Chapter 170: The Beast King and the Herd

"Crack." The wheel crushed a stone, jolting slightly but continuing steadily forward.

The minor incident passed in a flash; the looted caravan resumed its journey.

The caravan's atmosphere was surprisingly cheerful—even the merchants asked the bard to sing a lively tune; for them, the moment of ambush may have already meant death, and escaping alive was already great fortune.

Listening to the cheerful songs outside the carriage and watching the other merchants inside ecstatic with relief, Li En truly felt the stark difference between the two worlds.

In a peaceful world, encountering highway bandits—even if unharmed—could cause lifelong psychological trauma.

But in this world, surviving a raid brought mostly joy.

They seemed to adapt easily to turmoil, accustomed to forgetting.

"Heh, this is a world accustomed to plunder and being plundered. Unaccustomed? Then you're exactly right to be."

The snake had, at some point, curled itself onto Li En's shoulder.

He watched Li En flip through the book, trying to understand new spells, seemingly quite interested.

"Heat Ray? A good spell—perfect for you."

Compared to the subtle one-ring effect of Burning Hands, the two-ring spell already held substantial battlefield value, especially since Heat Ray fit well within flame magic—likely ideal for Li En's current needs.

It's a multi-segment fire damage spell: initially firing three heat rays to inflict damage; as a "ray" model, it boasts fast casting speed and extremely rapid flight speed—practical battlefield advantages.

Its drawbacks: it can be blocked or defended against, and each segment deals low damage, especially vulnerable to elemental defense abilities.

"Pity—your Su'er's potential is too underdeveloped. Otherwise, you could fuse Heat Ray with penetration ability; at your stage, the effect would be excellent."

"Heh, sounds great—but unrealistic."

Li En smiled. Veterans never understand new recruits' struggles; only gold-rank or higher soul abilities can be attached to spells (Su'er's embodied state).

By then, I'd probably be close to Grand Knight status.

"No, not right. My Thousand-Faced Dragon soul ability, though it weakens the effect of other soul abilities, boosts their tier by one—so maybe silver rank is enough?!"

【Soul. Thousand-Faced Dragon (Raw Stone): Allows you to link and use other Li Ensu's soul abilities, granting a one-tier species rank boost. Effects reach 80% of the original. Current link limit: one.】

If gold, I'd need to edge near Grand Knight (fifth rank); but if silver, even a third-rank Holy Knight might suffice!

That doesn't seem too far off! Su'er's gift still remains, and my new body's hardware is sufficient to support third-rank Holy Knight demands.

What remains, seemingly, is only further rigorous training.

"It might actually work!" Li En's gaze toward the snake held newfound gratitude.

He'd left his Raw Stone-tier soul ability untouched, yet the elder's experience instantly organized Li En's abilities, pinpointing the path to maximum combat power.

Only then did Li En realize the greatest treasure was right beside him.

Recalling the boastful lich not long ago, Li En clenched his fist.

"So, which do you want to focus on first—mage or Holy Knight? Honestly, both take time." The snake flicked its tail, offering Li En another choice.

Li En fell silent, then made his decision.

"I'll do both: train my body in Holy Knight arts, and use my second mental thread to analyze two-ring spells and expand my magical knowledge."

Li En expected his greed to earn the snake's mockery—but instead, the snake chuckled happily.

"Of course—a greedy dragon. As Thousand-Faced Dragon, you should be this greedy."

He seemed to approve—but perhaps those serpent eyes held a new, mischievous intent.

Seeing the snake in good spirits, Li En casually asked about his newly acquired "Flower Transfer" bloodline ability.

He'd used it several times—completely ineffective.

This wasn't a failure to "deceive others"; it was total ignorance of how to activate it.

"Tsk tsk tsk—this is still a spell, a innate ability. You lack foundational knowledge here. Perhaps you could find clues in the psychic profession—learn how to project psychic energy to disrupt others." The snake replied cheerfully, and it was indeed true: psychic professions could help Li En intuitively grasp Flower Transfer's use.

But the true root of Li En's inability was his lack of the "Serpent's Whisper" bloodline ability.

First, you must learn to amplify or shrink the target's subconscious and desires before you can learn to mislead or correct consciousness.

And the snake would never admit it was his fault.

"Perhaps your talent is average—you need some extra technique."

Li En rubbed the back of his head and sighed, recalling his magical aptitude—he accepted it.

Incidentally, due to the snake's unusual condition—he hadn't physically bonded with Li En—his psychic energy remained at standard levels, meaning his professional cultivation faced some difficulties.

But the snake's presence had indeed revealed many secrets to Li En, especially those concerning beasts.

Earlier, the snake had mentioned the difference between "Seven Beasts" and "Ten Thousand Beasts," and hadn't hidden it much—after teasing Li En a bit, he'd spoken plainly. Yet knowing these secrets hadn't increased Li En's beast transformation.

"No, you've increased. Otherwise, how could you have surpassed 10% and awakened Flower Transfer?"

Well, so one can board the train first and buy the ticket later—raise the beast transformation level first, then learn the reason behind it. This inversion of cause and effect—perhaps it's the snake's nature.

"I see. You're the Snake King—but not the entirety of snakes. Elsena (the deer), however, might be the entirety of deer." From the snake, Li En gained some ancient "common knowledge."

The "species" of beasts isn't fixed; ancient beasts and beasts are already clearly distinct—evolution isn't limited to humans.

But their attitudes toward "evolved species" differ entirely.

"Reproduction is always the first instinct of a Beast King. When beastly instincts take over, how does a Beast King treat the offspring of other strong beasts in the pack?" The snake spoke proudly; this simple matter was one of the decisive factors in the ancient civil wars. In nature, lion kings, deer kings, and others often monopolize mates.

Freed from restraint, they consider only their direct descendants as the pack's true heirs.

Thus, when a new Beast King emerges, the old king's bloodline is often killed; exile is considered kindness—the best outcome is becoming an outcast.

The gap between beasts and beast packs is even greater: Beast Kings regard themselves as the sole correct path of evolution.

How do they treat evolved or mutated species within the pack—those who might threaten their status? If all follow their path, it proves them right and makes surpassing them nearly impossible.

"Mutants have no right to reproduce. Most are purged outright; exile is considered mercy from the Beast Lord. Those who secretly reproduce to spawn new branches die horribly."

Beasts are kings of the pack—but by beastly instinct, it's better to say the Beast King owns the pack.

He doesn't owe the pack anything; the pack owes him, especially since many packs originated from the Beast King's own blood. As the sole parent, they believe they deserve everything.

"I'm technically a second-generation Snake King. The first was a stubborn old fool." Even natural snakes have branches—pythons, venomous snakes—and the differences among beast branches should be vast; without active suppression, hundreds of branches could emerge within centuries.

Thus, to maintain pack stability, newborn mutants were often executed outright.

Under such conditions, succession of Beast Kings was extremely difficult and rare.

But when a new Beast King rose, his first act was to reshape the entire pack in his own image.

Many mutants and those who took alternative evolutionary paths were purged; those who survived were masters of concealment.

Hearing this, Li En understood: beasts and beast-touched humans had no essential difference. If beast-touched humans had countless evolutionary paths, beasts had no reason not to.

Or, conversely, beast-touched humans' evolutionary paths might be the beasts' own.

"For the pack's strength, these mutants and evolved species are necessary. Tolerance of diversity is the brilliance of human society." The snake, unusually serious.

In nature, beast packs should be more diverse—otherwise, they'd easily perish under environmental pressure. But when Beast Kings gained high intelligence, they rejected this change.

They refused to see their pack evolve beyond them, refused to see their kingdom thrive without them. Beastly greed and selfishness, at this moment, stifled the pack's potential.

"Humans see other infants and find them adorable, instinctively drawn to them. But many beasts instantly recognize offspring of their kind—and eliminate them without hesitation."

To those Beast Kings and packs, this was perhaps necessary to preserve genetic purity.

Humans have reproductive urges too—but controlling instinct and beastly nature is the essential difference between man and beast.

One path seeks diverse pack evolution; the other seeks stable, eternal reproduction. Naturally, the two diverged.

The immortal king became an immortal disaster—he rejected all evolution beyond himself, rejected all other possibilities of change.

"Heh, beast civil wars, beast-touched civil wars—these aren't just about beasts and beast-touched. In the 'Seven Beasts Uprising,' besides our Seven Beasts, mutants, evolved species, and ancient strains from other packs were the true main force."

Now, Li En fully understood.

For many evolved and mutant species, whether they possessed humanity didn't matter—survival did.

Ultimately, war was about interest: these mutants fought for survival and reproduction rights—perhaps more fiercely than the Seven Beast lineages.

Compared to their own incomprehensible human hearts, breaking free from the Beast King's control held greater value for them.

At that moment, Li En fell silent. He recalled what Violet Rose had said: the deer princes in the Ten Thousand Beasts Kingdom wouldn't come to save their ancestors. "If the 'Deer' truly emerged, it would likely purge the pack first."

"One hundred percent. All these years, the deer herd is already 'impure.' The same goes for other packs—otherwise, how could they have let their ancestors be sealed? Of course, there are pure-blood factions—quite numerous."

Ancient knowledge helped Li En understand the present.

"So, the Seven Beasts Kingdom—"

"Yes. It's not just the Seven Beasts. Other packs' mutants likely exist too. But most ancient mutants from other packs died in the Seven Beasts Uprising; current numbers are probably few, since both sides' civil wars never truly stopped."

Now, Li En understood why the two magic girls had been urgently recalled.

Perhaps they could find two more deer within the Seven Beasts Kingdom and form contracts with them?

"No." The snake rejected the possibility.

"Finding two mutant deer with compatible souls is too difficult. Better to find two young 'horses'—call them deer, make do. Horses are also part of the Seven Beasts Alliance."

"Ha!" Li En laughed. That Earth joke was perfect.

But the snake didn't laugh—only watched him silently.

"Uh… you're serious?"

"Dead serious. Their bloodlines are distant, but fundamentally similar. With my ability, I can confuse them. Heh—you can look forward to new racehorse girls." Clearly, Li Ensu had played his share of games.

"Crack." At that moment, the carriage halted.

Their destination had arrived without notice; lost in beast lore, Li En hadn't realized the caravan had entered the city queue.

He instinctively opened the window—and the first thing he saw was the knightly detachment leaving the city.

And the foremost rider instantly captured all his attention.

Fully armored, Dainya rode beneath the battle banner, her golden hair gleaming in the sunlight.

Instantly, Li En froze—he remembered his "promise."

"Go hug her, lift her up, make up for her fatherless childhood—or do you want to break your promise and lose your Holy Knight power?" The snake, aware of Li En's "Oath of Promise," chuckled merrily.

Li En fell silent. So you've been waiting for this, you bastard!

But now—could he retreat?

Li En gritted his teeth, leapt from the vehicle, spread his arms, and charged toward the Princess!

(End of Chapter)