The yellow sand rolled straight into the sky. Across the plain, rocks as big as buckets tumbled wildly in the wind.
In a valley on the northern side of a mountain range's western foothills, deep in Australia, mountains surrounded the area. A peak rose sharply from the middle, its summit flat like a platform. It looked just like a dragon's tooth, which amazed Liu Yun.
This was a desert, where daytime temperatures reached thirty or forty degrees. But after night fell, snowflakes drifted over the high-altitude plateau atop the mountain.
Amid the falling snow, dozens of Lord-level Black Panther Beasts and hundreds of War General-level Black Panther Beasts surrounded a King-level beast that looked like a tiger. From their vantage point, they stared down into the valley beneath Dragon Tooth Mountain!
"How about it, Wild Ape? Have you made up your mind? If you surrender to me, I might spare your life."
The Tiger King spoke to the enormous King-level gorilla in the valley below, where countless giant apes roared.
The valley was filled with seven- or eight-meter-tall giant apes, each wielding an iron staff as they fought off the Black Panther Beasts surrounding them. They had obviously fallen into an ambush and were at a disadvantage.
Lord-level monsters already possessed considerable intelligence, while King-level monsters could speak human language. It was only natural that they could devise schemes and ambushes.
Liu Yun, Yang Xiaolong, Ruby, and the others had hidden in the valley using the Venom Battle Suit's invisibility function. They had accidentally wandered into the encirclement, so for now, all they could do was stay hidden.
The Venom Battle Suit's technology was invincible! It blocked everything, from thermal radiation and visible light to sound waves and odors. They could hide here without being discovered.
"Oh my god! There's a King-level monster! We're doomed!"
Yang Xiaolong used the Venom Battle Suit's communication function to speak with her teammates. Their voices were completely blocked off; even at close range, only the radio could carry messages between them.
They had gotten so caught up in hunting monsters that they had wandered into this place. Now even Xueni looked tense.
"War God Liu Yun, do you have any ideas? If this keeps up, we're done for!"
Her clear voice was filled with panic. With two King-level monsters here, along with a whole host of beast generals and Lord-level monsters, they had no chance of escaping.
Liu Yun quietly used his Psychic Power to lift them into the air. Before the four women could even cry out, his powerful Psychic Power gently enveloped them, shutting out all sound and vibration from the outside world. They felt a warm, steady force surrounding them. Then the scenery rushed past, as though they were hurtling through a tunnel in time and space, and they arrived at the summit of Dragon Tooth Mountain.
That was the power of a Psychic. Liu Yun could fly, so he simply carried them into the air. A desperate situation had become an easy escape.
Of course, Liu Yun wasn't completely oblivious to romance. He swept the young lady Xueni into his arms and carried her to safety in a princess hold.
Xueni felt as though she were dreaming. When her clear eyes finally focused again, she saw Liu Yun's resolute yet gentle face, and felt the steady beat of his heart against her. Her cheeks flushed as she parted her lips, her voice tinged with embarrassment and curiosity. "Liu Yun, you... are you done holding me yet?"
At her words, even the air seemed to fill with a hint of flirtation. Liu Yun smiled faintly. His gentle gaze swept over the women's faces, made all the more lovely by their fright, before finally settling on Xueni. "With you by my side at a moment like this, when life and death hang in the balance, I'm the lucky one. But now that we're safe, of course I'll let go."
He teased them a little. Since they were out of danger, the four women didn't hold it against him, tacitly accepting his small liberties. After all, they knew that while they were officially the Four-Color Squad, in practice they were a harem.
Now that they were somewhere safe, they had time to watch the monsters scheme against one another. The giant apes roared for a while, then one of them spoke.
"Hmph, Tiger King! You despicable, treacherous coward! You used the Silver Ape Beast to trick me! If you've got the guts, come down here and fight me one-on-one!"
Surrounded by Golden Ape Beasts, the tallest of the giant apes, Wild Ape, roared at the Tiger King. They were now in a desperate situation. The valley was surrounded by sheer mountain walls that they could never overcome.
Wild Ape had two generals: the Silver Ape Beast and the Golden Ape Beast. The Silver Ape Beast had betrayed him, leaving him in this predicament!
Standing beside the Tiger King, the Silver Ape Beast curled its lips into a smug sneer, clearly taking great satisfaction in Wild Ape's fury and despair. In a sharp, cunning voice, it replied, "Wild Ape, you call yourself the ruler of this mountain range, yet you can't even judge character. I, the Silver Ape Beast, have always sought greater status and greater strength. What could you offer me? His Excellency the Tiger King promised me a place among the beast clan in the future. Why wouldn't I take him up on it?"
Wild Ape's eyes blazed with even greater fury. He gripped his iron staff so tightly that it creaked, as though it might snap at any moment.
"Silver Ape Beast, you traitor! I treated you like a brother, and you betrayed me and joined our enemies! If I get out of this alive, I'll tear you limb from limb!"
The Tiger King watched with a faint smile, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Wild Ape, there's no need to be so tense. I'm not going to kill you. All you have to do is cut off your own right arm today, and I'll let you live. How does that sound? Ahahahahaha!"
The Tiger King declared that he would spare them if Wild Ape cut off his own arm. Wild Ape seemed tempted, but the Golden Ape Beast stopped him.
"My king! The Tiger King is full of tricks. He won't keep his word. He's only saying this to make you mutilate yourself and weaken your fighting strength!"
The Golden Ape Beast was fiercely loyal—and it could speak, too. In fact, some unusually gifted monsters could speak even at the Lord level, such as parrot-like monsters.
Giant apes were close to humans in intelligence, so it was only natural that they could speak. The Golden Ape Beast had even seen through the Tiger King's scheme.
"Hmph, you won't know what's good for you! You're asking for death!"
Seeing his scheme fail, the Tiger King ordered his subordinates to attack. The besieged giant apes suffered heavy casualties in an instant.
Hearing the Tiger King's taunt and order, the Golden Ape Beast's anger burned so fiercely it seemed almost tangible. It knew the battle was likely to end in disaster, but to protect Wild Ape and the clan behind him, it made a tragic decision.
"Lord Wild Ape, run! I'll clear a path for you!" The Golden Ape Beast's voice rang through the valley, carrying an unshakable resolve. Its muscles suddenly tensed, as though it had gathered all its strength and fury. A dazzling light began to shine from its body—the sign that its energy was being compressed to the limit.
"No! Golden Ape Beast, stop!" Wild Ape's eyes widened in horror. He knew the Golden Ape Beast was about to self-destruct, trading its life for a chance to strike back. But it was too late. The energy within the Golden Ape Beast erupted like a volcano, making the entire valley tremble.
"Boom!" The deafening blast shook the air. The Golden Ape Beast's body swelled in an instant, then exploded before everyone's shocked eyes. The force was so tremendous that it shook the surrounding mountains. Rocks rained down, dust blotted out the sky, and chaos engulfed the entire valley.
The Tiger King and his Black Panther Beast army were caught in the sudden explosion. Many Black Panther Beasts were hurled away by the shock wave, and some were rendered unable to fight. The Tiger King yanked the Silver Ape Beast in front of him as a shield, prompting it to scream.
"What?! Tiger King, you despicable coward!"
The Silver Ape Beast died, its eyes still wide open. The Tiger King, however, was suppressed by the explosion for a brief moment.
Liu Yun seized the opportunity to turn invisible and appear beside the Tiger King. The Venom Battle Suit gave him an enormous boost. How could an ordinary monster possibly resist him?
"Hmph, clever kitty. You'll be working for me now."
He intended to tame the Tiger King. The Crystal on his chest blazed with light, enveloping the Tiger King!
"No!"
The Tiger King managed only a single cry before its consciousness was completely devoured by the computer. The Machine Race Clone's computing power was terrifying, and so was its Psychic Power. By expending forty percent of its stored energy, it could control a Planetary Stage Beast King in the blink of an eye.
Every member of the beast clan caught in the light became Liu Yun's servant, including Wild Ape, who had tried to flee.
"Golden Ape Beast, I shouldn't have listened to the Silver Ape Beast's lies. In the end, I caused your death..."
That was Wild Ape's final thought. Afterward, he too was tamed by the Machine Race Clone. This was also the result of Liu Yun's base growing better and better, leaving the Machine Race Clone with ever more energy.
Both the tiger and the giant ape were now under Liu Yun's control. Ruby and the others were astonished. Seeing the many monsters behaving so meekly, they were utterly convinced and obeyed Liu Yun without question.
That was a Beast King! Even a Councilor would have trouble dealing with one, yet Liu Yun had captured two alive. Just how powerful was he?
"I knew I was right! Liu Yun must have the magical powers from the Crystal Ball! He's invincible, the most powerful magician in the world!"
Ruby cried out as if she had uncovered the truth. The others stayed silent, occasionally fixing Liu Yun and the Crystal Ball with blazing gazes.
"Well, controlling these monsters is enough for now. We can use them to hunt other monsters later."
Liu Yun spoke, and Ruby and the others each climbed onto a Black Panther Beast, fully agreeing with him.
Just then, the Tiger King and Wild Ape exchanged a glance. Now that they served the same master, there was no point in continuing their feud.
"My lord, there's another Tyrant Dragon King nearby. It's stronger than us, and two other Beast Kings serve it. We recently heard it went to hunt down the humans who fell onto the continent. You should be careful!"
The Tiger King and Wild Ape spoke in unison. Liu Yun nodded to show he understood. They were probably hunting the elites from the Limit Dojo. He would go tame this Tyrant Dragon King himself.
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