62: Chapter 62 Provoking Conflict and Engaging in Mutual Slaughter

"Hiss..."

Unable to continue hiding in the shadows, the Scaly Python twisted its nearly ten-meter-long body and slowly crawled down from a large tree, its massive form brushing against the branches and creating a constant rustling sound.

"Hiss..."

Its pale brown vertical pupils ignored the Emerald-horned Deer guarding the rotten wood spirit fruit, staring greedily and unreservedly at the ripe rotten wood spirit fruit.

The appearance of the large predator cast a shadow of crisis over the Emerald-horned Deer, which had previously only been slightly vigilant; its throat rumbled as it let out a cry that was both a warning and laced with a hint of unease.

"Moo-woo."

This cry, carrying a clear warning, attracted the Scaly Python's attention, but only for a moment; the brown snake eyes turned back to the rotten wood spirit fruit once more.

And this time, the Scaly Python ignored the Emerald-horned Deer entirely, twisting its body and crawling tentatively in the direction of the rotten wood spirit fruit.

It was this very action that thoroughly enraged the Emerald-horned Deer, which had previously been somewhat worried. A fierce aura emerged in its pale green deer eyes, and its front legs, where the tendons were clearly visible, stomped forward violently, leaving two conspicuous mud pits in the ground.

Its massive, over-three-meter-long body blocked the front of the rotten wood spirit fruit.

"Hoo-fei!"

"Hiss..."

The Scaly Python stopped moving, only now beginning to properly size up the enemy that hadn't fled but still dared to provoke it.

However, in the Scaly Python's emotionless, cold snake eyes, there was a trace of disdain.

A deer over three meters long with a shoulder height of less than two meters dares to provoke it?

It had hunted bears even larger than this deer!

Outside the circle of scorching tension, about 130 meters away.

Qin Ding held three stones in his hand, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the bush not far ahead.

There was a burly man there; if not for the fact that the opponent had such a massive build, it would have taken him more time to spot him in the grass with his own eyes.

Likewise, he also saw the opponent's beasts.

A level 17 Blood Breath Snake, a level 18 Boxing Rabbit, and a level 15 Sun-Facing Flower.

"A very suitable team composition: an information gatherer, an attacker, and a healing support role."

Seeing the burly man and the three beasts, Qin Ding chuckled inwardly, "I hope you can withstand being targeted by everyone."

Without further thought, Qin Ding held two fist-sized stones in his left hand, while pulling back his right hand clutching another stone. He narrowed his eyes, aimed at the burly man's slightly swaying head, and threw it violently.

Whoosh, crack, thud~

The stone made a faint sound in the air, striking the burly man's occiput with pinpoint accuracy. A dull impact sound rang out, and the intense pain caused the burly man to instinctively cover the back of his head, gritting his teeth to forcefully hold back a cry.

This sudden event caught Red Snake and the Thin Tall Man off guard. Both of them instinctively turned their heads to observe their surroundings, attempting to determine the direction of the enemy's attack.

But the next second.

The second and third stones followed in quick succession. The burly man, who was still rubbing the back of his head and had lowered his body even further, suffered a heavy blow to his right hand fingers. The moment he instinctively pulled his hand back, the back of his head was struck by the third stone, suffering another heavy blow.

This time, the burly man could no longer hold it in. Being hit repeatedly in the same spot—the back of his head—made him stand up in a fury. Fighting through the dizzying pain, he roared angrily.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Which beast is using such tricks in the shadows!"

A huge red bump swelled up on the burly man's occiput at a visible rate; if his beast hadn't been a Sun-Facing Flower, he would definitely have fainted to the ground by now.

In the shadows, Qin Ding curled the corners of his mouth upward. After giving the Sha Jin Wolf a look, the man and wolf quietly crawled back the exact same way they had come, keeping their bodies low.

After the burly man finished roaring, he noticed his two teammates' faces were deathly pale. Realizing what had happened, he swallowed hard, his throat struggling to move.

He turned his neck slightly stiffly to look about a hundred meters ahead, and when he discovered that both the Scaly Python and the Emerald-horned Deer were looking in his direction—or rather, staring fixedly at him—his heart instantly turned cold.

Exposed!

Can't be the fisherman reaping the benefits anymore!

A hint of panic surged in the Thin Tall Man's eyes, "Boss, only you..."

"Red Snake, didn't you say there were two other people with beasts? Let's drag them out!"

The burly man, having been hit on the back of the head and now exposed, had his reason completely shattered by rage. With no intention of holding back, he was determined to drag the other two well-hidden people out.

You were dragged out by the 'prey' you were eyeing this morning, and now you want to drag the other two people out too?

Although Red Snake's face was pale, her expression was uncontrollably strange.

However, she wouldn't tell the truth now, while the burly man's emotions were already showing signs of spiraling out of control. Instead, she seriously considered the feasibility of the burly man's words.

"It is indeed possible. We should clear the field first. Both spirit beasts want to fight for the rotten wood spirit fruit. Until they kill off the surrounding contenders, neither of them will dare to eat that thing."

Consuming a spiritual item requires time to digest and absorb. Even if one side, either the Scaly Python or the Emerald-horned Deer, were near death and tried to swallow the rotten wood spirit fruit to destroy it, it would be useless.

Because the surviving spirit beast only needs to kill the other at this critical juncture and eat the opponent's stomach along with it, none of the spiritual item's medicinal properties would be wasted.

Thinking of this, Red Snake's eyes lit up, and she even subconsciously ignored Qin Ding's existence.

After all, the level of Qin Ding's beasts had already been exposed before leaving the city: level 11. Red Snake was confident that this level of spirit beast could not pose any threat to them.

"When those two spirit beasts see us fighting, their attention naturally won't be focused entirely on us. Who knows, perhaps not long after we start fighting, they will start fighting too."

The Thin Tall Man, who seemed to have no presence, opened his mouth to say something after hearing the burly man's words, but after hearing Red Snake's analysis, he silently closed his mouth again.

He'd better not say anything; after all, Red Snake's analysis seemed plausible enough. There shouldn't be any accidents, right?

Under the gaze of four parties—the Scaly Python, the Emerald-horned Deer, Qin Ding, and the other two Beast Tamers—two people suddenly appeared on either side of the burly man who had stood up, without any warning.

The three of them, along with their beasts, charged straight toward the other two Beast Tamers without any intention of hiding.

"Whoa, I thought they would directly break the stalemate between the Emerald-horned Deer and the Scaly Python, then engage in a three-way melee, and finally, the two-person team would join in to try and reap the benefits as the fisherman."

"I didn't expect them to have this idea: going straight to cause trouble for the other two-person team?"

"Working backward, it's actually reasonable. After all, who told my beasts to only be level 11?"

Qin Ding, whispering to himself until the end, revealed a smile at the corner of his mouth.

It was the smile of a vicious wolf, having achieved some inner goal, about to see blood flow like a river and reap everything in the end.