The outskirts of the Monster Mountain Range.
At the center of a majestic, flat-topped mountain, there was a canyon stretching for dozens of kilometers, connecting the inside and outside of the mountain range.
The canyon was unfathomably deep; looking down, it resembled a steamed bun forcibly torn open by an invisible giant hand.
As the saying goes:
When enemies meet on a narrow path, the one with the blade wins.
About ten red-and-black lions, nearly three meters tall, dashed close to the ground, their explosively powerful limbs kicking up large amounts of dirt with every step, covering several meters.
From time to time, soul-stirring roars echoed through the deep canyon.
Ahead of them was a group of panicking rhinoceroses fleeing.
These rhinoceroses had much sturdier and larger bodies than the lions, but their actual combat strength was far inferior to the lion pride.
Each rhinoceros's brown leathery hide had numerous marks of tearing and biting.
The leading rhinoceros, in particular, had a scratch on its back more than ten centimeters deep.
Yet, even so, this injury still hadn't penetrated all of its epidermal keratin layer, indicating extraordinary defense.
Their somewhat uncoordinated, thick limbs glowed faintly, and their short legs kicked out blurs, their running speed surprisingly far exceeding that of the lion pride.
After more than 10 minutes of intense pursuit,
the rhinoceros herd finally broke through the canyon and reached the outskirts of the Monster Mountain Range.
“Moo—”
The leading rhinoceros stood at the exit, looking back into the canyon.
The lions gradually slowed down, stopping about a hundred meters away from the rhinoceros, hesitating and restlessly pawing at the surrounding rocks.
“Moo (Clan Leader.)”
A rhinoceros with a broken horn softly lowed.
“Moo—Moo (We got the thing, let's go back quickly, I really want to sleep...)”
The leading rhinoceros shook its head and led its clan deeper into the dense forest behind.
Upon reaching the territory of its clan, it finally succumbed to the overwhelming drowsiness, lying down on the ground and falling into a deep sleep.
...
The deep starry sky became illusory as Wang Qiu'er released her ability.
After an unknown period of time,
the surroundings had transformed into a vast and spacious hall.
The hall had bare walls on all sides, with only one giant, seemingly stone, long table.
Lin Yi sat at the head of the table, while Wang Qiu'er was explaining the basic information about their temporary ally to him.
“Although Cracked Earth Rhinoceroses are third-tier magical beasts, their position in the food chain across the entire mountain range isn't high; they can only roam the outer regions.”
Wang Qiu'er continued, “Their clan needs a rare earth-element plant to sustain their reproduction, but this plant only grows deep within the mountain range.”
“Every so often, they must venture deep into the mountain range to collect it, and during this process, the clan inevitably suffers casualties.”
“The alliance agreement we currently have isn't very close; it's limited to intelligence exchange and non-aggression.”
“The Dream Network is for spiritual communication, so there's no need for you to worry about language barriers.”
Lin Yi nodded after listening.
He already had a general direction for the negotiation in mind.
Buzz—
Ripples spread through the hall's space.
Countless specks of light converged opposite the two, forming the silhouette of a massive creature.
A moment later,
the rhinoceros Clan Leader, covered in scars, let out a low growl, its tone full of dissatisfaction, “Human! Your actions almost killed me! Don't do that again!!”
After speaking,
the rhinoceros glanced at Lin Yi, somewhat wary, “Who is he?”
“My apologies, Freke, it was sudden, I didn't know you were in combat.” Wang Qiu'er saw the injuries on its body and said with a hint of apology, “This is my Lord; he has come with me this time to discuss cooperation matters with you.”
“Lord?”
Freke's attitude softened slightly, and it asked, lying on the ground, “May I ask what this is about?”
It still held a slight reverence for this human woman with mysterious powers.
As the superior Lord of the other party, Freke still showed ample respect.
Lin Yi leaned back in his chair, not rushing to reply, as Freke's information panel appeared in his serious field of vision.
........
【Freke】
Race: Cracked Earth Rhinoceros
Aptitude: Extraordinary
Level: 25
Constitution: 37.5, Strength: 37, Agility: 37.5, Spirit: 32
Description: A walking fortress, possessing extremely strong defense, while its racial talent grants it superb mobility, greatly enhancing its survival rate.
......
He was at the same level as Wang Fugui, but due to their different promotion times, there were slight differences in their four-dimensional data, with Freke's total attribute value being slightly higher.
His actual combat strength was still unknown.
Lin Yi pondered for a moment, then stated directly, “I want to form a ground cavalry unit. Can your clan members join my territory?”
Before entering the dream, he had specifically studied the textbook materials.
Magical beasts had simple minds and were not good at pretense.
Talking in circles would only be counterproductive.
“No!”
Freke shook its massive head and said grumpily, “Leaving the Monster Mountain Range means the clan will lose access to the Earth Vein Lotus Core, and we won't be able to reproduce and expand our clan.”
“If we leave the Monster Mountain Range, we'll have nothing to eat, and the weaker clan members will starve to death.”
Unlike the Fiery Magic Leopards, the Cracked Earth Rhinoceroses, as a gregarious third-tier magical beast species,
once they left the Monster Mountain Range, which was rich in demonic energy and resources, their enormous food consumption could rapidly destroy the ecosystem, not only disrupting the food chain but also causing themselves to wander due to food scarcity.
More importantly...
Joining human territory meant a change in their way of life.
Becoming mounts for cavalry...
In Freke's view, it was no different from being a slave.
Cracked Earth Rhinoceroses would never be slaves!
“Don't be so quick to refuse.”
Lin Yi knew it would say this, extending his palm and raising his index finger, “First, I can handle the reproductive plants you need.”
“Second, within my territory, everyone...”
Mid-sentence, the image of Niu Ma chewing on tree bark suddenly flashed in his mind, and he corrected himself, “Oh... unless they don't need to eat, otherwise no one will go hungry.”
“Are you truly not considering it?”
“Thank you for your Lord's kindness.” Freke shook its head, its attitude still firm, “The Earth Vein Lotus has a very long growth cycle, and only the Monster Mountain Range, rich in demonic energy, can allow them to grow quickly.”
“My clan members also won't agree to be human mounts.”
“I am very sorry...”
Lin Yi withdrew his finger and tapped lightly on the table, saying with some regret,
“I have, of course, considered the growth cycle. Within my territory, there's no need to worry about the abundance of demonic energy.”
“How it compares to the environment of the Monster Mountain Range is still unknown, but it certainly won't be much worse.”
“What a pity, I was going to say I could help you improve your racial aptitude, but since that's the case...”
“Moo! Now that you mention it...”
Freke suddenly stood up, its strong limbs covering the distance to Lin Yi in two or three steps.
“Lord, you just said we could eat our fill, right?”
“Actually, I thought about it.”
“Whether or not to improve aptitude isn't important. My clan members in the Monster Mountain Range are truly pitiful, sometimes hungry, sometimes full. If you don't mind, Lord...”
“I'll lead my clan to migrate west right now!”
“Thank you, Lord, for your benevolence and generosity. On behalf of my clan, I express our gratitude to you!”
The negotiation's tone suddenly shifted.
Lin Yi's eyes widened, and he muttered to himself, “What kind of idiotic textbook is this? Are magical beasts really this simple in your world?”
The secondary objective of this negotiation had been achieved.
Lin Yi chuckled, “That's excellent. However, there's another important matter.”
“What?”
Freke's eyes showed confusion, appearing somewhat simple and honest, yet its mind was becoming active.
Being a mount for the other party, in its view, was already the greatest value of its clan.
Could it be that the Cracked Earth Rhinoceroses had some untapped potential?
“Living in the Monster Mountain Range, you must be very familiar with the situation there, right?”
Lin Yi slowly began, “If I want to send a team deep into the range to hunt third-tier magical beasts, can you provide some safe routes?”
“I don't want to encounter gregarious fourth-tier magical beasts just yet.”
Hunting third-tier!
Freke's nostrils rapidly flared, and a wave of fear immediately washed over it.
It had signed the agreement with that woman inexplicably back then, and felt a slight regret after waking up.
But now, it seemed.
A single nap had brought new life to the entire clan! It couldn't be luckier!
“Of course, no problem!”
Freke immediately thought of the third-tier lion pride that had repeatedly ambushed them, and its large eye sockets instantly turned red.
“A pleasure working with you.”
Lin Yi's lips curved slightly.
This was his primary goal in subduing the Cracked Earth Rhinoceroses!
Third-tier magic cores.
Only they could allow him to upgrade his territory to Level 4.
The economic value and strategic significance brought by hunting magical beasts were not to be underestimated.
He had previously considered only hunting in the outer regions.
But on second thought, scattered second-tier magical beasts in the outer regions were hard to find.
The distance between his territory and the Monster Mountain Range was also dozens of kilometers; even marching across the plains would take most of a day round trip.
This didn't even account for the time spent searching and hunting.
If he had a local guide, these wouldn't be problems.
The negotiation was concluded.
Wang Qiu'er and Freke redrafted the agreement, which took effect immediately under the witness of the world.
The dream scene also shattered like a broken mirror, collapsing into fragments.
Lin Yi's conscious awareness gradually blurred.
After an unknown period of time,
when he opened his eyes again, Wang Qiu'er in his arms had already left.
Looking around the entire Lord's Hall, he was the only one left.
“Hmm?”
Lin Yi glanced out of the corner of his eye.
No, there was still one more!
Under the bookshelf to his right, Ailina was kneeling, her upper body prostrate on the floor, seemingly cleaning the dust at the bottom of the bookshelf.
Her pristine white wings were folded tightly against her slender back, and her full, firm buttocks were facing Lin Yi, swaying enticingly with the movement of her arms.
“Gulp...”
Lin Yi licked his lips.
He stood up nonchalantly, walked straight forward, and his wicked demonic hand landed on that plump backside.
Today, even the King of Heaven wouldn't stop him from having her!