Read Too Little

Within the dense forest, strange mist swirled. A fierce battle was underway between three ferocious wolves led by a Ferocious Horned Wolf and over a hundred rats. At this very moment, both sides had killed until their eyes were red, throwing themselves into the slaughter without regard for their lives.

As time passed, great numbers of rats were killed. Correspondingly, two of the three ferocious wolves also fell. Only the Ferocious Horned Wolf remained standing, relying on its powerful physique. Any rat that dared attack it was torn to pieces.

Yet under the fearless, death-defying onslaught of the rat swarm, wounds gradually appeared across its body, and its strength was no longer at its former peak.

On a tree branch not far away, Rat Prodigy silently watched the scene.

This dense forest was a dark place, filled everywhere with the stench of rot, but it could effectively weaken the Ferocious Horned Wolf's Tracking Art. After repeated probing and gaining an understanding of the Ferocious Horned Wolf's abilities, Rat Prodigy chose this place to set a trap, having a large number of rats imitate wild boars by coating themselves in mud and hiding here.

Then, after continuously luring it in, it made the Ferocious Horned Wolf step into this place. That was how the current scene of the rat swarm besieging the Ferocious Horned Wolf came to be.

"This Ferocious Horned Wolf does possess decent intelligence, but it is only intelligence. It cannot be called true wisdom."

"Venturing deep alone is a grave taboo. In the end, it suffered because it read too little."

Without rushing to act, Rat Prodigy watched the Ferocious Horned Wolf's performance and once again confirmed the importance of reading.

And so, as it watched the Ferocious Horned Wolf grow increasingly bedraggled beneath the rat swarm's siege, and confirmed that it had no hidden tricks left, Rat Prodigy finally decided to make its move.

Though the Ferocious Horned Wolf had no particularly formidable killing techniques, it was still a demon beast. Its body was powerful, its claws and fangs sharp; the rat swarm alone could never have been its match. In truth, if not for Rat Prodigy's command, the rat swarm would have collapsed long ago under such heavy casualties.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Sharp, urgent cries rang out. As though they had received some signal, the rat swarm that had fearlessly defied death finally began to retreat.

Seeing this scene, as if it had sensed something, the Ferocious Horned Wolf locked onto a certain spot. Its body lowered slightly, and a threatening growl emerged from its throat as it took up a guarded stance.

The next instant, a figure suddenly lunged from the darkness. Its body was enormous—slightly larger even than the Ferocious Horned Wolf's.

The two collided. The Ferocious Horned Wolf's physique was inferior and its strength insufficient, and it was sent flying outright.

Seeing this, Rat Prodigy knew its wait had not been in vain.

"An opening."

Its tail lashed out with an explosive crack through the air. Rat Prodigy immediately unleashed the Willow Floss Whip it had comprehended. In an instant, whip shadows layered upon whip shadows, battering the Ferocious Horned Wolf until it could not resist at all.

Sensing the threat of death, the Ferocious Horned Wolf finally went completely savage. Its eyes were bloodshot as it forced itself to hold on, enduring Rat Prodigy's attacks while launching a desperate counterattack without regard for anything else.

Roar! Its cry was like weeping blood. In an extreme burst of power, the sharp claws hidden beneath its paw pads sprang out, and the Ferocious Horned Wolf viciously clawed at Rat Prodigy, seeking to heavily injure it in a single strike.

But at this sight, a cunning glint flashed through Rat Prodigy's little eyes.

"I know you like the palm of my hand, but you know nothing about me. I was already guarding against this move of yours."

Its technique circulated, and Rat Prodigy's enormous body suddenly shrank, perfectly evading the Ferocious Horned Wolf's claw strike.

"It's time to end this."

Its tail changed shape. Seizing the Ferocious Horned Wolf's opening, Rat Prodigy directly bound its neck, then erupted with tremendous strength, treating it like a toy and smashing it into the ground again and again.

After several such blows, the Ferocious Horned Wolf's bones and tendons were shattered throughout its body, and it suffered grievous injuries.

After confirming that the Ferocious Horned Wolf truly had no strength left to resist, Rat Prodigy finally stopped. For the moment, it had no intention of killing the Ferocious Horned Wolf, because Jiang Chen had not yet arrived.

"This should be enough. It can't be allowed to die yet; Master needs a living captive."

Its gaze fell upon the Ferocious Horned Wolf, and Rat Prodigy inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Its control of strength had been just right.

At this moment, the Ferocious Horned Wolf lay sprawled on the ground like a heap of mud, covered in blood and gasping weakly. Yet it was, after all, a demon beast with tenacious vitality, so it would not die anytime soon.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! It let out a series of urgent cries. Knowing it was not yet time to relax completely, Rat Prodigy quickly arranged for the rat swarm to act, drawing the wolf pack elsewhere to prevent any unwanted accidents.

After finishing all this, Rat Prodigy personally carried the Ferocious Horned Wolf deeper into the forest and locked it inside a trap pit that had long been dug.

"I hope Master can get here quickly."

After ensuring everything was foolproof, Rat Prodigy could not help turning its gaze toward Golden Sand Valley.

The wolf pack was skilled at tracking, so directly taking the Ferocious Horned Wolf to Golden Sand Valley was not advisable. Only a place like the Rotting Forest was the best hiding place, capable of effectively suppressing the wolf pack's Tracking Art.

Outside, the wolf pack was still completely unaware of the Ferocious Horned Wolf's disappearance. At this moment, all the ferocious wolves that had gone out were still immersed in the thrill of hunting. They had lost their original organization amid the slaughter and had completely become a scattered mass of sand.

Meanwhile, after receiving Rat Prodigy's message, the well-prepared Jiang Chen hurried toward the Rotting Forest at top speed.

Knowing that time could not be delayed, Rat Prodigy had sent word to Jiang Chen at the first opportunity after gathering intelligence and setting its plan to lure the Ferocious Horned Wolf, allowing Jiang Chen to make better preparations.

Another three days passed. After three days, the ferocious wolves roaming and hunting everywhere finally noticed something was wrong. At first, they had thought it normal that the Ferocious Horned Wolf had not appeared, but for it to remain missing for three straight days truly made no sense.

Under these circumstances, some of the ferocious wolves gathered together almost instinctively and began searching for traces of the Ferocious Horned Wolf. Others, having lost their command, returned to Goat Horn Mountain on their own. The wolf pack the Ferocious Horned Wolf had brought out this time was only a portion of the wolves; many more ferocious wolves remained at Goat Horn Mountain.

Against this backdrop, Jiang Chen arrived silently at the Rotting Forest without wasting a moment.

"You did well."

Looking at the half-dead Ferocious Horned Wolf, Jiang Chen praised Rat Prodigy and casually tossed it a Blood-Coagulating Stone. It had to be said that Rat Prodigy's performance this time had exceeded his expectations.

"Let me see what secrets this wolf pack has been hiding."

With that thought, Jiang Chen completely ended the Ferocious Horned Wolf's life. This was also one limitation of his ability: he could only search the souls of creatures that had just died. Once a creature had been dead too long and its soul had dispersed, his ability would have no room to work.

Buzz. The radiance of the soul shone forth. Soul Illumination activated, and the memories within the Ferocious Horned Wolf's soul began to surface in Jiang Chen's mind. Though its intelligence was inferior to that of a human and many parts of its memories were vague, Jiang Chen still discovered quite a few useful things within its soul.