18: Two points higher in a row, I'm rich!

About half an hour later.

Lu Yuan stopped, crouching in a bush.

There, five or six wild boars with tough black bristles and exposed tusks were rooting for food.

Iron-Bristle Wild Boar

Quality: White

Star Rating: Two-Star

Type: Demonic Beast

And in the middle of the boar herd, there was an Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King, noticeably larger, with bristles faintly gleaming with metallic luster, and longer, sharper tusks!

Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King

Quality: Green

Star Rating: Three-Star

Type: Demonic Beast

A Three-star green card level demonic beast!

The Source Power fluctuations it emitted were far more powerful than those of ordinary Iron-Bristle Wild Boars; it could barely be called a second-order demonic beast.

"I think I can take him on," Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed. Wild boars aren't fast, and with the Raging Waves Sea Soul's skill, he might be able to wear him down.

Moreover, the Source Power feedback and value obtained from this guy would definitely far exceed that of a Hard Shell Beetle.

Lu Yuan carefully observed the movements of the boar herd and the surrounding terrain.

The Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King was very vigilant, occasionally raising his head, twitching his nose, and sniffing the air for scents.

One-on-one, Lu Yuan was confident he could defeat him with the Swamp Crocodile.

But this was a group assault.

A meticulous plan had to be formulated.

"The Swamp Crocodile will engage the Wild Boar King head-on, using its defense to withstand the attacks."

"The Shadow Mantis will harass the ordinary wild boars, reducing the pressure on the Swamp Crocodile."

"The Wind Bamboo Worm... will interfere with the Wild Boar King's vision."

"Finally, I'll use the Raging Waves Sea Soul to catch them off guard."

Lu Yuan quickly devised tactics in his mind.

His gaze swept across the battlefield, looking for cover and obstacles he could use.

A few minutes later, seizing the moment when the Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King was grazing.

"Now!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three cards were activated simultaneously!

Roar!

The Swamp Crocodile's massive body charged out first, with a fierce momentum, heading straight for the Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King!

At the same time, the Shadow Mantis transformed into a black blur, circling towards the flank of the boar herd.

The Wind Bamboo Worm silently flew into the air.

"Oww—!"

The Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King clearly hadn't expected the ambush, but he reacted extremely quickly, letting out an angry roar, lowering his head, and powerfully pushing off with his sturdy limbs. Like a small tank, he charged towards the Swamp Crocodile!

Boom!

A dull thud sounded!

Even the powerful Swamp Crocodile was knocked back half a step, but its thick scale armor had astonishing defense and it wasn't injured. Instead, it opened its gaping maw and bit fiercely at the Wild Boar King's neck!

The Wild Boar King deftly tilted his head, dodging the Bite, and sharply flicked his sharp tusks upwards!

Rip!

A gash appeared on the Swamp Crocodile's belly scales; though not deep, it drew blood.

A King is a King; he still had some tricks up his sleeve.

The battle entered a fierce stage!

On the other side, the Shadow Mantis was already entangled with two ordinary Iron-Bristle Wild Boars.

Its speed was extremely fast, and its bone blades continuously slashed at the wild boars, leaving streaks of blood, but it had to be careful of their tusks.

If it was hit, it would be severely injured.

Moreover, the Iron-Bristle Wild Boars were thick-skinned and fearless of death; the longer the fight dragged on, the Shadow Mantis was sure to lose.

The Wind Bamboo Worm circled in the air, occasionally diving down to harass the Wild Boar King's eyes.

Although it couldn't cause substantial damage, it made the Wild Boar King extremely agitated, and his movements were frequently disrupted.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, moved quickly at the edge of the battlefield, using trees and rocks for cover, searching for weaknesses in the Wild Boar King.

Source Power was rapidly depleting within his body.

50 — 40 — 30!

The Shadow Mantis was in great peril, having been knocked flying once by a wild boar. Fortunately, it reacted quickly and avoided the subsequent stomping in time.

Lu Yuan saw the Wild Boar King distracted again by the Wind Bamboo Worm's harassment, and at the same time, the Swamp Crocodile seized the opportunity and bit down on one of his front legs!

The Wild Boar King cried out in pain, shaking his head frantically!

It was at this critical moment!

Raging Waves Sea Soul

A powerful deep-sea pressure descended with a roar!

Oww—!!!

The Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King, who bore the brunt of it, let out a howl and trembled before falling to the ground.

The surrounding ordinary Iron-Bristle Wild Boars began to paw the ground uneasily and retreat.

"Swamp Crocodile... Death Roll!"

"Shadow Mantis! His eyes!"

Lu Yuan shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Swamp Crocodile, receiving the command, exerted force with its massive body, dragging the Wild Boar King, whose front leg was bitten, and began to roll frantically on the spot!

Crack! Bones shattered, and one of the boar's front legs was directly torn off by him.

At the same time!

The Shadow Mantis seized the opportunity, its bone blade piercing the Wild Boar King's eye, ripping—

Pfft!

Blood and brain matter splattered.

Oww... The Wild Boar King let out a tragic wail, his massive body twitched a few times, and finally crashed to the ground, completely losing his life.

The remaining ordinary Iron-Bristle Wild Boars, seeing their leader's gruesome death, were already terrified. They whimpered and scattered, fleeing into the dense forest.

Lu Yuan didn't pursue them. His Source Power was almost exhausted; 30 Source Power could only sustain the pressure for no more than three seconds.

This was simply outrageous.

Fortunately, he succeeded. He really hunted a green three-star demonic beast!

At the same time, a warm current, far richer than before, emanated from the Wild Boar King's corpse and flowed into his body.

Source Power was rapidly recovering and increasing!

Source Power: 19 / 78

"Good! Finally 78, that wasn't easy."

He sat down on the ground, vigilantly observing his surroundings.

The battle just now had been quite noisy, especially that final surge of pressure, which might attract some demonic beasts.

After confirming it was safe, Lu Yuan shook his head and refocused his attention on the Wild Boar King's corpse.

This big guy could be exchanged for a lot of good stuff!

He quickly stepped forward and began to process the spoils of war with a small knife.

A three-star green card level demonic beast, its entire body was a treasure.

The most valuable were the pair of thick, curved tusks, which had to be carefully cut from the root, feeling heavy in his hand.

Next was the bristles and thick hide, which offered excellent defense and were good materials for making low-level armor.

Lu Yuan exerted immense effort to barely peel off a large, relatively intact piece, which he rolled up and stuffed into his backpack.

"Phew... good haul."

Lu Yuan weighed it, a satisfied smile on his face.

Just the materials from this Wild Boar King alone were estimated to sell for several thousand star coins!

Breaking even was in sight!

He didn't leave immediately but found a relatively secluded spot to sit down and took out that white source card.

The card glowed, and a cool energy once again flowed into his body.

Source Power slowly recovered.

36... 37... 40... While absorbing the source card's energy, Lu Yuan reviewed the battle he had just fought.

The Swamp Crocodile's frontal assault was indeed powerful; its four-star blue card quality was evident, but it was not an Origin Card after all, so its potential was limited.

The Shadow Mantis's sneak attacks and precise strikes were highlights; its bone blade was extremely sharp, but its defense was too fragile, making it prone to sudden death when surrounded. However, it lived up to its white quality, making it perfectly suitable as a base.

The Wind Bamboo Worm was just so-so. Lu Yuan was a bit disappointed with it, but card selection errors happen often; he would just replace it.

He planned to use the Shadow Mantis as the base for his next gold card, and ideally, he would also choose a card with flight capabilities for escape.

As for the Raging Waves Sea Soul.

"It consumes too much mana!"

Just three seconds of pressure drained nearly thirty points of his Source Power.

It was simply a Source Power shredder!

It was powerful, but also very obvious. A gold card was simply not something a Card Master of his level could master; it just meant Lu Yuan hadn't fully utilized the Raging Waves Sea Soul's power.

This also made him doubt his second gold card. The card was good, but the person wasn't useful... what to do?

Lu Yuan clenched his fist.

"Upgrade, upgrade, still need to upgrade."

...When his Source Power recovered to around sixty points, he put away the source card.

The card's glow dimmed a little more.

This thing really burned through money.

He stood up and set off again. This time, he didn't go deeper but roamed the periphery of this hilly area.

The target was still first and second-order demonic beasts.

Accumulate little by little, steadily and surely.

Hiss!

The Shadow Mantis's bone blade slit the throat of a Beaked Bird (first-order).

Source Power: 58 / 78

Boom!

The Swamp Crocodile smashed a lurking Stone Armored Beetle (first-order) with a single tail whip.

Source Power: 29 / 78

...He successively hunted more than a dozen low-level demonic beasts, all first-order.

Although a single demonic beast didn't provide much Source Power, the sheer number added up.

Source Power: 2 / 79

Finally, he was just one point of Source Power away from becoming an eight-star apprentice!

Moreover,

He looked down at his backpack, which was bulging like a ball, with several small pouches even hanging outside, filled with various fragmented demonic beast materials.

It simply couldn't hold any more.

Then he looked at the sky.

The sun was setting, the horizon tinged with orange-red.

The light in the forest had already dimmed, and the temperature was starting to drop.

At night, the Beast Hunting Zone's danger level would multiply.

Many powerful nocturnal demonic beasts were about to begin their activities.

"Time to go back."

Lu Yuan no longer hesitated, he identified the direction and quickly returned towards the Outpost.

The journey back seemed longer than the journey there.

Lu Yuan was on high alert, but fortunately, the journey was safe and uneventful.

When he saw the faint lights of the underground base entrance in the distance, Lu Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He struck it rich!