Chapter 99 – Demon-type Ferocious Beast

The wilderness.

Red Earth Forest.

This vast forest, located fifty kilometers south of Ningjiang City, was renowned for its red soil covering the ground.

However, beyond that, there was nothing else of any value within the forest.

Even Ferocious Beasts were rarely seen.

As a result, very few Beast Tamers ever came here.

In comparison, Beast Tamers were more accustomed to heading to the Myriad Insect Plain, a few kilometers away.

Countless Insect Type Ferocious Beasts thrived there, making it a favored destination for Beast Tamers who favored Insect Type Pet Beasts.

Yet today, Red Earth Forest had received a few visitors.

“Hey, Xiaoyan, are you really sure you saw an Aurora Beast run this way?”

A pretty young woman in her early twenties asked in a low voice while scanning their surroundings warily.

Like her companions, her footsteps were extremely light.

The group of four walked across the leaf-strewn ground, their footsteps so faint they were almost negligible.

Hearing her companion’s skeptical question, Mo Xiaoyan couldn’t help but roll her eyes and replied with irritation:

“How many times do I have to say it? I really did see it—it was definitely an Aurora Beast!”

“But we’ve been searching for so long now. We haven’t found a single trace, let alone an Aurora Beast—not even footprints.”

The pretty young woman muttered under her breath.

“Besides, why would an Aurora Beast show up in a desolate place like Red Earth Forest? Even the bugs don’t want to forage here.”

Mo Xiaoyan shot the pretty young woman a glare and said, “If you don’t believe me, why did you even bother coming along?”

“Isn’t it for your sake? One of your Pet Beasts needs Aurora Beast fur as its Evolutionary Primary Material, right?”

“Wang Xiaojing! I don’t need—”

“Alright, enough!”

The girl walking in front suddenly turned around, cutting off their bickering.

“We’ll search for two more hours. If we still find nothing, we head back.”

As the Vice President of the club and a Third Year senior, Lu Ling’s words carried weight. Mo Xiaoyan and Wang Xiaojing exchanged a glance, stuck out their tongues, and dared not say another word.

Guan Ning, watching from the side, a flicker of amusement passed through her eyes.

It had been nearly a week since she’d come out to train with the senior club members.

The gains during this period had been extremely fruitful.

Not to mention the large quantity of Ferocious Beast materials they’d collected.

More importantly, her Pet Beasts’ strength had improved significantly.

The Blazing Eagle had reached the third rank, fifth stage.

The Spike-Tailed Lion, which she had recently contracted, had also smoothly advanced to the third rank, sixth stage.

Compared to before they set out, her strength could be said to have made a leap forward.

Guan Ning was confident that in the upcoming month-end assessment, she could raise her ranking by a dozen or so places.

It wasn’t even impossible to break into the top ten of her year.

“I wonder how my brother’s Secret Realm exploration is going?”

Guan Ning suddenly thought of Lin Ze and felt a slight pang of worry.

Although she knew Lin Ze was formidable, a place like the Stone-Condensing Secret Realm wasn’t something even Third Year students could claim to be absolutely safe in.

Inevitably, she couldn’t help but worry.

Just then, Lu Ling’s voice suddenly rang out, jolting Guan Ning from her thoughts.

“There’s movement up ahead—everyone, be careful!”

The group halted in their tracks, all on high alert.

To avoid making too much noise and scaring off the Aurora Beast, they hadn’t summoned many Pet Beasts.

They had only cast Soul Guardian on themselves, then each summoned one Pet Beast to keep by their side.

That was why they had made so little sound along the way.

Now, the four of them silently slowed their pace, advancing cautiously toward the front.

Soon.

They arrived at the source of the sound.

What met their eyes was a patch of ground in complete disarray.

Red soil and fallen leaves were mixed together like mud, and the area was pockmarked with craters—clearly the site of a recent battle.

And in the center of the clearing, a tall, ferocious-looking monster was lying on the ground.

The creature resembled a powerful, heavily muscled gorilla.

Its rust-red skin was caked with filth.

A foul stench emanated from its entire body.

Even from over ten meters away, a nauseating odor could faintly be detected.

At that moment, it was lying on the ground, gnawing relentlessly at a corpse.

From Guan Ning and the others’ position, they could clearly see the monster tearing flesh and blood apart with its sharp teeth.

The gruesome scene immediately made the girls furrow their brows tightly.

Mo Xiaoyan frowned as she observed for a moment, then suddenly widened her eyes.

“Wait… isn’t that the Aurora Beast?”

The others were startled and looked closely, only to find that the corpse the monster was devouring was indeed the Aurora Beast.

“My Aurora Beast…”

Mo Xiaoyan’s little face instantly fell.

With the corpse chewed into such a miserable state, there was no hope of harvesting a complete Aurora Beast pelt.

The Evolutionary Primary Material they had painstakingly discovered was gone just like that.

“Speaking of which, what kind of Ferocious Beast is that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.”

Wang Xiaojing said in confusion.

Guan Ning also wore a puzzled expression. She was about to speak when the corner of her eye caught sight of Lu Ling’s pretty face turning somewhat pale. She couldn’t help but ask in surprise:

“What’s wrong, Senior Lu Ling?”

Lu Ling snapped back to her senses and quickly lowered her voice:

“Be careful not to make a sound. Let’s turn back and leave this place. Whatever you do, don’t startle that monster!”

A rare look of uncontrollable urgency appeared on Lu Ling’s face.

This reaction greatly surprised the other three girls.

However, trusting Lu Ling as they did, they didn’t ask questions and quietly retreated, preparing to leave.

But just at that moment, the monster’s nostrils suddenly twitched a few times, as if it had caught a scent.

The next instant.

It abruptly raised its head, its cold red beast eyes staring directly at the spot where the girls were hiding.

“Run!”

Seeing this, Lu Ling no longer concealed herself. With a sharp cry, she grabbed Guan Ning and turned to flee.

Mo Xiaoyan and Wang Xiaojing followed without a second thought.

“ROAR!”

An earth-shaking roar came from behind them.

The monster abandoned the corpse without hesitation and gave chase in great strides.

Despite its tall, bulky frame, its movements as it ran and weaved through the trees were exceptionally swift and agile.

Just like a real ape.

Hearing the roar from behind, the girls’ expressions all turned grim.

Wang Xiaojing, being impatient by nature, ran while asking in alarm:

“Senior, what exactly is that monster?”

Lu Ling’s expression was more solemn than ever before.

“That’s an Ape Demon, a type of Tier 6 Demon-type Ferocious Beast.”

The words “Demon-type Ferocious Beast” seemed to carry some kind of magic, causing Guan Ning and the other two to change color simultaneously.

The Demon Type was an extremely special category among Ferocious Beasts.

Their combat power was formidable.

Even comparable to Dragon-type Ferocious Beasts.

Yet they were often excluded from the selection of Pet Beasts.

Very few Beast Tamers would Contract a Demon-type Ferocious Beast as their Pet Beast.

This was because Ferocious Beasts of this Attribute Type were generally violent and cruel by nature. Once Contracted as Pet Beasts, they would gradually “corrupt” the Beast Tamer.

Slowly turning them into vicious, dark, and twisted individuals.

Until they eventually became The Fallen—those inclined toward Chaos and capable of every evil.

And this is precisely why they are called Demon-type Ferocious Beasts.

But at the same time,

Demon-type Ferocious Beasts also possess traits such as rapid growth and swift strength enhancement.

Therefore, Beast Tamers who contract Demon-type monsters see their strength increase far beyond that of ordinary Beast Tamers.

So many Beast Tamers, fully aware that Demon-type Ferocious Beasts are akin to a slow-acting poison, still dive headfirst into it for the sake of gaining power.

It is worth mentioning that

Demon-type Ferocious Beasts do not live in the mortal world. The only way to contract them is through summoning via a special ritual, followed by the contract itself.

As a result, Demon-type Ferocious Beasts that appear in the real world are almost always owned Pet Beasts.

In other words,

There must be a member of The Fallen nearby!

Once this realization dawned on them, Guan Ning and the other two women finally understood why Lu Ling had insisted without a second thought that they flee earlier.

A member of The Fallen possessing a Tier 6 Demon-type Pet Beast was absolutely not something a few students like them could handle.