Third Exploration: The Bloodthirsty Grassland

They currently have three temporary tasks.

Help Koto establish a plantation in the sun-drenched area of the Giant Beast Kingdom.

It goes without saying that the plantation grows Bohong Flower.

However, to establish the plantation area as their territory, they must stay in the area for an extended period and kill or drive away any creatures that attempt to enter the plantation.

This requires a long-term deployment.

They continued their attacks until the surrounding creatures dared not even step inside.

After all, their current aura is not enough to intimidate all the creatures of the Giant Beast Kingdom.

However, the result was a failure.

"We are too weak right now to confront those enormous beasts head-on. If they come to steal our loot, we can only retreat."

"These damned behemoths have huge appetites. If we plant on a large area, they'll swallow us whole."

Morel adjusted his sunglasses and said, "Then we can only try a different approach now: manually sowing seeds and maintaining the Bohong Flower in the sunny areas of each region."

"When these flowers grow to bloom, we can patrol and maintain them. Unless there are giant beasts we can't handle, we can drive away any other Beasts that come to eat them."

Simply put, the standard is achieved through quantity.

Distributed across various regions.

According to their observations, Bohong Flower does indeed grow almost everywhere, but in very small quantities in each location.

This indicates that any sunny area in the Giant Beast Kingdom is suitable for the growth and cultivation of Bohong Flower.

"Let's try to build a plantation later when we're stronger. We can't keep Kevin stuck on the plantation forever."

Biscuit said helplessly.

At this stage, only Kevin can be certain that if an area is designated as a plantation, it can be defended.

However, this is something that will take quite a while.

As the main force, Kevin will definitely be heading to explore the Gale Grassland.

Not to mention that Kevin has already headed towards the Gale Grassland.

Their third exploration began.

Let's use this method.

After Kevin and the others left, Biscuit, who was in charge of logistics, made the final decision.

Outside the Gale Grassland.

Kevin and his team returned once again, ready to begin their third exploration.

The members are Kevin, Melusina, Rukira, Koala, Men Qi, and Buhaci.

You could say they're the main team.

"Our goal this time is to explore the interior of the grassland, determine the ecological environment of the Long-haired Yak, understand the ecological environment inside and outside the grassland, and identify the more dangerous areas."

Kevin explained the objectives of their operation.

"Then let's take action."

As they spoke, the group stepped into the grassland area.

Not long after walking inside, Wind Blade formed from hurricane energy began to blow.

Melusina was walking in front, lifted her cloak and shielded herself from view.

"When!"

A crisp, metallic scraping sound.

The Wind Blade was blocked.

After blocking the attack, Melusina smoothed out her cloak and looked at the marks on it.

"No problem, the effect is better than expected. If we use [Zhou] to assist us, it should be able to support us to advance a considerable distance."

Only after confirming the effect did Melusina nod in satisfaction.

Each member of the Exploration Team wore a cloak that looked rather rugged and wild.

At a glance, it's clear that this is a cloak made entirely of cut and sewn fur, with fine gray scales on the outside and faint patterns on it.

The cloak's interior is covered with a unique layer of down, and a special curing and sewing technique makes the entire cloak extremely soft.

But the outer scales also confirm their defensive capabilities.

The cloak was so large it looked like a decoration; when lifted up, it could almost be used as Paraglider, completely enveloping the person inside.

This is the equipment they use to defend against the Wind Blade.

Using [Zhou] can also enhance the defensive capabilities of equipment.

It seems to be working well.

"Then leave the target reconnaissance to me."

Men Qi spoke, even more scout Nen Beast, mostly birds, surged out.

Like a flock of birds, they flew into the sky and scattered into the distance.

Rukira also spread his wings and took to the sky.

A short while later, Men Qi sensed her target.

"I sensed something at three o'clock, something resembling Long-haired Yak."

As soon as he finished speaking, Rukira's wings flashed in the sky, and he transformed into a streak of Flowing Light, disappearing in the direction Men Qi had pointed.

They continued onward without stopping.

After a while, Rukira's voice came from the Chimera Ant on his wrist.

"It's confirmed to be Long-haired Yak; judging by its size, it's larger than the ones we've encountered before."

Received the message.

Searing flames gathered around.

Everyone dispersed, leaving an open space.

A fiery red Flowing Light enveloped Kevin like wings, and then flames shot into the sky.

A crimson trail was drawn across the sky as Kevin headed in that direction.

This is their simple way of moving forward.

Although they had crafted cloaks to protect against the Wind Blade, they understood from their previous exploration that the stronger the Wind Blade became as they went deeper, eventually reaching a point where their cloaks could no longer withstand them.

Moreover, the prolonged hacking and slashing would consume too much of the cloak. This kind of cloak must be made from tough fur, and even in the Giant Beast Kingdom, the number of creatures that take fur is not large.

Under normal circumstances, people would certainly not want to indiscriminately slaughter animals for their fur, not to mention that these furs are quite difficult to process and require a considerable amount of time.

So, the goal is to reduce the frequency of attacks and increase durability.

That would naturally be the solution to the source of the attack.

The Long-haired Yak that suddenly attacked them last time had already revealed some information.

Kevin was flying in the sky.

They quickly noticed Rukira.

The fiery Flowing Light vanished instantly, flowing back into Kevin's body and finally settling on the Phoenix pattern on his back.

Without his fiery wings, Kevin plummeted downwards, but Rukira, who had been waiting, flew over and caught Kevin.

And so, they dragged Kevin along and flew towards the direction where the yak was.

There was no way around it; Kevin's Phoenix form was just too conspicuous. If he got too close, it would definitely alert the enemy.

Besides wanting to drive away the Long-haired Yak, Kevin also wanted to test their strength.

After all, as long as we explore the interior of the Gale Grassland, conflicts with them are inevitable, so the sooner we understand them, the better.

The Long-haired Yak spotted them as they tried to approach from the sky.

With a moo, the Long-haired Yak floated on the grass, flicking its long, thin tail.

The hurricane converged, and a transparent blade slashed towards the two people in the sky.

We're almost there.

Rukira grabbed Kevin and forcefully flung him away, then flipped his wings and descended, dodging the Wind Blade.

Using the force, Kevin charged towards the yak.

It seems that dodging and turning in the air is not so easy.

So the Long-haired Yak had no intention of dodging; it simply spun around in place, its tail slicing through the air.

A sharper, thinner blade flew over.

Kevin simply pushed his hands forward, and the multi-layered barrier forcefully blocked the Wind Blade.

Kevin had already fallen to the ground.

He bent his knees and lunged forward with a sudden burst of speed.

"Bang!"

An exaggerated, deafening roar.

The area where Kevin started was instantly blasted into a cloud of mud and rocks.

He appeared beside the Long-haired Yak like an arrow released from a bow.

He threw a punch.

"Boom!"

Rolling.

The Long-haired Yak was knocked to the ground by this punch, its levitation ability instantly lost, and it crashed into the grass.

Did it hit?

To be honest, Kevin was also a little surprised that the punch landed.

Is it really that easy?

Because a powerful creature must possess at least one characteristic.

Difficult to attack.

Whether it's because of its massive size and strong defense that it wouldn't be affected if hit, or whether it simply can't be hit at all.

All of these can be considered to fall into this category.

This is a fundamental condition, and also a basic conclusion Kevin reached in the Dark Continent.

If a creature is easily and reliably hit, it must be weak unless it possesses some kind of ability that requires being hit to activate.

Kevin hit his opponent, was unaffected, as his attack had incorporated some self-defense.

And this Long-haired Yak was simply hammered down.

The moment the Long-haired Yak was hit and fell to the ground, the surrounding Wang Gen Grass began to grow wildly.

It grew upwards at a speed visible to the naked eye, and upon seeing this, Kevin was immediately enveloped in flames and sent flying into the sky.

Rukira also flew over.

The two of them looked down at the wildly growing Wang Gen Grass, which suddenly grew to a height of three meters, turning into a long, wavy ocean.

The Long-haired Yak was buried in the rubble after it fell and was never seen again.

Kevin knew perfectly well that his punch had only knocked the Long-haired Yak down; he had no intention of killing it. The yak was knocked down but not dead.

Now there's no sound left, let alone any struggle.

The two of them looked at it with furrowed brows.

After a few minutes, the previously rampant Wang Gen Grass began to shorten and return to their original positions.

The Long-haired Yak lying on the ground was completely invisible.

Only the lawn remained, untouched by any trace, as if nothing had ever happened.

The two men frowned and looked at each other.

"This seems to have come as a surprise to us."

They waited and observed there. About half an hour later, Men Qi and the others arrived from the grassland.

They encountered no wind along the way.

Instead, they also managed to hunt two sheep, which have already been put into their Pocket Flower.

Have the Long-haired Yak been driven away?

Seeing that there were no cow carcasses around, Men Qi asked.

Her tone carried a hint of regret; she still wanted to taste the other person's flavor.

Kevin shook his head.

"They weren't driven away."

Looking around, Buhaci saw no signs of a battle and roughly understood.

"So you mean after you arrived, the other party just ran away?"

"No, I launched an attack and knocked down the Long-haired Yak, but the problem is that it got eaten by the grassland."

"They ate up? This whole grassland?"

Upon hearing this, the group jumped back a few steps.

Kevin nodded.

"This is also a bit strange to us, as we hadn't noticed anything unusual about these grasses before."

"But when those Long-haired Yak fell to the ground, they were instantly entangled by these Wang Gen Grass."

"Just----"

Kevin simply recounted the scene that had just occurred.

Everyone fell silent.

"It seems there's something in the Travelogue that wasn't recorded, or even mentioned in passing."

"It seems there might be something very dangerous lurking on this grassland that I haven't discovered."

The Koala took a swig of wine and said this.

That's the style of writing in Travelogue.

Potential dangers are glossed over, while formidable dangers are left unmentioned. Perfect harvests are documented in detail.

"Now you can probably understand why those Long-haired Yak use the wind to lift themselves up and float on the grassland."

Upon hearing this, Buhaci thought for a moment and said, "But whether it's those horses, cattle, sheep, or us, we all firmly tread this land with our legs."

"But the Wang Gen Grass didn't grow wildly and cover us up, did they? If Shishi was defeated, that's clearly a stretch."

This reminded Melusina, who immediately said, "Do you remember what Koto said before? She said that these Wang Gen Grass are all malnourished."

"The fertility of the land in this grassland area is beyond doubt, and there are so many highly nutritious organisms that die on the grassland, turning their own nutrients into fertilizer."

"Logically, such high fertility should be enough to make these Wang Gen Grass grow wildly, but they are still malnourished."

"This may indicate that the nutrients required by these Wang Gen Grass are of high quality and strong, which are clearly not met by cattle, horses, or humans like us."

"Only Long-haired Yak that can produce absolutely high nutritional value are the Winter Point target, which is why Long-haired Yak are suspended on the grassland."

While it's impossible to draw a definitive conclusion on this hypothesis immediately, it must be said that, based on the information they currently have, it is explainable.

Men Qi chimed in, "From this perspective, perhaps this is the natural cycle on the grassland. These Wang Gen Grass like potatoes are malnourished, but their nutritional value is undeniable."

"Therefore, Long-haired Yak need to live on grasslands and feed on these Wang Gen Grass, just so they can avoid stepping on the ground."

"Then how do we interpret the ecological environment here?" the Koala asked.

To be honest, he was completely clueless about biological plants and environmental research.

He only knew how to kill and how to control.

"There's no way to draw a direct conclusion here, because there are too many possibilities. It's possible that these Long-haired Yak intentionally drove other creatures away, preventing them from approaching the inner pastures."

"Therefore, we can determine that the closer we go in, the higher the nutrient content of the pastures, which is what the Long-haired Yak population needs, and they are naturally driven away."

Kevin was explaining the possibility to the Buddha from the side.

Buhaci added, "It's possible that they're specifically eliminating a portion of the creatures to provide more nutrients to the grassland. Perhaps this will give them some time to react when they fall, allowing them to get back up instead of being covered and eaten by the grassland as soon as they touch the ground."

After discussing and reflecting on the matter, the group decided to move forward once more.

At least they were able to go deeper into the grasslands and gain a more specific understanding of the situation there.