Chapter 21: Betrayal of Trust and Gratitude, Repaying Kindness with Hatred
"Whoosh!"
Facing the sharp claws of the Night Blade Leopard, Chen Fan dodged in the nick of time and then fiercely stabbed its neck with his fishing spear!
"Die!"
Chen Fan's arm veins bulged as he exerted force, lifting the body of the Night Blade Leopard and then fiercely slammed it into the ground!
"Roar!"
The dark purple Night Blade Leopard let out its last roar, struggling desperately.
At that moment, Chen Fan released the fishing spear and sent a fierce punch smashing down on the leopard's head!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Three consecutive punches, bursting with energy!
The Night Blade Leopard's head was blasted open by Chen Fan, and it fell limp, dead!
"Whoosh!"
Chen Fan took a deep breath, pulled the fishing spear from the leopard's neck, and sat down on a cyan stone.
Feicui chirped and hopped onto his head.
Although this Night Blade Leopard was only Level 2, it still took a great deal of effort for Chen Fan and Slime Jade to work together and defeat it.
Chen Fan looked at his right fist, with lightning still swirling around it.
The "Thunder and Lightning Armor" that Snowy had cast on him hadn't dissipated yet.
Chen Fan was a bit frustrated...
His current pure Star Power was actually much stronger than that of an average Level 2 monster.
However, without a meridian opening, a forged Star Sea, or the knowledge of how to use Star Power, Chen Fan couldn't even use a third of his strength.
Just now, working with Feicui to kill the Night Blade Leopard had left him quite exhausted.
If it hadn't been for Snowy casting the "Thunder and Lightning Armor" on him and blocking several of the leopard's claws, the resulting injuries might have been disastrous.
At this time, Snowy walked over and affectionately rubbed against Chen Fan's foot.
Not far away, a Level 3 Night Blade Leopard and two Level 2 Night Blade Leopards had already had their heads pierced by Snowy's Thunder Cat Claw.
"Alright, alright, I know you're amazing, you don't have to show off to me."
Chen Fan picked up Snowy and rubbed its little head.
Snowy grinned, shaking its head in satisfaction.
Chen Fan didn't want Snowy to interfere in his battles because he realized that his own strength was too weak, and he lacked real combat experience. He wanted to hone his skills through fighting.
In this area, most monsters were Level 2.
There were relatively few Level 3 monsters, making it a suitable place for Chen Fan to practice.
Guardian Beasts and Beastmasters were soul partners, depending on each other.
During battles, hiding behind their Guardian Beasts while they fought and risked their lives would be unthinkable.
Beastmasters must grow and fight alongside their Guardian Beasts!
Oftentimes, Beastmasters even had to charge ahead and block attacks for their Guardian Beasts!
Although Chen Fan hadn't fully integrated into this world of Beastmasters and didn't know much about it, he firmly believed...
Only if he stood side by side with his Guardian Beast, facing life and death together, could he be a true Beastmaster!
...
Chen Fan's gains today had been fruitful.
Killing monsters and battling them allowed him to obtain Crystal Cores and system energy.
At the same time, it also helped Snowy and Feicui improve their skill proficiency.
From evening until nightfall, Chen Fan had lost count of how many monsters he had killed.
Anyway, the Beastmaster's Space was almost filled with Level 3 monster corpses. He had thrown away the Level 1 fish and Iron-eating Black Ants.
Chen Fan dug out the Crystal Cores from the heads of several Night Blade Leopards and tossed the corpse of the Level 3 Night Blade Leopard into the Beastmaster's Space.
There were still several Level 2 Night Blade Leopard corpses on the ground.
If he sold them for money, they should fetch a decent amount.
But his Beastmaster's Space was almost full...
It was so tiring to have to make such choices.
After all, this was money.
"Let's go."
Chen Fan picked up Snowy: "It's getting dark. Let's kill a few more Level 3 monsters and then rest."
As he stood up...
"Kill!"
A faint cry of battle came from the southeast.
"Hmm?"
Chen Fan was slightly taken aback.
In this area, where even Level 3 monsters could frequently be encountered, who would venture out here?
He picked up his fishing spear, crouched down, and charged quickly toward the direction of the sound.
In no time, a chaotic scene appeared in Chen Fan's line of sight...
Wang Teng was leading fifteen people, holding shields and swords made from tree bark, surrounding and attacking two medium-sized Wind Wolves.
In this team, there were surprisingly two Beastmasters, each with their own Guardian Beasts.
One of the Guardian Beasts was a Level 1 Night Blade Leopard, and the other was a Level 1 Demon Blade Mantis.
The Night Blade Leopard and Demon Blade Mantis were in the innermost circle of the encirclement, slowly circling around the two Wind Wolves, seemingly looking for an opportunity to attack.
Four archers on the outside continuously fired Feather Arrows, attacking the two Wind Wolves.
The two Wind Wolves, one Level 2 and one Level 1, both heavily injured, were surrounded by a group of people and two Guardian Beasts.
The Level 2 Wind Wolf, limping on one hind leg, still showed its teeth and snarled at the group with undiminished ferocity, even with a Feather Arrow stuck in its back.
On the other hand, the Level 1 Wind Wolf had its stomach torn with a hole, intestines hanging out, and barely alive. It was a terrible sight.
"Everyone step back!"
Wang Teng waved his long knife in his hands and directed the crowd, "These two Wind Wolves are losing blood fast, let's block their escape."
"Archers, keep firing! As long as they receive a few more arrows and delay further, they are undoubtedly going to die!"
"Hiss!"
Hearing Wang Teng's voice, the Level 2 Wind Wolf's eyes flashed with a murderous intent as it stared at Wang Teng.
It slowly approached Wang Teng but was driven back by several Feather Arrows shot through the air.
Both the people and the two Guardian Beasts were retreating backward.
The encircling circle was slowly expanding.
Four archers kept firing their arrows non-stop.
After a few breaths, the two Wind Wolves were hit by two more arrows!
"Great!"
Wang Teng was overjoyed, "Keep going!"
...
Chen Fan squatted in the grass, watching the scene expressionlessly.
Wang Teng was indeed a bit capable.
As a Star Martial Artist, he actually became the leader of a group of people.
Even the already contracted Guardian Beastmasters obeyed him!
This guy indeed had some leadership skills.
Also, like Pan Xiangdong and others, he found a loophole in the rules... Originally, a team couldn't have more than four people.
However, the rules didn't say that several teams couldn't cooperate.
For example, the team led by Wang Teng now had a total of sixteen people.
If a "safety officer" came to stop them, they could immediately split this group into four teams.
Or they could just say it was four teams working together to kill the two Wind Wolves.
As Chen Fan watched, he grabbed a piece of green grass and chewed on it twice in his mouth.
It tasted a bit bitter...
At this moment, an unexpected change occurred!
The Level 2 Wind Wolf, which was already at a dead end, suddenly pounced on the Demon Blade Mantis!
Because of its proximity to the Demon Blade Mantis, the archers didn't dare to shoot their arrows again!
Everyone was astonished!
But just when the Demon Blade Mantis was panicking and was about to defend itself...
The Level 2 Wind Wolf dodged the Demon Blade Mantis's knife like a gust of wind, then quickly rushed past the side of the Demon Blade Mantis and charged straight towards Wang Teng!
"Teng, watch out!"
A young girl screamed and hugged Wang Teng before flying diagonally away.
The soaring Wind Wolf flew past her, swiping with its claws...
"Puchi!"
The girl's right leg was bloodied by the sharp claws. She screamed and fell to the ground!
Several Feather Arrows pierced through the air in the chaos, hitting the Wind Wolf's head.
A nearby group of people seized the opportunity to charge forward, randomly slashing their knives, and immediately killed the Level 2 Wind Wolf on the spot!
Without the protection of the Level 2 Wind Wolf, the Level 1 Wind Wolf had its head cut off by the Demon Blade Mantis's knife!
Everyone cheered as they looked at the corpses of the two Wind Wolves.
"Is it her?"
Chen Fan, who was squatting in the grass, frowned when he saw the girl.
When Wang Teng initially awakened his Star Martial Artist Talent and the girl her Guardian Beastmaster Talent, Chen Fan wanted to congratulate Wang Teng. But Wang Teng didn't even look at him and went straight to the girl, inviting her to join his team.
As they were leaving, the girl also glanced at Chen Fan once.
Chen Fan never expected that she would end up saving Wang Teng's life!
At that moment, Wang Teng's eyebrows were furrowed as he walked towards the girl.
He tilted his head, glanced at the girl's bloodied right leg, and said coldly, "Xiaoxiao, how could you be so careless?"
Chen Fan in the grass: "....."
He thought he was mistaken.
Wang Teng continued, "You can't carry or shoulder anything. Being with us was already burdensome, and now that you can't even walk... That's not good."
Sun Xiaoxiao almost forgot her pain, her eyes widened, and she raised her head.
She never expected that Wang Teng would say something like this.
She was, after all, injured trying to save him!
Wang Teng then shook his head and said, "After tonight, there is still one day and one night left. If you are crippled now, you will drag all of us down."
"You must know that our team is an elite team, not just trying to get through these three days... We are now heading east to hunt Level 2 monsters!"
"During our previous hunting, some teams had injured members which slowed them down, and several people died in the end."
"Now that you are injured and can't even walk, at least three people in the team need to take care of and protect you. With this, our team's strength will be significantly reduced, and we won't be able to fight properly..."
"I propose to kick Sun Xiaoxiao out of our team."
"Those who agree, please raise your hands."
Sun Xiaoxiao's body trembled, and she lowered her head.
Tears uncontrollably streamed down her eyes.
If she was kicked out of the team, she wouldn't even be able to return to the Western Safe Zone!
There were monsters everywhere on the way!
There were even groups of Level 2 monsters!
Not to mention Level 2 monsters, even if she encountered Level 1 monsters and hadn't practiced or contracted a Guardian Beast yet, she would be on a path of certain death!