Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive
Chapter 120 - 117: Egg Pancake’s Evolutionary Branch
’A breakthrough?’ Han Ning’s expression shifted.
Enveloped in a halo of light, Egg Pancake’s body slowly began to expand.
It didn’t stop changing until it had grown to nearly 1.8 meters tall.
The light dissipated.
The wounds from the previous Soul Techniques were gone without a trace.
Its rock-like skin, though plain and unadorned, exuded a profound sense of security.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The Entry Level IV Venom Cutting struck Egg Pancake’s body and shattered on impact, exploding into a shower of purple droplets.
However... even after a successful promotion, Egg Pancake was still just a newly-minted Entry Level IV. Facing the frenzied assault from the mushroom-head of the same level, it wasn’t long before its body was covered in dense, fine scratches again.
Egg Pancake slowly clenched its claws, as if sensing the power surging through its body.
Han Ning saw mud continuously oozing from its body and rapidly converging between its claws.
"REEEAARGH!"
Egg Pancake clenched its claws. The thick mud at its fingertips roiled as it threw a punch.
FWOOSH!
Brownish-black mud erupted from Egg Pancake’s fingertips like a fountain, instantly engulfing everything in front of it and slamming it all to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Egg Pancake rose up on its sturdy hind legs and stomped heavily on the ground!
It took several powerful strides forward.
Its sharp claws left faint, earth-yellow trails of light in the air.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
A series of dull thuds rang out.
The next moment, all that remained were immobilized mushroom-heads encased in mud—all except for the Entry Level IV one.
Egg Pancake stopped abruptly before the Entry Level IV mushroom-head, which was trapped in a mass of mud. It extended its claws, now flashing with yellow light, and swiped.
A slice of the purple mushroom cap flew into the air as translucent fluid sprayed a meter high like a fountain.
"Alright, Egg Pancake, come back."
[
Race: Swamp Guardian
Sex: Male
Talent: F
Level: Entry Level IV (2/400)
Talent: None
Acquired Soul Techniques: Wandering Tongue Entanglement IV (214/400), Mud Missile IV (199/300)
Power: 13.2
Body: 16.1
Agility: 15
Spiritual Energy: 3.7
Elemental Affinity (Earth): 1.8
Fire: 0.5
]
’It’s Entry Level IV now. It should reach its limit in the next couple of days. We can start preparing for its evolution.’
The Mushroom Forest was not a safe place, so Han Ning and his two Soul Beasts quickly cleaned up the battlefield and made a hasty retreat.
...
In less than half an hour, they returned safely to the academy grounds.
As they reached the gate to the dormitory area, they saw a large, bustling crowd gathered at the entrance of Building A.
’What happened?’ he wondered, pushing through the crowd.
In the open space by the entrance stood an ugly Insect-man, his body bound by vines. Only his arms—a pair of black, three-pronged insectoid limbs—were free.
He was holding a twig-like Insect Flute and playing it softly.
A meter in front of him, a 50-centimeter-long insect that resembled a firefly hovered a few dozen centimeters above the ground. The tip of its abdomen glowed fiery red, and under the flute’s influence, it flew in continuous circles.
This time, however, the sound from the Insect Flute didn’t cause the dizziness and confusion it had before.
Aside from the melody’s peculiar tone, there was nothing unusual about it.
Lena, a woman with blonde hair coiled up and faint wrinkles on her face, stood beside the Insect-man. She was mimicking his actions, slowly playing an Insect Flute of her own.
In front of her was a slightly smaller version of the red firefly.
But this firefly wasn’t as obedient under Lena’s piping. It zipped about erratically in a three-meter radius like a fly with its head cut off.
"The Insect-man agreed to teach Lena how to play the flute?" Han Ning asked quietly, walking over to Lü Xiuning, who was on guard duty.
"Hmph. The more intelligent a creature is, the more it fears death," Lü Xiuning sneered, his gaze locked on the flute-playing Insect-man. "Under the threat of death, they’ll teach whether they want to or not."
"Don’t be fooled by how obedient he seems now. Just two days ago, he was the one commanding the swarm that killed dozens of our Silver Lotus Wood."
"Lena has gotten more useful intel from the Insect-man over the past two days. We’ll discuss the details after they’re done playing."
"Alright."
About ten minutes later, the flute performance ended. The Insect-man was escorted back to the quiet room where he was being held and locked away.
Han Ning and the others returned to the meeting room in Building A.
The same dozen or so people from last time were present.
A dozen or so sheets of paper were laid out on the table in front of Lena.
She picked up the top sheet, cleared her throat, and began. "After further communication with the Insect-man over the past two days, we’ve learned that some of the intelligence we gathered on day one was incorrect."
"The beings superior to the Insect-men don’t just lead a single tribe or village. They command two to three settlements, each with several hundred Insect-men."
"My deduction was wrong. When the Insect-man referred to slaves, it didn’t mean they are actual slaves in their social structure. It’s more of an expression of reverence and fear toward the strong."
"In fact, the three Insect-men we captured hold a certain status within their tribe. Not all Insect-men can command swarms with their flutes; only a minority who possess the Talent for Spiritual Power are capable of it."
’So that’s how it is... If every Insect-man were that powerful, our chances of survival would be slim.’
Hearing this, Han Ning let out a long sigh of relief.
But before he could fully exhale...
Lena observed everyone’s expressions, and her own suddenly turned serious.
"But... that doesn’t mean we’re safe."
"In every tribe of 200 to 500 individuals, there are five to ten Insect-men who can control the swarms. They are the chief’s direct subordinates. The ones we encountered... were the entire elite force of a single tribe."