Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Gathering of Experts

Under the pitch-black night sky, with a crescent moon hanging above, Charles sprinted all the way to the edge of the Nine Hell River.

A thin layer of mist hovered over the river's surface, and faintly, the roars of beasts could be heard from the opposite bank.

"Once I cross the Nine Hell River, I'll be in the heart of the Ferocious Beast Mountain Range. I wonder what kind of powerful ferocious beasts I'll encounter there. It's quite exciting, really," Charles sighed softly.

The Ferocious Beast Mountain Range was an area with vague boundaries, and the Nine Hell River could be considered Genosha's de facto 'borderline.' The territory south of the Nine Hell River belonged to the ferocious beasts, and even the most experienced old hunters rarely dared to cross the river.

However, this also had its advantages—fewer people meant less competition. Charles's current score had already fallen far behind the others, with Grace leading him by a full 2,000 points. To overtake her in the next month, Charles had to take some risks.

"Tonight, I'll scout the situation on the other side of the river. If it's favorable, I'll spend the next month over there," Charles pondered.

He took an inflatable rubber boat out of his storage space, placed it in the river, and carefully began rowing towards the opposite bank.

As soon as he entered the water, the commotion on the surface attracted some fish, all of which were low-level water-type ferocious beasts similar to piranhas. As long as he didn't fall into the river, they shouldn't be able to attack him.

The Nine Hell River was 5,000 meters wide, and it took Charles a full quarter of an hour to reach the middle of the river. The wind and waves around him gradually intensified, with several waves splashing over, drenching Charles to the bone. Suddenly, he noticed a massive creature swimming beneath the water's surface.

"What's going on? What is that thing?" Charles exclaimed in shock.

The towering waves around him weren't stirred by the wind, but by a dragon-like creature beneath the river's surface. It was swimming right under Charles, and with just a slight flick of its tail fin, it stirred up a tremendous wave on the river!

"Woo——"

"Woo——"

A deep sound echoed from beneath the water, resembling the call of a whale. As a splash echoed, a colossal creature suddenly leaped out of the water—it was a hydra!

——[Devouring Serpent]——

[Attribute]: Water

[Level]: 59 [Leveling up...]

[Quality]: Gold

[Emotion]: Fear

[Health]: Severely Injured

[Description]: This is a Level 59 ferocious beast, the Devouring Serpent, which has already gained rudimentary human intelligence. It is currently in the midst of an evolution and is extremely weakened, with three external wounds and bleeding from its chest and abdomen, resulting in a 50% decrease in combat power.

Devouring Serpent, with its nine terrifying heads, stared at him. In the darkness, nine pairs of blood-red eyes gleamed ominously. Its deep blue body, streaked with golden stripes, looked extraordinary. Beneath it, currents of water seemed to lift it off the ground, allowing it to float in the air as if it were swimming.

A ferocious beast this powerful could probably reduce him to nothing with a mere sneeze. The thought of fighting was completely out of Charles' mind. As the nine pairs of eyes locked onto him, his scalp tingled with fear, and he was ready to activate [Darkness Cloak] to escape at any moment.

"It looks like it's severely injured, and it's clearly fleeing from something. But what could possibly have beaten a Level 59 ferocious beast so badly?" Charles wondered in confusion.

It was terrifying to even imagine what kind of monstrous existence could do this!

Charles swallowed hard. He hadn't even crossed the Nine Hell River yet, and he was already facing a battle of this magnitude. The idea of crossing to the other side was quickly fading—strengthening himself was important, but staying alive was even more so!

Charles gently moved his oar, preparing to retreat...

But at that moment, the previously calm Devouring Serpent suddenly became agitated again. It violently whipped its tail fin and leaped into the air, sending a massive wave tens of meters high crashing down.

In front of this colossal creature, Charles was no different from an ant. With one sweep of its tail fin, Charles hadn't even processed what had happened before he found himself soaring dozens of meters into the air. The next moment, the sensation of weightlessness overcame him, and Charles began to plummet towards the river.

On the river's surface, hundreds of piranhas had already gathered, tightly packed together as they opened their gaping jaws, watching Charles fall from the sky.

These were all ferocious beasts below Level 10, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming. If Charles fell among them, there wouldn't be a scrap of him left!

In the darkness, just as Charles was about to hit the water, his fall suddenly stopped. A lock of pale blue hair dangled near his ear.

She smelled faintly of elegance and freshness—this was a woman, but before Charles could even catch a glimpse of her face, she gave him a gentle push...

A powerful current lifted Charles across to the other side of the Nine Hell River. He stumbled several steps upon landing before finally regaining his balance.

"Tha... Thank you!"

Charles, still shaken, turned around. In the sky above stood a tall, slender woman holding a green longsword. She must have been the one who saved him. As Charles began to express his gratitude, the next second—

A flash of sword light cut through the air as the woman transformed into a streak of cyan light, chasing after the direction where the Devouring Serpent had vanished.

Lightning Demon Ape!!!

An explosion echoed from a mountain peak several kilometers away, and a brilliant blue light illuminated a vast portion of the sky. In that fleeting moment, Charles was horrified to see that the mountaintop had been sliced cleanly in half...

The shockwave, mixed with fragments of grass and wood, swept towards him, carrying with it a strong scent of blood as debris rained down to the ground.

Charles shook off the bits of debris that had settled on him, his eyes wide with shock. "So this is what a battle between the truly powerful looks like? This is insane..."

To be able to force a Level 59 ferocious beast to flee in such a sorry state, Charles speculated that the woman he just saw was at least a Level 6 Beast Master, possibly even a Level 7 Beast Master!

A battle of this magnitude was clearly not something Charles could get involved in; even just watching it could easily get him caught up in the destruction.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps and voices approached from behind, prompting Charles to quickly hide in a nearby thicket.

"Did Vice Principal Emma just head that way?"

"It seems so. The explosion just now came from over there. Let's hurry and catch up."

In the blink of an eye, a group of young men and women, riding on Mystical Beasts known as Wind Leopards, rushed past him, heading in the direction where the Devouring Serpent had disappeared.

Each of them bore the emblem of Nova Academy, one of the Imperial Capital's three major academies, and they were mostly Level 3 Beast Masters, with even a Level 4 Beast Master among them. They were clearly here to train in the Ferocious Beast Mountain Range.

Once they had moved on, Charles emerged from the thicket, his face filled with surprise.

Who would have thought that the woman who saved him was actually the Vice Principal of Nova Academy, one of the three major academies in the Imperial Capital!

"That Devouring Serpent was a Level 59 ferocious beast. If I secretly follow them, I might be able to pick up some scraps!" Charles chuckled to himself.

A high-level ferocious beast like that would have immense value—even a piece of its flesh could significantly boost the strength of a Mystical Beast, and it could fetch an astronomical price on the market!

Moreover, Charles figured that given the size of such a massive ferocious beast, they wouldn't be able to carry most of the meat and materials without a storage space like his. There was bound to be plenty of good stuff left behind.

Charles carefully suppressed his presence and stealthily followed after them... Searᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

...

After swallowing the [Miraculous Speed Pill], Charles's speed surged by 50%. Following the group, he finally arrived at the center of the explosion a few minutes later.

The closer he got to the explosion's epicenter, the more shocked Charles became.

The trees within a few kilometers were all neatly severed, and a nearby rocky hill had a smooth cross-section, polished like a mirror.

The once colossal Devouring Serpent, with its nine heads, now had only one remaining. The other eight had been severed, with blood gushing out, creating a gruesome sight.

In front of the serpent stood a petite woman with pale blue hair tied back by a delicate golden hairpiece. Her face, elegant and captivating, remained incredibly calm. To her, this powerful ferocious beast seemed no more threatening than a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"Why do you insist on hunting me down, human woman?" The Devouring Serpent's last remaining head looked towards the woman and suddenly spoke.

Hearing the ferocious beast speak in human language, Charles was momentarily stunned. He recalled that Lily, during one of her theory classes, had mentioned that some high-level ferocious beasts gradually develop human intelligence and can speak. At even higher levels, they can even transform into human form.

"Surrender to me and form a contract with me!" The woman's voice was clear and melodious, her longsword pointed directly at the Devouring Serpent.

As Charles looked on, several lines of information appeared before his eyes.

[Name]: Emma

[Age]: 32

[Height]: 171 cm

[Measurements]: 88/49/77

[Beast Master Level]: Seven

"It seems she has just recently advanced to a Level 7 Beast Master. Her purpose in coming to the Ferocious Beast Mountain Range must be to tame her seventh Mystical Beast."

Understanding the situation, Charles felt a twinge of disappointment. Emma wasn't here to hunt the ferocious beast, but to subdue it. This meant that his hope of scavenging anything valuable was now dashed.

"Human woman, in my era, I, the Devouring Serpent, was the ruler of this Ferocious Beast Mountain Range. To think I would submit to you? Keep dreaming!" The Devouring Serpent roared, sending a flock of nearby birds and beasts scattering in fear.

With a soft sigh, Emma slowly raised her longsword. "If you refuse to submit to me willingly, then I shall beat you into submission."

As she lifted her hand, a flash of light appeared, and a six-pointed star summoning circle materialized beside her.

Charles quickly counted Emma's Mystical Beasts—there were six in total. The most striking among them was a blue-ringed octopus of platinum quality!

As Emma's voice fell, the Nine Hell River erupted in turbulent waves. A blue water column shot up into the sky, transforming in the blink of an eye into a towering waterspout, several stories high.

Beside her, all six of her Mystical Beasts assumed battle stances. The blue-ringed octopus surged in size until it was as massive as the Devouring Serpent itself.

Emma's power likely rivaled that of a Level 60 ferocious beast, and she was facing an opponent who was on the verge of completing its evolution into a fifth-tier pinnacle-level ferocious beast. This was the first time Charles had ever witnessed a battle of such magnitude!

A colossal showdown was inevitable. Instinctively, he took a step back.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from another direction in the sky: "I discovered this Devouring Serpent first. Did you think you could tame it without my permission?"

A middle-aged man dressed in black robes appeared before Emma in the blink of an eye. The moment he arrived, Charles felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

[Name]: Joshua

[Race]: Serpentkin

[Age]: 41

[Level]: Lv64

[Attributes]: Wind/Poison

A few lines of information flashed before Charles's eyes, leaving him completely stunned.

The Nine Hell River was indeed bustling with activity tonight. The Vice Principal of Nova Academy chasing down a Level 59 ferocious beast, and now, out of nowhere, a Level 64 Serpentkin has appeared!