Chapter 9: 8. Gathering of Demonic Beasts

8. Gathering of Demonic Beasts

On the island above the clouds, demonic beasts are found everywhere. According to scholars from the Magic Capital, Tacheng, this world is saturated with mana, thus giving birth to countless species of demonic beasts.

Satos Island should not have very strong demonic beasts; based on Li Ang's experience, their estimated combined combat power should not exceed 5.

The two continued closer to the rocky zone at the island's edge, where gathered rocks piled up into small hills four or five meters high, with large boulders scattered at their bases.

The demonic beasts lurking here revealed their true forms.

Many beasts resembling hyenas lay prone on the sandy ground between the scattered rocks; as noon approached, they slept lazily in the warm sun.

【Gou Nitu】

【A demonic beast with a thin kinship to the earth】

【Species: Wolf-type】

【Combat Wisdom: Tier 1】

【Servants: None】

【Energy Source: None】

【Body Strength: Hard Stone Claws, Tier 1. Wild Leather, Tier 1.】

【Special Attacks: None】

【Skills: Sand Adaptation】

【Combat Power Amplification: 0】

The Gou Nitu is one of the most common demonic beasts; it is earth-attributed and possesses a certain degree of adaptive sociality—when there are no enemies, they gather in groups, choose a leader, and when powerful demonic beasts appear, they follow the strong ones to survive.

They devour ores, absorbing the substances and earth elements within to grow; Li Ang has seen Gou Nitu whose body strength grew to Tier 5, yet their wisdom hardly ever increases, making them a favorite target for adventurers to hunt.

Their hides and claws are common materials, especially the hides, which are made into various sturdy and durable leather armors, but since Gou Nitu are wild by nature, have low intelligence, and get injured frequently, the probability of obtaining a good hide is very low.

This was the first time Li Ang saw the system's demonic beast panel unfold; he reviewed every item on it. The panel clearly listed and marked the beast's various abilities, which correspond to the various strengths of humans.

Combat Wisdom and Professional Skills are similar, involving whether they can utilize mana combined with their own attributes to fight, and whether they know how to unleash special attacks; these special attacks can be viewed as the demonic beasts' ultimate techniques.

Humans possess the ability to contract and summon beasts, while demonic beasts can enslave servants.

Body Strength roughly corresponds to human equipment, and as for Energy Source, the principle is the same across the entire domain.

The Gou Nitu before them numbered about six or seven, with mediocre combat power, consistent with Satos Island's characteristic of lacking precious minerals. Their fur and claws showed obvious wear, clearly caused by their habit of playing in the gravel, making them of little value.

The Gou Nitu were easy to deal with, but there was more than just Gou Nitu here.

Li Ang's gaze lifted, focusing on the top of the rocky hill; the existence there was the master of this rocky terrain.

【Wyvern】

【The most primitive form of dragon-type demonic beasts that step into the sky, migrating between floating islands using flight capabilities and hunting by leveraging the advantage of the sky】

【Species: Dragon-type】

【Combat Wisdom: Tier 2】

【Servants: Gou Nitu Pack, Tier 1】

【Energy Source: None】

【Body Strength: Low-Grade Dragon Claws, Tier 2. Low-Grade Dragon Scales, Tier 1. Low-Grade Dragon Teeth, Tier 1.】

【Special Attacks: Wind Bullet】

【Skills: Dragon Bloodline】

【Combat Power Amplification: 5%】

The Wyvern gripped the mountain rock, standing atop the peak like a large bird; only its wings and head were covered in dark green dragon scales, while the rest transitioned into gray-brown feathers, making the whole thing not very pleasing to look at, resembling a speckled chicken.

Wyverns were originally supposed to be social creatures; perhaps due to the scarce resources on Satos Island, there was only enough for this single Wyvern to live, so it stayed and became the regional BOSS.

As the lowest-tier dragon-type demonic beast, it had already reached the selection threshold for many people's summoned beasts.

Once tamed, a Wyvern is generally regarded as a Tier 2 summoned beast.

And this one before them, which commanded the Gou Nitu and even possessed a 5% combat power amplification, Li Ang believed was a bonus given because the number of Gou Nitu in this group was considerable.

Dealing with a group of demonic beasts is sometimes more dangerous than dealing with a single higher-tier demonic beast, because their cooperation could trigger unforeseen chain reactions.

Based on experience, one side needed to be broken quickly.

Although Li Ang had come to mine, this was not a rich ore deposit, so a fight was still necessary.

The so-called rich ore refers to the degree where high-purity ores can be directly carried away from the ground.

The Bis World differs greatly from Earth; since the interiors of islands are rich in minerals, high-purity ores are often directly exposed on the surface.

But here, one could only see ores fused together with soil and rock, requiring effort to mine.

Therefore, he could not simply pick up the ore and run; he had to drive the demonic beasts away.

Li Ang closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and slowly let his mana seep into the ground.

He was exerting his spiritual affinity, attempting to communicate with the Earth Spirit here.

In places where spirits are particularly thick, without relying on earth-attributed casting materials, he could directly write spells and command the Earth Spirit to create Gou Nitu Golems.

However, after the mana seeped into the earth, the response from the Earth Spirit was almost non-existent.

That's strange.

Although it was just an attempt, he didn't expect Satos Island to be able to spontaneously shape a Gou Nitu Golem, but this Earth Spirit was too weak, as if it had been drained away.

If this move couldn't be used, then other methods...

Li Ang opened his satchel, which contained some basic materials he had picked up along the way over the past two days.

Besides the previous Calming Flower, Solid Earth, and Mist Stone, the most abundant item was a type of vine.

【Verdant Vine】

【A vine with vigorous vitality】

【Tier: 1】

【Spirituality: Climbing Growth, Resilient Growth】

【Usage: Spellcasting Material, Equipment Crafting】

Originally, the plan was to collect them and fling them from a distance to ensnare the ore and pull it back, but this island's ore deposits are too barren to do that anymore.

Where should I start? Weave a net, trap the two-legged wyverns, then deal with that group of Wasteland Beasts first? That seems like a plan.

The trouble with being a Caster manifests right at this moment.

If he were a 9th-Rank Mage, he could use dozens of different spells to kill this group of demons without repeating a single one.

Of course, he could use a Curse to erase their Spirituality and instantly kill them, but he would have to pick them off one by one, and by the time he finished, his mana reserves would be completely drained.

His Caster Ultimate Arts do have a certain destructive power, enough to handle these monsters, but the consumption is also huge. Years of adventuring habits meant that unless absolutely necessary, he would not deplete his mana reserves immediately at the start, always keeping strength in reserve to deal with unexpected situations.

Zoe gently tugged at the corner of his robe.

"Can I help?"

Li Ang had not forgotten she was there.

If it were another adventurer, he would have actively invited them to fight together, but the person before him...

"Do you have experience fighting monsters?"

"I've been here before. I wanted to pick up those pretty stones, and they chased me for a long time."

Her fingers, white as scallions, pointed to a corner of the rocky mountain. Li Ang looked over and saw it was a collection of quartz in various colors; they were useless, and she must have simply liked them.

Relying on her 2nd-Rank Swordsman class and three 3rd-Rank items, Zoe's theoretical combat power was stronger than the two-legged wyverns, but since the enemy fought as a group, reality couldn't be viewed that way.

She managed to run away, and it sounded like she wasn't injured, which was acceptable enough.

Li Ang sighed. This little girl was like an restless kitten with a new idea at every moment; if he didn't fight monsters with her, she might cause trouble later on.

"How about this? You follow my orders. Can you do that?"

Zoe's eyes instantly lit up.