Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15: It Turns Out They’re Really Good People
"WOOF!" (Yikes!)
In mid-air, Yu Bao instinctively adjusted his posture to land.
"SCREEE—"
Yu Bao landed on all fours, skidding to a halt and carving two tracks in the dirt.
His 1.07 agility score came into play, allowing him to react quickly and avoid falling over.
The luster on the Black Fighting Emperor’s carapace faded, and the two faced off once more.
Shao Ya’s eyes lit up. "That was Perfect Block!"
Su Zhi was also surprised. "This Black Fighting Emperor has already awakened a Racial Skill?"
Perfect Block works by making the carapace vibrate at high speed for a moment. This blocks or even deflects attacks, but the user is rendered immobile.
Theoretically, no Pet Beast below the Commander Level could break through its defense.
’Yu Bao, this is going to be a tough fight,’ Su Zhi warned him mentally.
"WOOF!" (That’s what makes it fun!)
Yu Bao’s response came from the Beast Taming Space.
Su Zhi let out a small smile.
’Now, that’s more like it!’
"HMPH!" The Black Fighting Emperor charged again, its massive horn as menacing as a Riding Lance.
Yu Bao nimbly dodged and weaved, occasionally glancing back over his shoulder as he retreated.
One chased, the other fled. The sparring match was starting to look a little comical.
As he ran toward an old tree, a triumphant glint flashed in Yu Bao’s eyes.
’Now!’
Yu Bao screeched to a halt and immediately doubled back.
The Black Fighting Emperor hadn’t expected the feint. Unable to stop in time, it crashed headfirst into the tree with a loud THUD.
Tree: 1. Black Fighting Emperor: 0.
"GRRR!"
The Black Fighting Emperor flailed its six legs, trying to pull its horn out, but it was stuck fast. No matter how hard it struggled, it couldn’t get free.
"Heh heh heh..." Yu Bao snickered, slowly closing in.
"HMPH!"
Startled, the nervous Black Fighting Emperor used Perfect Block again.
With a high-speed vibration, the lance-like horn finally broke free from the tree. The creature immediately followed up with a spinning strike.
Yu Bao hopped back, dodging the clearly emotional counterattack.
"Woof woof!" (Come and get me!)
"GRRRR!" (You dare provoke the Black Fighting Emperor? I’ll make this puppy as meek as a lamb!)
The Black Fighting Emperor was furious now, chasing recklessly at full speed.
’Besides, the Yu Dian Dog can’t even break my defense, so I have nothing to fear—’
CRACK.
With a look of utter shock on its insectoid face, the Black Fighting Emperor fell into a suddenly appearing pit.
’This Yu Dian Dog knows Earth Force Field? But Mom said that was a Skill for Stone Armor Rhinoceroses...’
’How am I supposed to stay rational?!’
The Black Fighting Emperor tried to struggle.
However, the pit was a perfect fit for its body. Only its horn stuck out from the ground, and it couldn’t even roll over.
"WOOF!" (I won! I won!)
Yu Bao ran around the pit, spinning in excited circles...
·
PANT, PANT. (Thanks for sparring with me.)
"HMPH!" (You’re welcome!)
The Black Fighting Emperor wiggled its antennae in a friendly gesture.
’These two humans even helped me out of the pit. I guess they really are good people.’
’That kitty was intimidating, but he didn’t seem to have any bad intentions.’
’This Dog was a bit of a jerk, but he’s a good Dog at heart.’
"Oh, right."
Su Zhi pulled up images of two resources on his phone and held it out in front of the Black Fighting Emperor.
"We’re looking for these two things. Have you seen them around?"
The Black Fighting Emperor squinted, peering at the screen.
Su Zhi was just trying his luck, so he was surprised when the Black Fighting Emperor actually nodded.
"Hmph."
The Black Fighting Emperor used one of its middle legs to point northeast.
"Hmph hmph."
"Woof."
Yu Bao acted as a translator, relaying the message to Su Zhi.
Emperor Shao and Xiaoyue watched, completely bewildered.
’You can do that?’
"Got it. Thanks a lot."
Su Zhi smiled and gave a fist-and-palm salute. "And thanks for sparring with my Pet Beast!"
Black Fighting Emperor: "Hmph hmph?" (Huh? You’re leaving already?)
"Yep. See you around!"
·
After bidding farewell to the Little Black Fighting Emperor, the two Beast Tamers and their pets headed quickly to the northeast.
With a general direction to follow, finding the resources became much easier.
Finally, at the base of a massive cliff face, Xiaoyue and Yu Bao found the resources they were looking for: a Thousand-Year Leaf and a Yellow Earth Crystal.
Interestingly, the two resources had formed together. The Thousand-Year Leaf was embedded in the Yellow Earth Crystal, making it look like a small, ceremonial trophy.
Xiaoyue’s gaze wavered upon seeing the Thousand-Year Leaf.
However, as the "big brother," he calmly lifted his chin and stepped back behind Yu Bao.
"Meow." (You can have it first. I can take it after you’re done.)
"WOOF!" (Thanks, Big Bro!)
Yu Bao wagged his tail, and with a *Bling Bling*, carried the resource over to Xiaoyue.
"WOOF WOOF!" (I have the Brown Relics, so it’s okay if I don’t use this for now. Big Bro should use it first!)
"Meow." (Hmph. Good boy.)
As a reward, Xiaoyue reached out a paw and patted Yu Bao on the head.
Finding even one Tier One resource with good affinity was an excellent result. They wouldn’t be at a loss even if they returned now.
In fact, very few people find any resources at all on their first field expedition.
Even for those who do, their Pet Beasts can’t always use what they find, so they often have to trade with others back at school.
But since their goal was to maximize their gains, the two Beast Tamers and their pets were not satisfied with just two resources.
The more resources they gathered, the faster their Pet Beasts would improve, giving them an edge over their rivals.
First thing tomorrow, they would get back to "fleecing the sheep"—they were going to get as much as they possibly could.
Their goal: the City League Tournament!
"Su Zhi, come give me a hand."
"The great Emperor Shao can’t even handle a tent?"
"I’m gonna hit you!"
The last rays of sunset had still been visible when they entered the jungle, but now the sky was full of twinkling stars.
Even in summer, the nights in the forest were not what you would call warm.
Shao Ya and Su Zhi built a fire in a clearing and set up their individual tents. This was where they would spend the night.
Once everything was set up, the two of them sat by the fire, roasting a rabbit.
—The rabbit had startled itself, run into a tree, and died. It had nothing to do with them, of course.
"WOOF! WOOF!"
Yu Bao bounced up and down excitedly, but not because of the roasted rabbit.
The battle with the Little Black Fighting Emperor had left a deep impression on him. That move that could deflect an attack with a simple shudder was just too cool!
He wanted to learn it too!
"You can’t learn that one. It’s a Racial Skill," Su Zhi said, unsure whether to laugh or cry as he petted Yu Bao.
Racial Skills are exclusive to a specific Race of Pet Beast, as opposed to Universal Skills.
Skills that can be learned and mastered are called Universal Skills. Racial Skills, on the other hand, are innate and awaken once a Pet Beast reaches a certain stage of growth.
Racial Skills are further divided into Core Skills and Non-core Skills. Core Skills change upon evolution, while Non-core Skills are retained.
Perfect Block is one of the Black Fighting Emperor’s Non-core Racial Skills.
"Awoo..."
Yu Bao flopped onto the ground, looking dejected.
Su Zhi patted his head.
"Don’t worry, you have Racial Skills too. Your Core Skill, Thick Earth Blessing, will be very strong once it awakens."
The light returned to Yu Bao’s eyes.
"Besides, you can add stat points. They can’t."
—He sent this last part through the Beast Taming Space.
"WOOF!" (Yay!) freewebnσvel.cøm
Yu Bao was back in high spirits, running excited circles around the fire.
The sleeping Xiaoyue was woken by the silly puppy and shot him a classic grumpy cat glare. But as the big brother, he couldn’t get mad, so he just turned over and tried to go back to sleep.
But then, with a *Bling Bling*, Yu Bao came and snuggled up to him again, wanting his Big Bro Xiaoyue to practice Sandstorm with him.
Xiaoyue looked completely done with life.
’This dumb little dog is like an NPC that automatically starts a quest the moment you run into it...’
The two Pet Beasts played happily together while their two Beast Tamers chatted and roasted the rabbit.
The bonfire stretched their shadows long, making them overlap and dance upon the cliff wall.
Suddenly, Yu Bao leaped to his feet. His gaze grew sharp as he stared into the nearby darkness.
"WOOF! WOOF!"
