Hunting Demonic Beasts

Chapter 17: Hunting Demon Beasts (Please vote)

Wang Yan moved with remarkable lightness, looking like an experienced hunter. In just a few moves, he crept within a dozen or so yards of the White-Headed Wolf. The densely packed trees hid the wolf from view, but he could clearly see the large tree where it had been resting...

At that point, Wang Yan stopped advancing. With the keen senses and nose of a Demon Beast at Minor Completion of the Cultivation Realm, it would certainly notice him if he moved another few yards closer, no matter how quietly he moved.

However.

Wang Yan reached down and scooped up a handful of dirt. He casually squeezed it into a clod, then suddenly stood up, exposing his entire body and rustling the leaves around him.

"Arooo?" The White-Headed Wolf seemed to notice him instantly. It sprang up from the ground with an angry howl and looked toward Wang Yan.

"Come on, you stinking wolf!" Wang Yan shouted. He suddenly hurled the clod in his hand straight at the White-Headed Wolf's head.

"Arooo!" The White-Headed Wolf reacted with astonishing speed. A trace of yellow light flashed across its paw as it swiped forward, shredding the clod. Then it leaped six or so feet into the air and charged toward Wang Yan with a gust of rank wind, moving at a breathtaking speed no ordinary wild beast could match. In just a few bounds, it covered thirty or forty feet, tearing bushes out of the ground along the way.

"Whoa! How terrifying!" As soon as Wang Yan threw the clod, he turned and ran, shouting and yelling as though he were utterly terrified. He was not slow either. Red light flashed beneath his feet as he sprinted away at astonishing speed, but he was still considerably slower than the White-Headed Wolf.

"Arooo!" A Demon Beast's intelligence was also far beyond that of an ordinary animal. A savage gleam instantly filled its eyes, and it let out an angry howl. A gust of rank wind shook the surrounding leaves with a clattering rustle as it charged straight after Wang Yan.

Tap! Tap! Wang Yan was slippery as well, darting around one tree after another.

Crash! Crash! The White-Headed Wolf seemed utterly enraged. It smashed through several trees as thick as a bowl's mouth, drawing closer and closer to Wang Yan...

In the blink of an eye, the chase had carried them hundreds of feet away...

"Hey! You little brat, are you trying to get yourself killed? Hurry up and attack it with the Fireball Spell!" Card Fairy shouted inside Wang Yan's mind. "If you die, I'll...!"

"Arooo!" Sure enough, the White-Headed Wolf's speed was beyond anything a cultivator at Minor Completion of the Cultivation Realm could match. In an instant, it was only a few feet behind Wang Yan. It opened its bloody maw and lunged for his neck. Given the size of that gaping mouth, it would hardly have been surprising if one bite took Wang Yan's entire head off.

But!

At that instant, with his life hanging by a thread.

Thump! With a muffled burst, the White-Headed Wolf seemed about to tear the very air apart, yet its jaws closed on nothing. Its body shot forward another dozen or so feet, while Wang Yan had vanished...

"Arooo!" The White-Headed Wolf was a Demon Beast, after all, not some ordinary wild animal. It abruptly twisted in midair and slammed into an enormous tree that would have taken several people to encircle. Faint strands of light flared from its limbs as it clung to the trunk, driving its claws into the bark. Those claws were sharper than blades. A savage light blazed in its scarlet eyes, and it immediately spotted Wang Yan down in a pit...

Thump! With a muffled burst, the White-Headed Wolf's claws gouged a dozen deep furrows into the tree. Its enormous body pounced straight down at Wang Yan in the pit, sending dirt flying. The pit was too narrow for it, but not deep, so the White-Headed Wolf simply opened its bloody maw and bit down at him.

And just then!

"Fireball Spell!" Wang Yan shouted in a low voice. Brilliant red light suddenly blazed from both his hands, and two fist-sized fireballs appeared in his palms!

In an instant!

Boom! Boom! Red-Light Flame blazed brightly as the two fireballs slammed straight into the belly of the White-Headed Wolf as it opened its bloody maw. Searing Red-Light Flame erupted, blasting the wolf into the air...

"Awoooo!" An agonized howl burst from the White-Headed Wolf's mouth. Two charred, bloody holes had been blasted into its belly. It crashed headfirst into a tree, spilling blood and intestines across the ground as an overpowering bloody stench spread through the air...

Rustle! Nearly half of Wang Yan's body had been buried under the dirt. He sprang straight up, scattering sand and stones across the ground...

"Haha! You little brat! Nicely done!" Card Fairy exclaimed in delighted surprise. She had never expected Wang Yan to be bold enough to attempt such a dangerous maneuver.

She naturally understood now. The pit Wang Yan had dug was not a trap at all, but a place prepared in advance where he could evade the White-Headed Wolf's attack. The pit was just large enough for him to lie down in, while the wolf was even bigger than he was. As a four-legged animal, its best way to attack him was to lower its head and bite. A swipe of its paw would not reach Wang Yan and would only throw it off balance...

And when the White-Headed Wolf lowered its head to bite Wang Yan, its belly was completely exposed. Wang Yan struck directly with a Fireball Spell from each hand. Though the wolf's attacks were formidable and its speed astonishing, its defenses were nothing special. With two fireballs striking its belly head-on, how could it survive?

"Aroo! Aroo!" Yet the Demon Beast's vitality truly was astonishing. The two charred, bloody holes in the White-Headed Wolf's belly exposed masses of mangled flesh, but it was still howling pitifully and struggling as though trying to get up...

"Whew! Got the bastard!" Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and murmured.

"Hey! Wasn't that a bit too reckless? You could lose your life! Couldn't you just attack it directly with the Fireball Spell?" Card Fairy complained. Her fate was now tied to Wang Yan's. If he died, she would have to fall into slumber again... Naturally, she had some complaints...

"Tch! You think I didn't want to?" Wang Yan smacked his lips. "That White-Headed Wolf was so fast. The Fireball Spell packs a decent punch, but the fireballs travel too slowly. Whether they could even hit it was another question. One careless mistake and I'd get injured, then spend ages recovering!"

"Uh... true enough! That's what you get for having so little magical power," Card Fairy replied.

"Hey, if my cultivation were high enough, would I be out here killing a Demon Beast at Minor Completion of the Cultivation Realm?" Wang Yan rolled his eyes.

"Still, I couldn't tell you were such a clever little fellow!" Card Fairy said with a dry laugh. Indeed, while Wang Yan's approach had been somewhat dangerous, on closer consideration, the risk was not that great as long as he handled it properly. She could not help thinking, This kid really does keep a cool head! If only I'd been a little more careful back then... sigh!

Meanwhile, the White-Headed Wolf had died at some point...

"Tch, now this is a problem!" Wang Yan suddenly said.

"What is?"

"Wang Ziling stole my storage bag. This White-Headed Wolf is so big, I can't exactly carry it around, can I?" Wang Yan said with a frown. Besides, he did not have any knives or magic artifacts on him, so butchering the White-Headed Wolf would not be easy. As he spoke, his eyes darted about, and he quickly said to Card Fairy, "Card Fairy! I bet you still have plenty of nice things like storage bags, right? How about helping me pack this away? And giving me some treasure or weapon wouldn't hurt either...!"

"In your dreams! I'm not your keeper! Unless you advance, you only get things through the prize draw. Otherwise, I'm not giving you anything!" Card Fairy replied, leaving no room for negotiation.

"I only want to borrow it. I'll return it afterward!" Wang Yan persisted.

"No!" Card Fairy answered firmly.

"Stingy!" Wang Yan had no choice but to leave it at that. It was not as though he had no other way to handle things; he had simply wanted to see whether he could squeeze a few more goodies out of Card Fairy. Red light flashed around him as he tore open the White-Headed Wolf's carcass, stripping off its claws and hide. The meat was not of much use, but he also filled several bamboo tubes with the Demon Beast's blood...

Then he hid everything in a hollow high in a large tree, planning to retrieve it when he left the mountain range...

There was nothing else he could do. If he carried all those things around, he could forget about hunting for more Demon Beasts. The bloody stench all over him alone would draw them straight to him.

Once he had finished dealing with everything, Wang Yan roasted some White-Headed Wolf meat. Only after eating did he continue on his way.

Thud! Thud! Thud! An enormous Black-Furred Ape, taller than two ordinary people stacked together, charged forward at astonishing speed, swinging its massive fists. Wang Yan was sprinting ahead of it. Just as the ape was about to catch him!

Suddenly!

Crack! A sharp snapping sound rang out. A gust of wind rushed down from a large tree as a sharpened log, dozens of feet long and thick enough to take several people to encircle, dropped from above. It smashed toward the Black-Furred Ape's head at astonishing speed.

"Arooo!" With an angry roar, the Black-Furred Ape punched straight out, sending the log flying with a single blow... Clearly, it had failed to injure the Demon Beast.

But!

Rattle! Sand and stones scattered as the log flew off, dragging a long vine with it.

"Arooo!" With a pained cry, the Black-Furred Ape was suddenly hoisted into the air, its enormous foot caught in a loop of vine, flying up as though riding the clouds.

"Go!" Just then, Wang Yan turned around. Red-Light Flame flared from his hands as he hurled four or five fireballs straight at the Black-Furred Ape's blood-red backside!