Although cultivating this way allowed Zeng Tian to improve quickly, it also consumed enormous amounts of energy. The meat from those two Soft Bone Rabbits alone would barely sustain a single day of his cultivation.
Before long, Zeng Tian caught several more Soft Bone Rabbits and an ordinary pheasant.
Ordinary animals did exist in this world, but even they would evolve into soul beasts once they passed ten years of age.
After all, even Blue Silver Grass, a weed found everywhere, could produce a ten-thousand-year Blue Silver King or a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor. What was so strange about ordinary animals evolving into soul beasts?
He spat out a mouthful of flame, instantly igniting the firewood below. Zeng Tian placed the cleaned Soft Bone Rabbits and pheasant over the fire and began roasting them.
This is one good thing about becoming a Charmander after transmigrating. Starting a fire is a breeze. All it takes is a little puff.
Zeng Tian thought as he roasted the meat with his little claws.
Wait, Bulbasaur doesn't seem to need food at all. Just use Ingrain to absorb nutrients from the earth and bask in the sun. Compared to that, I've still got it less convenient.
Oh well. At least it's better than being a Squirtle.
Zeng Tian shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
Once the pheasant was cooked, Zeng Tian tore off a drumstick and took a bite, then immediately frowned slightly.
The reason was simple: the ordinary pheasant contained far too little energy, less than a tenth of what a Soft Bone Rabbit of the same level provided.
If he wanted to replenish his energy with food like this, he would probably have to eat dozens a day.
That was undoubtedly unacceptable to Zeng Tian. Never mind where he would find so many ordinary pheasants to catch-even if they were available, roasting and eating them alone would take a considerable amount of time.
Looks like I'll have to stick to eating soul beasts. Ordinary wild animals just don't measure up. If only I had Pokéblocks. One of those can fill up even a Snorlax. Sigh...
Life was hard, and Charmander sighed.
Rustle, rustle...
Just as Zeng Tian was halfway through his meal, numerous eerie green eyes suddenly lit up in the surrounding woods, encircling him.
Wolves!!!
The moment Zeng Tian noticed them, he stood up and assumed a fighting stance.
I still don't have enough wilderness survival experience. I shouldn't have lit a fire here.
Zeng Tian sighed inwardly.
Fire could drive away wild animals, but soul beasts clearly were no ordinary animals. Quite a few wielded flames themselves, so their fear of fire was not particularly strong.
Lighting a fire in the forest had undoubtedly created the perfect guiding beacon. It would have been stranger if it hadn't drawn these soul beasts here.
Then Zeng Tian swept his gaze around, and his heart sank further.
Charmander had decent night vision, so he could clearly see at least several dozen wolves surrounding him. Judging by their bodies, almost all of them were soul beasts.
"Awoooo!"
With a wolf's howl that rang through heaven and earth, the dozens of wolves seemed to receive some command, and blue-green energy began gathering in their mouths.
The next moment, dozens of blue-green crescents flew from the mouths of those wolf soul beasts, hurtling toward Zeng Tian.
The blue-green crescents stood out sharply against the night. Dozens of attacks came from every direction, sealing off almost every route Zeng Tian could take to dodge.
Ember!
Facing this situation, Zeng Tian made an instant decision. He charged forward while shooting more than ten tongues of flame from his mouth to meet the blue-green crescents.
Boom, boom, boom-
The orange flames collided with the blue-green crescents in violent explosions, canceling out the attacks ahead of Zeng Tian and tearing open a gap.
Immediately afterward, Zeng Tian spun around. White light shone from the claws on both hands as he slashed fiercely at the blue-green crescents rushing up behind him.
Bang!
A single swipe shattered one blue-green crescent. Zeng Tian then swung both claws as fast as he could, smashing the crescents one after another.
Yet despite his quick reactions, Zeng Tian could not fend off so many blue-green crescents. Several broke through his defenses and slashed into his body.
Riiip-
Several deep wounds opened, blood gushing out and running down his orange skin, leaving Zeng Tian in considerable pain.
These wolves even know how to coordinate!
Zeng Tian stared at the surrounding pack in shock. These wolves were actually this intelligent.
That entire sequence of actions had clearly been planned in advance: surround him on all sides, then launch Razor Wind attacks together. For a creature like him, unable to soar into the sky or burrow into the earth, there was simply nowhere to hide.
Even he could only shift his position to avoid the attacks from both sides and block those coming from ahead. In the end, the Razor Wind attacks from behind had still wounded him.
"Awoooo!"
Seeing Zeng Tian wounded made the wolf soul beasts even more excited. Razor Wind began gathering in their mouths again as they prepared to cut him down completely.
"Char!!"
Naturally, Zeng Tian would not let them have their way. A Dragon Roar spread outward like a sound wave.
Upon hearing Zeng Tian's roar, the wolf soul beasts strangely froze for an instant.
Seizing the opportunity, Zeng Tian quickly charged forward to break through. His powerful legs gave him considerable sprinting speed, bringing him before a group of vicious wolves within a breath. He swept his mouth around and fired more than ten Embers.
In an instant, seven or eight vicious wolves failed to dodge and were struck by Ember, letting out piercing howls.
Zeng Tian's Ember had already reached lv3. Combined with his own increase in level, the move's power had risen by far more than fifty percent since his earlier battle against the Mandala Snake.
The Hundred-Year Mandala Snake had formidable defenses, yet even its scales could not withstand Zeng Tian's Ember. How could these wolf soul beasts, only a few decades old, fare any better?
Some wolves died on the spot after being hit by Ember, turning into white Soul Rings.
Zeng Tian, meanwhile, raced away without so much as looking back.
He was already wounded and had no healing move. Staying here to fight these wolf soul beasts head-on was clearly unwise.
Moreover, the leader of these wolf soul beasts had yet to reveal itself, and he had no idea how strong it was.
If the alpha was powerful, he would have to contend with it while also facing attacks from the dozens of wolves surrounding him.
Under those circumstances, even if he won in the end, it would most likely be a pyrrhic victory.
The Soul Beast Forest was extremely dangerous. In his current condition, he might not even survive long enough to recover.
An orange figure raced through the forest, with a bright flame trailing behind him.
I'm still too slow. I wonder whether Charizard's inherited memories include Quick Attack. If not, I'll have to consider Flame Charge.
Sensing the pack chasing relentlessly behind him, Zeng Tian gritted his teeth and resolved to master a speed-boosting move in the future.
Quick Attack was a move with a priority of plus one, while each use of Flame Charge increased speed by fifty percent. If he knew either one, he could easily shake off those pursuing wolf soul beasts.