That dark shadow was the Blood Steel Rat, another Evolution Path of the Burrowing rat.
After devouring the flesh and blood of its own kind and gnawing on enough metal, the Burrowing rat had finally completed its ultimate evolution.
Its defense was comparable to that of a Drill Groundhog, but it was far more aggressive.
Two second-order Strange Beasts fighting the Thousand Changes Silkworm at once immediately put considerable pressure on it.
The Berserk Blood Rat's Claw could even secrete deadly poison. Once struck by its Claw, one would fall into a severely poisoned state.
Facing the covetous stares of two second-order Strange Beasts, Ye Bai was instead full of confidence in the Thousand Changes Silkworm.
After all, this fellow's defense was extraordinarily strong. Even the third-order Sunflower King needed seven or eight Vine Whips to defeat it.
Moreover, these two Burrowing rats had only just evolved to the second order and were still at the stage of condensing their Crystal Cores. They had yet to adapt to their evolved bodies. This was the best time to kill them.
The Berserk Blood Rat brandished its Sharp Claws and pounced, a trace of purple venom seeping from them.
The Blood Steel Rat was about to move, but its limbs were suddenly bound tight by vines.
It was the Sunflower King that had acted, sealing off the Blood Steel Rat's movements.
Da Hui scratched his face honestly. With a single slap, he could turn these two second-order Strange Beasts into a lump of bloody mush.
Still, he vaguely sensed that some big fellow seemed to be hiding in the distance.
"Thousand Changes Silkworm, use Roll."
The Thousand Changes Silkworm curled itself up again and evaded the Berserk Blood Rat's attack by rolling at high speed.
The Berserk Blood Rat's Sharp Claws plunged into a nearby lamppost. The lamppost, forged from Super Alloy, was actually pierced through with a bowl-sized hole.
It pulled its Claws free and fixed its blood-red eyes on the Thousand Changes Silkworm.
A blood-red Mist spread from the Berserk Blood Rat's body.
The muscles on its body began to swell, and it rose onto its hind legs.
"Thousand Changes Silkworm, take out the Berserk Blood Rat first."
The Berserk Blood Rat had only just completed its evolution. The layer of skin covering its body was still soft and blood-red.
As time passed, its skin would oxidize in the air, turning dark red, and its defense would increase severalfold.
"The Thousand Changes Silkworm still lacks offensive methods."
The Thousand Changes Silkworm repeated its old trick, spewing a great amount of Silk Thread from its mouth. The threads, sharp enough to cut iron like mud, shot toward the Berserk Blood Rat.
But a mocking look appeared in the Berserk Blood Rat's eyes.
The instant the Silk Thread came into contact with the Blood Mist, great clouds of white vapor rose up.
This Blood Mist possessed extremely powerful corrosive properties.
The Berserk Blood Rat bared its teeth in a grin. It had already discovered the Thousand Changes Silkworm's weakness: insufficient attack power.
This fellow's defense was powerful, but its offensive methods were incredibly meager. It could handle first-order Strange Beasts, but against creatures like them that had already advanced to the second order, it was simply not enough.
"Thousand Changes Silkworm, aim at the lamppost. Spit out Silk Thread, secure it, then pull hard."
Ye Bai continued issuing commands.
Though the Thousand Changes Silkworm did not understand why it had to do this, it obediently spat out Silk Thread according to Ye Bai's orders.
The Silk Thread wrapped around the lamppost, and the Thousand Changes Silkworm gave it a fierce tug.
With a teeth-grating crack, the lamppost actually toppled over.
And it fell right toward the Berserk Blood Rat.
Unable to dodge in time, the Berserk Blood Rat was struck by the lamppost weighing dozens of kilograms, more than half its body pinned beneath it.
It struggled desperately, squeaking from its mouth, yet it still could not break free.
The Thousand Changes Silkworm bounced over to the Berserk Blood Rat and suddenly sprayed sharp Silk Thread from its mouth.
The crystalline threads nailed the Berserk Blood Rat firmly to the ground.
With a fierce pull from the Thousand Changes Silkworm, a pulsing blood-colored core appeared on the ground. This was the Berserk Blood Rat's Blood Core, something similar to a Strange Beast Crystal Core.
After losing its Blood Core, the Berserk Blood Rat's eyes dimmed. It let out a mournful cry toward the sky and breathed its last.
The Thousand Changes Silkworm sniffed the Blood Core with its large nose. It smelled something delicious from it.
Then it lifted its head and looked at Ye Bai eagerly. Ye Bai nodded. "Yes, you can eat this."
So, the Thousand Changes Silkworm stretched out its long tongue and rolled the still-pulsing Blood Core into its mouth. Like it was eating a Bugle chip, crunching sounds came from its mouth.
Before long, a warm current flowed from the Thousand Changes Silkworm's stomach toward its limbs and bones.
The stamina it had consumed earlier recovered at a visible speed.
At that moment, Ye Bai suddenly noticed a line of text appearing in the Thousand Changes Silkworm's skill list.
[Berserk (1/100) Not Entry Level]
A shocked expression immediately appeared on his face.
Holy crap, this was the Thousand Changes Silkworm's truly monstrous trait—it could comprehend skills by devouring Strange Beast Crystal Cores.
The Blood Steel Rat charged over at that moment. Seeing its companion's corpse, endless grief appeared in its eyes.
It had been bound by the Sunflower King's vines just now and could only watch helplessly as its companion was killed by the Thousand Changes Silkworm.
Burning with rage, the Blood Steel Rat decided to hold nothing back. The spikes on its body stood upright, gleaming with a chilling light beneath the sun.
The blood-red Baleful Intent spreading from the Steel Spikes made the Blood Steel Rat even more ferocious.
The Blood Steel Rat then took a deep breath, and the Steel Spikes shot out like Pear Blossom Rain. It intended to put the Thousand Changes Silkworm to death.
"Thousand Changes Silkworm, high-speed Roll."
The Thousand Changes Silkworm curled into a ball and rolled across the ground like a heavy battle tank, leaving the ground in its wake covered with sharp Steel Spikes.
These Steel Spikes also carried corrosive substances.
At the Jiaying City Pet Beast Guild, the guild's higher-ups had gathered together.
A trace of relief appeared on Wang Jinyin's face.
Before the Beast Tide erupted, they had located the Spatial Rift in time.
After an intense battle, some of the Burrowing rats had been killed, while the rest had escaped.
Although Burrowing rats still poured continuously from the Spatial Rift, everything remained within controllable limits.
"I have already reported this to the Pet Beast Guild in the Provincial Capital. They will send more powerful Pet Beast Masters to resolve this matter."
"As for the Burrowing rats that escaped, we will send specialists to clear them out and minimize Jiaying City's losses."
"Additionally, the Pet Beast Guild in the Provincial Capital has sent word that we must find the person with the Future Prediction Talent at all costs."
"Such a person is extremely important to our Yan Country Alliance!"
Wang Jinyin said decisively.
"Guildmaster, now that the Beast Tide has been brought under control, do we still need to maintain a Level One Red Alert across the entire city?"
Before you continue