A Bad Omen

Zhang Lingxue sensed trouble when she saw that no one had dug out the Blood Cores from the slain Berserk Blood Rats in time.

The Blood Core was the energy core within a Berserk Blood Rat, containing extremely violent energy that most pet beasts couldn't absorb.

Only the Thousand Changes Silkworm was an exception. If they could figure out how it absorbed the Blood Core's energy, they could turn waste into treasure.

"Ye Bai, stay here. I'll leave Little Purple to protect you."

Little Purple was Zhang Lingxue's most powerful pet beast. With it here, Ye Bai's safety was assured.

The Goddess of Light Butterfly then carried Zhang Lingxue to find President Wang.

"Come out, Sunflower King."

Ye Bai pulled out a Beast Card and released the Sunflower King.

"Help me dig out all the Blood Cores scattered on the ground."

The Pet Beast Guild members thought Blood Cores were of little use, so after killing the Berserk Blood Rats, they couldn't be bothered to extract them.

If this wasn't stopped, the energy in the Blood Cores would be absorbed by other Berserk Blood Rats over time, inevitably spawning stronger Third Order Strange Beasts.

The Sunflower King was naturally the bane of Burrowing Rats, but after they evolved into Berserk Blood Rats, Ye Bai wasn't so sure.

The Sunflower King dropped from Ye Bai's hand to the ground, driving its thick roots deep into the earth.

Then its body began to swell rapidly, doubling in size.

It felt like a bean sprout turning into a plump broccoli.

A Berserk Blood Rat charging fiercely suddenly felt a sharp, long thorn pierce deep into its abdomen, spreading inside its body.

Before it could sound an alarm, it died on the spot.

Its Blood Core was yanked out, and all the flesh and blood essence in its body was devoured clean by the Sunflower King.

By the time the other Berserk Blood Rats noticed, only a paper-thin hide and a pile of bones remained.

The Sunflower King was incredibly fast. Its roots burst from the ground, and in less than a second, it had dug the Blood Core out of the dead Berserk Blood Rat.

Soon, the ground where the Sunflower King stood cracked open, and many Blood Cores like fine rubies emerged. What surprised Ye Bai was that one of them was the size of a fist, red as pigeon's blood.

"Damn, could the Berserk Blood Rat have already evolved into a Third Order form?"

This was not good news.

He now desperately awaited midnight, so he could check the Information System for useful intel.

Thanks to that smuggling ship, all the Burrowing Rats had advanced to Second Order Berserk Blood Rats.

And any offspring they bred now would only be Second Order Berserk Blood Rats.

The Jiaying City Pet Beast Guild had held this position for so long, yet the number of Berserk Blood Rats hadn't dropped, showing their terrifying reproductive ability.

In truth, what made the Beast Tide most frightening wasn't the strange beasts themselves, but their breeding capacity.

During a Beast Tide, their reproduction rate multiplied several times over.

And with plenty of flesh and blood to nourish them, a young Berserk Blood Rat could go from birth to adulthood in just eight hours.

After twelve hours, it would be capable of reproduction.

"Teacher Zhang, you've arrived."

President Wang naturally recognized Zhang Lingxue.

"The Burrowing Rats in other parts of Jiaying City have all been wiped out."

"Only this place remains."

"As long as we can contain it, the Beast Tide will end on its own."

"I just didn't expect these Berserk Blood Rats to be so troublesome."

President Wang rubbed his throbbing temples.

"They have no fear of death, and their Sharp Claws are coated in deadly poison. Many of our Pet Beast Masters in the guild have been poisoned, their combat power greatly reduced."

"Even after using antidotes, there's been no improvement."

"On top of that, the Berserk Blood Rats can use the Berserk skill, doubling their size and attack power."

"Once a Berserk Blood Rat dies, its flesh becomes food for its companions."

President Wang was at his wit's end.

"I noticed that after the guild members killed the Berserk Blood Rats, they didn't take their Blood Cores."

"If this continues, I'm worried it will spawn higher-order strange beasts."

Zhang Lingxue laid out the problem.

"There's no helping it. We're short-handed, and retrieving the Blood Cores would put our Pet Beast Masters in danger."

"I've already requested reinforcements from the Provincial Guild."

"We just need to hold out for four hours until the Provincial Guild's support arrives, and then we can breathe easy."

"For now, I can only guard the Cold Storage Warehouse and make sure no Berserk Blood Rats get in."

"Teacher Zhang, I remember your Goddess of Light Butterfly is very skilled at detoxification. I wonder if you could help those Pet Beast Masters poisoned by the Berserk Blood Rat."

"After they were poisoned, they all developed high fevers, their heads feeling as if pierced by tens of thousands of needles."

"Even antidote potions were useless."

"I'm afraid if we don't deal with it in time, they might be left with lasting aftereffects."

Zhang Lingxue let out a long sigh: "Alright, where are the patients? I'll have the Goddess of Light Butterfly treat them quickly."

Ye Bai had Little Purple protecting him, so he should be fine for the time being.

Right now, the most important thing was to increase the Pet Beast Guild's combat strength, and treating the poisoned Pet Beast Masters had become the key issue.

Humans and Berserk Blood Rats had both been driven to a bloodlust.

A thick layer of bloodstains coated the ground, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of blood.

The Sunflower King, on the other hand, was like a mouse that had snuck into a granary, utterly delighted.

With a single casual strike, its steel-like root pierced through a Berserk Blood Rat's head, plucking out a blood-red Crystal Core.

Moreover, because it had absorbed so much flesh and blood essence, the originally golden-yellow Sunflower King now gleamed a dazzling red, like a Lycoris Radiata from the underworld.

A golden-yellow flower had also sprouted from one side of its body. Ye Bai knew this was the Sunflower King's method of reproduction.

Before long, the golden-yellow flower grew roots and then dropped to the ground.

It opened its large eyes, gazing at its surroundings with curiosity.

This was a newborn Second Order Sunflower.

Under the Sunflower King's command, it launched a fierce assault on the Berserk Blood Rats.

Provincial Guild.

President Zhang Yafeng received an urgent message from Jiaying City.

A Beast Tide had erupted in Jiaying City, and the situation was unstable, requiring emergency reinforcements.

Zhang Yafeng stared at the map on the screen and let out a long sigh.

Within just a few days, four or five cities in Yan East Province had experienced small-scale Beast Tides.

He had already dispatched all his available personnel, and he himself had to remain stationed at the provincial capital, unable to leave easily.

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