Chapter 49: Section 50: The Struggle Between Beasts


    The youth immediately stopped in his tracks and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.


    After the shock, joy began to spread in his heart.


    In the deep of the night, his eyes shone as if they were lit up.


    “Kill it! And then take its blood to drink.”


    “I’m really about to die of thirst.”


    Zhenjin shouted in his heart.


    ...


    But instantly, the joy in his heart receded a bit, and hesitation gave rise to greater uncertainty.


    “From a distance, the beast is quite large. It seems to be lying on the sand, and even so, it’s already over two meters tall.”


    “From so far away, I can’t sense its presence. Has it concealed itself?”


    “To maintain survival in the desert with such a large body is no easy feat. This also means it’s powerful.”


    “If it’s a Silver Level, no, even if it’s just a Black Iron Level Magic Beast, then I’m in danger!”


    On this perilous and desolate island, encountering Golden Level Magic Beasts was not uncommon.


    Zhenjin hesitated for a few breaths’ time, then made a decision.


    He still chose to strike!


    Without food and water, his condition would only get worse. The desert was barren and vast, unlike the terrain of rainforests and forests. If Zhenjin gave up this opportunity, how likely would it be for him to encounter prey suitable for hunting later on?


    That chance was slim.


    So, taking advantage of his current physical strength, striking at this moment was the wiser choice.


    “If I encounter danger, I can only hope for a sudden surge in my abilities.”


    Zhenjin gritted his teeth inwardly, bent at the waist, slowed his steps, and approached the giant beast quietly.


    In the darkness, the massive body of the beast seemed to curl into a ball, motionless.


    When he got close enough, Zhenjin’s expression suddenly changed, and his tense and cautious look dissipated considerably.


    “It’s just a huge rock.”


    Zhenjin let out a sigh of relief and walked casually toward what he had originally thought was the “giant beast.”


    Although he had an exceptional physical constitution, he was essentially still human, and his vision at night was greatly affected. If he had been a Dark Elf, he would have seen clearly and not made such a mistake.


    Zhenjin examined the giant rock in front of him.


    The rock was oval-shaped and stood silently in the darkness. The surface of the rock faintly shimmered with a metallic luster, yet it was pocked and pitted, completely devoid of any ‘smoothness,’ covered with numerous tiny holes.


    What was strange was that from these sesame-sized holes, a warm breath continuously seeped out.


    Zhenjin was stunned for a moment, and Cang Xu’s previous words came to mind.


    “Could this be the gold mica stone?”


    Gold mica stone was a mixture of iron, gold, soil, and other minerals. Depending on the location of its occurrence, the components of gold mica stone and the ratios among them varied significantly.


    The exploration team had also encountered vast groups of gold mica stones, which, based on Cang Xu’s preliminary estimates, contained a rich abundance of gold.


    Unfortunately, to extract gold from these massive and heavy stones required specific methods.


    The exploration team lacked such extraction capabilities, for their most important task was self-rescue and then to find water and food for the camp.


    “Gold mica stones usually occur in clusters, yet here is just one.”


    Zhenjin ran his hand over the surface of the rock, feeling both disappointed and fortunate.


    He was disappointed about not finding food or water but felt lucky to have discovered a piece of gold mica stone.


    During the day, these rocks bask under the sun, absorbing and storing heat within, and even in the bitter cold of the desert night, the gold mica stones remained quite warm.


    This solved a big problem for Zhenjin.


    His clothes felt incredibly thin during the night.


    Just moments ago, he had been worried about lacking the materials to start a fire. Now, he could do without. By relying on this giant rock, he could retain heat well and fend off the harsh cold.


    The night passed this way, and when Zhenjin opened his eyes again, he saw the first light of the sun on the horizon.


    This was the break of dawn.


    Zhenjin moved his hands and feet a bit and was pleased to find that his physical strength had recovered quite a bit; he had rested well the previous night.


    His body had gotten adequate rest, and his spirit had calmed down with plenty of time.


    What comforted him was that he wasn’t deep in an oblivious sleep; instead, he always remained alert, his nerves taut.


    He had woken up two or three times in the night, all due to the desert’s chilling winds howling loudly, exceeding the warning threshold in his mind.


    Each time he woke, he quickly fell back to sleep.


    This pleased him immensely.


    “It seems I must have received such training or had such experiences before, to be able to maintain both sleep and vigilance.”


    Accomplishing this was not easy.


    Zhenjin had a new understanding of himself.


    This time that Zhenjin woke up, it was because he heard strange noises.


    The commotion was coming from the northeast.


    “The sound is very strange; could it be snakes?”


    The gold mica stone where Zhenjin stayed was situated halfway up a sand dune. With an idea in his head, Zhenjin slowed his pace and carefully approached the top of the dune.


    At the top, he slowly raised his head and carefully observed.


    It was the crack of dawn, and the light was still insufficient.


    First, his eyes landed on several pieces of gold mica stone. These stones, numbering in the hundreds, varied in spacing and size, seemingly placed like chess pieces on a board shaped by the sand dunes.


    This undoubtedly verified Cang Xu’s words—gold mica stones typically appeared in large clusters. The piece of gold mica stone Zhenjin had been staying at was just one on the very edge.


    Then, Zhenjin’s pupils narrowed slightly.


    He saw two groups of animals facing off among the cluster of gold mica stones.


    One group was green-skinned lizards, and the other group was golden scorpions.


    The lizards were as big as warhorses, and the scorpions were a bit smaller.


    The lizards emitted hisses like snakes, while the scorpions made rustling sounds, each intimidating the other.


    The mixed noise of these two was what had woken Zhenjin up.


    Zhenjin’s heart tightened.


    He sensed that both the lizards and the scorpions had at least Black Iron Level Life Breath, and the leaders of the animal groups were of the Silver Level.


    “Not counting mutations, just a single Silver Level Magic Beast could pose a fatal threat to me.”


    “Black Iron Magic Beasts, in sufficient numbers, could also take my life.”


    Zhenjin had not yet fully understood the principle of mutation.


    He was now unable to use Fighting Energy, his prayers went unanswered, and he had no armor on him, his only comfort being the weapon in his hand.


    But even this Silver Level weapon was continuously degrading over time.


    The Blade Spider’s limbs indeed made for superb weapon material. But such material needed to be processed to stabilize the contained Magic Power, preserving its sharpness.


    Zhenjin, however, had merely utilized it crudely without any refining. As time passed, the spider leg sword would become weaker and weaker.


    Therefore, Zhenjin made no rash moves and crouched motionless, quietly observing.


    He still did not understand why the two beast groups were confronting each other. He had no desire to provoke either side.


    The young man stole glances while praying in secret, “If these two beast groups were to start fighting each other, perhaps it would create an opportunity for me to get some food.”


    It seemed as if Zhenjin’s prayers had been heard, for the two restless beast groups finally grew impatient and began to clash.


    But it wasn’t a large-scale battle; instead, the leaders of the beast groups plunged into the center of the battlefield, engaging in one-on-one combat.


    “Swish!”


    The green-skinned Lizard made an extremely unpleasant scream, then opened its mouth to spit out a thick green Acid Liquid.


    The Acid Liquid hit the golden Scorpion directly.


    The golden Scorpion immediately used its huge pincers, like a Shield, to block its face, successfully protecting its eyes.


    Ssss…


    White smoke immediately rose from the surface of the golden Scorpion’s pincers.


    Zhenjin narrowed his eyes, sharply observing that some of the Acid Liquid splashed onto gold mica stones, and within a few breaths, had corroded fist-sized holes into the stones!


    “If that had hit me, without Fighting Energy to protect me, I fear I would be down to my bones after two or three breaths.”


    Zhenjin felt slightly relieved to see that after spewing out a large amount of Acid Liquid, the Lizard leader immediately became listless and began to retreat.


    Clearly, this Acid Liquid was not a typical battle tactic for it.


    However, as the Lizard retreated, the golden Scorpion advanced even faster.


    The two quickly closed the gap. Sёar?h the N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The green-skinned Lizard immediately opened its mouth again, letting out another scream, as if it was about to spray green liquid once more.


    But the golden Scorpion was craftier, having already lifted its pincers to shield itself.


    At the same time, it arched its at least two-meter-long scorpion tail and viciously struck!


    The scorpion tail was sharp, like the head of a Knight’s long spear.


    The scorpion tail pierced straight through the green-skinned Lizard’s head, making a round hole deep enough to reach the skull.


    This was a fatal wound!


    Having struck, the golden Scorpion promptly retreated.


    Its retreat was very swift.


    From the round hole in the green-skinned Lizard’s head, white brain matter mixed with pale green blood gushed out like a fountain.


    The green-skinned Lizard leader let out an extremely agonizing scream and, in its final moments, unleashed a ferocious attack.


    Its mouth spewed corrosive green liquid once again, wildly and without aim, sweeping around like a green light column.


    The giant gold mica stones, when hit, immediately emitted thick white smoke and a hissing sound, then melted away like snow under the sunlight.


    Other green-skinned Lizards from its own group were also affected; the group descended into chaos, with the unfortunate ones screaming in pain, their limbs corroded to reveal white bones. Some had their eyes attacked, frantically burrowing into the sand, trying to save themselves.


    A few golden Scorpions also suffered attacks from the green liquid, their armor rapidly softening, and within a few breaths, all that was left was a segment of the scorpion tail.


    Silver Level golden Scorpions could resist the green liquid, but the majority of Black Iron golden Scorpions could not.


    Fortunately, the green-skinned Lizard’s outburst lasted only a few breaths.


    Soon, no more green liquid came out of its mouth.


    Having lost their leader, the green-skinned Lizards withdrew en masse. The golden Scorpion group claimed victory but did not pursue the fleeing foes as Zhenjin had predicted.


    After driving off the green-skinned Lizards, the golden Scorpions disregarded their carcasses and gathered around the gold mica stones in small groups.


    To Zhenjin’s astonishment, these golden Scorpions first used their scorpion tails to pierce and break apart the giant gold mica stones.


    Then, they used their huge pincers to snap up the scattered shards of gold mica stone on the sandy ground into even smaller fragments.


    Finally, they put these pieces into their mouthparts and chewed them continuously.


    “Could it be that these gold mica stones are food for these golden Scorpions?” Zhenjin mused as he watched the scene before him.


    Zhenjin swallowed hard involuntarily.


    He watched the Scorpions feasting heartily, and his own hunger and thirst were stimulated even more intensely.


    He patiently waited.


    The Scorpions fed for half an hour before they quietly dispersed, leaving behind a trail of debris.


    Only after ensuring his safety did Zhenjin excitedly head over to the former battlefield.


    The Magic Beasts that were hit by the Acid Liquid and killed were no longer edible.


    But the Lizard leader had exhausted its Acid Liquid, drained of its blood and brain matter, yet still retained intact flesh.


    With the weapon in his hand, Zhenjin sliced open the Lizard leader and claimed the meat from its body.


    Zhenjin had just slept for one night and witnessed a fight, and suddenly he had an abundance of food!


    “But I’m still lacking water.”


    “Can I encounter such luck again?”


    The young man’s excitement and joy gradually settled down.


    There was still some residual Acid Liquid, which Zhenjin carefully touched with his weapon.


    Zhenjin patiently waited for a moment and found that the Silver Level Spider Blade remained as rigid and sharp as ever, feeling slightly relieved.


    By this time, sunlight began to peek over the horizon, and Zhenjin’s visibility was getting better.


    The temperature was also on the rise.


    Zhenjin knew this was a rare opportunity to travel, and he was about to set off when his pupils suddenly constricted fiercely.


    “What’s this?!”


    A hint of pink had appeared in his field of vision, leaving him utterly shocked.