Lacking support, Dai Mubai still led the charge, single-handedly withstanding the first wave of attacks from the spirit beasts charging towards the student team.
Meanwhile, Auschwitz, currently the team's strongest ranged attacker and defender, guarded the rear. Here, he could use his Flame Armor Shield to block dangers from the rear, and his precise ranged spirit tools to provide immediate support to the front and flanks. The
right flank was entrusted to Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu, while Ning Rongrong, the lowest-level support-type spirit master in the team, unsurprisingly stood in the center. However, Ning Rongrong was no longer the support-type spirit master who relied entirely on her teammates for damage. Unable to accept being a burden, she had become a qualified level-two spirit master. While not exceptionally strong in combat, she provided above-average support attacks and, most importantly, a degree of self-defense capability in the face of attack, easing the defensive burden on her teammates.
After changing clothes and adjusting their positions, the trainees did not immediately set off again. Instead, they remained in place, maintaining a state of alert and communicating using their communication soul tools. Their current location was in the very outer edge of Sunset Forest, a place where even ten-year-level soul beasts were rare—perfect for discussing matters.
Oschin spoke first: "During the midday break, I bought a topographical map in the town outside the forest, which included the inner and outer circles of the forest. I also found out two pieces of information that might be useful to us.
Two weeks ago, someone in town saw a thousand-year-old Flameburst Tiger in the lava zone of the inner circle of the forest. The Flameburst Tiger's attack power is extremely strong. If the age is right, it should be a good choice for Boss Dai's fourth spirit ring.
However, the situation in the lava zone has been somewhat complicated recently. A hegemon-level spirit beast, the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard, deep within the lava zone seems to be about to give birth. It's not only extremely irritable and easily angered, but it also frequently rushes out of the lava zone's depths to wreak havoc due to some disturbances on the outer perimeter.
You can imagine that if we fight the Flameburst Tiger within the lava zone, the resulting shockwaves are very likely to attract this sensitive behemoth. According to intelligence, this Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard's cultivation level is around eight or nine thousand years. If we collide with it, it might cause some trouble."
"A sub-dragon-type spirit beast with this level of cultivation is indeed beyond our team's capabilities," Dai Mubai, who had been listening intently because it concerned his own spirit ring selection, reacted the moment Oschin paused. It was clear
from Dai Mubai's reaction that he supported obtaining a fourth spirit ring from the Flameburst Tiger; however, the presence of the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard made him hesitant about venturing into the lava zone.
"Here's what I'm thinking: we can go to the lava zone first to confirm the Flameburst Tiger's exact cultivation level," Oschin said, sensing Dai Mubai's interest. He didn't rush to share his second piece of information but instead began to explain his own thoughts after receiving the news.
"If the Flameburst Tiger's age is indeed suitable, then we can use some methods to avoid a direct confrontation with it in the lava zone.
I have some tranquilizer grenades and smoke bombs made from the potent anesthetic Xiao San gave me before. We can try to tranquilize the Flameburst Tiger from a distance, then put a binding soul tool on it and take it away from the lava zone.
This way, we'll make much less noise and shouldn't attract that Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard from the depths of the lava zone. Of course, this also depends on luck. If the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard happens to be attracted by something else, then there's nothing we can do."
"Ha, there's no such thing as absolute safety when you're in the Soul Beast Forest. Let's do what Xiao Ao suggested.
If we're unlucky enough to run into the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard, even if we can't beat it, running away shouldn't be a problem. Didn't Oscar recently make each of us a level four anti-gravity soul-guided skateboard that allows for low-altitude high-speed flight? That skateboard is fast enough to outrun the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard."
And so, the students' first destination in their journey into the Sunset Forest was decided to be the lava zone. As for the location, Oscar had already uploaded the map he bought at noon to Seva's processor, and it was now displayed on everyone's soul guide mask. The location of the lava zone had been marked by Oscar with a striking red star.
"Alright, Boss Dai's soul ring is temporarily settled again. Now tell me about the second piece of news you got." Oscar promptly steered the conversation back to the information his younger brother had gathered.
"Well, I'll continue. This is news about a Shadow Cat family. Shadow Cats are relatively rare jungle feline soul beasts that live in groups based on family ties. They possess both speed and attack power, making them a good choice for Zhu Qing's third soul ring.
However, this information wasn't specifically bought from an intelligence merchant; I heard it in a tavern in town. You should know that news circulating in taverns is either exaggerated or distorted, or it means there's trouble to resolve.
Just like Boss Dai's Flameburst Tiger, if we..." If we're really going to use the Shadow Cat as Zhu Qing's third spirit ring, then we'll face some troubles that might be beyond our team's capabilities.
First, there's the location. The Shadow Cats I'm referring to live in the middle to inner part of Sunset Forest. Spirit beasts that can have their own territory in that area are either exceptionally talented, live in packs, or are incredibly powerful.
We need to be extremely cautious when traversing this area. If we make too much noise, or get entangled by some spirit beast, we'll likely find it difficult to escape on our own.
The second problem... This is due to the habits of the Shadow Cats. As I mentioned earlier, Shadow Cats live in family groups, typically consisting of five to ten individuals.
This population size means we have a high probability of finding a suitable target for Zhu Qing within our target group. However, this population size also means we might encounter Shadow Cats with higher cultivation levels.
Considering the location of this group of Shadow Cats, it's not impossible that there might be a Shadow Cat within this group with a cultivation level similar to that of the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard. Our opponents are very likely to be both numerous and powerful.
And there's a third... This is a problem. You should all have seen the location I marked by now. It's a karst cave system dotted with streams and waterfalls, lush with trees, abundant water, and caves for hiding.
This basically means that besides the Shadow Cat family, a large number of herbivorous spirit beasts also live in this area. Although herbivorous spirit beasts aren't particularly aggressive, they can essentially be considered the Shadow Cats' spies.
If we cause a disturbance among these herbivorous spirit beasts during our operation, I believe the Shadow Cat pack will definitely gather and attack us."
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