97: Chapter 97 The Lord Beast Attacks
The final cultivation data, of course, would be based on what the machine detected.
Once the aura inside the incubation pod subsided, the Female Regent Commander recalled the Sky-Shattering Fire Dragon. Zhou Ya immediately pushed a machine forward, and the Female Regent Commander placed her hand on it, performing a summon.
After a short while.
The results came out, and they were exactly as Li Yu had said.
The Female Regent Commander was stunned.
"S-rank, hehe... S-rank, hehe..." she giggled foolishly, looking like she had lost her mind.
Zhou Ya gazed at Li Yu, her eyes shimmering with light as if they were glowing; the shock in her heart was beyond words.
This wasn't some Extraordinary or Excellent evolution.
This was a Monarch evolution!
S-rank Monarch beasts weren't non-existent in Ningyang City, but they were few and far between. It was said that President Ming Yueguang's beast was a Monarch S-rank fox.
Now, a new species of S-rank Monarch had been born in Li Yu's hands. Didn't that mean he was more impressive than other veteran Senior Cultivators—no, even more impressive than those established Senior Cultivators?
Thinking of this, Zhou Ya was too shocked to speak.
Tap, tap, tap...
Li Yu walked up to the Female Regent Commander and said with a serious expression, "Commander Rongrong."
"Master Li can just call me Zhang Erniu or Erniu." The Female Regent Commander grinned, still immersed in intense joy.
Li Yu: ...
What a name.
"Zhang Erniu, you're going to the city wall, right?" Li Yu asked.
"Right."
At the mention of official business, Zhang Erniu's smile faded, and her expression turned serious. "The people in my group are being targeted; I need to get over there quickly."
"Good. Do me a favor."
"Master Li, please feel free to ask."
"Just call me Li Yu."
"Alright, Li Yu it is."
"..." Li Yu felt fortunate that his name wasn't Li Ji, otherwise it might not have passed the censors.
Zhang Erniu said, "Whatever it is, just say the word. As long as I can do it, I won't hesitate!"
Li Yu raised his hand and summoned the Golden Scale Bubble Fish.
"Help me take it to the city wall. The cultivation fees will all be converted into demon cores. Whatever demon beasts you kill, throw all the demon cores to it to absorb—the more the better. If the fees aren't enough, I'll make it up to you later."
Zhang Erniu looked at the silly-looking strange fish that had zero combat power, her expression turning odd. "Can I ask why?"
"I can't explain it clearly right now. In short, it needs a lot of energy—the more the better."
Li Yu remembered that after the Golden Scale Bubble Fish used the Silver Tier 2 Sand Scorpion King demon core, it had only let out a burp, with no change in its level at all.
It was evident that for it to comprehend the Divine Light, the energy required would be massive.
He needed to evolve the Spirit Probing Armor to save his sister and had no time to go to the city wall, so he could only entrust it to Zhang Erniu.
"Alright," Zhang Erniu said, "leave it to me. Forget about the money; it's just some demon cores."
Just for this S-rank evolution, even if he wanted ten million more, she would feel it was worth it.
Let alone a few demon cores.
As for bringing a silly fish to the city wall, what did such a small favor matter?
On the contrary, she welcomed more interactions with Li Yu because of this matter. At worst, she would just find a few group members to look after the fish.
Li Yu nodded gratefully. "Thanks. Then I owe you a favor. Next time you want a cultivation, I'll give you a discount."
Zhang Erniu grinned. "Then I've made a huge profit."
It had to be said that although she seemed boisterous and simple-minded, the fact that she could be the commander of a battle group and suppress many others was proof of her capability.
Not long after Zhang Erniu left, a fiery red surged outside the window. He turned to look, and the Sky-Shattering Fire Dragon's sky-blotting figure, like a crimson sun, flew toward the city wall at extreme speed.
It was massive, as large as a ten-story building, yet its speed was incredibly fast.
With every flap of its wings, its speed surged, and after two flaps, only a tiny red dot remained.
"What do we do now?" Zhou Ya asked.
"Cultivate."
Li Yu pulled out a material list and began writing rapidly.
Zhou Ya curiously peeked over, looking at the materials on the paper and then at Li Yu's face. She keenly sensed that beneath Li Yu's seemingly calm exterior, his heart was almost boiling over.
Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to help.
...
Outside the city wall.
On the battlefield where they fought against the demon beasts.
Beasts and demon beasts were locked in such close combat that many people had to rely on the markings on their beasts to distinguish friend from foe.
The people of the Rongrong Group were divided into five squads, each with over a dozen beasts, resisting attacks from the surrounding demon beasts. Among them, the Lava Salamander's situation was the most precarious.
When the battle broke out, the Green Wind and Earth battle groups set up the Rongrong Group. Caught off guard, the beasts of Doll Girl and the others were knocked over by a group of Silver-Horned Rhinos, and several died.
Although Doll Girl quickly organized a new formation to resist the attacking demon beasts, half of the beasts in this squad were either dead or injured. Only a few beasts, primarily the Lava Salamander, were still barely holding on.
Not to mention that the Green Wind and Earth groups would trip them up from time to time.
The lava triggered by the Lava Salamander was just barely holding off the attacks of over a dozen demon beasts when suddenly, a large glob of water was poured down from above.
Sizzle—
The sudden alternation of heat and cold made it cry out in distress. The lava it sprayed also cooled instantly, turning into hard, black stone.
The demon beast pack seized the opportunity, pouncing on the Lava Salamander, hanging onto its body, and tearing and biting at it forcefully.
"Damn it!" Doll Girl glared toward the Green Wind Group. The flying beast that had just spat the water ball was wearing the mark of the Green Wind Group.
"What exactly do you want to do?!" Doll Girl shouted angrily.
The people from the Green Wind Group said with a smirk, "Sorry, the beast just didn't listen to instructions. I'll give it a good talking to when I get back."
"That salamander of yours is thick-skinned; the demon beasts can't bite through it. Don't be so dramatic."
"Hey, hey, hey~ the demon beasts are coming again."
The Green Wind Group members said with mocking smiles.
Doll Girl was furious, but more demon beasts seemed to have noticed the weakened defense on the Lava Salamander's side and rushed in from other directions. Doll Girl could only hurriedly give commands.
She was indeed a prestigious captain of the Rongrong Group. Under such unfavorable conditions, relying on the visual advantage from the city wall, she had the Lava Salamander erupt a large amount of lava, burning many demon beasts to death before they could complete the encirclement.
She successfully stabilized the situation.
But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a sudden, urgent alarm sounded on the city wall.
"Warning! A Lord-tier demon beast is approaching. Beast Tamers below Gold rank, please recall your beasts or retreat behind the red line to avoid unnecessary casualties. The City Defense Army is about to take over the battlefield. Warning..."
Hearing this, Doll Girl's expression turned solemn, and she shouted, "Everyone! Recall your beasts and stop fighting!"
The captains of other groups followed suit with their orders. Some independent Beast Tamers moved even faster, having already retreated when the alarm first sounded.
The hazard level of this beast tide was medium. The City Defense Bureau had set a red line a hundred meters from the wall as a defensive line, leaving the area outside the line to civilian Beast Tamers.
This was partly to temper the civilian Beast Tamers and partly to provide them with resources for improvement. After all, every demon beast killed carried a demon core, which was worth quite a bit of money.
This was a rule established by the City Defense Bureau over many years, and civilian Beast Tamers followed it by tacit agreement.
All the beasts retreated behind the defensive line. Many of the beasts on the Lava Salamander's side were heavily injured, so the Lava Salamander had to single-handedly withstand the surrounding demon beasts' attacks to cover its comrades' retreat.
Once the other comrades had retreated and the Lava Salamander shook off the demon beasts biting it to run back, a massive shadow covered it.