Chapter 328: Food Critically Scarce? Emergency Hunt in the Desert!

In the blink of an eye, another two months had passed!

On this day, the Hunting Ship, which had been sailing for a long time, finally slowed down, and a rare large number of human figures, as well as the figures of Tusha Beasts, appeared on the deck.

Among them were both people from the Sand Castle and survivors who had descended from Lingdi Gucheng.

Of course, anyone who could make it here would from now on be a person of the Sand Castle as well.

As for why so many of them appeared here, it wasn't that they were about to return to the Sand Castle, but rather that Shan alone suddenly discovered that the prey reserves on his Hunting Ship seemed to be depleting unusually fast?

No, putting it that way wasn't quite right—seemed like the Tusha Beasts could simply eat more? (Baichuan Mao Mao side-eye. jpg)

From previously being full on two meals a day, to now needing three meals a day!

Regarding this, Shan was rather overjoyed.

Because this kind of situation only appeared when fierce beasts needed to undergo a metamorphosis breakthrough—only then was it possible!

And the Tusha Beasts' unusual appetite at this moment might very well indicate that they were highly likely undergoing metamorphosis, so Shan directly increased the food supply for the Tusha Beasts. After all, the Tusha Beasts were the most important partners to the warriors of the Sand Castle!

Strong Tusha Beasts meant the strength of the Tusha Beast Elite Squads.

If they could eat, they could grow stronger. Shan said to let them eat their fill!

Because of this, in just two months, the consumption exceeded the total consumption of the previous year!

Although this amount of consumption didn't look like much overall, the Hunting Ship's voyages normally required a rest period of as short as three years or as long as five years upon each return. So being able to bring a little more back on one trip was also good.

Of course, the most important point was that the Tusha Beasts had indeed grown noticeably, like undergoing a metamorphosis—from an initial average body size of five meters to around five point two meters, looking considerably stronger overall.

This was naturally the doing of a certain "knows nothing" kitty Baichuan. Of course he was well aware that stealing the Tusha Beasts' food like this wasn't a long-term solution, because the feeders were already extremely familiar with how much each Tusha Beast could eat.

Once or twice was fine, but more than that…

This wasn't like feeding animals at a zoo, where how much they ate could be casual and didn't need to be too precise. These were partners with whom the warriors entrusted their lives; during wartime, being too hungry or too full could affect the Tusha Beasts' condition and beastly nature.

Furthermore, they normally needed to train with the warriors. If he kept this up, over a long period, it would be fine if there were no battles—at worst their condition would be a little poor. But once battles were needed, it could cause trouble.

Baichuan wasn't that shameless. Therefore, he directly used the energy that originally came from the Tusha Beasts' food, drawing from his own crappy Gold Finger, to create a potion with the ability Strong LV2, took it out from his body, and evenly sprinkled it into each Tusha Beast's food, silently strengthening their bodies bit by bit.

This caused their bodies to begin growing stronger once again, requiring a further increase in fresh meat.

And since the Tusha Beasts showed obvious signs of change, the unusual food consumption, and the slight decline in training performance—who would care?

People, especially, would deeply believe the "facts" they had deduced themselves. So who would know that Baichuan sneaking food had caused the abnormal decrease in food, such a trivial matter?

Everything had already been attributed by the "person" who knew the truth to the Tusha Beasts needing to undergo metamorphosis!

What was this called?

This was called a steady stream, sustainable development—he and the Tusha Beasts benefiting each other!

Therefore, this led to the Hunting Ship's hunting once again!

……

Along with the Hunting Ship's deceleration, before long, in the faintly distorted air ahead of the Hunting Ship, a touch of vivid green appeared!

That was a rare Life Continent in the Desert—an oasis!

Seen from afar, a large number of various creatures frolicked freely near the oasis's emerald-like lake, occasionally drinking a few mouthfuls of delicious fresh water, enjoying the rare joy of life.

"Woo——!!"

On the yellow sand, the giant Hunting Ship, at Shan's waving signal, let out a long, distant horn with a boom.

Slowly reverberating across this desolate, life-dead land.

This meant that the hunt had begun!

"Ha! Ha!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

On the deck, a large number of roars from deep within throats rang out, mixed with the Tusha Beasts' rapid and bright excited beast cries.

That was the Tusha Beasts being excited, thrilled, yearning for the slaughter about to come!

As natives of the Desert Land, even if they were willing to huddle on the cramped Hunting Ship when they had masters, they would absolutely not feel comfortable.

They were the life of the Desert, the souls within the yellow sand!

Born in the Desert, dying in the Desert—that was their destiny.

In the next instant, the considerably stronger Tusha Beasts, carrying their respective partners, charged off the deck one after another, then spread the wings on both sides in mid-air, gliding down into the Desert.

Seen from afar, in the Desert, a large number of shadows instantly appeared, caused by the numerous massive and strong Tusha Beasts spreading their wings.

Beneath their rough skin, strong and powerful muscles bulged in chunks; sharp large mouths, slender tail fins, widely spread wings—all displayed the charm of wildness!

"How is it? Do you like it?"

Near a young girl and young man whose faces were full of longing, a rough voice sounded.

That was Shan. At this moment, watching the elite squads continuously leaping down, Shan also wore a smile, came to the side of the Zhou Yun siblings with his arms crossed over his chest, while continuously nodding in response to the salutes of the people around him.

"Mm, I really want to ride one…"

Responding to him was the girl's clear, crisp voice, which made one think of summer wind chimes upon hearing it.

"Hahaha, lass, don't rush, don't rush," hearing this, Shan laughed happily a few times, "after we return to the Sand Castle, you'll all have a chance to tame your own Tusha Beast. In this Desert Land, not having a mount of your own is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Of course, Tusha Beasts are hard to tame—only those who are Transparent can tame them. Without a Tusha Beast, a Sand Beast will also do."

"Sand Beast?" Zhou Yun murmured upon hearing this. He thought of the other corner of the Shoupeng earlier, where there seemed to be a group of beasts that, compared to the ferocious-looking Tusha Beasts, were gentler and more docile herbivores, their shape roughly similar to a Tusha Beast without wings, looking overall like a long-legged strange fish.

"Mm, Sand Beast." Seemingly hearing Zhou Yun's murmur, Shan replied with a somewhat dazed expression, "The vast Desert, with human strength alone, is hard to travel far; moreover, when encountering danger, it's even harder to avoid. So the people of our Sand Castle, from the time they learn to walk, must tame a living being of the Desert."

"You two are no exception."

"Then is Uncle Shan the same? Where's your mount?"

Beside them, Zhou Xiaoxiao turned her head back in some confusion to ask, a pair of bright, pure big eyes blinking nonstop like a lark.

"……" Facing the girl's question, Shan's expression stalled.

"Young Zhou, lass Zhou, want to go down and try hunting?"

At this moment, before Shan could speak, a loud laughter came from beside them, then a voice that was vigorous yet carried a hint of warmth sounded. That was You Fei, who had not yet left.

At this moment, a somewhat lean man held a spotlessly clean Bone Spear, with a two-meter-long great bow on his back, slowly riding his mount as a six-meter-long Sand Beast leader appeared, his face carrying a slight invitation toward the Zhou Yun siblings.

You Fei's interruption cut off the topic they had been discussing, causing the young girl and young man, who had already been somewhat tempted to go down, to turn their heads back.

"Brother You, is it really okay?"

"I wonder if this is appropriate?"

The two siblings said in unison.

"Ha, what's appropriate or not," You Fei waved his hand generously, patted the Sand Beast leader beneath him, and said: "What do you say? Big Sand."

"Sah!"

The response was a short cry as it raised its head and nodded.

The young girl's eyes lit up. Just as she was about to speak, the corner of her eye seemed to catch some important target, and she abruptly paused and turned her head.

And this made the others curiously look over as well.

In that instant, what came into their eyes was a majestic beast already nearly reaching the young girl's (1.4 meters) lower abdomen in height, its body a full meter long, shaped like a cat, yet carrying the bearing of a fierce tiger, a steel-whip-like tail swishing through the air, giving one the feeling that this beast seemed not fully awake, languid and lazy.

The most eye-catching feature was those golden pupils. Even now filled with languor, as if forever unable to wake, they still carried a hint of an aura that commanded respect without anger, as well as the most special right paw—on the grey-white fur, faint black patterns shimmering like tattoos could be glimpsed, and on that broad paw pad, sharp claws were occasionally revealed with each step, silently proclaiming its extraordinary power.

Yet beneath such a handsome and extraordinary appearance was a posture as if forever unable to wake, swaying unsteadily as it walked, occasionally yawning.

This was Baichuan, who had grown another two months under the blessing of ample food.

At present, calling him a cat, he was actually more like an oversized caracal, or perhaps a tiger not yet fully grown?

Unfortunately, because the enhancements came too quickly and too many, his body wanted to grow at every moment, making the flesh adapt to this power, causing him to be in a constant state of wanting to sleep, just like a growing teenager—only by sleeping more could the body grow better.

This was a normal life growth process.

"Yah, Mao Mao!"

The next instant, the young girl, whose Mao Mao radar had activated, lunged over with a delighted smile.

However, even the great cat that seemed forever languid reacted nimbly, its paws misstepping beneath it as it dodged aside with agile ease.

Strong, powerful muscles flowed and rose smoothly beneath the beautiful fur, every curve of line giving a sense of fluid, elegant beauty, making one sigh involuntarily—what a creature blessed by heaven!

"Mrr~"

The young girl puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction. Ever since escaping from Lingdi, Mao Mao had for some reason always dodged her hugs, no longer being close to her, just like the situation when she first brought Mao Mao home.

However, Mao Mao's aloof resistance did not affect her love for Mao Mao.

But upon seeing Mao Mao's appearance now, the young girl did not know when it had started, but her heart had already inclined more toward going down together with Mao Mao, yet Brother You had just invited them earlier…

The young girl fell into a dilemma.

Paying no heed to the young girl's call, Baichuan squinted his eyes and glanced at the numerous Sand Beasts still going down one after another. He too was somewhat itching to try, having stayed on the ship too long, and combined with having grown for a period of time, upon seeing scenery that was finally different, he had plans to move after being still for too long.

"Didn't expect today's excitement to draw Mao Mao here too," Zhou Yun beside her also laughed a few times. This situation was truly somewhat rare. He looked at his seemingly conflicted sister and suggested to Brother You: "Brother You, how about the two of us go together?"

"Oh, what about that girl? Following that little cat, can it work?"

You Fei didn't mind. The siblings' affection for that little beast with wild beast bloodline, they had seen it with their own eyes. Rather, if they were the ones who had it, they too would want to bond with it at every moment.

But out of safety considerations, he still asked a question. It was really that the current Mao Mao didn't seem to have grown up yet, giving him not the slightest sense of security, afraid that the girl and Mao Mao might have an accident.

"It's fine, Mao Mao is very strong!" Zhou Yun shook his head, saying this with absolute firmness, without a trace of worry.

If his sister were following other fierce beast companions, or even other elite Sand Beast warriors, he might have had more or less some worry in his heart, but only when his sister was with Mao Mao, he had not a single worry.

Because it was precisely Mao Mao's appearance that let the siblings come out alive, and back then in the building, exactly who was escorting and protecting them, he was still clear about.

"Alright." You Fei's response to this was very brief. Since the young man had said so, he said no more—at most, he'd just pay a bit more attention to the other party after going down.

Thinking this, the lean man directly bent down and pulled the "petite" young man up with one pull, then turned his head toward Dan and laughed boldly:

"Brother Dan, Zhou kid and I will head off first. Can't let those kids snatch away the plump prey!"

The next instant, with a heavy footfall, the massive Sand Beast leader charged out, then spread its broad wings and glided away amid Dan's send-off.

'?' Listening to the few people, Baichuan was full of question marks.

What about his opinion? Doesn't Mao Mao have any rights?

But looking at the young girl beside him biting her lip in a pitiful appearance, Baichuan still nodded.

The next moment, the young girl was seen beaming with joy, bustling about packing things, carrying on her back what seemed to be a bag given by some little sister playing a doctor role, running to the gangway lowered from the Hunting Ship, waving her small hand repeatedly to signal him to follow.

Unlike that group of elite Sand Beast squads who had wings and could glide down directly, the direction they went down was the normal gangway for supply personnel to disembark.

There were basically a group of logistics personnel who weren't good at fighting, going down to gather plants and precious mineral materials, as well as a few accompanying combat personnel for protection.

Regarding this, Baichuan didn't say anything either. Although now even carrying the young girl leaping down wouldn't be a problem for him, there really was no need.

Thinking about this and that, Baichuan also yawned, swaying his tail as he followed.

The first hunt in the Desert—it meant they were integrating into this world even more.

……

(End of this chapter)