A Deal Between Humans and Beast Kings

A hawk-nosed man, led by Rox, entered the villa.

Lin Wei and Chen Dai shot up from their seats and hid behind Chu Wen, instinctively sensing danger.

For no other reason than that the man had a sharp beak-like mouth, eagle eyes, and a pair of brown wings on his back.

"Heh, these are the elites of Xinhang Martial University? Not much to look at."

Rox introduced him. "This is a Beast King from the Kunlun Mountains, known as the Eagle-Eye Beast King. He is our partner in this operation."

Lin Wei and Chen Dai both sucked in a sharp breath, unable to find a word to say.

Chu Wen did recall what the insect queen had said before: it seemed that cooperating with humans was no secret among Beast Kings.

After all, there were bound to be conflicts of interest between Beast Kings as well. There were no eternal enemies.

Considering that the Beast Kings of Kunlun did not proactively attack humans, this cooperation had probably been going on for years.

"At least there's one decent-looking one. Heh." If not for the pair of wings, the Eagle-Eye Beast King truly did not look much different from an ordinary human.

"The battle for control of Netherworld Lake won't be especially fierce this time. By the usual pattern, the Blood Bodhi Tree will only bear two fruits."

"You humans want one for research, and I want one as well. I have a grandson I dote on dearly, and he'll soon advance to Beast King rank. When the time comes, he'll need this fruit to awaken his intelligence."

The Eagle-Eye Beast King spoke without the slightest hesitation.

Rox smiled faintly. "Naturally. Just as before, the fruit of the Blood Bodhi is equally significant to humanity."

If they could understand the reason behind intelligence awakening, perhaps they could artificially cultivate Beast Kings loyal to humanity! That was the ultimate goal of certain researchers!

That was why Rox, a God of War, had come here himself.

Humanity had few Gods of War, and most of them were concentrated among the foremost martial arts clans. Naturally, Rox could not keep wasting combat power at the school, which was why there was this trip to Netherworld Lake.

At its root, they still needed Rox to contribute his strength, while incidentally letting Chu Wen and the others broaden their horizons.

That was why Lin Wei had mockingly called them "good-luck charms."

The truth was, the three of them really were of little use in a place where War Kings and Beast Kings roamed everywhere.

"I'll keep an eye on these three burdens when the time comes, so they don't get casually slapped to death by a Beast King. You can focus on your own task. As for anything else, it would be inconvenient for me to intervene." After saying this, the Eagle-Eye Beast King headed out.

He had come this time mainly to get a feel for the auras of those three burdens.

Only after the Beast King left did Lin Wei and Chen Dai finally let out long breaths. Earlier, they had felt as though their blood was about to freeze.

The innate pressure emanating from a Beast King had made them unbearably uncomfortable.

Rox said calmly, "What? You can't even handle this little pressure? When conflict erupts at Netherworld Lake, won't you be scared to death there?"

"Your mission this time is to come here and broaden your horizons, so you don't remain frogs at the bottom of a well at school."

"The Eagle-Eye Beast King will deliberately have the beast horde under his command confront the humans. The other Beast Kings may not do the same. The Eagle-Eye Beast King has only two mortal enemies, and they should be the main force attacking Netherworld Lake this time."

"Perfect. I'll deal with them all at once. You just watch the show."

Rox wiped his hands and went upstairs. With his strength, he had every reason to be confident!

Lin Wei sat beside the bar downstairs, cradling a cup of hot tea. After holding it in for a long while, she finally blurted out, "Is this really reliable?"

Chu Wen said quietly, "Reliable or not, we don't have a choice. Humanity's outpost is nearby, so there shouldn't be any accidents, right..."

Elsewhere in Kunlun.

Two Beast Kings sat cross-legged inside a concealed cave.

The Eagle-Eye Beast King, who had just left the human base, transformed his body and slipped inside in human form.

"This human appearance really is convenient for moving around."

"Brother Eagle-Eye, is this time certain?"

"Of course. We've plotted this for so many years, and Brother Eagle-Eye has put on an act with the humans for nearly two hundred years. Those human fools have no reason to suspect anything."

The two Beast Kings looked up, only to see that the Eagle-Eye Beast King's face was exceedingly grim. A faint sense of foreboding rose in their hearts.

The Eagle-Eye Beast King said coldly, "The one who came this time wasn't a high-level War King. It was a God of War..."

"What? Could the humans have noticed our intentions?" An elephant-nosed man cried out. "What do we do? Is he an entry-level God of War? Or intermediate-level?"

"A high-level God of War. Killing me would take him only one slash." The Eagle-Eye Beast King's gaze turned much colder. "But he brought three burdens with him."

Upon hearing "high-level God of War," the hearts of the other two Beast Kings sank. But as the Eagle-Eye Beast King continued, a glimmer of hope rose within them again.

"What do you mean?" Expectation flickered in the elephant-nosed Beast King's eyes.

The Eagle-Eye Beast King slowly explained, "Humanity has nine top martial arts universities. The three burdens he brought this time should be elite students from one of them. If I'm not mistaken, this human God of War merely came to trade with me along the way. His real task is to lead students."

"And I have already memorized the auras of those three ants."

"Near the Blood Bodhi Tree, strength will be suppressed. At most, one can unleash the power of a high-level warrior. Unless he is willing to throw away his bright future and forcibly unleash the power of a high-level God of War, he can only fight his way out slowly."

"Why don't we wait another year? A high-level God of War is too great a risk." The Bell Deer Beast King, who had not spoken once until now, hesitated.

"Which risk is greater: a high-level God of War, or the Beast Emperor?"

"That Beast Emperor has long been dissatisfied with remaining only at the highest peak of the Kunlun Mountains. If it decides to come down, we will all be nothing more than its nourishment!"

"Only by becoming Beast Emperors ourselves..."

Compete for a Blood Bodhi fruit once every year?

They had long grown sick of it. After plotting for two hundred years, they had finally created a new Netherworld Lake within Kunlun. All that remained was transplanting this Blood Bodhi Tree, and everything would be complete.

Then, they would no longer need to trade with those despicable humans.

The fruit of the Blood Bodhi was greatly beneficial even to them, yet they were supposed to split it evenly with humans?

Dream on!

A day later, light snow drifted from the sky, and the distant mountains had gained another thick layer of silver.

On the other side of Netherworld Lake, three beast hordes charged toward the area in a vast, surging tide.

Rox issued his orders. "Follow your usual tactics. Intercept the beast general-level beasts that seize the fruit."

"I'll deal with the Beast Kings."

Seven War King-level martial artist squads lay in wait beside Netherworld Lake and nodded in unison.

Near the Blood Bodhi Tree in the lake, one could only wield the strength of warriors and beast soldiers. Those Beast Kings would surely be unwilling to risk their lives themselves and would certainly send beast generals and beast soldiers to fight for it.

The human martial artists only needed to lie in wait around the perimeter.

Chu Wen and the other two remained at the very rear, feeling the waves roiling across the lake ahead.

Lin Wei's face was deathly pale. It was her first time seeing such a terrifying formation. In the distance, the beast hordes had pressed the white snowy mountains into inky black, while even the vegetation around their cover trembled as though it might fall apart at any moment.

Within the howling north wind, beneath the scent of cold air, they could already smell that nauseating stench of blood and rot.

Rox, dressed in a silver-white combat suit, lay prone beside the three of them. His gaze sharpened. "They're here."

"I'll go hunt the other two Beast Kings. You just stay close to the beast horde led by the Eagle-Eye Beast King."

Three auras slowly approached from nearby.

The human War King squads also began shifting positions, ready to strike at any moment.