Chapter 116: Red-Winged Flame Dragon

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First update, requesting recommendations.

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Four five-star Cat-Eagles soared steadily through the thin, mist-like clouds. Their speed was not particularly fast, but their flight was remarkably smooth. Arranged in a single line like a squadron, they presented a magnificent sight. Gliding through the swirling clouds, everyone felt as if they were in a fairyland, and the ability to converse with one another kept their spirits high.

With nothing else to do, Lante decided to brief the twenty-one members of the Soul-Extinguishing Mercenary Corps on the various signs and indicators of a beast tide.

Xu Wen immediately pricked up his ears.

Beast tides occur quite frequently in the Blood Alliance...

They are categorized into two types: active and passive.

This has much to do with the martial culture of the Blood Alliance. With hundreds of millions of mercenaries completing missions every day, a large number of magical beasts are culled, leading to an imbalance of low-to-mid-level beasts in certain areas. Naturally, when high-level beasts lose their food source, they are bound to revolt. Furthermore, high-level beasts often act out of self-preservation, organizing themselves to launch attacks against invading human mercenary groups or even striking nearby towns.

Moreover, the intensity of beast tides varies.

Sometimes, only one or several levels of beasts riot due to the aforementioned reasons.

At other times, every single beast in an entire region riots simultaneously!

The weakest are three-star beast tides. Even three-star beasts can form small-scale tides, though these are the least dangerous. In the Blood Alliance, such minor incidents haven't occurred for many years.

The most severe one...

Hundreds of years ago, riots broke out simultaneously across fifteen mountain ranges in the Blood Alliance. Beasts covered the mountains and plains, blocking out the sun. Led by dozens of nine-star beasts, with thousands upon thousands of eight-star beasts, and even the appearance of a legendary dragon-kin beast, they swept through hundreds of cities within a few days, causing countless casualties.

The Blood Alliance was forced to deploy every official and royal mercenary corps to quell the chaos.

That was the most devastating event for the Royal Mercenary Corps and remains a tragic chapter in the history of the Blood Alliance. Over a hundred nine-star powerhouses fell, and countless eight-star warriors perished...

The investigation revealed that the cause was an unknown, mysterious, and powerful mercenary group that had invaded several beast regions and slaughtered dragons, which led the dragon-kin beasts to secretly contact neighboring mountain ranges and ignite the riot.

From that day on, the Blood Alliance established a rule: no mercenary is permitted to venture deep into the core of any mountain range within the activity range of eight-star beasts, and one must never provoke a nine-star beast.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Blood Alliance seemed to have over five hundred nine-star powerhouses... And yet, just a few dozen nine-star beasts caused such heavy casualties?"

Several members of the Soul-Extinguishing Corps looked puzzled and began to ask, "Exactly. Historical records say that the Royal Mercenary Corps at that time numbered over fifty thousand, and almost all of them were eight-star warriors or higher."

Lante sighed bitterly.

"It seems you don't truly understand the strength of magical beasts..."

Before he could finish, Le'e, a new addition to the 'Soul-Extinguishing' unit sitting behind Xu Wen, couldn't help but interject: "Magical beasts are inherently stronger than humans. Aside from intelligence and organization, they surpass us in every aspect..." His tone was chilling, and even though others knew he was providing an answer, they couldn't help but feel a shiver down their spines.

"Le'e is correct." Lante smiled and nodded to those who hadn't fully grasped the point. "Let me give you a simple analogy! If you put a first-star, first-tier magical beast and a first-star, first-tier warrior into the jungle, who do you think would win?"

"The one-star beast, of course. A first-tier warrior is just a beginner who has barely grasped what Battle Qi is... just a student who has never even seen blood."

On the Cat-Eagles, everyone answered in unison.

"That is exactly the reason! While you are still in a peaceful world learning to master Battle Qi, beasts are already hunting in the jungle, struggling for survival. Their bodies and their knowledge are forged in the crucible of combat."

Everyone nodded silently at these words.

"In other words, most magical beasts are natural magical-warriors. In a fair fight, unless a human uses equipment or weapon attributes, it is difficult to deal with a beast alone."

"Therefore, in the Blood Alliance, a beast tide is a call to death for us mercenaries. Once such a situation arises, one must retreat without hesitation, then unite with nearby mercenaries to form the most effective command. Otherwise, it will end in mutual destruction... or total annihilation by the beasts."

"..."

Xu Wen watched Lante in silence. He truly was an excellent mentor. With just a few words, he clarified the strength of the beasts and steered everyone's focus back to the keys of judging a beast tide. A man who knows exactly what to do and why is not surprising to have been personally received by Dean Noding.

However...

Why did Lante, who was once nearly an eight-star Great Swordmaster, have his cultivation regress to the early seven-star stage? And why did he retire from the Royal Mercenary Corps at the age of thirty?

Harboring this question, Xu Wen listened as Lante finished explaining the signs of a beast tide and how to defend against one, recording every detail in his mind.

He was just about to ask when—

The Cat-Eagles suddenly let out high-pitched, terrified cries. Their breathing became erratic as they flapped their wings violently. The students on their backs were caught off guard and struggled to stay seated.

"Grab the harnesses!"

Lante’s expression changed. He steadied the students beside him and glared at the pale-faced beast tamers.

"What is going on?"

"Lord Lante, we don't know! The contract beasts seem to have been suddenly frightened by something..."

"There is something ahead, they refuse to go forward!"

As the beast tamers spoke, they desperately tried to soothe their beasts, but the Cat-Eagles halted, flapping their wings and hovering, showing clear signs of wanting to turn back and flee.

Lante’s brows knit tight as he peered into the distance ahead!

A speck of red light appeared far away, moving at an incredible speed toward them.

"This is..."

Lante’s face was filled with shock as he turned back and roared:

"Bad!"

"It's a Red-Winged Flame Dragon! Get out of the way!!"

The students on the Cat-Eagles were confused and failed to react in the chaos, but the beast tamers were terrified. As if the end of the world had arrived, they didn't hesitate to turn the Cat-Eagles around and swerve sharply to the side.

"Everyone, hold on!"

Panic erupted once more on the backs of the Cat-Eagles.

"It's too late! Descend!"

Xu Wen’s voice rang out from the back! The red light in the distance had rapidly expanded into a striking crimson glare. It was enormous and moving with terrifying speed. At a time like this, landing was the only correct choice.

Although he hadn't heard of a Red-Winged Flame Dragon, the word "dragon" in its name suggested it might be a dragon-kin beast. An aerial dragon-kin beast was at least eight-star level. Since they couldn't escape, landing was their only hope. With Lante’s early seven-star strength, perhaps they could buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive.

But none of the beast tamers followed suit.

Lante, seemingly sensing Xu Wen's thoughts, turned back and quickly explained:

"Don't worry, that is not a wild beast; it is a contract beast!"

"A contract beast?"

Xu Wen was slightly stunned: An eight-star or nine-star summoner?!

The beast tamers' commands aligned with the Cat-Eagles' instincts. In seconds, the four birds had flown over two hundred meters away.

Yet, the Red-Winged Flame Dragon in the distance was even faster. Despite the distance of over a thousand meters, it closed the gap in a blink. The speed was horrifying, and even Xu Wen felt an unprecedented chill!

Watching the massive body, resembling a crimson wyvern, streak past where the Cat-Eagles had been moments ago, his breath hitched.

What kind of speed was that?

What kind of summoner could tame a dragon-kin beast!

On the Cat-Eagles, everyone stared in awe at the formidable aerial overlord, not daring to let out a breath.

Just then...

The Red-Winged Flame Dragon suddenly stopped, flapped its wings twice, and a violent blast of air surged toward them!

"Ah!"

"Hold the harnesses!"

The Cat-Eagles lurched violently. If not for the beast tamers' preparation and desperate efforts to control them, everyone would have been thrown off.

Falling from such a height would have had dire consequences.

Xu Wen broke into a cold sweat, gritting his teeth as he gripped the harness with one hand and held onto Eileen with the other, devoid of any romantic thoughts.

This was the first time he had felt death so close.

"Stop!"

With a loud shout, an astonishing surge of Battle Qi erupted from Lante on the adjacent Cat-Eagle. He pushed a gentle, invisible force outward, blocking the majority of the air pressure and finally stabilizing the situation.

"Second Young Master, please restrain yourself!"

Lante’s face was beaded with sweat, his eyes fixed on the distant Red-Winged Flame Dragon, his voice ringing out like a bell.

Upon these words, the Red-Winged Flame Dragon finally came to a halt. A voice filled with surprise drifted from afar:

"Eh? Isn't that Lante? So you're here too. Oh, my, how rude of me. I saw the emblem of the Qingyun Empire and thought that kid was mixed in among you. My apologies, haha..."

Trying to brush it off as if he hadn't seen them?

A powerhouse above the eight-star level could sense an ant within a thousand meters. How could he not see such a large group of people?

On the Cat-Eagles, everyone was seething with rage, staring at the figures on the Red-Winged Flame Dragon, yet they dared not speak out for fear of inviting more trouble.

In this mid-air situation, they were helpless.

Lante was no different. Even with a cold gaze, he could only bow his hands, using retreat as a means to advance, and called out loudly:

"Second Young Master! If you were joking with your subordinates, that would be one thing. But these people are excellent students invited by His Majesty and the Council of Elders from the Qingyun Empire. They have been entrusted to my care by Dean Noding and the others. There must be no mishaps within the Blood Alliance... Please do not make such jokes again. If something were to happen, I doubt even you, Second Young Master, could bear the responsibility."

There was silence from the Red-Winged Flame Dragon for several seconds before a sigh came:

"Sigh, you really are a boring man. I haven't seen you in a long time and just wanted to say hello, yet you have to be so serious. Forget it, you've already left the Royal Mercenary Corps anyway. I won't talk to you anymore; I have urgent matters to attend to."

The Red-Winged Flame Dragon flapped its wings, and a powerful gust of wind hit them again, causing another flurry of panic on the Cat-Eagles.

Lante held on until his face turned pale. Only after the beast tamers managed to calm the birds did he collapse into a seat, pull out a wineskin, and take a deep gulp...

"Is everyone alright?"

"…We're fine."

"Mr. Lante, can we fly lower?"

"…Let's land and let everyone rest for a while."

He Chen looked around and saw that everyone, including the beast tamers, was pale and looked terrible, so he immediately made the suggestion.

"Very well."

Lante nodded.

No one noticed that as the Cat-Eagles landed, Xu Wen, his face cold as frost, had completely hidden his anger. He walked over to Lante, sat down, and asked:

"Who was that man just now?"

Hearing the unnaturally calm tone, Lante’s brows twitched with unease. He was all too familiar with that tone...