Chapter 461: Dretch, Vrock (Combined Chapter, requesting everything)

As time passed, more and more people gathered on the training ground, all of them from the Pengcheng Academy District; the highest in cultivation were six Fifth-tier Beastmasters, the majority of whom came from Yuanling Academy.

General Yu Yuan, wearing bright silver scale armor, stood before them with an imposing air, looking at the slightly disorganized phalanx in front of him.

They were not soldiers, so they only needed to line up in rows.

No matter where one was, the most important thing was cultivation; those with high cultivation stood at the front of the line, while those with low cultivation could only stand at the back.

Li Changsheng stood in the front row, surrounded by Fourth-rank Demon Tamers, who numbered only a few dozen.

After a quarter of an hour passed, dozens of grassroots military officers were busy, carefully cross-referencing the personnel on their lists.

After the tally was complete, an officer came before General Yu Yuan: "Reporting to the General, everyone has arrived!"

General Yu Yuan nodded solemnly, then shouted loudly: "The reason I have summoned everyone here today is mainly to issue some routine tasks. Bring it up!"

As soon as Yu Yuan finished speaking, several muscular Cyclopes laboriously carried a massive Obsidian Screen and carefully placed it beside him.

This Obsidian Screen was very large, standing a full five meters high and ten meters wide; it was no wonder these Cyclopes found it so strenuous to move.

The next moment, General Yu Yuan's Mental Power surged into the Obsidian Screen, and the originally pitch-black screen suddenly flickered, followed by dense lines of text appearing on it.

"These are the tasks issued by the Viceroy this time. I hope everyone will act according to their abilities and never be careless, taking on tasks you cannot complete, lest you risk falling in battle. That is all I have to say; those who wish to accept tasks, register here."

General Yu Yuan's expression was solemn; he knew well that many present were elites from the Pengcheng Academy District, and if too many were lost, he would have a hard time answering to the Viceroy.

Dozens of grassroots military officers sat on chairs, responsible for the registration.

On the Obsidian Screen, located on the far left were the Level 1 Tasks, which were the fewest in number, totaling less than ten.

"Sweep away the demons in Tianfeng Valley, reward 500 Merit!"

"Hunt ten Intermediate Demons, reward 500 Merit!"

"Gather intelligence on X terrain, reward 400 Merit!"

……

Among these tasks, the Level 1 Tasks had the highest difficulty; most were solo missions, though occasionally there were more difficult group missions that penetrated deep into the hinterlands of the Abyss Gate.

For the sake of safety, Li Changsheng had no intention of taking on Level 1 Tasks for the time being, turning his gaze to the Level 2 Tasks instead.

It would not be too late to take on Level 1 Tasks once he possessed the ability to transform into a Black Tortoise; besides, it was not as if one wouldn't encounter Advanced Demons during Level 2 Tasks.

Furthermore, as long as one had enough Merit, one could also exchange it for some Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, including Advanced Demon Hearts.

Compared to Level 1 Tasks, the difficulty of Level 2 Tasks was a notch lower, and most of the task locations were near Li City Fortress.

At this time, some people made their decisions and began to line up to receive tasks.

Li Changsheng watched for a while and soon made his decision.

"Kill five Intermediate Demons and fifty Low-level Demons; reward 200 Merit, with the demons' left ears as proof of the kill!"

The officer in front of Li Changsheng repeated the task and handed a Black Iron Token to Li Changsheng; this was the task voucher.

This was the most common type of slaying task, but common did not mean simple; if one was lucky, it could be completed in a day, but if one was unlucky, it might take several days, and there was even a risk of falling in battle.

"Changsheng, be careful in everything, and remember not to enter the range of influence of the Abyss Will!"

Seeing Li Changsheng accept a task, Instructor Qian Yuanfei gave him special instructions, fearing that Li Changsheng might be lost.

"Thank you for the reminder, Instructor!"

Li Changsheng thanked Instructor Qian Yuanfei and, along with many others, left Li City Fortress, Flying Through the Void toward the Blood Crystal Mountain several miles away.

Blood Crystal Mountain covered an area of several dozen miles; viewed from afar, it looked like a massive mountain carved from blood-colored crystals.

Li Changsheng did not dare to fly too high, otherwise, he would easily be targeted.

Before reaching Blood Crystal Mountain, Li Changsheng encountered his first demon on the way.

This was the most common Dretch, a petite demon only a little over a meter tall, with black skin, a pair of bat-like wings, and holding a black metal fork in its hand.

Among the many demons, the Dretch was truly at the bottom, and the weakest of demons.

Judging from the aura of this Dretch, it was roughly equivalent to a Mid-Rank Beast, which naturally could not stump Li Changsheng.

This was Li Changsheng's first time seeing a demon, so he naturally would not pass up the idea of gathering data.

Demons could also be contracted as Demon Pets, but almost no one would contract a demon; this was mainly related to the character of demons.

Demons are chaotic evil creatures, which can be described as irritable, malicious, arbitrary, violent, and devoid of any sense of morality; they are dedicated to destroying and ruining everything, taking this as their lifelong pleasure, and they often invade other planes, bringing destruction and fear.

They resist order, and even Demon Lords cannot make them act in an orderly fashion. They can never be united, nor can they act according to a plan, and a thought held one moment will be overturned the next.

Simply put, demons are a bunch of lunatics; how could they be easily controlled? They are typical of those who do the bare minimum.

According to Li Changsheng's understanding, almost all demons possess negative characteristics, encompassing everything from Arrogance, Envy, Rage, Laziness, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.

In an instant, Li Changsheng obtained the data on the Dretch.

【Spirit Beast Name】: Dretch (Mature Stage)

【Spirit Beast Realm】: Mid-level 5th Rank

【Spirit Beast Race】: Medium Servant

【Spirit Beast Quality】: Low Grade

【Spirit Beast Bloodline】: Vrock (Inferior Quality)

【Spirit Beast Attribute】: Darkness

【Spirit Beast Status】: Chaotic

【Spirit Beast Weakness】: Light

From the data, the Dretch was similar to ordinary Spirit Beasts, except that the status column was "Chaotic."

The moment it saw Li Changsheng, the Dretch's eyes revealed a bloodthirsty, greedy look, as if it had seen delicious food, and it immediately flapped its bat wings, pouncing toward Li Changsheng like a madman.

During this process, even after sensing Li Changsheng's aura, the Dretch had no intention of stopping; this was perhaps due to its chaotic state.

For demons, the souls of humans can enhance their strength, with effects better than the souls of demons or beasts, and the souls of Beastmasters are even more of a great tonic.

It is precisely because of this that demons always spare no effort to invade other planes for the souls of intelligent beings.

While approaching, the Dretch muttered blasphemous and evil Abyss Language, while tightly gripping its metal fork and swiftly thrusting it toward Li Changsheng's neck.

From beginning to end, Li Zhangsheng did not summon any Demon Pet; he just watched quietly as the Dretch acted as it pleased.

Just as the Dretch was about to succeed, the Metal Fork in its hand suddenly stalled, and no matter how hard the Dretch tried, it could not move it even a fraction.

With the intensity of Liquid Mental Power, how could a Dretch at only the Middle Rank realm possibly break through?

In an instant, Li Zhangsheng's gaze fixed, and the Dretch's body twisted instantly.

"θηΨ!"

A sharp, miserable scream erupted from the Dretch's mouth; like a twisted dough twist, its body was distorted three times in an instant.

Snap~

The Dretch fell to the ground, dead.

"What a truly hearty battle!"

Li Zhangsheng exaggeratedly wiped his forehead, which had no sweat, straightened his back, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Finding joy in suffering can, to a certain extent, adjust a Monster Tamer's mood and relieve some pressure.

After cutting off the Dretch's left ear, Li Zhangsheng continued to advance toward Blood Crystal Mountain.

As he went deeper, the density of demons became higher, but the ones Li Zhangsheng encountered were all without exception low-level demons; there wasn't even a shadow of an Intermediate Demon.

The higher the rank of a demon, the more its various qualities improve, including intelligence.

Demons at or above the Intermediate level are not just creatures that only know how to kill and destroy; they possess a certain amount of willpower and will not easily leave the range of influence of the Abyss Will.

However, in the Abyss, the Stronger are respected; even if an Intermediate Demon is internally resistant, it can only obey the orders of a High-level Demon and is forced to leave the range of influence of the Abyss Will.

In the Abyss World, the least scarce things are low and intermediate-level demons, because the Abyss River that runs through every layer of the Abyss World can give birth to countless demons at every moment.

During the process of advancing, Li Zhangsheng kept his Mental Power projected at all times; if a powerful demon approached, he would be able to react faster.

Ten minutes later, Li Zhangsheng stepped onto the edge of Blood Crystal Mountain; Blood Crystal Mountain is quite peculiar, with one half shrouded by the Heaven and Earth Will of the Fairy World, and the other half shrouded by the Abyss Will.

Therefore, quite a few Monster Tamers and demons gathered here.

In terms of numbers, demons are naturally the majority, but Monster Tamers are most skilled at group battles; even when facing a siege by ten demons of the same rank, the ones who win in the end are often the Monster Tamers.

There is no help for it; demons are not only insufficiently united, but they also harbor suspicions toward one another and simply cannot pull together as one, so they are naturally easily defeated one by one.

"Eh, an Intermediate Demon!"

From the feedback of his Mental Power, Li Zhangsheng sensed the location of an Intermediate Demon, right at the edge of his Mental Power coverage.

Li Zhangsheng immediately took action, Flying Through the Void, and quickly rushed toward the direction where the Intermediate Demon was located.

Before long, Li Zhangsheng landed behind a bush, squinting his eyes as he looked at the Intermediate Demon not far away.

This was a Vrock, over 8 feet tall, using its four limbs to support its walk, but it could stand upright during battle.

Among demon species, Vrocks are rough and savage, with a violent temperament, and their entire bodies emit a foul stench; they are more keen on close-quarters combat than Hezrous, like to go deep into the center of enemy lines so that their foul stench can take effect as quickly as possible, and they possess the ability to summon demons.

Additionally, all Intermediate Demons automatically master the ability of Advanced Teleportation, with the teleportation distance related to the demon's rank.

1st—3rd Rank are low-level demons, 4th—5th Rank are Intermediate Demons, 6th Rank are High-level demons, and 7th Rank are top-tier demons; this is also the strength classification of demons.

Because the two were separated by more than two hundred meters, this Vrock did not immediately detect Li Zhangsheng's aura and continued to search for prey on Blood Crystal Mountain on its own.

The Vrock's eyes revealed slaughter and destruction, and it scanned its surroundings vigilantly from time to time; if one observed carefully, one would find that it never strayed too far from the range of influence of the Abyss Will.

This was a cautious Vrock.

Demons are chaotic evil creatures that like slaughter and destruction, but that does not mean they are stupid; the higher the level of the demon, the more they tend to cherish their lives.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Vrock had not yet discovered him, Li Zhangsheng immediately activated an Advanced Secret Technique—Dimensional Anchor; with the Vrock as the center, the space within a radius of several hundred meters was temporarily solidified.

In this way, the Vrock's Advanced Teleportation could not be cast.

Of course, Li Zhangsheng's Instant Movement was also restricted.

This was also an unavoidable matter; the difficulty coefficient of wanting to hunt Intermediate or High-level demons without the help of a Dimensional Anchor is very high.

When the Dimensional Anchor appeared, the Vrock naturally discovered Li Zhangsheng; after sensing Li Zhangsheng's aura, it did not immediately pounce, but instead began to summon demons.

A Vrock can summon demons once per day; accompanied by the emergence of pitch-black Demonic Qi, 10 Dretches were summoned.

Under the Vrock's command, the 10 Dretches revealed bloodthirsty gazes and immediately pounced toward Li Zhangsheng.

The Vrock landed behind the Dretches; its speed was not very fast, but it carried an indomitable momentum, ready to launch a fatal blow at any time.

Li Zhangsheng did not underestimate the enemy; with a thought, accompanied by the emergence of a Blood-colored Hexagram, a round and bloated body appeared before him.

Rolling!

At the first moment, Yuangungun tucked in its limbs, as if transforming into a giant meatball with a diameter of eight or nine meters, and rushed rapidly toward the direction of the Vrock.

Yuangungun rolled faster and faster, like a fleeting shadow, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared before the Dretches.

The Dretches subconsciously raised their Metal Forks, but unfortunately, they could not break the defense at all; like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, under the powerful force, not only were the Metal Forks snapped directly into two pieces, but they were also unable to slow down Yuangungun's rolling trend, and just like bowling pins, they were all knocked flying by Yuangungun.

The Dretches fell heavily to the ground, their bones shattered throughout their bodies, and they directly lost their lives.

The Vrock, which had landed behind, watched in terror, but it was not known for its speed, and seeing that it could not dodge, it could only collide head-on as well.

Boom~

A dull sound rang out, and the Vrock and Yuangungun collided together.

In an instant, the difference in strength was clear; Yuangungun forcefully knocked the Vrock flying.

Boom~

The Vrock smashed fiercely into the rock wall of Blood Crystal Mountain, was smashed directly into the mountain body, and fell directly into a near-death state.

This Vrock was only 4th Rank, equivalent to an Elite Demon Pet, so how could it be mentioned in the same breath as the Leader-level Yuangungun?

Without waiting for the Vrock to crawl out of the mountain body, Yuangungun waved its thick, short right hand, and a slap landed on the Vrock's face.

Under the enormous force, the Vrock's head was directly exploded, and red, green, and white liquids splashed everywhere.

"Yuangungun, well done!"

Li Zhangsheng praised it and cut off the left ears of the Vrock and the ten Dretches to serve as proof of the mission.

Yuangungun was not recalled into the Demon Pet Space; Li Zhangsheng sat casually on its shoulder and began to slaughter the demons nearby.

(End of chapter)