The Strange Big Bug

A shed for keeping cattle and sheep.

Li Xingze looked at the bloodstains on the ground. They had almost completely dried, but the dark red blotches were still visible.

Aside from the bloodstains, animal fur scattered everywhere made it clear that a fierce battle had taken place here.

Flesh and blood still clung to the fur. Clearly, these livestock had been slaughtered unilaterally.

"Strange. If it were some powerful demon, the scene wouldn't be this chaotic at all," Lingling said, stroking her delicate chin.

Li Xingze had a sudden realization upon hearing that. Right—aside from Giant-Eyed Blood Rats, most demons could subdue these livestock directly.

The animals would not even have the slightest thought of resisting. They would only flee in panic.

Yet the surrounding fences were exceptionally intact. That was contradictory!

"How is it? Did you find anything?" the farm owner asked Li Xingze anxiously.

Compared to the far-too-young Lingling, the farm owner naturally trusted Li Xingze, who was at least an adult, more.

"It is indeed the work of demons, but I suspect there was more than one," Li Xingze said.

"More than one?!" the farm owner and Lingling cried out at the same time.

The farm owner cried out because he was frightened, while Lingling was surprised by Li Xingze's observational skills.

If there had been more than one demon, then the scene could be explained.

This guy didn't seem to be a rookie hunter after all. Lingling's opinion of Li Xingze improved slightly.

"Then what do we do? This is my life's work. I can't let demons ruin it," the farm owner said anxiously.

That little girl was definitely too young to be a mage, which meant only this young man was a mage.

Could he really handle it alone?

"Don't worry. If these demons were truly powerful, they wouldn't be hiding like this," Li Xingze continued.

Hearing that, Lingling suddenly thought of something. "They're being so cautious... Could it be because they're injured?"

"That's possible." Li Xingze nodded. "But that also shows that these demons are quite intelligent."

"What we need to do now is figure out how to lure them out."

"Lure them out?" The farm owner stared at Li Xingze in shock. This young man was truly bold because of his skill, showing no fear of demons whatsoever.

He wondered whether the young man truly had the ability, or was merely all show.

Hopefully, it was the former.

Night fell.

Li Xingze and Lingling hid in a concealed spot. Lingling poked her head out and glanced at the livestock.

"You think these things can really lure out the culprit?"

"If the demons are truly injured, they definitely won't pass up food that's practically in their mouths."

Li Xingze leaned against a haystack with both hands behind his head, looking utterly unhurried.

As for the farm owner, it was already good enough that he was willing to offer up the livestock. Asking him to face demons was out of the question.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

Seeing Li Xingze's calm demeanor, Lingling felt inexplicably annoyed. Clearly, she was the senior here!

This guy not only had a powerful Dragonkin, but also possessed considerable hunter experience. Was he really from some great family?

"They're here!"

At the soft shout, Lingling slowly snapped out of her thoughts.

Following the direction Li Xingze was staring, she saw nothing but darkness, broken only by faint moonlight. She could not see any sign of demons.

"Where?"

Just as Lingling was about to argue, she discovered that Li Xingze had already dashed out, charging straight toward the shed at an astonishing speed.

It was as though he had teleported.

Sun Thunder - Thunder Seal - Python Mark!

A streak of Golden Thunder suddenly flashed through the darkness, instantly piercing the sturdy wooden fence. The intense golden light left Lingling momentarily dazed.

"Was that really Thunder Seal?"

Although Lingling was not a mage, she had seen quite a few mages before. Yet she had never seen such a terrifying first-tier Thunder Seal.

Calling it Lightning Strike would not have been an exaggeration.

But what was the point of attacking the fence?

Filled with doubt, Lingling ran toward Li Xingze. She had a protective magic artifact on her, so she was not worried about a demon ambush.

Lingling walked over to Li Xingze's side. At that moment, he picked up something black and shiny from the ground.

"What is that?"

Rather than feeling fear or dread, Lingling curiously stared at the Odd Bug in Li Xingze's hand, which was about two centimeters long.

It resembled a facehugger somewhat, with a tail longer than its body. Although the Lightning Strike had mangled it beyond recognition, its entire body could still be seen to be dark black.

Even after enduring such a terrifying Lightning Strike, its shell remained intact. If its head had not been blasted away, it probably would not have died.

Seeing Lingling stare at the bug with great interest, Li Xingze gave her a strange look. "This thing is pretty disgusting. Stop looking at it."

"Don't move!" Lingling immediately stopped Li Xingze. "I've never seen this kind of demon creature before. Let me study it."

Li Xingze's face darkened. Lingling was truly obsessed with demon hunting to an incomprehensible degree.

Even he felt uncomfortable looking at it, yet Lingling was unusually excited. No wonder she had become a Hunter Master.

"Stop looking. Let's find their nest first."

The moment Li Xingze saw the Odd Bug, he immediately realized there had to be quite a few of them. There might even be some kind of "leader."

"You have a way?" Lingling asked.

Li Xingze did not answer. Instead, he proved it with his actions.

"Dimensional Summon!"

As soon as the Goldflame Dragon Lion appeared, the area around them instantly became much brighter, thanks to the golden flames covering its body.

"This is Little Gold." Li Xingze introduced it to Lingling first, then placed the Odd Bug before the Goldflame Dragon Lion. "Take a sniff and see if you can find their nest."

"Roar, roar~"

The Goldflame Dragon Lion let out two displeased roars. It was a proud dragon lion, not some lowly little dog!

"Find it, and I'll reward you with a Bloodflame Fruit."

The moment it heard that, the formerly proud Goldflame Dragon Lion immediately pressed its nose close to the Odd Bug and sniffed carefully before racing toward the farmland.

Seeing the Goldflame Dragon Lion's reaction, Li Xingze smiled slightly. It looked like it had found the trail.

This Little Gold got unusually excited whenever food was involved.

"Is this your Summoned Beast?" Lingling looked at Li Xingze in astonishment, asking a question she already knew the answer to.

Not only was this demon beast General-Level, but more importantly, it possessed an extremely high Bloodline!

The Summoning Element was already exceptionally rare, let alone a Summoned Beast that was both rare and powerful.

Normally, a Summoned Beast only served as a transitional measure for a summoner.

No mage would spend a great deal of time searching for a Summoned Beast. Even if they were lucky enough to find one with an extremely high Bloodline, there was a high chance that the contract would fail.

It was entirely a thankless effort.

"Let's go. We should finish the mission early." Li Xingze appeared completely unfazed.

With that, he took Lingling's small hand and ran in the direction of the Goldflame Dragon Lion.