Claw Monkey VS Drunkard Dog

The sun lingered reluctantly behind the mountain peaks, and the stars began to emerge. The cloudy sky took on a deep blue hue, heavier and more profound than the sea.

The evening breeze brushed against Chu Yun's face, shifting from lukewarm to crisp. The surroundings gradually grew quiet as insects began to sing. In the summer forest, amidst the dense canopy and the interplay of light and shadow, vitality and lethal intent coexisted.

Chu Yun climbed a gentle slope and gazed ahead. Comparing his memories to the reality before him, he soon identified the correct path.

He let out a sigh of relief. In his previous life, he had proven with his own actions that this route was quite safe. He felt confident that he could reach that nameless volcano.

But just then, a flock of birds took flight from the distance, circling in the air and emitting shrill cries, refusing to settle back down.

Someone is behind me? Chu Yun narrowed his eyes. He recognized this flock. They were Iron-Beak Birds, a docile species of demonic beast commonly found in the forest.

Humans have their own rules, and the forest has its own laws.

Iron-Beak Birds were not foolish enough to choose a territory frequented by ferocious beasts to nest and build their homes. At this time of day, there should be no natural predators—like the Sawtooth Forest Python—hunting them.

Relying on his experience, Chu Yun quickly concluded that whatever was disturbing the forest's tranquility must be human. Judging by the violent reaction of the Iron-Beak Birds, there were quite a few of them.

"They've engaged," Chu Yun muttered. The sounds of fighting drifted on the wind. When provoked, Iron-Beak Birds would launch a collective assault; their momentum was imposing, and their power was not to be underestimated.

A moment later, the Iron-Beak Birds flew off into the night sky, clearly having been bested by the intruders.

The night grew darker, but it could not obscure Chu Yun's bright, dark eyes—they were glowing!

Based on the recent events, he had made a preliminary assessment that the group consisted of about ten people, all possessing the combat strength of novice beast tamers. Otherwise, they would not have caused such a large-scale disturbance, nor would they have so easily driven the Iron-Beak Birds from their nests.

Who were these people? What was their objective? Why had they appeared behind him? Was it related to him?

In an instant, lightning-fast thoughts flashed through Chu Yun's mind as countless speculations and doubts crowded in.

The Iron-Beak Birds slowly flew back to their beloved nests, and Chu Yun's gaze tightened once more.

The intruders had left. Where did they go?

His intuition told him that their target seemed to be him. He suddenly thought of Lady Shu and couldn't help but gasp. If she had truly dispatched her subordinates to take advantage of this opportunity and hunt him down, never mind beast tamers—even three or four ordinary strong men would be more than Chu Yun could handle!

He was, after all, still just a thirteen-year-old boy!

While he wasn't exactly powerless, if he were to compare strength with an adult, he would certainly suffer a crushing defeat.

The cool night breeze blew, yet it could not dispel the chill that permeated his body; the sense of crisis in his heart grew intense!

Thinking of defeat before victory, Chu Yun, having been reborn, was steady and cautious. A flash of sharp light bloomed in his clear eyes before vanishing without a trace.

"I remember there is a Claw Monkey nearby, a small demonic beast that seems to have reached twelve years of cultivation." A smile quietly blossomed at the corners of Chu Yun's mouth.

"Damn those Iron-Beak Birds! This might have just exposed us!" The shop assistant, his clothes stained with blood and torn to shreds, walked in the lead with an uneven gait, cursing angrily.

"What are you afraid of? The target is just a wet-behind-the-ears brat. Maybe he saw the commotion and is curiously heading our way right now! Hahaha! Then we can catch him red-handed." The bearded man's voice was loud, echoing through the forest and startling the wildlife.

The shop assistant couldn't help but recall Chu Yun's calm, slightly mocking eyes, and he shook his head. He had an intuition that the target would be difficult to deal with. Completing this mission would be exceptionally troublesome.

"Shut up. You were the one who woke those Iron-Beak Birds. There are many wild demonic beasts in this forest; it's better to be careful." The man with triangular eyes spoke slowly, his tone cold and his expression dissatisfied as he looked at the bearded man.

"Hmph!" The bearded man snorted, but eventually lowered his voice. He knew that although this was the outer rim of the forest, wild demonic beasts were indeed numerous. Even with their strength, they still needed to be cautious.

However, even so, the bearded man remained dismissive; the target was just a child. If it weren't for the fact that the higher-ups urgently needed that full bag of Snow Sand, there would have been no need to deploy someone of his combat caliber.

As time passed, the forest grew silent, and the bright moon appeared in the sky. The pure white moonlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, forming pillars of light like glowing jade. Their field of vision was not restricted by the night; rather, it became even more expansive.

"Heaven is on our side; the little brat won't be able to run!" The bearded man flared his nostrils, revealing a hideous and terrifying grin. Under the moonlight, the tracks Chu Yun left behind were intermittent but clearly visible. In front of seasoned killers like them, he was fully exposed.

But suddenly!

A black shadow let out a strange cry and leaped down from the canopy above.

Splat!

A burly man let out a miserable shriek and collapsed to the ground. A large hole appeared in his left chest, and scarlet blood gushed out, quickly staining the earth beneath him.

His heart was gone!

His body twitched a few times before going still, his face frozen in an expression of sheer terror, his eyes wide open in death!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

The ghostly black shadow stood on a tree branch, emitting a savage and eerie cackle. Just then, the night breeze stirred the branches and the moonlight shifted, revealing the shadow's true form.

"A Claw Monkey!" Someone on the scene let out a cry of extreme terror.

The vicious Claw Monkey had a pair of copper-bell-like eyes that glinted with bloodlust. It was only the size of an adult's head, covered in jet-black, shiny fur, with its tail held high, long limbs, and sharp, lethal claws. In its right claw, it held a human heart the size of a fist.

Thump-thump, thump-thump. The heart was still beating in its claw.

Gulp.

Under the horrified gazes of the group, the Claw Monkey opened its mouth and swallowed the heart in one bite. This type of demonic beast fed specifically on hearts.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

After swallowing the heart, the blood-red light in the Claw Monkey's eyes surged, and it began to dance frantically on the branch, emitting a terrifying, grotesque laugh. Soon, the blood-red light spread from its eyes, flowing over its entire body.

Instantly, the Claw Monkey radiated a heart-palpitating, dangerous aura.

"Damn it, it's a dead monkey that has comprehended the Bloodlust Dao Technique!" The bearded man cursed fiercely, slapped the black leather pouch at his waist, and roared, "Come out, Drunkard Dog!"

A black light shot out from the pouch and landed on the ground, revealing a black dog with a stubby tail. What made it unique was its nose, which was large and red, with a few black hairs growing crookedly from it. Upon seeing the Claw Monkey, it immediately arched its back, bared its teeth, and let out a low, threatening growl.

Wild demonic beasts, without the command of a beast tamer, did not possess exceptional intelligence. Following the principle of eliminating the greatest threat first, the bloodthirsty Claw Monkey immediately locked its crimson gaze onto the most threatening Drunkard Dog, completely lacking the strategy to strike at the weak.

"Squeak--!"

The Claw Monkey kicked off the branch beneath its feet with great force, shooting toward the Drunkard Dog on the ground like a black-red cannonball. The latter, refusing to be outdone, let out a roar and pushed off with equal force, leaping into the air to meet it.

Bang!

The two sides collided fiercely in mid-air, evenly matched, and emitted a dull thud. They landed on the ground immediately after, plunging into a bloody and intense melee.

Seeing that the situation had finally stabilized, the rest of the group breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The shop assistant, body trembling and head hunched, scurried behind the bearded man.

This scene fell entirely into the eyes of Chu Yun, who was hidden in the grass not far away.

Seeing that the other party had fallen into his trap and was being attacked by the Claw Monkey, the joy that had just welled up in Chu Yun's heart was immediately replaced by a wave of lingering fear and chill.

Two Spirit Beast Masters! Aside from them, they are all murderous-looking brutes. Who are they?

He held his breath and focused, calmly sizing these people up. His gaze swept over the bearded man and the man with triangular eyes before shifting to the others. Suddenly, his eyes paused as he spotted the shop assistant from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion earlier that day.

It was actually him? He was surprised for a moment, then recalled the scene from earlier, and his heart brightened. So, they were blinded by greed. That bag of Snow Sand of mine is indeed worth a fortune on the market, easily worth over 800 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. Hmph, to mobilize two Spirit Beast Masters at once, they really do think highly of me.

His heart turned cold. The enemy's methods were ruthless and merciless; even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength, and they clearly did not intend to give him any room to counterattack. Now, he was isolated and helpless, the Heavenly Fox Egg had yet to hatch, and his only reliance was the Mountain Chopping Blade in his hand.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel his heart race and his throat go dry. The enemy's strength was so great that he had absolutely no chance of winning! According to his memories, he had never imagined this battle would occur. He couldn't help but regret: why hadn't he followed his past life's memories step by step? Why had he suddenly felt the urge to go to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, triggering such changes and pushing himself into a desperate situation with a nine-in-ten chance of death?

Calm down, calm down!

Soon, Chu Yun adjusted his mindset. In his past life, he had often found himself trapped by deadly enemies while exploring hidden mysteries; his rich life experience taught him that impatient emotions would only push him faster into an abyss of no return.

The battle between the Claw Monkey and the Drunkard Dog had entered a white-hot stage. The two sides traded blows, dust flew, and the cold light of the claws appeared even more vivid in the dim forest. Blood splattered everywhere, and both sides sustained wounds, large and small.

"Drunkard Dog, Wild Mountain Claw!" The bearded man seized the opportunity and suddenly roared.

The Drunkard Dog's ears pricked up as it accepted the command, its momentum surging instantly. A surge of black demonic essence surged through its entire body, concentrating on its right front paw in almost an instant. An aura as heavy as a mountain and as wild as the wilderness swept in all directions.

"Woof!" With a bark, the Drunkard Dog struck out with its right paw—seemingly slow but actually lightning-fast—hitting the Claw Monkey.

A look of terror flashed in the Claw Monkey's eyes, but it had already exhausted its old strength and had yet to generate new force. With a bang, it was struck by the Wild Mountain Claw, letting out a shrill, miserable scream as its body was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into a large tree.

Another dull thud.

The tree trembled, branches and leaves swaying and rustling. A crater appeared in the thick trunk, which would have required five people to encircle. The Claw Monkey was embedded within it, and only after a few seconds did it fall to the ground. Its body trembled, blood leaking from its seven orifices, and its originally crimson monkey eyes grew even more ferocious.

"Damn it, a monkey buffed with the Bloodlust Dao Technique is truly troublesome," the bearded man cursed softly, then commanded the Drunkard Dog again, "Charge up and keep fighting!"

"Woof!" Hearing the order, the Drunkard Dog shook off its fatigue, regained its spirit, and lunged forward once more to engage the even crazier Claw Monkey.