Chapter 40: The Barbell of the Strength Bear

“Oh dear, this is absolutely not my fault!”

Even Ahoge Dragon felt a tremor in her heart as she gazed at the enormous tree demon.

Its appearance suggested it had emerged solely to extinguish the blaze.

Considering she was the one who started the fire, she wondered if she would be apprehended and punished later.

How terrifying!

“It’s merely a fourth-tier defensive tree tower. We might still be able to defeat it before it controls too many magical beasts.”

This defensive tree tower was crafted by the Elven race, though its construction techniques could not be learned from it.

Nevertheless, most of its structure was composed of gold-grade materials.

Its core even contained diamond-grade materials!

It was nothing short of a treasure!

“Alas, we should still head as far away as possible!”

Yao Yueli’s eyes burned with desire for this grand treasure.

However, with these two companions beside her, she could not truly be at ease.

Moreover, the appearance of the defensive tree tower had already drawn other hunters to the vicinity!

If there was one ultimate prize in this hunt, it was undoubtedly this defensive tree tower.

Acquiring its core would guarantee them first place.

“Leaving now? How dull!”

Ahoge Dragon, seeing the chaotic scene, knew it would be incredibly fun. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she excitedly declared:

“Aren’t all those magical beasts controlled by the tree demon now? We can sneak into their lairs!”

Even within the inner region, there were still numerous fourth-tier magical beasts.

“That’s right! We might even stumble upon something unexpected, meow~”

They had come here precisely to raid lairs, using invisibility and mimicking the scent of grass.

With the magical beasts now controlled by the defensive tree tower, this was surely the perfect opportunity.

“Alright! Once we’re inside, you two must obey my commands implicitly!”

To say she wasn’t tempted would be a lie. With that, the three joined hands and vanished instantly.

“Walk lightly, all of you; don’t make too much noise.”

Invisibility was certainly not foolproof, especially within this forest, where clues could easily be left behind.

Mao Yuxia was fine; being a cat, her movements were inherently nimble.

“Eh? What are you talking about? I can fly, you know.”

Ahoge Dragon, however, remained utterly unconcerned, as her feet had long since left the ground.

“Fine, pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Yao Yueli observed the two of them, instantly realizing that they were well-practiced in such clandestine activities.

She then moved forward with utmost care, watching the ground meticulously to avoid stepping on any small twigs.

In this aspect, she was indeed the one holding them back!

****

Boom~~

Sizzle~~

Bang~~

The trio was still planning to circle a bit further before searching for the magical beasts’ lairs.

However, the spot where they had just set the mountain ablaze was suddenly bombarded by the colossal defensive tree tower.

Beams of lightning shot down, exploding upon impact with the earth!

Ahoge Dragon, possessing excellent eyesight, spotted several Black-clad men scattering from the explosions.

The power was immense, but the attacks were slow and linear.

Despite their destructive force, no one had died.

“That’s where we just walked! Why are there so many Black-clad men there, meow!”

Subsequently, those Black-clad men became moving targets as laser after laser struck them!

The very earth trembled from the onslaught!

Such terrifying attacks! If directed at an army, they would undoubtedly be a nightmare incarnate.

“It seems we’ve been tracked all along. It must be Yue Guangyao’s doing again.”

Yao Yueli’s gaze turned cold. She, too, harbored murderous intent, hoping she wouldn’t encounter any of the Crown Prince’s people.

“Shouldn’t we ignore them?”

Ahoge Dragon watched the hapless figures, yearning to go disrupt them and see them get hit by the lasers!

“We are here to find treasure. We shouldn’t expose our whereabouts because of them.”

Yao Yueli stated calmly, then dismissed the thought of those individuals.

“Treasure hunt, yay!” Ahoge Dragon’s eyes sparkled. Precious treasures, here she came!

“Hush, meow~ We are grass now, don’t shout!”

Mao Yuxia was also mentally exhausted; a teammate like Ahoge Dragon could easily give them away.

“Shhh shhh~~” Ahoge Dragon mimed zipping her lips, and silence once again settled over the area.

Soon, they discovered a cave.

Upon seeing a massive footprint at the entrance, Mao Yuxia made a quick assessment.

“This should be a Strength Bear’s lair. Judging by the size of the footprint, it’s estimated to be a third-tier beast.”

“Third-tier, huh? Feels so weak.” Ahoge Dragon scoffed dismissively, finding it hardly worth their effort; she would rather seek a fourth-tier magical beast’s lair.

“Stupid Ahoge, Strength Bears are not ordinary magical beasts. A third-tier Strength Bear can fight against fourth-tier beasts of other species!”

“Let’s go in; perhaps there truly are good things here.”

Ahoge Dragon truly understood nothing.

After confirming there were no immediate dangers, Yao Yueli led the two inside.

The cave was not dark; luminous stones illuminated its interior. Ahoge Dragon glanced at them, deeming them mere common glowing rocks.

They were useless.

Feeling a pang of disappointment, she thought that if these abundant stones were treasures, they would have hit the jackpot.

“Xia, deactivate your invisibility for now!”

Seeing how safe it was, she asked Mao Yuxia to stop using her invisibility ability.

Although Ahoge Dragon provided an endless supply of magical energy, Mao Yuxia’s body couldn’t sustain continuous use.

It was better for her to rest for a while.

“Mm-hmm! I’ll recover my magic as quickly as possible!”

Mao Yuxia, aware of her ability’s limits, promptly took out a magic crystal and began absorbing its energy.

“These are Strength Flowers! Big Sister, pick them all! Hehehe!”

Venturing further, they found the cave opened into a hidden wonder, suddenly vast and bright!

It was a colossal cavern, with numerous plants growing on its rocky walls.

Ahoge Dragon quickly scanned the area, noticing that the red Strength Flowers were of the highest grade here!

There was one fourth-tier plant, a dozen or so third-tier ones, and a large quantity of first and second-tier ones!

“It’s said that Strength Bears are very intelligent magical beasts. These Strength Flowers were likely cultivated by them. Still, I didn’t expect there to be so many. We can take the smaller ones back to plant.”

Mao Yuxia pulled out a small Strength Flower, overflowing with excitement. If all these flowers grew to fourth-tier, they would strike it rich!

Ahoge Dragon, in charge of searching, did not pick the Strength Flowers after discovering them, but continued her quest for better treasures.

She believed this place couldn’t possibly contain only these items.

“Ah! This must be where the Strength Bear sleeps! And this is…”

Ahoge Dragon suddenly spotted… a barbell!

It was absolutely incredible!

Her mind immediately conjured an image of the Strength Bear, like a weightlifter, majestically hoisting the barbell high!

There was even the image of a muscle-bound strongman flexing his physique~~

This was far too un-beastlike!

“Eh? This barbell seems like a rather good item!”

Ahoge Dragon peered closer, realizing how extravagant this Strength Bear truly was!

“Black Gold Stone, a gold-grade material! And this bar, it must be a branch from a gold-grade Golden Armor Tree! Big Sister, we’ve found a treasure!”