017: Fighting The Fire Boars

They continued their journey as the moon was right above their heads to the West Coast Region to catch an airship that would bring them to Thorz City.

The visibility of their surroundings was decreased as the overcast clouds covered the moonlight.

Arthur's nape hair stood up as he sensed something big and ferocious beast creeping from the tree line as they entered the forest.

However, Ming and Yin were clueless as they went by.

"Master, there is something watching us from afar." Hui Ying whispered.

"Yeah, I know… But it's too late to retreat right now. We already entered its territory."

"Shall I take care of it, Master?"

Arthur closed his eyes and spread his senses to do appraisals towards the beast. Soonly, the system gives its feedback.

[Appraisal Complete!]

[BEAST NAME: Fire Boar]

[BEAST RANK: Rare]

[ELEMENTAL: Fire]

[WEAKNESS: Water, Earth, Wind]

[EVOLUTION POTENTIAL: -]

[BEAST CULTIVATION PATH: Blazing Skin]

It was indeed a massive beast with a pair of tusks protruding from its lower jaw. A magnificent Fire Boar. An apex predator in the area.

Arthur was very delighted by the beast's statuses that were slightly higher than the Black Iron Claw Lion's that he met previously.

'Oh! This one is quite strong! Hehe! I wonder how much Qi I can get from its core.'

"Ming!" Arthur called aloud. "You go ahead first, there is something that I need to deal with-"

The second he finished his word, loud roars along with the stampede of numerous beasts shook the ground violently from their left flank.

The darkness of the forest was lit up by dozens of big fiery creatures that spit blazing fire from their nostrils and their backs.

The horses neighed aloud, standing with their hinds legs, luckily, the horses were trained well and able to adapt to the situation.

"Split up! Find a cover!" Arthur shouted.

They went in different directions to let the stampede pass them. However, the Chief Fire Boar was very intelligent unlike other members of the herd.

It halted the herd and commanded its subordinates to patrol the vicinity.

Arthur unsheathed his long sword and glanced at Ming and Yin hiding behind a big three not so far from him. He then gives them a sign with his hand to tell them to stay as quiet as possible.

"It seems like we have to fight them, our horses couldn't overrun those beasts. Not to mention, those kids must be wetting their pants by now."

"Do you need an assistant, Master?" Hui Ying offered herself.

"You can distract the herd and make sure there are no other beasts meddling with us while I'm beating the biggest one."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Alright! Follow me!"

As the Chief Fire Boars was off guard, Arthur jumped to its blindspot, he stabbed his sword into its nape but the skin was so tough so the sword only went in a couple of inches. He had to back off and plan another way to defeat it.

On the other side, Hui Ying casted a magic array to barricade themselves from the incoming onslaught from the herd. Dozens of fire boars repelled easily as the barrier spread wider to give him more room to fight.

"Ming! Yin! You go first and get to the air harbor. We will hold them off!" Arthur shouted.

Without any hesitation, the two fled the battle and did not look back at the slightest.

However, that's exactly what Arthur wanted from the start. He could fight to his heart's content since the deadweights were gone.

"Arise, Xiaoqing!"

The beast serpent launched itself towards the gigantic boar, coiled around it as well as squeezing it hard. Those beasts fought ferociously as none of them were unwilling to lose.

"Xiaoqing, peck its lower neck!" Arthur instructed.

Xiaoqing changed her approach, she snuck her head around it and was able to peck its lower neck unprotected by hardened skin.

The Chief Fire Boar flailed around and had a seizure as the blood congealed, causing a fatal heart failure. The venom that she injected was more than enough to kill the entire herd. And yet, Xiaoqing gave it all as if it was her last battle.

Meanwhile, Arthur reacted quickly to dissect the fire boar under belly with his sword and yanked its beast core before being contaminated by Xiaoqing's venom.

The beast core was gleaming with vibrant red color, from the color alone, Arthur was aware that the core was filled with Yang Qi.

"Oh! This is a nice one!"

After he was done collecting the beast valued body parts. The tusks were worth a considerable amount of gold coins as forging material in the market. The hide was so thick and yet malleable enough, a perfect material for leather armor.

"I wonder if there is some skilled blacksmith and craftsman to process these materials."

Lastly, Arthur paid his respect towards the beast by closing its eyes.

Xiaoqing nudges its snout and demands the beast core as her reward.

Arthur flicked its forehead in response. "This is mine! You just ate twenty men this evening and you wanted more? Jeezzz."

The beast serpent's eyes were teary after being scolded by him.

"Alright, alright… Since we are here, why don't you hunt other beasts and come back to me in an hour or two."

Xiaoqing was so happy, she slithered away and wrecked havoc as soon as she found her prey.

"It feels like I'm having a kid rather than a familiar beast." He let out a long sigh.

Thus, Arthur concealed the beast core with his Qi so it doesn't get withered.

As the fight was over, Hui Ying also finished her part and chased away the remaining fire boars in the vicinity.

She returned to him as she tugged the two horses.

"Are you done, Master?"

"Woah!" Arthur startled a bit due to her sudden appearance behind him.

'Since when she was behind me? I don't even sense her presence at all or it's just me being too focused on my own fight?'

Arthur became cautious as he looked at her. There was no trace of fight on her dress, not even a speck of dust. It clearly tells that she single handedly defeated those fire boars within the same time as him defeating the Chief Fire Boars.

"Y-yes… I am done in here, let's go catch up with the couple. They must be near the air harbor by now."

"But, where did the serpent go? Is it okay if we leave it behind?"

"She will be just fine. It's also good for her to exert her energy rather than being cooped inside my shadow."

"Ahh I see… Then, shall we?" Hui Ying handed the horse's rein to him.

"Yeah, Let's go…"

They went back to the main trail when they'd make sure that nothing left behind.

Unbeknownst to him, Hui Ying actually had finished her part from the beginning. She went into her stealth mode and watched him from a nearby tree as he battled with the Chief Fire Boars.

She was astonished as well as horrified upon witnessing what he was capable of.

'He will be a storm that is able to turn this land upside down sooner or later.' Hui Ying thought inwardly to herself.