Chapter 23: Budding Beauty

“I wonder where those two, the Crow Fiend and Redhide, have run off to now?”

Carefully weaving his way through the tangled undergrowth and thorny brambles of the dense forest, Lu Fei mused to himself. Neither of those two were fools. The Crow Fiend, despite his big mouth and irritable temperament, was fearless when it mattered, daring to charge forward—plus, he could fly. Unless he was as unlucky as Lu Fei himself, he should be able to survive this battle.

As for the Pig Demon Redhide, though taciturn and reserved, he was clever and steady by nature, and arguably even more likely to make it through unscathed. But reality was rarely so kind. His strength was too meager. He could neither soar like the Crow Fiend nor match Lu Fei’s speed. If he encountered other formidable monsters, he’d be in the greatest danger.

“Let’s hope they’re both alright…”

Lu Fei moved forward with utmost caution, nose constantly sniffing the air, eyes scanning all around. Having just taken an arrow—the shaft still hanging from his wounded ear—he had every reason to be vigilant. He glanced toward the distant tangle of brambles and tall grass, carefully lightening his footsteps. He hadn’t seen clearly what monster had ambushed him, only glimpsed its head retracting into cover. Judging by its archery skills, Lu Fei reckoned it was certainly stronger than himself. With a body nearly three meters long, charging headlong would guarantee another arrow, never mind whether he could catch the attacker. He wasn’t about to risk it. There might well be other dangerous monsters lurking in this dense forest. After all, plenty had fled from the battlefield into the mountain woods; the tracks and corpses scattered on the ground were proof enough.

Though Lu Fei was now a monster himself, and much larger than an ordinary wolf, he had no real powers to speak of—his only innate ability was a support skill. Compared to a normal wolf, he was really just bigger…

Bigger…

Suddenly, a thought struck him. With a silent command, his massive white wolf body—nearly three meters long—swiftly shrank down to the length of a common wolf, around a meter and a half.

“Now I shouldn’t be so easily spotted…”

He glanced at his now smaller form, thinking to himself. The arrow still pierced his ear. Shaking his head, he realized it was much more bothersome now that he’d shrunk; the pain was sharper and persistent.

So, Lu Fei lowered his head, pressed a paw against the shaft, and stomped down hard.

A sharp crack echoed.

The shaft snapped. Pain contorted his face. A small fragment remained embedded in his ear, but he ignored it and focused instead on the bramble thicket, slowly circling around it.

...

“Damn that eagle…”

In a lush, impenetrable thicket of thorny vines deep in the forest, a large black crow crouched, peering warily through the dense, spiky leaves overhead. In a voice only he could hear, he muttered curses: “Damn that eagle… Someday, I’ll pluck your feathers and roast you alive…”

Not far away, perched atop the branch of a towering ancient tree, a huge black eagle rested, its piercing gaze sweeping the forest below.

When the eagle’s eyes scanned the thorn thicket, the Crow Fiend instantly went silent, continuing his tirade in his mind.

After a long while, the black eagle, having repeatedly searched the forest below, finally gave up, spread its wings, and soared into the sky, vanishing above the canopy.

Beneath the thorns, the Crow Fiend watched the eagle disappear and let out a long sigh of relief, collapsing in exhaustion.

How humiliating…

He was a well-known little demon on Wandering Mountain, and Big Brother Whitefur was the trusted deputy of the Bear Chief. Yet here he was, chased by a Snake Mountain eagle demon with nowhere to hide but the thorny ground. Utterly disgraceful.

But there was nothing he could do—he couldn’t beat the eagle demon. He could only nurse his grudge for now. Once he reunited with his brothers, he’d have nothing to fear.

“I wonder how the two of them are doing now…”

The Crow Fiend lay battered amid the thorns, not even thinking of leaving, anxiety gnawing at his heart. Back on the valley battlefield, after he’d flown into the sky to evade the powerful snake demon’s attack, the eagle had locked onto him.

As he was chased away from the valley by the eagle, he saw the snake demon pursuing Big Brother Whitefur. He didn’t know if Whitefur had managed to escape, or what danger he was in. And then there was little Redhide…

While the Crow Fiend worried about his two brothers, elsewhere in the mountain woods, a frantic noise echoed from afar, growing closer.

Soon, a large brown-red wild boar barreled into the forest.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…

The boar charged forward, plowing through everything in its path like a small tank. Though this tank was battered and bloodied, with a gruesome wound slashed across its neck.

Behind it followed an even larger white-crowned crystal caterpillar, pacing steadily after.

...

Closer…

Closer still…

Lu Fei crept carefully toward the thick bramble thicket ahead. Through a gap, he could already make out a pink silhouette hidden inside. He now recalled that the head he’d glimpsed earlier, retreating into cover, had seemed pink. The monster who’d shot at him with the arrow was hiding within. He could even hear the crunching sound from inside—like chewing on bones.

Nearer and nearer, Lu Fei slowed his pace, his breathing growing shallow, almost holding his breath.

Suddenly.

Crack.

A branch snapped beneath his paw.

“Damn—”

Lu Fei was startled. Before he could react, a pink figure darted from the bramble thicket, fleeing in a flash.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Lu Fei roared in anger, immediately giving chase, closing in tightly on the conspicuous pink figure. Only then did he see clearly—the fleeing silhouette was a rabbit demon, a pink female rabbit demon. The curves of her hips and the rise and fall of her chest made it obvious.

Though she wore a rabbit’s head, her face smeared with fresh, bloody stains, she might have seemed beautiful in the eyes of other monsters. But to Lu Fei, that was irrelevant. He meant to slaughter this rabbit and avenge his wounded ear.

Rabbits weren’t slow. In her true form, this rabbit demon might nearly match Lu Fei’s speed. But as she fled in humanoid form, Lu Fei relentlessly closed the distance.

At last, as they burst out of the forest, Lu Fei lunged, pinning the female rabbit demon beneath him.

“Well now, she’s actually quite the beauty…”

Just then, a sudden voice rang out.

Lu Fei looked up—and witnessed a scene that would forever be etched in his memory: the Bull King of Wandering Mountain was kneeling in utmost reverence before a dark-faced young man. Nearby, the beautiful Snake Queen of Snake Mountain stood pale and trembling.