Chapter 237: Chapter 212: A Sudden Explosion, the Clash of Tiger and Leopard

The night air had been damp, and since the morning sun had only just risen, the wild grasses, flowers, and trees were all beaded with dew. It would be a while yet before the sunlight evaporated them.

Now, the brilliant golden rays of the morning sun struck the dewdrops, causing them to refract a dazzling, multi-colored light.

Dressed in camouflage, Lin Li made his way through the wilderness, Spiritual Longsword in hand, searching for a suitable hunting spot.

He had already hunted Mutant Beasts in the same area several times in a row, including yesterday.

He’d given it some serious thought on the way here. Hunting in the same spot over and over felt like he was overfishing the area.

If he stayed there, he doubted he could achieve the same results as yesterday, even using the loud noise from his motorcycle to attract Mutant Beasts.

After careful consideration, Lin Li decided to move and find a new location for his hunt.

WHOOSH...

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

The cool morning breeze swept through the wilderness, making the plants and trees sway gently with a soft, rustling sound.

Having left the safe zone, Lin Li pressed on into the wilderness, searching for a new hunting ground.

To his great surprise, Lin Li traveled nearly twenty kilometers without a single Mutant Beast attack.

He was now a good distance from the safe zone, an area where, by all rights, he should have easily run into Mutant Beasts.

Normally, even on his unluckiest days, he would be attacked by at least one or two Mutant Beasts on his way to a new location.

But today, he hadn’t seen a single one. It was completely unnatural.

’Are all the Mutant Beasts in this area sleeping in today?’ Lin Li muttered to himself, his search fruitless so far.

After a while, Lin Li came to a place overgrown with wildflowers of every color—red, pink, white, blue, and purple.

He looked out at the small plain covered in beautiful wildflowers. ’This scenic spot seems like the perfect place for me to work my magic,’ he thought.

’This is the place. Time to hunt...’

Lin Li muttered to himself. With a thought, he retrieved his black motorcycle from the Mysterious Small Island.

RUMBLE...

The roar of the engine suddenly shattered the silence, echoing in all directions.

***

’What’s going on? Not a single Mutant Beast?’

The previous afternoon, Mutant Beasts had shown up within five or six minutes of him starting the engine.

But now, he’d been revving the engine for over ten minutes and hadn’t seen so much as a shadow of one.

’This isn’t right. It’s too strange. There has to be a reason for this...’

He hadn’t gotten a single bite after all this time. Continuing was pointless. Lin Li cut the engine and returned the motorcycle to the Mysterious Small Island.

He scanned his surroundings, deciding to head north to see if he could find any clues as to why his racket hadn’t attracted any Mutant Beasts.

But just as he was about to set off, a sight to the east caught his attention.

BOOM.

To the east, not too far from his position, stood a small hill.

Just then, a Fireball four or five meters in diameter suddenly shot up from behind the hill and exploded violently in the sky.

A tremendous roar echoed in all directions. The explosion sent a shower of orange-red sparks flying everywhere, like a goddess scattering flowers from the heavens.

Lin Li watched the distant explosion, mesmerized by the sparks raining down. He subconsciously muttered, "How beautiful...!"

’Er... never mind whether it’s beautiful, that’s not the point. Why would a Fireball suddenly fly up from behind that hill?’

Even from a distance, he could gauge the Fireball’s destructive power from the sheer force of the blast.

’That Fireball packed a serious punch! Whoever created it is definitely stronger than I am.’

Something interesting must be happening behind that hill.

’I’ll go take a look. If there’s any danger, I can just hide in the Mysterious Small Island to wait it out.’ After a moment’s thought, Lin Li decided to investigate what was happening behind the hill.

He gripped his Spiritual Longsword and ran toward the distant hill.

***

The cloudless azure sky was like a mirror, so clear it felt like it could reflect one’s face.

Bright sunlight bathed the land. At the foot of a hundred-meter-tall hill, two powerful Mutant Beasts faced off, each backed by an army of nearly two hundred other beasts of various kinds.

"ROAR... This territory is mine now! Take your followers and get out of my sight. If you refuse, you’ll have to bear the consequences."

The ultimatum came from a tiger-like Mutant Beast with multi-colored fur. It stood nearly two meters tall and five meters long, its powerful build radiating an imposing aura.

Facing off against it was a leopard-like Mutant Beast with purple fur. It stood nearly one-and-a-half meters tall and was three-point-two meters long. Though agile, it was considerably smaller than the tiger beast.

"ROAR... You’ve gone too far! I’ve tolerated you time and again, but you just take a mile for every inch I give. If you want us to leave today, you’ll have to kill every last one of us!"

Seeing the purple leopard’s defiance, the killing intent in the tiger’s eyes intensified. "Since you’re courting death," it snarled, "I’ll be happy to oblige."

With that, a Spiritual Energy Wave befitting a Second Order High Rank erupted from the tiger.

"The outcome is far from certain! Don’t think you’re guaranteed a win just because you reached Second Order High Rank before I did."

As the tiger revealed its Spiritual Energy Wave, the purple leopard, not to be outdone, unleashed its own.

Second Order High Rank. The purple leopard was also a Second Order High Rank Mutant Beast, though the Spiritual Energy Wave it emitted was faintly weaker than the tiger’s.

"ROAR... Follow me! Kill them all!" The tiger beast commanded its underlings, then led the charge, lunging toward the purple leopard.

"ROAR... Everyone, with me! Let these bastards know that if they want our home, they’ll have to take it over our dead bodies!"

Seeing the enemy advance, the purple leopard gave its own command to charge, then sprang forward to meet the oncoming tiger.

"ROAR..."

"SQUEAK..."

"SQUAWK..."

"COO..."

With both leaders having given the command, their underlings had no choice but to obey. The hordes of Mutant Beasts charged.

In an instant, a cacophony of bestial roars erupted across the wide, grassy plain at the foot of the hill.

The massive tiger leaped, pouncing on the purple leopard. Faced with such a ferocious attack, the leopard chose not to meet it head-on, dodging swiftly to the right. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As the purple leopard dodged, a faint golden Spiritual Light enveloped its limbs.

Having missed its target, the tiger landed, immediately twisted its body around, and lunged again at the dodging leopard.

"Huh?!!!"

The tiger’s second pounce missed as well. After dodging to the right, the purple leopard, its limbs still glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, leaped into the air.

But instead of coming back down, it deployed a technique that took the tiger completely by surprise.

***