Chapter 18

Ka sat dashingly on Modo's back, flicked his cloak, and held out his right index finger toward the student who had shouted at him.

He wagged it a few times left and right, saying, "You got it wrong. I am the King of the Rotting Swamp, Kubaka, not an Earth Dragon Knight."

Everyone looked at one another, and even the three teachers stopped attacking Peiganbo.

Peiganbo showed his hand-blades and said, "Your Excellency is also a Magic Beast. Why help humans for nothing?"

Kubaka looked at the Blood Mantis, then turned back and complained to Lin Hanxuan, "Hey, Lin Hanxuan, there isn't much meat on a mantis, and it's tough. I don't want to fight him."

"Just do me a favor and think of a way to stop him from killing people. I never asked you to kill him," Lin Hanxuan said.

"Oh, that's fine then," Kubaka said.

"Hmph. A mighty Magic Beast actually taking orders from humans. And you still have the nerve to call yourself the King of the Rotting Swamp?" Peiganbo was tough too. Seeing that the situation had already turned against him, he still struck a stance ready for a fight.

"Come on, let's see who's faster." Peiganbo issued the challenge himself. He had absolute confidence in himself.

Kubaka jumped down, patted Modo, and said, "Modo, go protect Lin Hanxuan and the others." Modo crawled over beside Lin Hanxuan and used his long body to encircle Lin Hanxuan and the others.

"Bring out all your strength. Mother said a true Blood Mantis isn't what you look like now," Kubaka said.

"Fine. Since we are both Magic Beasts, I originally didn't want to hurt you. Since you insist on fighting, don't blame me," Peiganbo said viciously.

Thunder Eagle Dahei leisurely beat his wings in the air. The person riding on his back was not his long-time master, Lei Wang, but another great mage of the Thunder Eagle Empire.

Fields gripped Silver Chain tightly and looked around. It had been a long time since he had taken a careful look at the empire's daytime scenery. Beneath his feet, the view slowly changed from a bustling city into villages scattered with single-story houses, where farmers on the ground were working diligently.

The investigation team had only just returned to the imperial capital that morning. Under Lei Wang and Fields's explanations, Emperor Lei Chen finally truly understood how terrifying this natural disaster in the beastkin territory was. The northern part of the vast forest looked as if some fierce beast had bitten a huge chunk out of it. The river channels that had once flowed through had also vanished, leaving the ground bare and empty. The places attacked by the Sand Tigers had already suffered severe desertification, becoming a land of deathly silence. Tens of thousands of beastkin disaster victims had instantly been displaced. The empire's Northwest Legion had accepted a portion of them, first using marching tents to temporarily settle the victims, while temporary dwellings were also being rushed through construction. Under Lei Xun's orderly command, no conflicts had broken out between the beastkin and the imperial soldiers. Another portion, under the Beastkin Grand Commander's orders, had first withdrawn to the southern end of the forest. The sudden influx of people instantly made the southern forest extraordinarily lively, but it also gave rise to quite a few public-security incidents. For this reason, the Grand Commander had no choice but to exercise his authority and redivide the spheres of influence in the area. Although the original beastkin residents whose settlements had been carved up were dissatisfied, the Grand Commander promised that this method of division was only temporary and that the losses of the original residents would be compensated in other ways, and only then did the voices of dissatisfaction gradually subside.

After presiding over the meeting for the investigation report, Fields asked Lei Chen for leave, saying that he needed to make a trip back to Dead City. Since the Sand Tiger pack's whereabouts were temporarily unknown at the moment, Lei Chen reluctantly agreed, and even specifically requested Lei Wang to lend out his mount, hoping Fields would go and return quickly. Fields also promised Lei Chen that he would return to the imperial capital as soon as possible.

Sitting on Dahei's back, the vast sky before him made Fields's chest unconsciously open with relief. He threw back his head and let out several long howls, crying again and again that it felt wonderful. He had originally intended to fly straight from the imperial capital back to Dead City, but after a turn of thought, he decided to take a detour first and go to Axon Town to check on Lin Hanxuan and Hal's progress in their studies.

Peiganbo was enraged by Kubaka and decided to face Kubaka's challenge in his true form. He had originally thought that his ordinary state would be enough to slaughter everyone in Axon Town, but he had not expected a King of the Rotting Swamp to appear out of nowhere. This time, he would hold nothing back and meet the battle in his strongest state.

Magic Beast studies teacher Heifan secretly poked Duoduo and Tidavi, hinting for them to attack while Peiganbo was transforming. That was when a Magic Beast was at its weakest. Duoduo and Tidavi understood, each beginning to gather magic power, waiting only for Heifan to give the order.

The transformation began. The color of Peiganbo's body shifted from green to pallid white, with mottled red spots flickering in and out beneath his white skin. Peiganbo, who had originally been roughly four times a person's height, seemed to have suddenly shrunk by a third. His two long, slender hand-blades also retracted backward, looking even more solid. The wounds on his abdomen and back, inflicted by Aslan and Hal respectively, also gradually contracted, no longer letting disgusting bodily fluids flow out.

Peiganbo's triangular eyes glared fiercely at Kubaka, while the joints throughout his body kept cracking and popping. Kubaka held his saber, calm and composed as he waited for Peiganbo to transform.

"Now," Heifan shouted. A green spherical object shot from his hand. "Parani, rapid growth." The Parani Man-eating Flower was a plant-type Magic Beast, and Heifan always carried one or two seeds on him. At this moment, taking advantage of the fact that Peiganbo could not move, he seized the opening and released Parani. The originally green seed hit the ground and rapidly grew into a huge black plant, its roots plunging tightly into the soil. Two black branches, one on the left and one on the right, wrapped around Peiganbo's left and right hind legs. Then pitch-black vines sprouted from the branches and swiftly spread across Peiganbo's legs.

"Despicable," Peiganbo said angrily.

Duoduo and Tidavi were just about to follow Heifan and make their moves when Lin Hanxuan suddenly shouted, "Teachers, please stop."