Free Web NovelChapter 141: Chapter 127: The Leo from Tieba
One kilometer away, atop the crown of a tree.
Monitor Teacher 012 stared intently at the flickering arcs of electricity in the distance. He pressed a hand to his earpiece, his gaze grave.
"Reporting to Park Headquarters. An abnormally active Leo Group has been detected in the area under 012’s jurisdiction. Quantity: 13. Average Energy Value: 693.5! There is also a One-star Leo, Real-time Energy Value: 2023!
Two students are currently under siege by the Leo Group. Should I intervene?"
This time, his tone was more urgent than ever before.
To keep the difficulty within manageable levels, all One-star and above Exotic Beasts in the park were supposed to be registered and immediately transferred to other zones.
Few first-year high school students had even awakened a Tier Two Beast Taming Space. Being attacked by a wild One-star Exotic Beast was an absolute emergency!
The operator responded immediately: "Park Headquarters copies. We are reporting this anomaly to the higher-ups! 012, please confirm: has the wild One-star Exotic Beast detected you?"
"It hasn’t found a damn thing."
All monitor teachers were equipped with an Energy Shield Cloak. Unless they deliberately revealed themselves, it was nearly impossible to be detected by Exotic Beasts or Pet Beasts below the Two-star level.
This was done to prevent students from becoming reliant on them, and also to stop wild Exotic Beasts from holding back—hesitant to attack the students for fear of drawing out the monitors—which would defeat the purpose of the training exercise.
But this situation was indeed abnormal and urgent. The power of a One-star wild Exotic Beast might be slightly less than that of a One-star Pet Beast, but it was still stronger than most first-year high school students.
If necessary, this teacher was prepared to rip off his cloak and use his own Energy to intimidate the Leos into retreating!
The park’s central command on the other end of the line went silent for a brief moment.
Then, the operator’s voice sounded again:
"Our principle is non-intervention unless necessary, but the appearance of a One-star Exotic Beast is an anomaly that warrants handling under the emergency charter.
"The park has entered a level-two state of alert. The command center will monitor this anomalous event in real time via the Celestial Eye.
"We will deploy other monitor teachers to guard the surrounding area and prevent the appearance of any new, excessively powerful Exotic Beasts. 012, you are now cleared for discretionary intervention!"
"Understood. 012 copies."
The monitor hung up and moved closer, stopping at a distance of three hundred meters—close enough to observe the battle at any moment, but not so close as to alert the Leo Group.
Although he knew the two students were skilled contenders from the city league, his mood hadn’t relaxed in the slightest.
A restricted match on a tournament stage was a far cry from a true wilderness encounter.
The former followed rules and established routines. The latter demanded fighting like a savage beast, with total victory as the only goal.
Su Zhi and Shao Ya were strong, but that was on the stage. Off the stage, facing a wild Exotic Beast stronger than themselves, were they really still that strong?
In any case, 012 was genuinely prepared to intervene this time.
The moment they showed any sign of being unable to hold on, he would act immediately!
"AWOO—AWOO—"
Outside the half-open cave, the Leo Group circled high in the air, letting out a series of grating cries.
Dense arcs of electricity rained down. Some struck the cave mouth, splashing up mud; others hit the rock face, scorching it black.
Yu Bao used a Yellow Earth Wall as a line of defense, blocking some of the more accurate lightning bolts.
At the same time, he continuously unleashed Furious Sand Blades, which tore through the darkness and shot straight toward the heavens.
However, unlike before, the Leo Group maintained a significant altitude this time.
Though the Furious Sand Blades were fast, dodging such an attack was not difficult for the Leos—who spent their lives in the company of lightning—when the distance was great enough.
"AWOO—AWOO—"
The cries of the Leo Group carried a hint of mockery.
"WOOF! WOOF!"
Yu Bao bared his teeth, barking back at them across the distance.
’Get your asses down here if you’ve got the guts! We’ll see if I don’t carve you up!’
But the only response Yu Bao received was a continuous barrage of descending lightning. He could only use his Yellow Earth Wall to block, with no other options.
Su Zhi frowned. "This is getting tricky."
Under the leadership of King Leou, the Leo Group wasn’t acting rashly this time. They were thoroughly executing their scoundrel-like kiting tactics.
King Leou was fully exploiting its air-to-ground advantage—as long as it maintained sufficient distance, it would be difficult for the three Pet Beasts on the ground to mount an effective counterattack.
But what tipped the scales of victory even further was the Leo leader, which for some unknown reason had reached the One-star level!
"Look out!" The girl’s sharp cry snapped Su Zhi and the three Pet Beasts to attention.
Riding the surging night winds, King Leou spread its giant wings and launched a diving attack on the Envoy’s Pets in the cave entrance!
"BANG!"
A cannonball of golden lightning crashed down.
Yu Bao hastily summoned a Quicksand Shield to block it, while Xiaoyue reinforced it from behind with Vine Fury. Only then did they manage to neutralize the lightning strike’s assault.
The instant the force was dissipated, Yu Bao counterattacked with a Furious Sand Blade.
But King Leou didn’t continue its forward momentum. Instead, it immediately beat its wings and pulled away after releasing the lightning, causing Yu Bao’s Furious Sand Blade to hit nothing but air.
Its tactical intentions were clear: hit and run, never overstaying its welcome.
The Leo Group’s aggressive activity could be described as frenzied, yet in this specific battle, King Leou’s mind was surprisingly calm.
It understood the battlefield situation very well.
It was an Exotic Beast whose strength lay in speed; its defenses were mediocre at best.
Its attacks might not be able to finish off the opponents in one go.
And even though the three Pet Beasts below had lower Real-time Energy Values than King Leou, it couldn’t afford to take a full-powered hit from any of them.
Therefore, King Leou’s tactic was quite clear: fire and flee, never getting drawn into a protracted fight.
It had mastered the art of the hit-and-run forum troll.
Seeing another Furious Sand Blade miss its mark, a frustrated Yu Bao stomped his feet on the ground.
He really had to hand it to this sneaky bastard.
He was usually the sneaky one who annoyed others. Since when was it his turn to be annoyed?
"Calm down, Yu Bao. If you get impatient, you’ll be playing right into its hands," Su Zhi reminded him in a low voice.
"In truth, this Leo Group isn’t confident they can take us down, which is why they’ve resorted to these harassing tactics to wear us out.
"And to prevent us from just turtling up indefinitely, their leader occasionally swoops down to attack with greater intensity, disrupting our defensive rhythm."
Yu Bao nodded in deep agreement.
He was a Wise One; he had actually figured all this out long before Su Zhi said it. The problem was that it was a blatant, open scheme. Knowing about it didn’t make it any easier to counter.
"This isn’t good if it keeps up," Shao Ya said, wrinkling her nose as she looked at Su Zhi. "The stormy weather favors the Leos. If we don’t end this quickly, they could probably keep us tied up until our training exercise is over!"
"You’re right," Su Zhi sighed.
The solution was actually simple.
Take out the leader, and the rest of the Leos would just be a bunch of scrubs, incapable of causing any real trouble.
In fact, the leader was the easiest target to take out, as it frequently dove down to attack, bringing it closer at times.
"To catch the thieves, first catch their king!" Su Zhi and Shao Ya looked at each other and spoke in unison.
Then, Su Zhi quickly made a mental calculation.
’King Leou periodically launches diving attacks, but even at its closest, the direct distance is still thirty meters. Yu Bao can use Desert Concealment to dash forward, but only for a maximum of eight meters.’
For a mobile Pet Beast like a Leo, a Furious Sand Blade needed to be launched from within fifteen meters to guarantee a hit.
"We’re still seven meters short..." Su Zhi murmured.
If they had Yu Bao launch a Sandstorm downward, like during the team selection test, he could certainly reach the required altitude.
But the drawback was that he could only move straight up and down. It wouldn’t actually close the distance to King Leou; in fact, it might even increase it.
"Woof..." Yu Bao grit his teeth.
If only he’d learned the Sand Manipulation Technique earlier, he could have definitely bridged that final gap.
"Don’t worry. This is the first time we’ve encountered a situation like this, after all." Su Zhi smiled and patted the little guy’s head reassuringly.
"Or let me use my Beast Taming Talent," Shao Ya said in a low voice. "Maybe Crimson Prayer will grant my plant a suitable trait, and we can break the stalemate."
"No!" Su Zhi shook his head without a second thought.
Shao Ya’s talent was highly random; it was hard to say what kind of trait Crimson Prayer would grant the plant.
It would be one thing if it happened to be the perfect counter, but if not, she would be put at a disadvantage due to the severe energy drain.
Remembering how Shao Ya had collapsed from exhaustion after the tournament, Su Zhi clenched his fist even tighter and vetoed the plan.
He didn’t care if they had to drag this out until noon tomorrow. He’d forfeit the resources if he had to, but he would absolutely not let her put herself in danger.
Seeing how resolute he was, the girl’s lips curled into a slight smile, and she said no more.
Unspoken, they both mentally prepared themselves to wait it out until noon.
Faced with a problem that had no solution, Xiaoyue and Wu Bao looked a little dejected.
Yu Bao, however, rested his chin on his paws in thought, his eyes sparkling as if his brain was working at high speed.
"Thinking about the Sand Manipulation Technique?"
Seeing the little guy’s serious expression, Su Zhi chuckled softly and patted his head. "Don’t put too much pressure on yourself."
But Yu Bao’s expression still screamed, ’I want to try.’
Seeing this, Su Zhi said no more and allocated 0.07 Points to his Intelligence.
[Intelligence: 1.88... 1.95]
[Real-time Energy Value: 1440... 1470]
Intelligence wasn’t the same as IQ, but a more active mind would be helpful to some degree.
"You got this," Su Zhi said with a smile, giving him a small thumbs-up.
Yu Bao nodded emphatically, his gaze returning to the thunder and lightning-filled night sky outside the cave.
Among all the stats, Intelligence had the least obvious effect when boosted on the fly, so the help it provided Yu Bao was actually limited.
But at the very least, it represented his Beast Tamer’s trust in him!
At this moment, Yu Bao’s mind was racing so fast that everything else seemed to slow down, as if time itself was moving through molasses.
’Think, quick! How did I learn Sandstorm and Desert Concealment back then?’
’When I learned Sandstorm, I pictured a sandstorm in the desert.’
’When I learned Desert Concealment, I pictured myself becoming sand, riding the wind forward.’
’And now, I can release the Sand Manipulation Technique, but I can’t make it effective enough for combat.’
’Being able to release it means I’ve grasped the principle. So, does being unable to make it effective mean I’m missing a key insight, just like the last two times?’
In a daze, King Leou swooped past again, firing off a bolt of lightning.
The Yellow Earth Wall and Quicksand Shield, enhanced by the Thick Earth Blessing, once again withstood the impact.
King Leou, once again, didn’t linger. It beat its wings, turned, and flew off.
Seeing those giant, constantly beating wings with a span of nearly six meters, Yu Bao’s eyes lit up. The scene of the Desert Swan using the Sand Manipulation Technique to aid its takeoff suddenly flashed in his mind.
’I reckon... this could work!’
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