CH 85

Chapter 85: Provoking the Rhino Beast Herd

However, that golden opportunity was missed due to his physical stamina issues.

At that time, although Su Zihan felt regret, he didn't think much of it because he had seen many pharmacists fail in concocting potions due to physical exhaustion. After all, pharmacists were known for their "fragile" constitution.

But now, thinking about it, it was clearly something that could be improved artificially. It was just because most pharmacists were like that, that he had accepted it as the norm.

If it weren't for Xiao Qingyang's enlightening words, he might have continued to drift aimlessly.

"Qingyang, you're absolutely right. Even though our innate conditions may not match those of the superhumans, as pharmacists, we still need to exercise and strengthen our bodies," Su Zihan's spirit soared as if he had suddenly found new motivation.

Xiao Qingyang, seeing this, smiled with great satisfaction.

"Everyone, be careful, stay together, and don't make any noise." Suddenly, the superhumans responsible for protecting the logistical team became alert, nervously scanning their surroundings and forming a circle around Xiao Qingyang and the others.

One of the superhumans, agile in movement, ran off in a certain direction and quickly disappeared into the surrounding bushes.

"What... what happened?" Su Zihan asked Xiao Qingyang in a low voice, feeling somewhat nervous.

Xiao Qingyang had been engrossed in conversation with his friends earlier and hadn't paid much attention to the surroundings. Now, seeing everyone's reactions, he quickly released his spiritual perception and discovered a rhino beast not far from them.

Before Xiao Qingyang could answer Su Zihan, the superhuman who had gone to investigate returned. He had an uncontrollable smile on his face and said, "There's a lone rhino beast up ahead. I checked the surroundings, and there were no other rhino beasts. It must have gotten separated from the herd on its way home."

Rhino beasts were also social animals. They would come out to forage and drink by the river during the day and return to their herd after sunset. It was not easy to find a lone rhino beast. The main method was to have someone in the front to act as bait, diverting the attention of most of the rhino beasts, and then attack the slowest one.

Encountering a lone rhino beast directly like this was like a pie falling from the sky. It was simply a gift for them. As expected, upon hearing this news, everyone became eager, itching to get their hands on the rhino horn right away.

"Since we've encountered such a great opportunity, we can't just ignore it. It's just a rhino beast, and we can handle it. When the others return and find out we've already completed a tenth of the mission, they'll be amazed. Haha..." one superhuman proudly laughed, as if the rhino horn was already in his bag.

Clearly, their mission was to obtain five rhino horns, so obtaining one should be one-fifth of the task. Why did he say one-tenth? That was because two teams had formed an alliance to complete the mission together, and they needed a total of ten rhino horns. Hence, it was one-tenth.

"Yes, let's go and retrieve the rhino horn from that beast." Other superhumans echoed in agreement.

Since there were logistics personnel that needed protection, it was decided that four superhumans would go ahead and hunt the rhino beast, while the remaining six mecha warriors stayed behind to continue guarding the logistics team.

After assigning their tasks, the four superhumans eagerly rushed towards the location of the lone rhino beast.

"We're really lucky. Rhinos don't usually get separated from the herd unless the young ones get too playful and distracted by something, causing them to be left behind. But in such cases, the adult rhinos usually come back to search for the young ones," the mecha students left behind chatting among themselves.

Xiao Qingyang sat within the circle and happened to overhear their conversation. His eyebrows lightly furrowed, sensing that something was amiss.

"Um... I'm not very familiar with rhino beasts. Can you tell me more about them?" Xiao Qingyang humbly asked.

"Rhino beasts are third-level mutant creatures. They are social animals and extremely protective. Their main offensive power lies in the horn on their heads. However, they have thick skin and strong defense, making them a rare combination of offense and defense," Liu Jiaming, who was also part of the protection team, voluntarily provided information to Xiao Qingyang.

"You mentioned earlier that usually only playful young rhinos get separated. Is the rhino they discovered just now a young one? And could the adult rhino already be on its way to search for the young one?" Xiao Qingyang inquired.

If that were the case, with their four combined combat abilities, they could easily defeat one rhino beast. If they encountered two, they could still manage with some effort. But if they encountered three or more, they would truly have no choice but to escape.

"It's unlikely to be a young rhino because they don't have horns until they reach adulthood. Since they're so eager to hunt for the rhino horn, it means that the beast must be fully grown," another mecha student specializing in mechas explained.

However, Xiao Qingyang still felt uneasy. His knowledge of rhino beasts was limited, and he couldn't extract any useful information from the discussion. He continued to release his spiritual perception, exploring the surrounding area, ready to react promptly if anything unusual occurred.

This time, as soon as Xiao Qingyang released his spiritual perception, he was startled by what he "saw."

"Ah..." Xiao Qingyang couldn't help but exclaim, immediately drawing the attention of others.

"What's wrong?" Liu Jiaming asked anxiously.

Before Xiao Qingyang could answer, there was a loud commotion ahead. The four superhumans who had eagerly gone to hunt down the lone rhino beast had transformed into their beast forms and rushed back as if something was chasing them.

"Quick, get up here! We must leave this place!" The four superhumans hurriedly reached Xiao Qingyang and the others, urging the logistics team members to climb up.

"What happened? Why did you come back?" one mecha student asked.

"No time to explain. Take out your mechas and follow us to leave this place," one superhuman impatiently replied.

With agility, Xiao Qingyang climbed onto the back of the nearest superhuman and said to the others, "Get on quickly."

Gu Xiaotian and the others saw that Xiao Qingyang had already boarded, so they quickly found the nearest superhumans and climbed up, gripping tightly to their fur to avoid being thrown off.

This was not the first time Xiao Qingyang had ridden on the back of a beast. In his previous life, his father had captured a high-level spiritual beast for him to use as a mount. However, this was the first time he rode on the back of a beast transformed by a superhuman.

If it weren't for the urgent situation, he would have been excited to experience it more thoroughly.

But reality was harsh, leaving him no opportunity or time for such enjoyment.

Once all the logistics personnel were securely seated, and the mecha warriors had brought out their mechas, everyone quickly rushed in the direction their teammates had previously explored. Meanwhile, a rumbling sound echoed from behind, causing the ground to tremble as if an earthquake had occurred.

"Oh my god, what is that?" Su Zihan couldn't help but glance back and was immediately stunned by the dark mass of unknown creatures chasing after them.

Because of the dust kicked up by their pursuers' running, Su Zihan couldn't clearly see what beasts they were. However, based on the current situation, it was evident that those creatures were powerful and numerous, far beyond their ability to handle.

Xiao Qingyang didn't turn his head because his spiritual perception had been continuously released, allowing him to see everything clearly.

Those creatures chasing after them were not some other beasts; they were the rhino beasts.

At first, when everyone heard that rhino beasts were social animals and rarely found alone, even if they were, it was usually due to the mischief of young rhino beasts. Generally, people wouldn't actively provoke such rhino beasts because who knows if their parents were nearby.

Rhino beasts were protective creatures, and if they saw others bullying their kind, especially the young ones, they would chase you to the ends of the earth, relentlessly.

At this moment, Xiao Qingyang felt that something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. It wasn't until he used his spiritual perception to see dozens of rhino beasts heading towards the lone rhino beast that he understood what was wrong.

It was clearly a lone young rhino beast, even though it had already grown a rhino horn, it was undoubtedly recently matured. The other adult rhino beasts were far away from the young one, which was why their teammates only noticed this lone rhino beast and didn't detect the others.

Otherwise, there was no way they would provoke this rhino beast.

Unfortunately, they were just that unlucky. While they were preparing to hunt down this young rhino beast, they coincidentally encountered adult rhino beasts within their detection range.

Therefore, the four superhumans promptly made the decision to abandon the lone rhino beast and hurriedly ran back, escaping with their other teammates. However, they still couldn't escape the range of the rhino beasts' pursuit.

As they watched the rhino beasts getting closer and closer, the superhumans and mecha warriors increased their speed to the maximum, holding their breath, afraid that once they exhaled, they would never be able to breathe again.

If they were really caught and surrounded by these rhino beasts, then they would probably have only one option left—to call for help, which also meant that they would be eliminated.

"Damn it, how could it be a just-matured young rhino beast?" Gao Lingqi cursed under his breath while running, feeling angry and regretful that he hadn't taken a closer look.

"Don't think too much about it. Let's shake off these rhino beasts first. That's what matters," another superhuman comforted.