Chapter 39: Surrounded by Enemies

The moment the Bloodline Fruit ripened, the wild Spirit Beasts lurking all around immediately took action.

*Pat—*

The fastest to act was naturally the Lightning Zebra leader closest to it; it was seen leaping high, looking as if it were about to swallow the Bloodline Fruit.

Unfortunately, just as it was about to succeed, a large earthy-yellow hand suddenly condensed on the ground, grabbing the Lightning Zebra leader by its hind hooves; before it could react, it was flung away by the hand.

"Earth Rhinoceros!" Li Zhangsheng did not move, keeping his focus on the situation on the field; the moment the earthy-yellow hand condensed, he immediately locked onto the opponent.

This was a massive rhinoceros, standing a full zhang tall and about four meters in body length; its build was corpulent, with two horns—one long and one short—growing on its head, and its entire body was wrapped in thick rock, giving the impression of a layer of Rock Armor.

Without a doubt, this was also a Middle-Rank Spirit Beast.

Besides the Earth Rhinoceros, there were several other Middle-Rank Spirit Beasts in the vicinity, which was the reason Li Zhangsheng had not immediately taken action; otherwise, even if he had luckily succeeded, he would have had no power to hold onto the Bloodline Fruit.

The Earth Rhinoceros was slow in its movements; before it could even shift its feet, a golden figure arrived first despite starting later, opening its mouth to bite at the Bloodline Fruit.

This was a Swift Thunder Leopard, known for its speed and explosive power; like the Earth Rhinoceros, it was also a Middle-Rank Spirit Beast.

Just as Li Zhangsheng had expected, before the Swift Thunder Leopard could succeed, it was bound by several thick vines and restrained in place.

The one restraining the Swift Thunder Leopard was a Thorn Flower Demon, a type of plant-based Spirit Beast that possessed a huge flower with a beautiful, flower-like human face inside; it had no feet and was composed of over a dozen thick vines, with almost its entire body capable of serving as a weapon.

Its only drawback was that its mobility was even slower than the Earth Rhinoceros, which was a common ailment for many plant-based Spirit Beasts.

After temporarily restraining the Swift Thunder Leopard, the Thorn Flower Demon controlled a vine, reaching straight toward the Bloodline Fruit.

Suddenly, a Garden Spider the size of a water vat hanging from a willow tree flickered its scarlet eyes, spraying silver spider silk from its mouthparts; its silk was extremely sticky and became entangled with the vines, making it difficult for the vines to advance even an inch.

In the sky, a snow-white bird with a wingspan of five or six meters seized the opportunity; its speed was very fast, as if it had turned into a white shadow, swooping down from the sky and extending talons like giant hooks to grab at the Bloodline Fruit.

"Paradise Bird!" Seeing the figure of the large bird, Li Zhangsheng was visibly surprised; this was a rather rare Spirit Beast, especially since it could comprehend healing skills, which was the main reason Paradise Birds were widely welcomed by Monster Tamers, leading to wild Paradise Birds becoming increasingly scarce.

Furthermore, even for Middle-Rank Paradise Birds, their wingspan was usually only three or four meters, while this Paradise Bird's size was clearly on the larger side, with a wingspan of five or six meters, showing it was gifted by nature.

Similar to before, before the Paradise Bird could succeed, a shrill sound of piercing through the air rang out, and several foot-long Ice Spikes shot toward it.

The one blocking the Paradise Bird was a Two-Winged Frost Centipede, which was also a relatively rare ice-attribute Spirit Beast; its entire body was ice-blue, its head was exceptionally ferocious, and it had over a dozen thin legs like sharp blades beneath it; its greatest feature was a pair of wings as thin as cicada wings growing on its back, which also gave it the ability to fly for short periods.

According to rumors, the Two-Winged Frost Centipede possessed the bloodline of the Six-Winged Frost Centipede.

Besides these few Middle-Rank Spirit Beasts, there were also dozens of Lower-Rank Spirit Beasts of different varieties, but their strength was limited, and the possibility of them obtaining the Bloodline Fruit was minimal.

Under the pressure of the Ice Spikes, the Paradise Bird had to give up on the Bloodline Fruit, tucking in its wings to dodge urgently, brushing past the Ice Spikes.

Without any prelude, with the willow tree as the core, all the wild Spirit Beasts went crazy; while competing for the Bloodline Fruit, they did not forget to strike at their opponents.

A chaotic battle was inevitable.

For a time, vines, earth spikes, Wind Blades, fireballs, and Ice Spikes flew everywhere; the surrounding land suffered devastating blows, the grass disappeared, replaced by large pits and gullies.

The only exception was the willow tree that was nurturing the Bloodline Fruit.

A breeze blew, and the tender willow branches made a rustling sound.

Under mutual restraint, no one managed to snatch the Bloodline Fruit for a while.

This process did not last long; soon, the Thorn Flower Demon, at the cost of a minor injury, temporarily broke free from the entanglement of the Garden Spider and controlled its vines to try and pluck the Bloodline Fruit.

At this moment, the remaining Middle-Rank Spirit Beasts were all unable to spare any effort, unable to stop it for the time being.

"Lightning Zebra, target the Thorn Flower Demon, Thunder Strike!" At the critical moment, Li Zhangsheng had to take action.

Thunder Strike was the Lightning Zebra's most proficient long-range attack method.

Before the vines could grab the Bloodline Fruit, electric light swirled around the horns of the five Lightning Zebras, finally transforming into five currents as thick as an adult's arm, shooting toward the Thorn Flower Demon.

Among the various attributes, the Wind Element had the fastest attack speed, followed by the Thunder attribute.

*Squeak—*

Because the attack came from behind, the Thorn Flower Demon had no time to react and was instantly struck by the five currents; while emitting a shrill scream, its actions were also interrupted.

Although in terms of realm, the five Lightning Zebras were inferior to the Thorn Flower Demon, they had a numerical advantage, causing the Thorn Flower Demon to suffer heavy damage for a time.

Just at this moment, the Garden Spider jumped up; its jumping ability was quite astonishing, and coupled with the very short distance, it instantly appeared in front of the Thorn Flower Demon, extending its ferocious mouthparts and biting hard into the Thorn Flower Demon's face.

The Thorn Flower Demon made a desperate counterattack, retracting all the vines that were restraining the Swift Thunder Leopard; over a dozen vines continuously whipped the Garden Spider's back, wanting to make the opponent retreat in the face of difficulties.

*Papapapa—*

Unexpectedly, the Garden Spider did not let go, biting the Thorn Flower Demon and refusing to release; different from just before, green light appeared on its mouthparts, and while enduring the whipping of the vines, it absorbed the Thorn Flower Demon's stamina.

"Aixi, finish them off!" Li Zhangsheng naturally did not let this opportunity slip; under his command, Aixi rushed out instantly.

Seeing Aixi charging over, the Garden Spider hurriedly let go, subconsciously wanting to retreat, but Aixi's speed was lightning-fast; she caught up in two steps and raised her hand for a Crushing Claw.

*Boom—*

Accompanied by a muffled sound, before the Garden Spider could even let out a scream, its head seemed to explode; a large amount of green and red liquid scattered all over the ground, meeting the fate of being killed in seconds.

At the same time, the Thorn Flower Demon, which had finally managed to shake off the Garden Spider, only felt the scene before it go dark; Li Zhangsheng, riding the Lightning Zebra, appeared before it. Under its fearful gaze, the Lightning Zebra raised its hooves high and launched the Trample skill.

*Squeak—*

The Thorn Flower Demon emitted a sound full of despair; it had already been brought to the brink of death by the Garden Spider, so how could it still resist? Under the impact of the hooves, its beautiful, flower-like head was directly stomped to pieces.

In the span of a few breaths, Li Zhangsheng seized the opportunity and killed two Middle-Rank Spirit Beasts while waiting for his chance; however, he had no time to collect the Demon Cores, because the situation on the field had changed again.

*Puchi—*

Under the control of the Earth Rhinoceros, a sharp rock spike suddenly shot out from the ground; because it was too heavily injured, the Lightning Zebra leader's speed was affected, and it was unable to dodge in time, being pierced in the stomach by the rock spike, with its intestines and blood spilling all over the ground.

*Neigh—*

The Lightning Zebra leader struggled a few times, finally lifting its head powerlessly; its eyes regained clarity, and looking at the cloudless sky, it let out a final roar.

After killing the Lightning Zebra leader, the Earth Rhinoceros took solid steps and charged forcefully toward the Bloodline Fruit; its movements were not fast, but they were filled with an indomitable momentum.

*Neigh—*

After their leader died, the few Lightning Zebras commanded by the Lightning Zebra leader raised their heads and let out a mournful cry; regardless of the gap in strength, they rushed toward the Earth Rhinoceros one after another.

While running, the Earth Rhinoceros opened its large mouth, spraying out stones the size of heads like a repeating cannon.

These stones were precise and fast, instantly killing two Lightning Zebras; immediately after, the two sides engaged in close-quarters combat. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, the Earth Rhinoceros was peerless and unstoppable; its defense was extremely strong, and no matter how much the Lightning Zebras bit or trampled, they could not cause much damage to it.

Conversely, the Earth Rhinoceros was like entering an uninhabited land, easily killing the Lightning Zebras; countless blood splattered, and it was exceptionally tragic.

In the span of a few breaths, the Earth Rhinoceros finished off these Lightning Zebras, appeared under the willow tree, and immediately reared up on its hind legs, wanting to eat the Bloodline Fruit.

PS: Seeking recommendations, seeking favorites, seeking everything!

(End of this chapter)