Chapter 54 Nature's Good Friend

That made sense!

Everyone immediately understood, but there was no time to think as the Earthquake Bears roared and charged toward them.

The Wind-winged Eagle slashed with its sharp claws, sending a wind blade that severely injured one of the Earthquake Bears again.

However, instead of intimidating the other Earthquake Bears, it made them even more furious, roaring as they charged forward.

The Wind-winged Eagle's wind blade had a cooldown period and couldn't be released continuously.

In no time, the other Earthquake Bears closed the distance.

The Ironback Beast, resembling a giant lizard, let out a roar and charged at one of the Earthquake Bears. With its tough defense, it had no problem holding off one Earthquake Bear.

At the same time, the Flame Bird screeched, its claws glowing red as it tore at an Earthquake Bear. Using its flying advantage, it temporarily held off one Earthquake Bear.

The other contract spirits also showed their prowess. Although they couldn't win, they could at least hold off the Earthquake Bears' attacks.

Now, they just needed to wait for the Wind-winged Eagle's skill to cool down to achieve victory.

John's Slime had been injured earlier and wasn't summoned.

The Wind-winged Eagle screeched and clawed at an Earthquake Bear, its claws gleaming coldly as it instantly tore open the back of an Earthquake Bear.

Although it didn't use a wind blade, its attributes far surpassed those of ordinary beasts.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Earthquake Bears changed their tactics.

The seven Earthquake Bears slammed their paws into the ground, instantly activating their innate skill, 'Earth Wave.'

The previously calm ground began to shake strangely. Although the tremors weren't strong, they made everyone unsteady.

One Earthquake Bear took advantage of the Ironback Beast's shaking body and charged directly at the group, targeting Caspar!

Clearly, the beasts knew that the Beast Tamer's body was extremely fragile.

Caspar's expression turned cold as he hunched over, trying to maintain his balance on the shaking ground.

Seeing the Earthquake Bear's giant paw coming down, the black Claw Wolf appeared instantly. Despite being injured, it still had formidable abilities.

Its claws, glowing with a ghostly light, tore through the Earthquake Bear's head, splattering blood everywhere.

Caspar shouted, "Ava, watch out!"

Caspar was shocked to see another Earthquake Bear silently approaching.

Although the Flame Bird was only a level seven contract spirit, its potential rating was A, and the Earthquake Bears feared fire, naturally making Ava their target.

But before that Earthquake Bear could attack, it was knocked away by a suddenly appearing yellow Slime.

The golden Slime's big eyes opened wide, and it suddenly leaped up, activating its 'Violent Sit' skill!

John shouted, "Crush it for me!"

The Earthquake Bear wasn't fast and was firmly pinned down by the Slime.

But the next moment, the Earthquake Bear's eyes turned fierce, and with its immense strength, it lifted the Slime.

John said, "We can't hold the Earthquake Bear down any longer!"

John decisively recalled the Slime back to the Beast Taming space, not wanting it to get hurt again.

Although they didn't subdue it, they bought a lot of time.

The Claw Wolf charged in and decisively defeated the Earthquake Bear.

Since Caspar had summoned the Claw Wolf, he wouldn't recall it for a while, quickly ending the battle.

The two black iron-level contract spirits teamed up and almost crushed the Earthquake Bears.

John's eyes were filled with envy. Black iron-level Beast Tamers were incredibly strong.

Everyone quickly cleaned up the battlefield to avoid attracting more beasts.

The attacking Earthquake Bears were only of ordinary level and weren't very valuable. Only the bear paws could be sold to local restaurants, but they were inconvenient to carry, so the contract spirits devoured them on the spot.

"Let's rest."

Seeing everything was taken care of, Caspar told Morris and John to return to the tent to rest.

He and Ava took the night watch.

The night passed peacefully.

The sudden battle last night made John realize the dangers of the Alternate Dimension.

"We'll start heading back today!" Caspar said.

They had already gained a lot, mainly by hunting a mutated Bloodfang Boar.

They were deep in Enigma Woods, and the return journey would take several days.

"Of course, no one would return the way they came. Otherwise, they would gain nothing."

Fortunately, they didn't encounter any beast attacks along the way, and even the Wind-winged Eagle in the sky seemed bored.

Suddenly, Caspar raised his right hand, signaling everyone to stop.

Did they encounter a beast?

John looked closely and saw a Beast Guard approaching.

The Wind-winged Eagle in the sky watched the other contract spirit warily, exuding a black iron-level aura.

On the other hand, the Beast Guard leader was a refined young man about thirty years old.

He glanced at the Wind-winged Eagle without showing any emotion and smiled, nodding at Caspar.

The two groups of Beast Guards didn't communicate or approach each other, maintaining a safe distance and passing by without incident.

The atmosphere felt quite eerie!

It wasn't until the other group had walked away that everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"If you encounter other Beast Guards in the Alternate Dimension, the best way to handle it is to ignore them. Don't become enemies, and don't get close," Caspar said to John and Ava on the Flame Bird.

On the third day, Caspar recalled the Wind-winged Eagle back to the Beast Taming space and summoned the Claw Wolf.

The Claw Wolf was his first contract spirit and had been with him the longest, making it the most obedient.

Obedience might have seemed unimportant, but it could indirectly affect the combat power of a contracted spirit.

If a contracted spirit had low obedience, it might take a second or two to execute a skill you commanded.

One should never underestimate these one or two seconds, as they could determine the outcome of a battle.

Just like in a game, if someone else's internet speed was fast and their game operations had no delay, but your internet speed was slow, and your game operations had a delay, you wouldn't be able to beat them.

The Black Crow scouted for enemies from above, while the Claw Wolf handled the main combat. They didn't encounter any major crises along the way.

'The adventure in Enigma Woods is about to end,' John couldn't help but think. Although it had only been a dozen days, he had learned a lot.

Unfortunately, his contract spirit wasn't strong enough, at most comparable to a level seven beast, making it hard to be a main force, which lessened his sense of involvement.

At night, everyone rested as usual.

Judging by the distance, they would return to the Spirit Guard Base in no more than three days.

"John, Morris, you two take the night watch," said Captain Caspar as he and the other team members returned to the tent.

John lay idly by the campfire, gazing at the starry sky.

Morris called out, "John."

"Morris, stop it," John rubbed his head, feeling like Morris was trying to set him up with a girlfriend.

John thought, 'Although I'm a genius and very kind and just, you don't have to flatter me like this.'

John asked, "Morris, has your Beast Guard ever hunted a lord-level creature?"

John suddenly remembered his task: to hunt the Ice Rabbit Lord.

"Of course not," Morris said, shaking his head.

Morris added. "The weakest lord-level creatures are black iron-level. According to team composition, you need at least three black iron Beast Tamers, which means six black iron-level contract spirits, to possibly hunt a lord-level creature."

In the Shadowstalkers Beast Guard, only Caspar was black iron-level. The strongest of the other members were level nine Beast Tamers.

"Are lord-level creatures that powerful?" John asked, puzzled.

"You experienced the rat swarm that day," Morris said. "If we had dared to fight them, we would have undoubtedly failed. Hundreds of Steeltooth Rats using their innate skill 'Sharp Teeth' would be enough to devour the Claw Wolf. Don't be fooled by how strong black iron-level contract spirits are; the enemy's numbers were just too great."

John nodded thoughtfully, "So, a team with three black iron-level Beast Tamers can hunt a lord?"

"Of course not," Morris shook his head again. "With three black iron Beast Tamers, they'd go on dangerous Alternate Dimension adventures instead of coming here."

John asked again, "Why?"

A lord-level beast was worth at least a million Stellar Coins. Were black iron-level Beast Tamers that proud?

Morris explained, "You're really naive. The chances of encountering a lord-level creature are very low. With that time, it's better to make a few more trips to dangerous Alternate Dimensions to earn more Stellar Coins."

John was speechless. No wonder the task of hunting lord-level beasts had no entry requirements; it was so hard to complete.

Beast Guards capable of hunting black iron lords wouldn't come to Enigma Woods, and those who came here couldn't hunt them. So, hunting lord-level creatures here was impossible.

John said, "I wanted to urinate. I'm going to take a quick bathroom break."

Just as he was about to relieve himself, options suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Option 1: Relieve yourself beside the bushes. Reward: Title 'Friend of Nature,' Effect: Increase the urge of relieving oneself.]

[Option 2: Relieve yourself on a big tree. Reward: Contract spirit 'Overpower' skill +1]