Chapter 310: Chapter 310: The Leader

Alyssa's body stiffened, facing a Level 7 Beast Master, she had no means to resist. Asher and Dante, both Level 4 Beast Masters, were of no help at all."You think you can leave just like that after harboring ill intentions toward Charles? No compensation at all?" Ruby said with a cheerful smile.

She wasn't about to let these people who sought to exploit Charles off the hook so easily.

"Compensation? I don't have anything on me that I could use to compensate Charles..." Alyssa replied slowly.

Ruby naturally didn't believe her, how could a Level 6 Beast Master not have something to offer as compensation?

Her entire body was filled with surging earth energy, as if she were ready to strike at any moment.

Charles scratched his head, he only wanted to know where he could find more [Giant Pangolins] to conveniently search for the [Golden Stone]. As for Alyssa and her group, he decided it was better to leave them to Ruby to handle.

With that thought in mind, Charles directly approached Mountain Rabbit, the guide, and asked:

"Do you know about the [Golden Stone]?"

Mountain Rabbit had been in a daze ever since the Level 8 Beast Master Drake appeared.

After a long moment,

Mountain Rabbit finally snapped back to reality, swallowed hard, and replied, "I know. In the past, you could go deep into the underground mines to find it. Now, you can only rely on hunting [Giant Pangolins] to have a chance of finding it."

Charles nodded, this information matched what he had already investigated.

"Since you are the guide for the Golden Mountain Range, you must know where there are more [Giant Pangolins], right?" Charles pulled out a gold coin and handed it directly to Mountain Rabbit. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"This is a deposit. Once you help me find the [Golden Stone], there will be another gold coin for you." Charles said slowly.

Upon seeing the gold coin, Mountain Rabbit didn't hesitate to take it. He changed from his previous timid demeanor to one of confidence, patting his chest and responding loudly:

"No problem! In the Golden Mountain Range, I am the best guide! Mr. Charles, you can rest assured, following me will be absolutely fine."

After saying that, Mountain Rabbit remembered something and glanced at the slowly moving [Bloodthirsty Alloy Ants], continuing:

"As long as we don't run into surprises like this, there usually won't be any issues."

Mountain Rabbit was feeling very excited. Previously, guiding Alyssa and her group only earned him a few hundred silver coins, and it involved a lot of danger.

Now, all he had to do was help Charles find areas with more [Giant Pangolins], and he would earn a gold coin! Plus, there would be another gold coin afterward!

Two gold coins were what he usually had to risk a lot for and spend a long time to earn.

Gripping the gold coin tightly in his hand, Mountain Rabbit felt a surge of motivation!

Charles turned around and walked over to Ruby, while Alyssa and her group had already left in disgrace.

"A Level 6 Beast Master and two Level 4 Beast Masters, they must have quite a few things on them. Once you sell those, you could make a good amount of gold." Ruby tossed over a ring.

Charles caught it and looked at it, his eyes displaying the information prompt:

[Black Jade Ring [Blue Quality]: Made from a space gem. Due to the gem's small size and average craftsmanship, it has a storage space of 4 cubic meters but has a limited lifespan.]

This Black Jade Ring had some value, but it wasn't high.

The items inside were quite ordinary, lacking anything of high quality.

There was only a purple-quality dagger, which looked decent, it was likely Alyssa's equipment.

[Storm Dagger [Purple Quality]: Forged from special metal materials, it can enhance the attack power of Wind Attribute Beast Masters. It is hard, sharp, compact, and flexible.

Effect: Gale Strike, infusing wind attribute energy into the dagger can temporarily increase attack speed.]

"It seems that Beast Masters in the Stellar Empire aren't particularly wealthy. A Level 6 Beast Master only has one piece of purple-quality equipment." Charles remarked.

Ruby rolled her eyes upon hearing this, slowly replying:

"Do you think everyone is like you? One piece of purple-quality equipment is already acceptable for a Level 6 Beast Master."

Charles scratched his head and responded, "Is that so? Purple-quality equipment shouldn't be hard to come by."

He had quite a few orange-quality weapons and gear, so he had grown indifferent to purple-quality items.

"Enough about that. Do you think everyone is like you? The orange-quality miracle drug you have makes me envious." Ruby said, her expression quite unsettled.

After packing everything up, Charles followed Mountain Rabbit to the area where [Giant Pangolins] might appear in search of the [Golden Stone]. Ruby chose not to hide her presence again and directly followed behind Charles.

The three of them passed through a canyon and arrived at a massive cliff.

"This is the place! Someone saw [Giant Pangolins] here last week." Mountain Rabbit said confidently.

Charles observed carefully, the cliff before them was incredibly steep, almost vertical to the ground, with no path to climb.

The materials for Little Gold's promotion were all in the storage space, and now they were only missing the most crucial item: the [Golden Stone].

As long as they could find it, Little Gold would be able to complete its promotion.

At that point, Charles's strength would also increase.

There were still three days until the trial, but he wondered if they could complete the promotion before it started.

Soon,

the three of them discovered a cave about four meters high at the base of the cliff ahead.

After carefully observing the marks on the stone walls and the surrounding soil, Charles determined that the cave had appeared about a week ago, which matched what Mountain Rabbit had said.

"It seems this cave was dug out by the [Giant Pangolins]. They might be inside right now." Charles assessed slowly.

The hexagram array appeared, and Mousie materialized in front of Charles.

"Mousie, use Darkness Cloak to check inside the cave. Observe the surroundings and report back to me in a timely manner." Charles instructed.

Mousie nodded and immediately vanished into the darkness of the cave.

Ruby watched Mousie disappear and, after sensing the surroundings carefully, exclaimed in surprise, "Charles, your mystical beast skill is really special! As a Level 7 Beast Master, I wouldn't have easily noticed it if I hadn't paid close attention."

Charles found this remark familiar, it seemed that Teacher Ethan had said something similar before.

[Darkness Cloak] was a very practical skill, useful not just for fleeing or hiding, but also great for gathering information.

Before long, Mousie returned, and Charles heard Mousie's voice in his mind:

"Master, the cave is quite complex and deep. I encountered two large-looking pangolins on my way."

Charles's eyes lit up upon hearing this!

Not only were there two, but if the cave was deep, it might be connected to other caves dug by [Giant Pangolins]. This could lead to an encounter with even more [Giant Pangolins].

If that happened, their chances of finding the [Golden Stone] would greatly increase!

"There are [Giant Pangolins] inside. Let's go in." Charles decided on the spot, intending to hunt the [Giant Pangolins] immediately.

Mountain Rabbit looked hesitant. He was just a guide, and going in might expose him to danger.

Watching Charles and Ruby enter the cave, Mountain Rabbit glanced around and followed them inside.

With Charles, who was fighting at Level 6, and Ruby, who was a Level 7 Beast Master, Mountain Rabbit felt it was safer to stay behind them.

The cave was dark and damp,

with not a hint of light. The sound of dripping water echoed everywhere, creating an eerie silence.

Charles pulled out the flashlight he had prepared from the storage space and slowly made his way deeper into the cave.

Based on the information gathered by Mousie, the three soon arrived near their destination.

A loud snoring filled the air, causing the ground of the cave to tremble slightly.

"Are the [Giant Pangolins] sleeping?" Mountain Rabbit whispered uncertainly.

Charles didn't respond. He cautiously peeked out to see two massive figures in the distance—[Giant Pangolins] that looked as large as shipping containers.

Information appeared in his sight:

————[Giant Pangolins]——

[Attribute]: Earth

[Level]: 55

[Quality]: Gold

[Skills]: High-Speed Digging, Claw Attack, Iron Ball, Rapid Regeneration.

[Weakness]: Wood

...

As he observed the [Giant Pangolins] drifting into slumber, he particularly noted how, when one of them turned over, its belly pocket appeared to be bulging.

According to the information collected, the [Giant Pangolins] would stash some rare metal ores in their pockets to strengthen the shells and claws of their offspring.

"Hopefully, these two [Giant Pangolins] have the [Golden Stone] in their pockets." Charles thought to himself as he pulled out the black gold long knife.

Just as Charles and Ruby were about to take action, the cave passage behind them suddenly shook.

The three immediately stopped and turned to look.

They saw another massive figure appear, and the information prompt in Charles's eyes changed:

————[Giant Pangolins Leader]——

[Attribute]: Earth

[Level]: 65

[Quality]: Platinum

[Skills]: Temporary Enhancement, High-Speed Digging, Claw Attack, Iron Ball, Rapid Regeneration, Call Allies.

[Weakness]: Wood

...

"Damn it, there's another one! I'll take care of it first." Ruby said, getting ready to move.

Charles quickly whispered to stop her. This one was different, it was the [Giant Pangolins] Leader, capable of calling other [Giant Pangolins]!

If they couldn't deal with it quickly, they might face significant trouble!