"Rip—"
A crisp tearing sound rang out.
[Tree-Chopping Block Person] took a step forward, only for his right sleeve to be yanked hard by an enormous force, ripping a huge tear straight through it. The culprit was a round-bodied, four-legged beast. It had clamped its jaws around his sleeve corner, staring at him with two bell-sized eyes as it rumbled deep in its throat.
"Let go! Spit it out! For fuck's sake, I'm a person, not high-fiber pasture grass!!"
The breeder player responsible for receiving them laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath. He quickly snapped off a compressed hay block from his waist pouch and held it up to the giant beast's mouth.
The beast flared its nostrils and sniffed twice, immediately releasing the torn strip of cloth. Its large tongue curled around the hay block and swallowed it, chewing with loud, crunchy relish.
[Tree-Chopping Block Person] looked at his exposed arm and covered his forehead with a helpless laugh. "Are all the mounts bred in your reserve reincarnated gluttons?"
"Who told you to push in two whole cartloads of concentrated rations just now? It had its eyes on you from the start."
The breeder player laughed as he patted the thick folds of skin around the beast's neck, then pointed at the securely mounted heavy saddle frame on its back. "Don't worry, Brother Block. This is a trained Tier Two adult Transport Beast from the batch sent over by the reserve. Its footing is damn steady. Take it for a few laps and you'll see."
A full week had passed since the encounter in the canyon basin.
Following established roads and transport hubs, the Southern Plains Breeding Reserve had delivered this batch of adult Transport Beasts, along with a small number of seedlings and young beasts.