong distrust in its words.
Then, its horn on its head emitted a faint glow, breaking free from the light circle. It glanced at its tribe being captured everywhere, and its eyes filled with intense anger, “You humans are capturing our tribe on a large scale, and you still want me to submit? Dream on!”
Saying that, it prepared to fight, its horn glowing brilliantly. But just as Aishi was about to counter, in the next moment, it shot towards the sky, its figure incredibly fast.
While it spoke of its tribe, it knew that if it ran any slower, it would be captured.
“Damn it!”
Aishi watched the black unicorn trying to escape, his eyes blank, and then he cursed and chased after it.
Seeing the two become two streaks of meteors chasing each other in the sky, Su Jiu seemed to have thought of something. She touched her earring-like E Huo and softly said, “E Huo, it’s time to work. Go and sniff around if there’s anything delicious nearby. This is very important to me.”
Having read the novel, Su Jiu knew that Bai Ming had a Holy Light Unicorn. She also knew that when the Holy Light Unicorn transformed, it would produce an extremely rare substance. That substance allowed his girlfriend, who was not sure which number in the Holy Light element, to gain extraordinary attributes.
This Dark Erosion Attribute Unicorn likely had such things as well, and it seemed that it had also transformed not long ago, so there was a high chance of it having its dwelling place!
If Su Jiu’s Scarlet Flame and Dark Erosion both reached Extraordinary Level 1, she felt that the damage could even rival Extraordinary Level 2 flames, and it might even have a chance to injure a High-Rank Battle King!
