16 Chapter 15: Scorpion-tailed Giant Turtle

A group of government officials, supporting the team leader and carrying Abbott, walked in a sorry state along a rural path.

All the way, Abbott cursed and swore, vowing to smash Owen Bertram into pieces.

The team leader didn't say much, but his gloomy face was frightening.

Along the way, the government officials didn't dare to talk much. Although the scholar bailiffs sympathized with Owen Bertram, at this time, they could only sigh inwardly, knowing they were powerless to help.

After passing a small earth slope, the slope was covered in thick bamboo.

The official supporting the team leader felt a sudden weight in his hand. Before he could react, the team leader collapsed to the ground.

"Boss..." he called out. The team leader lay on the ground, fresh blood gushing out from both of his temples, with a bean-sized hole on each side.

Before the others could react, Abbott, who had just been cursing, fell silent as well. He also had two bean-sized bloody holes in his temples, staring straight at the sky with wide eyes.

"Ah!"

The government officials scattered in panic, leaving the two corpses behind...

Owen Bertram stood in the bamboo forest, his face indifferent, and quietly disappeared.

...

At dinner, Verna ate three large bowls and hid the oily pork belly wrapped in mulberry leaves, one piece under the roof beam, one under the window, and another in a hole in the ground...

Owen Bertram looked at her indulgently, letting her play. He mischievously thought, "Should I wait for her to fall asleep tonight, steal a piece, and then tell her it was eaten by a mouse?"

If he stole two pieces... Forget it, Verna would probably be heartbroken. He wouldn't tease her anymore.

...

Horizon Bureau can access the county government office's case files at will.

Vanessa Thoughts of Shadow, wearing a veil, presented the Horizon Bureau's waist token at the county government office entrance and was immediately greeted by the magistrate himself. He accompanied her all the way, very cautiously.

Vanessa quickly learned that the team leader and Abbott died on their way back.

She examined the two bodies and was puzzled by the fatal wounds: what kind of magical instrument could cause such scars?

According to the government officials' descriptions, they didn't see or hear anything.

"It could be flying needles."

But the human skull is very hard. Generally, the cultivator's flying needles need to be at least in the Second Level of cultivation to cause such damage.

If Owen Bertram was at the Second Level of cultivation at his age, he would be one of the most outstanding talents in the entire Wood Dynasty!

That dumb and clueless young man? Vanessa found it very difficult to link this "murderer" to the teenager she knew.

After some thought, she picked up the case file: "We, the Horizon Bureau, will take this case."

County Magistrate welcomed it with open arms. Who would want to handle a case in such a haunted place like Extinct Village? It was a headache for him.

...

Crunch!

Little Loach bit off a piece of chain lock, chewing it in its mouth with a look of disgust.

But there was no choice; this was the current situation at home, and it would go hungry if it didn't eat.

Of course, it could catch a Fierce Fish by itself, but a healthy diet required balanced nutrition, so it couldn't be picky.

An official magical instrument from the Imperial Court could fetch a good price in the black market outside the village. However, in Owen Bertram's hands, it had turned into a meal for Little Loach filled with disdain.

Having finished eating with crunching noises, Owen Bertram looked at Little Loach with anticipation, but it ignored him and swam away with a twist of its body.

There was no warm current.

"Forget it, the kid hasn't eaten enough, let's not strip it."

Owen Bertram attached his soul to the Little Loach and began to swim freely in the Great River.

There were various strange-looking Fierce Fish in the river, and Owen Bertram controlled the Little Loach to prey on a few. He felt that as the Little Loach continued to grow, these low-level Fierce Fish were becoming less and less satisfying for its appetite.

Look at this little fellow, it hasn't grown in two days.

The Little Loach floated to the surface of the water, raised its head, and looked far ahead to the even wider downstream.

Then, with a fierce plunge, it dived down, its tail wagging, and rushed rapidly downstream.

There, it was no longer the territory of the Dominant Ferocious Fish, but the territory of another overlord.

The Little Loach could vaguely feel the existence of the opponent - and the opponent could feel it the same way.

At this level, unless they were absolutely sure, the river overlords would not invade the territory of another overlord.

As soon as the Little Loach entered that section of the river, the overlord of this area immediately became anxious, sensing something.

It was a Giant Turtle about thirty feet in size.

Its four legs were as strong as pillars, and its heavy turtle shell had an uneven, ghostly pattern in the center. The edges of the shell were sharp serrations.

The tail was a long, poisonous scorpion tail. The gigantic turtle head had four green eyes and a swelling on the top of its head that seemed to be nurturing something inside.

Only under the abdomen was a long scar, left by some unknown past event.

It knew that the boss of the neighboring territory had changed, but as long as they didn't trespass on each other's territory, it was too lazy to care about the other side's affairs. After all, it had reached a crucial moment; as long as it could breakthrough, it would condense Heterotext on its body and officially become a Demon Beast!

There were no Demon Beasts in this river yet.

Once it succeeded, it would unite the entire river, devouring all the other overlords, further enhancing its strength, and then return to Ganges.

The scar under the belly was the result of its failure in the Ganges, and that was also the time it was chased out of the Ganges.

But now, the neighbor had come to fight.

If so, let's eat this fellow first. Maybe it could condense Heterotext and become a powerful Demon Beast in one fell swoop.

Boom—

The Giant Turtle suddenly shot out of its nest, causing the raging current to roar.

Owen Bertram jumped into the water, and as he entered, he was like a live fish, barely causing any water to splash.

Little Loach charged forward, Giant Turtle pounced ferociously, and the two colossal beasts moved as fast through the water as birds do in the sky, meeting each other in an instant.

The Giant Turtle opened its huge mouth to bite, and its two strong and sharp front claws also tried to grab the Little Loach.

However, the Little Loach was very agile, dodged, and wriggled under the Giant Turtle's belly. The Giant Turtle missed, and the Little Loach swung its tail upwards, striking hard at the Giant Turtle's scar.

The gigantic turtle was swept by the strike, floating up seven or eight feet.

But as the Little Loach swam out from behind the Giant Turtle, it was hooked by the scorpion tail from above, leaving a long wound!

Green blood instantly spread in the water, and the Giant Turtle, smelling the blood, became even more violent and excited. It vaguely felt that as long as it ate this fellow, it would definitely become a Demon Beast, and a strong one at that.

It paddled with its limbs, and its huge body turned agilely in the water, ready to strike with the scorpion tail and opened its mouth wide to suck.

The nearby water flow turned into a vortex, with a strong suction force.

Little Loach struggled to swim, but it was still pulled by the vortex, slowly falling into the Giant Turtle's big mouth.

The triumphant joy of victory appeared in the four green eyes of the Giant Turtle, but Owen Bertram, who had come lurking, did not rush to rescue it. This Giant Turtle appeared powerful, but it was quite stupid.