Chapter 170: The Beast King and the Beast Horde

"Crack." The carriage wheel rolled over a stone, causing a slight jolt, yet it continued moving forward steadily.

The small interlude passed in a flash, and the caravan, having been robbed, set out on its journey once more.

The atmosphere in the merchant caravan was actually quite good; the merchants even asked the bard to sing a cheerful song. For them, the moment they were intercepted, they might have already thought of death; surviving was already great fortune.

Listening to the cheerful singing outside the carriage and seeing the other merchants inside who were overjoyed, Li En truly felt the complete difference between the two worlds.

In a peaceful world, encountering highwaymen and bandits, even if no one was hurt, could cause lifelong psychological trauma.

But in this world, after being robbed and yet keeping their lives, the survivors mostly felt only joy.

They seemed very adapted to the storms, accustomed to forgetting.

"Heh, this is a world accustomed to plundering and being plundered. Not accustomed? If you're not accustomed, that's correct."

The snake, at some unknown time, had already lain upon Li En's shoulder.

He watched Li En flipping through the book, attempting to understand new spells, and seemed quite interested.

"Scorching Ray? A good spell, quite suitable for you."

Compared to the subtle effect of the level-one Burning Hands, the level-two spell already possessed considerable practical value; especially with Scorching Ray in the fire magic repertoire, it roughly matched Li En's current needs.

This was a multi-segment fire damage spell; at the early stage, it could shoot three segments of fire rays to cause damage. Since the model was a "ray," it also possessed the practical advantages of faster casting speed and extremely fast spell flight speed.

The drawback was that it could be blocked or defended against, and the single-segment damage was relatively low, especially fearing abilities from the elemental protection school.

"... Pity, your Soul's ability development is too low; otherwise, you could combine Scorching Ray with armor-piercing capabilities. At your current stage, the effect would be excellent."

"Heh, sounds great, but unrealistic."

Li En smiled; the big shots never knew the pain of new recruits. Only Soul abilities of Gold tier or above could attach themselves to spells (Soul Possession state).

At that time, he probably wouldn't be far from a Great Knight, right?

"... No, that's wrong. My Thousand-Faced Dragon's Soul ability, although it reduces the effect of Hero Soul abilities, can increase a Hero Soul's ability by one tier; then, Bai Yin would be enough?!"

【Soul: Thousand-Faced Dragon (Raw Stone): Allows you to link and use other Li En's Soul abilities, and grants a species-level bonus of +1 on the species level; ability effects can reach 80% of the original version. Current link limit: one.】

If it were Gold, that would require reaching the edge of a Great Knight (Fifth Tier), but if it were Bai Yin level, a Third-Tier Paladin might achieve it!

That really didn't seem too far away! Su Er's gift was still there, and the new physical hardware was sufficient to support the needs of a Third-Tier Paladin.

The rest seemed to be only further ascetic training.

"It actually seems to work!" Li En's gaze toward the snake held a bit more gratitude.

He had left his ascended Raw Stone-tier Soul ability alone without managing it, but the veteran's experience could instantly organize Li En's abilities and see the areas that could most improve combat power.

Li En then realized the greatest treasure was right beside him.

Recalling the Lich who had been showing off not long ago, Li En clenched his fist.

"Then, do you want to specialize in Mage or Paladin first? To be honest, both take quite a lot of time." The snake flicked its tail, giving Li En another choice.

Li En fell silent for a moment and made a judgment.

"I want both; physically practicing the Paladin class, and using a second thought thread to analyze level-two magic to supplement magical knowledge."

Li En originally thought his greed would earn him the snake's mockery, but the result was the other party's happy smile.

"As expected of a greedy dragon; as the Thousand-Faced Dragon, you should be this greedy."

It seemed he quite approved, but perhaps that snake pupil hid new mischief.

Seeing the snake in a good mood, Li En casually asked about the newly acquired bloodline ability "Grafting."

He had used it several times, but it was completely ineffective.

This wasn't the ability to "deceive others" failing, but rather he simply didn't know how to activate it.

"Tsk tsk tsk, regardless, this is a spell and a talent ability; you lack the foundation in this aspect. Perhaps you can find some tricks in the Psionic class; at least know how to release psychic energy to interfere with the opponent." The snake answered cheerfully; this was indeed the plain truth, and the Psionic class could indeed help Li En understand the use of Grafting by analogy.

However, the root cause of Li En's complete inability to use it was actually that he lacked the bloodline ability "Snake's Whisper."

One must first learn to amplify or shrink the opponent's subconscious and desires before further learning how to mislead or correct consciousness.

And the snake would not admit this was its fault.

"Perhaps your talent is average and needs a little extra technique."

Li En rubbed the back of his head and sighed; recalling his talent in magical cultivation, he accepted it.

By the way, because the snake's situation was truly special and it did not possess Li En, his psychic energy was also at the normal standard; the result was that his class cultivation also encountered some difficulties.

But the snake's existence indeed let Li En know many secrets, especially those related to beasts.

Previously, the snake mentioned the "difference between the Seven Beasts and the Ten Thousand Beasts"; he didn't hide it much either. After teasing Li En a little, he said it directly... And knowing these secrets, Li En's beastification degree did not increase.

"No, you did increase. Otherwise, how could you exceed 10% and awaken Grafting?"

Well, it turns out one can get on the bus first and make up the lessons later; first pull up the beastification degree, then make up the cause of the beastification... This characteristic of reversing cause and effect might also be the snake's essence.

"I see, you are the Snake King, but not the entirety of the snakes, but Elsen (Deer) might be the entirety of the deer." From the snake, Li En obtained some "common sense" from ancient times.

The "species" of the Beast Horde is not completely fixed; in fact, ancient beasts and beasts already have obvious distinctions; evolution is not limited to humans alone.

However, regarding the attitude toward "evolved species," the two sides are two different matters.

"Reproduction is always the Beast King's first instinct; a Beast King with beastly instincts on their brain, how would they treat the cubs of other strong beasts within the Horde?" The snake said proudly; this matter sounds simple, but it was one of the deciding factors in the civil war back then. In nature's beast hordes, Lion Kings, Deer Kings, and so on, many monopolize the opposite sex.

Those who indulge their instincts often only regard their direct lineage as the descendants of the Horde.

It is also for this reason that if a new Beast King appears in many hordes, the old Beast King's bloodline might also be killed; being expelled counts as friendly, and the best outcome is becoming a marginal figure of the clan.

And the gap between beasts and the Beast Horde is even greater; the Beast King often regards themselves as the only correct path of evolution for the clan.

How would they treat evolved species and mutated species within the clan, and those existences that might threaten their status... If everyone walks their own path, it not only proves oneself correct but also makes it basically impossible to surpass oneself.

"Mutated species have no right to reproduce; most of them will be directly cleaned up; being exiled already counts as the Beast Lord's kindness. Those who secretly reproduce to create new Horde branches basically die quite miserably..."

Beasts are the kings of the clan, but according to beastly instincts, it should be said that the Beast King possesses the Horde.

It does not need to be responsible for the Horde; the Horde should contribute to it, especially since many hordes are originally the result of the Beast King splitting off their own blood... As the sole parents, they feel they rightfully own everything.

"I actually count as the second-generation Snake King; the first generation was also an old stubborn one." Just the combat methods of snakes in nature alone have branches like pythons and venomous snakes; the distinctions between various beast branches should be extremely large; if not actively curbed, there could be thousands of branches in a few hundred years.

Then, to maintain the stability of the Horde, newly born mutated species might be directly executed.

Under such circumstances, the replacement of the Beast King is extremely difficult and rare.

But whenever a new Beast King arises, the first thing it does is reshape the entire herd entirely in its own image.

Many mutant species and those that evolved along other paths were purged by the herd; those that survived were usually masters of concealment.

Hearing this, Li En understood: beasts and beast-blooded humans are not fundamentally different. If beast-blooded humans have diverse evolutionary paths, beasts have no reason not to.

Or put another way, the evolutionary paths of beast-blooded humans may also be the evolutionary paths of beasts.

"For the strength of the族群, these mutant and evolved species are necessary. Only by accepting diversity can a human society shine." The snake, unusually serious, said.

In nature, beast herds ought to be more diverse; otherwise, they would easily perish under environmental pressures. But when a Beast King gains high intelligence, it rejects this very change.

They refuse to see the herd evolve beyond themselves, refuse to see their kingdom thrive without them. Beastly greed and selfishness, at this moment, stifle the族群's potential.

"When humans see other infants, they find them adorable and instinctively draw near. But many beasts, upon seeing the young of their own kind, instantly recognize them—and eliminate them without hesitation."

For those Beast Kings and herds, this may simply be necessary to maintain genetic purity.

Humans, too, have reproductive urges—but the ability to control instinct and beastly nature is the essential difference between humans and beasts.

One族群 pursues evolutionary diversity; the other pursues stable, enduring reproduction. Naturally, a rift emerged between them.

The immortal King has become, seemingly, an immortal disaster—he rejected all evolutionary paths beyond his own, and all possibilities of alternative change.

"Ha. Beast civil wars, beast-blooded human civil wars—nature's conflicts are not merely between beasts and beast-blooded humans. During the 'Seven Beasts' Rebellion,' besides our Seven Beasts, the mutant, evolved, and ancient species within other herds were the true main forces."

Now, Li En fully understood.

For many evolved and mutant species, whether they possess humanity is irrelevant—survival is what matters most.

Ultimately, the war was still about interests. Those mutant species, fighting for the right to survive and reproduce, may be even more frantic than the Seven Beast lineages.

Compared to human hearts, which they cannot even comprehend, breaking free from the Beast King's control holds far greater value for them.

At this moment, Li En fell silent. He recalled what Violet Rose had said: the Deer Princes in the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Beasts would never come to save their ancestral "Deer." If the real "Deer" ever emerged, it would likely purge the herd at once.

"One hundred percent. After all these years, the deer herd is already 'impure.' Ha. Other herds are the same—otherwise, how could they have allowed their ancestors to be sealed? Of course, there are pure-blood factions, and they are numerous."

Ancient knowledge allowed Li En to understand the current situation.

"So, the Seven Beasts' Kingdom—"

"Yes, it's not just the Seven Beasts there. There should be some mutant species from other herds too. But most ancient mutant species from other herds died in the Seven Beasts' Rebellion. The surviving numbers are probably few, since the internal war between both sides has never truly ceased."

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

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

"No." The snake, however, rejected this possibility.

"Finding two mutant deer with soul compatibility is too difficult. Better to find two same-aged 'horses'—pretend the deer is a horse, and make do." The horse is also a member of the Seven Beasts Alliance.

"Haha." Li En laughed. This Earth joke was excellent.

But the snake did not laugh. It merely watched him silently.

"Uh… you're not serious, are you?"

"I am serious. Their bloodlines are distant, but their essence is quite similar. With my ability, I can confuse them. Ha—you can look forward to new Racehorse Maidens." Clearly, Li En's some games had not been played in vain.

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

The destination had arrived without notice; lost in knowledge of beasts, Li En had not realized the caravan had entered the city queue.

He instinctively opened the window. The first thing he saw was the cavalry unit departing the city.

And the one at the very front instantly captured all his attention.

Fully armored, Dai Niya rode beneath the battle standard, her golden hair shimmering in the sunlight.

Instantly, Li En froze. He remembered his "promise."

"Go hug her, lift her up, make up for her fatherless childhood—perhaps you'd rather break the promise and lose your Holy Knight's power?" The snake, aware of Li En's "Oath of Compliance," smiled cheerfully.

Li En fell silent. So you've been waiting for me here!

But now—could he retreat?

Li En gritted his teeth, leapt from the carriage, and opened his arms, rushing toward the Princess!

(End of Chapter)