57: Chapter 57 The Envious Pig

Patter, patter, patter.

The wolf paws swept rapidly across the ground. In just a moment, the Sha Jin Wolf had carried Qin Ding a thousand meters out. Lying on the wolf's back, Qin Ding could also see other Beast Tamers who were similarly riding their beasts.

But it was only for an instant; almost the very next second after seeing each other, everyone spontaneously veered off in different directions.

"I can already hear some chirping of insects and birds... In this area, as long as you don't go more than a hundred miles deep, the Spirit Beast levels aren't very high. Most are low-tier, below level ten, and a few are high-tier, exceeding level eleven..."

Qin Ding pondered secretly. After maintaining this speed for about another ten minutes, he gently patted Big Black's neck, signaling it to stop.

"Is there the scent of other people nearby?"

The Sha Jin Wolf, now standing still, carried Qin Ding as it paced in place for a moment, then shook its wolf head.

"Awoo?" [I can smell the scent of others in the air, but it's not strong; they are some distance away. However, I smell a rotting, bloody stench. Boss, should we go take a look?]

"A rotting, bloody stench?" This was the first time Qin Ding had heard such a description, and he didn't react at first, but then it dawned on him.

Wasn't that just the smell of rotting flesh?

"The smell of decaying creatures... Is it far from us? Can you identify the scent?"

"Awoo." [Not far, Boss. We can be there in a moment. It's right ahead. It feels about the same level as me, but it's definitely not as strong as I am.]

Hearing this, Qin Ding nodded slightly. "Alright, let's go take a look."

The wolf paws began to move again. During this time, Qin Ding, who was crouching low on the Sha Jin Wolf's back, had a normal expression at first, but gradually, his brows began to furrow, and as the Sha Jin Wolf moved further forward, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

A faint stench permeated the air—the smell of rotting flesh. But the problem was, as Big Black advanced, this stench was escalating at a terrifying speed.

"Woo..." [What is that? How can it be so stinky...]

The running Sha Jin Wolf slowed its pace, finding it somewhat unbearable. It was this situation that made Qin Ding realize something was wrong. Normally, even if a few Spirit Beast corpses were piled together and rotting, they couldn't produce such a stench...

"Earth Dog, are you sure there is only one target?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Sha Jin Wolf stopped in its tracks, subconsciously sniffed the air, and nodded with great certainty.

"Awoo." [Boss, I'm sure. There is definitely only one, and the smell is a bit like a pig.]

"A pig? Alright, let's go."

With a look of disgust and gravity on his face, the Sha Jin Wolf carried Qin Ding, and they soon arrived at a stream. Almost instantly, the man and the wolf discovered the source of the stench right by the riverbank.

It was a circular, raised mound about five or six meters high. The top of the mound was adorned with many branches and leaves, making it look like a small house.

This was not the source of the stench. The source of the stench was the pile of bleached white bones stacked in front of the mound.

There were bones of Spirit Beasts and humans. A rough glance suggested there were at least twenty human skeletons alone. Dense swarms of maggots covered the rotting mountain of bones.

Qin Ding's pupils contracted sharply. He was so shocked he couldn't say a word. He absolutely could not have imagined this, nor could he understand it.

This was his first time out in the wild; how could he run into something like this? At first, he thought it was just a Spirit Beast that was good at hunting, and that the stench came from unfinished prey, but now it seemed that was not the case.

The same went for the Sha Jin Wolf; it was no exception. It was also the first time it had seen such a scene.

Could a pig really accomplish this? A pig with strength similar to his own Earth Dog? Those human bones, they must all be from Beast Tamers, right? Those beast bones, they must all be from Spirit Beasts, right?

It didn't matter what kind of creature had caused such a scene; what mattered was that its strength was similar to his own Earth Dog?

"Is this something a pig could accomplish? A pig that you felt was similar in strength to you?"

After coming to his senses, Qin Ding gritted his teeth and looked down with a ghastly expression at the Sha Jin Wolf, which was staring in a daze.

The Sha Jin Wolf was awakened by this gnashing tone and nodded decisively.

"Awoo." [Boss, I definitely didn't smell it wrong. This is just a pig with strength similar to mine. As for why there are so many bones, I don't know either, Boss.]

It must be said that Qin Ding, who had originally thought the Sha Jin Wolf had smelled it wrong, which led to this current scene, couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"Are you sure? It's too late to run now; the thing inside that mound has already come out."

While speaking, Qin Ding had already flipped off the wolf, and with a grasp into empty air with his right hand, a long spear landed in his palm.

"Hmph-snort! Hmph-snort!"

A boisterous, crude pig roar came from the entrance of the mound. Qin Ding stood holding the long spear beside the Sha Jin Wolf, waiting in full battle readiness as he watched the pig head that had already poked out.

[Spirit Beast: Blood Pig] [Qualification: Good] [Element: Earth] [Level: 13 (High-tier)] [Abilities: Bloodthirsty, Man-eating, Stubborn Stone Body] [Bloodline: Pig (100%)] [Evolution Direction (Pig-type): Must reach level thirty-one] [Qualification Enhancement: ...] [Description: Originally a Mountain Boar living in the mountain forests, it evolved after consuming a large amount of human flesh and organs shortly after eating spiritual objects. After evolving, it has an extremely high olfactory perception of the smell of blood, especially the scent of humans.]

A red-skinned, hairless pig nearly three meters long and over one and a half meters tall at the shoulder walked out, with two tusks over ten centimeters long growing on both sides of its mouth.

Those half-opened pig eyes, upon seeing Qin Ding, flashed with a strange, scarlet light, staring fixedly at Qin Ding without moving an inch.

"Tsk..." After reading the bestiary, Qin Ding couldn't help but tighten his grip on his spear.

It was coming for him!

However, Big Black was right; the opponent wasn't that strong. And looking at this description, this Blood Pig had likely been scavenging the corpses of Beast Tamers and Spirit Beasts in this forest quite often.

"This beast has eaten people and gotten addicted... Earth Dog."

Instantly, the Sha Jin Wolf understood Qin Ding's meaning, and at the same time, felt an unparalleled rage from the bottom of its heart.

Its pitch-black wolf pupils contracted to the size of needle tips, its irises filled with bloodshot veins, and its gaze was fixed like a nail on the Blood Pig.

No wonder this pig didn't look at it when it came out; it turned out it wanted to eat its boss?

"Chih..." The wolf's muzzle opened, its upper lip curling back as it exhaled a puff of white air with a hissing sound. There was no roar, only a low guttural sound rolling in the Sha Jin Wolf's chest as it walked slowly forward toward the Blood Pig.

Seeming to sense the danger, the Blood Pig had to shift its gaze from Qin Ding, who held the long spear, to the Sha Jin Wolf.

The Sha Jin Wolf began to trot, then suddenly lowered its body mid-way to sprint.

"Woo!" [Damn thing!]

--- Today is June 1st. Happy Children's Day to all you readers. The author is taking a short break today, so this is the only chapter for today. Hehe.