Upon hearing the warning, Charles immediately summoned Max and entered combat mode.
The trembling originated from the other end of the valley, clearly indicating that something significant had occurred, as it was unlikely for so many ferocious beasts to flee towards the other end of the gorge without reason.
“Roar, roar, roar—”
A ferocious beast, in its frenzied escape, collided with the hunters concealed in the bushes. Already in a state of panic, the beast’s instincts took over, and it hissed and roared as it charged at the hunters.
Popping!
A loud explosion echoed from ahead, followed by a cry of pain. By the time Charles arrived, one of the hunters lay on the ground, his body charred and twitching.
—[Lightning Demon Ape]—
[Attribute]: Lightning
[Level]: 11
[Quality]: Silver
[Skills]: Arc Swing, Ball Lightning
[Mood]: Aggressive, Panicked
[Health]: Wound healing on hind leg…
[Weakness]: Hind leg wound / Wind attribute
[Description]: A panicked lightning demon ape, driven by its instinct for self-defense, aims to kill any enemy it encounters. Its right hind leg is injured, and targeting this weak spot could quickly turn the battle in your favor.
A Level 11 ferocious beast, its combat strength is comparable to a human Level 2 Beast Master. Felix, reacting swiftly, had summoned his two pets, a blue and a red tiger, to fight alongside him against the lightning demon ape.
However, Felix, apparently new to being a Level 2 Beast Master, struggled with his newly tamed red tiger, which was disobedient and often lagged in battle, even choosing to hide behind Felix when the lightning demon ape launched a ball lightning attack.
Popping!!
Another arc of electricity grazed Felix’s shoulder, emitting smoke and the smell of burning.
“Max! Use [ice pick throwing] and target the lightning demon ape’s right hind leg!” Charles issued the combat command.
“Sigh!”
Despite the lightning demon ape being four levels higher, Max charged forward without hesitation upon hearing Charles’s order.
An ice spike formed behind the lightning demon ape, and taking advantage of its distraction while fighting Felix, the ice spike shot out like an arrow released from a bow, striking the beast’s hind leg.
“Roar, roar, roar—!!!”
The lightning demon ape, completely unprepared for this sneak attack from a seemingly insignificant foe, reeled as its recently healed wound split open, gushing blood!
In that moment, Felix’s two tigers pounced, firmly clamping onto the lightning demon ape’s throat.
The beast struggled desperately on the ground, but as the blood continued to flow, its thrashing weakened until its eyes finally lost their spark…
“Good!”
“We won!”
Seeing the ferocious beast defeated, the surrounding hunters cheered. Uldir, elated, approached Charles, his expression filled with excitement:
“Amazing, Charlie, you defeated the lightning demon ape with just one strike! I couldn’t handle that beast at all; how did you do it?”
“Even the Second Boss had a tough time with it. This young man is something else!” The surrounding hunters also came forward, showering Charles with praise.
At that moment, Felix, covered in dirt and dust, got up from the ground. Seeing the hunters gathered around Charles, he roared somewhat displeasedly: “What are you all doing? Hurry up, collect the spoils. We still have to move on!”
“Yes, yes…”
Upon hearing Felix’s command, the hunters scattered, pulling out their knives to slice the flesh and skin of the lightning demon ape.
“It’s a pity that I didn’t deliver the final blow…” Charles sighed as he watched the lightning demon ape being dissected on the ground.
If Max had made the kill, such a battle beyond his level could have elevated him to level 8!
“Beast core! I found the beast core!” someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone gathered around.
Seeing the white sphere sparking with electric sparks in the hands of the prey, Felix’s eyes gleamed with greed. He snatched it immediately.
Among 100 ferocious beasts, only one might have a beast core! Moreover, this was a first-level beast core, an essential material for advancing in Lightning Beast Mastery, worth a fortune on the market!
However… Charles had contributed significantly to obtaining this beast core…
Felix glanced at the beast core in his hand and then at Charles beside him, clearing his throat: “Since the lightning demon ape was defeated by us all, the spoils should be shared equally among everyone. I’ll keep this beast core for now. Once it’s sold, we’ll divide the money!”
Hearing that everyone at the scene could share in the fruits of victory, the hunters burst into cheers:
“Felix!”
“Felix!”
…
After packing up the materials from the lightning demon ape, the hunting party set off again, their faces beaming with the joy of victory. However, at the back of the group, Charles felt somewhat displeased.
Logically, since he and Felix had jointly defeated the lightning demon ape, Charles should have been entitled to 50% of the spoils.
While splitting everything equally might sound fair, everyone else was part of a group, and Charles was the outsider. After all the effort, he would only receive 1/20 of the loot… Plus, the beast core was already in Felix’s hands, and it was up to him when it would be sold.
It was clear they were taking advantage of him as an outsider, intending to monopolize the spoils.
Charles sighed, “Forget it, my goal is to get through this gorge. I’m not going to fuss over this…”
Those who had cheered for Charles during the fight were now nowhere to be seen, except for Uldir, who felt guilty and secretly cut a larger share for Charles while dividing the meat.
“Charlie, here’s your share—20kg of beast meat!”
[Received 32kg of lightning demon ape meat!]
Noticing the discrepancy in weight, Charles turned around as Uldir handed him a large bag of meat and exchanged a meaningful look.
Charles instantly understood; among this group, Uldir was actually decent.
Just then, a burly figure approached from behind the group and placed a hand on Charles’s shoulder:
“Charlie, you’re quite skilled, huh? How about it, interested in joining my thievery… hunting team? In our squad, the spoils are always divided equally among everyone. As long as I, Felix, have a bite to eat, my brothers will never go hungry.”
Hearing Felix’s recruitment attempt, Charles scoffed inwardly: Forget it, being your brother probably means getting sold out without even knowing it.
However, Charles kept his expression neutral, gently pushing Felix’s hand away and politely responding, “I appreciate the offer, but my friend is waiting for me at Remarkable Rock Summit. Once I get there, we’ll part ways.”
Felix nodded with a smile, “Alright then, brother, you’ve got your own things to handle. I won’t keep you. A young and promising Beast Master like you is always welcome to join me.”
Charles offered a slight smile and then turned away from Felix to walk forward.
Watching Charles’s retreating figure, Felix’s face darkened: “What an ingrate, giving him face and he dares to refuse me! When we reach Remarkable Rock Summit tomorrow, if he dares to mess with my plans, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
…
The plan had been to exit the gorge today, but the journey was delayed due to an encounter with a beast tide halfway through.
As the sun set, Felix found a spacious area in the valley and ordered his men to set up camp there.
Soon, a campfire was lit, its flames flickering slightly, providing some comfort in the pitch-dark forest.
Around the fire, a dozen hunters gathered, drinking and roasting meat, telling jokes, and celebrating another day survived.
Felix sat next to the girl named Aria, smiling as he handed her a skewer of grilled meat.
However, the girl seemed preoccupied, staring unhappily at the stars above.
Lying in his tent, Charles whispered as he peered through a gap at the campfire: “I always feel like these people aren’t really ferocious beast hunters, more like tomb raiders, or even bandits…”
Ferocious beast hunters usually make a living by hunting beasts and selling their materials—there’s no need to risk their lives unnecessarily. But even after the beast tide attack that killed two of their own, they showed no signs of wanting to retreat.
Charles could only think of two possibilities: either they are desperados, indifferent to life and death; or, there is a great treasure ahead, tempting them to ignore their fear of dying.
Thinking this, Charles grew increasingly worried about the girl named Aria. She might be naively thinking she had met some good people who would help her escape the Ferocious Beast Mountains.
Little did she know, she was walking into the lion’s den. Felix probably already considered her his possession. A woman without any Beast Mastery skills couldn’t even defend herself, let alone resist…
“Forget it, why worry so much? I’m leaving tomorrow,” Charles shook his head, trying to dismiss these thoughts.
The world was full of dark deeds; he wasn’t a saint, so why should he burden himself with these concerns?
Besides, Felix was a Level 2 Beast Master with many men under him. Even if he wanted to help her, he didn’t have the strength.
“Better to just leave tomorrow and meet up with Fletcher and the others.”
With these thoughts in his mind, Charles could no longer sleep. He lay in his tent, his ears alert to any sounds outside until the late night when yawns overtook him, and he began to feel worn out.
A very faint noise came from outside the tent.
The sound was like the wind blowing over grass, but also resembled the movement of a crawling animal.
“Who’s there?”
Worried it might be Felix sending someone to assassinate him, or a ferocious beast attack, Charles abruptly opened the tent…