King of Beasts

Chapter 171: Prize Time

The Sudden Death King Blocks Damage!

General Ha Attacks!

This battle strategy had been practiced countless times by Lu Ran and his team during their confrontations with the Diamond Dragon.

It was evident that the members of the Imperial faction had no capability to break the defense of the Sudden Death King, who was like a boss-level entity.

Had they been better prepared, perhaps they would have had a slim chance of victory.

However, due to inadequate intelligence gathering and their focus on preparing fire and light weapons, they ended up falling into a big trap.

Of course, when fighting Lu Ran, these beastmasters of the Imperial faction had one particular advantage.

That was sheer numbers.

Although the Sudden Death King had strong defense abilities, continuously defending would also consume its energy.

With more people on their side, they could keep attacking persistently, and it was only a matter of time before they wore the Sudden Death King out.

If the Sudden Death King were alone, it certainly wouldn’t last long.

The sheer number of skills the opposition could unleash would eventually overwhelm the Sudden Death King.

Besides, there were a few members of the Golden Generation who could actually harm it.

However, what made this battle tough for the Imperial faction was that, apart from the heavily defensive Sudden Death King, there was also a powerful offensive threat on the other side.

“Awoooo~~~~”

With a sword grass in its mouth, General Ha unleashed a dozen fierce gales of sword qi.

The green light, like ghostly spirits, covered the sky, causing panic in everyone.

Countless waves of sword qi flew out; at this moment, the four members of the Knights of Light Order could no longer spare attention to protect the Imperial Army. They concentrated all their focus on Lu Ran.

The Princess of Light, the Glory Knight, the Moonlight Knight, and the Sunlight Knight all moved to the flanks. With the Sudden Death King blocking the front, it was difficult to harm Lu Ran directly, so they aimed to attack from the sides and rear.

In the front, the Rock Monarch and hundreds of Imperial soldiers were left to attract Lu Ran’s attention.

“Now!!!”

After the initial assault, General Ha shattered the rock that was sealing the bone sword and decided to use sword control again. Clearly, sword control consumed less energy and was more suitable for dealing with scattered and numerous enemies.

However, as the Princess of Light and her team moved, General Ha had no choice but to abandon its fight against the Imperial Army and use sword control to pursue them, preventing their flanking attacks on Lu Ran.

At this moment, seeing the Sudden Death King blocking the frontal assault and General Ha’s attention being diverted, the Princess of Light gave a command. Instantly, the Sunlight Knight vanished, hidden by the light, and reappeared on the Sunbird!

Teleportation!!!

Buzz!

Spatial ripples flickered, and the Sunlight Knight’s figure instantly appeared behind Lu Ran.

Immediately, the Necromancer Legion, following Lu Ran’s command, moved to seal off the battlefield.

The Sudden Death King was withstanding attacks at the front.

Meanwhile, General Ha’s focus was drawn away.

In this situation, Lu Ran found himself in his most vulnerable state, with no pet beast to protect him!

The Sunlight Knight opted for a decapitation strategy!

“Die!!!” The Sunlight Knight held a bow and arrow. As he drew the bow, sunlight converged, forming an arrow of sunlight aimed directly at Lu Ran’s head.

Boom.

However.

What should have been a perfect sneak attack was disrupted by a sudden sense of foreboding that made the Sunlight Knight shudder.

Lu Ran, demonstrating keen perception, turned to look at the arrow of sunlight.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I knew you’d come.”

“Did you misunderstand something?”

“Who told you I was the weak link?”

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As Lu Ran finished speaking.

Buzz! Countless threads of fire gathered, forming the flaming armor of the Flame Dragon, covering Lu Ran’s entire body. Then, with a wave of his arm, he shaped a flaming sword. Immediately, a wave of flaming sword qi surged forth!

Bang!

The flaming sword qi instantly devoured the arrow of sunlight. The Sunlight Knight’s pupils shrank. He intended to have the spatial hamster on his shoulder teleport him away, but then he noticed another force within Lu Ran, distinct from the power of flames!

Swish!!

An intense chill, directed by Lu Ran’s gaze, enveloped the Sunlight Knight and the spatial hamster, freezing them in place like ice sculptures.

After the Flame Dragon Sword Intent… came the seamless switch to the Blizzard Sword Intent!

One wave of sword qi for offense, another wave of sword intent for control; Lu Ran, like a human-shaped ferocious beast, completely suppressed the Sunlight Knight.

It should be noted that Lu Ran’s beast taming skills, both Super Beast Mimicry and the Flame Sprite, were extraordinary powers drawn into himself. At this moment, Lu Ran combined the advantageous attributes and combat techniques of both General Ha and the Sudden Death King… Attacking him was a grave mistake.

Boom!!!

The Sunlight Knight and his cohorts, their sneak attack foiled, were instantly obliterated by Lu Ran!

“Sunlight!!!”

This scene left the three members of the Knights Order, who were being pursued by several bone swords, utterly shocked.

Of course, the five Third Generation members, who were nothing more than burdens to the Knights Order, were equally shaken. They were not particularly skilled in combat and found themselves dumbfounded in this situation. Their only option was to blend into the Beast Taming Army, joining the attack on the Sudden Death King.

“We’re doomed, doomed,” one of them kept muttering, “Why did it have to be him?!”

“Is this guy planning to solo all hundred of us?”

“Damn, I didn’t understand the phrase ‘suppress an era’ until now. Now I get it.”

However, the most critical issue was that the morale of the Imperial Army had already collapsed!

Lu Ran and his allies didn’t even need to face the hundreds of fighters head-on!

In army combat, if one side’s casualty rate reaches 20-30%, the entire legion is on the brink of collapse.

If both sides were evenly matched, it might still be possible to hold morale together and continue fighting.

But with so many of their own dead, and the enemy unscathed, plus their endless reserves, only a fool would keep fighting.

Anyone could see the situation clearly at this point.

Throughout history, legion battles have always been this way: once the casualty rate reaches a certain threshold, the will to fight is lost. Very few armies fight to the last man, and it was clear that this Imperial Army did not possess such fortitude.

So now, except for the four members of the Sunlight Knights Order who were genuinely committed to killing Lu Ran to complete their mission, the rest of the Imperial Army started to scatter and flee, forced to fight as they ran.

Unfortunately.

Lu Ran had anticipated this scenario perfectly.

An endless stream of the Necromancer Legion surrounded the fleeing Imperial stragglers, making escape impossible.

In this predicament, these stragglers preferred to take their chances against the necromancers, seeking a slim chance of escape, rather than confronting Lu Ran on the battlefield.

“Ugh-“

Soon, as members of the Imperial Army tried to flee, some were injured by the Necromancer Legion.

Seeing this, Lu Ran, who “cherished his soldiers like his own children,” felt his heart clench and his eyes redden.

Don’t run, or you’ll be consumed by the evil necromancers!

Afraid of losing out on the experience points, Lu Ran’s heart-wrenching emotions were immediately conveyed to General Ha and the Sudden Death King through telepathy.

These two also knew that injuries to their own necromancers or losing kills to the Imperial faction would lower their rating, so they instantly tapped into even greater potential, their combat momentum more ferocious than ever.

“Howl!!!”

In addition to the nine bone flying swords, General Ha’s soul power surged, finally unleashing the sword grass it held in its mouth.

In an instant, the gigantic head of the Rock Monarch on the frontal battlefield was pierced through!

But elemental lifeforms are tricky; no matter how severe their injuries, they quickly reform through elemental regeneration, much like how the Sudden Death King’s Thunder Dragon armor can reshape and regenerate as long as it receives an energy supply.

Although the Rock Monarch was crushed in an instant, its injuries quickly began to heal.

But even this brief moment was enough.

No longer needing to fully defend against the Rock Monarch’s attacks, the Sudden Death King opened its jaws, its gaze locking onto the chaotic battlefield.

At this point, aside from the frontal Rock Monarch, there were no more attackers, making it the perfect time for a counterattack.

“Roar!!!!”

The roar of the Thunder Dragon!!

Having endured for so long, the accumulated Domineering Energy, combined with its electrical discharge, turned into a massive lightning beam blasted from the Sudden Death King’s mouth, sweeping across the battlefield in an instant!!!

Boom!!!

As the Thunder Dragon’s roar swept through, countless beastmasters and their pet beasts were blasted away, their bodies charred black by the lightning. The Rock Monarch’s body was also instantly engulfed by the thunder, its injuries worsening, and its regeneration interrupted.

Of course, most importantly, the five third-generation beastmasters were, without exception, devoured by the Sudden Death King’s counterattack, their eyes filled with despair as they perished.

“Choices are really important…”

At this moment, they nearly had “Why didn’t I choose the Necromancer faction?” written all over their faces.

If they had chosen the Undead faction, wouldn’t they have directly received Lu Ran’s support and breezed through?

Golden Generation, to hell with the Golden Generation Knights Order!

“What a joke…”

By this time, Gory and the others had already made it to the battlefield.

Seeing the one-sided slaughter that was taking place, they were instantly wide-eyed.

Looking at the Beast Taming Army, now a broken mess, and the chaotic battlefield, they swallowed hard in unison.

“Damn it, damn it.”

Realizing the tide had completely turned against them, the Glory Knights were at their wits’ end.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Although they managed to shatter General Ha’s bone sword with all their might, there were simply too few of them left to reverse the overwhelming situation.

The soul-powered General Ha, expertly wielding multiple flying swords, had mastered battlefield control and segmentation to an extreme degree, isolating the Princess of Light and her comrades in no time.

“Rock Monarch!” Under these circumstances, the desperate Princess of Light, mounted on an upper commander-level glowing unicorn, had no choice but to recall the battered Rock Monarch and issue retreat orders to the two knights mounted on upper commander-level Holy Light Lions.

There are still a few days left!

There’s still a chance!

As long as there are mountains, there’s wood to burn.

Clearly, they no longer wanted to face Lu Ran head-on. Even though they knew Lu Ran’s side had also expended considerable energy-especially the giant dragon, which seemed nearly spent-the unassailed Necromancer Legion, loyal to their “Holy Son,” had yet to make their move.

In such a hopeless situation, fighting to the death was not a viable option.

If they were ordinary challengers with a fail-safe mechanism, they might have gambled everything and fought to the last. After all, they could just try again in the next secret realm. But as elite Fourth Generation talents, they were not willing to die here.

Even if the mission failed, retreating and surviving for 30 days in the secret realm to continue their cultivation was far better than being annihilated and subsequently falling into months of forced recuperation.

Time is money.

Unfortunately for them, their judgment-though correct-meant nothing to Lu Ran, who only saw them as essential for maintaining his rating. He didn’t care what they thought, didn’t care about their feelings, and certainly didn’t care about offending them.

He was determined to annihilate everyone to secure his rating.

“General Ha.”

Light faction pet beasts have undeniably swift movement speeds.

However…

They encountered the unreasonable power of General Ha.

“Awooo!!!”

To swiftly end the battle, General Ha, despite being injured all over, compressed Gale to over twenty times its usual force across its entire body.

Utilizing the Energy Flow Technique: Gale.

This formed a brand-new skill: Divine Speed.

With sword grass clutched in its jaws, General Ha’s fur fluttered, its form becoming an indistinct blur. At this moment, it resembled a green streak of lightning, appearing instantly before the Moonlight Knight, who was mounted on a Holy Light Lion.

“Heal!” The Moonlight Knight, clutching a light-element firefly in one hand, was trying to heal his pet beast’s wounds while fleeing. But in the blink of an eye, his horrified expression was consumed by a sweep of sword qi.

“Moonlight!!!”

Seeing yet another comrade torn apart beside them, the Princess and the Glory Knight’s eyes turned red. But more than sorrow or rage, their hearts were filled with a deep-seated terror.

Even though they knew they wouldn’t die permanently, it was still the first time any of them had experienced “death.”

“This dog…!” Looking at General Ha, who was radiating energy compressed to over twenty times its usual amount and soaked in blood, its speed surpassing even that of light-element pet beasts, they shuddered with fear.

Total lunatic!

These were their last thoughts. Though they put up a valiant resistance, within a few rounds, they too met their demise!

“Perfect!”

“But…”

Lu Ran glanced toward where deserters were still battling the Necromancer Legion, his eyes specifically on the Imperial Army captain, Kane, who was locked in combat with Gory. He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“I’m too weak.”

As a result, some necromancers were injured, and some Imperial soldiers were killed by necromancers.

“Without absolute power, achieving perfection is impossible,” Lu Ran muttered, saying something that would make anyone want to smack him.

[I need… a mage-type pet beast that can master large-scale area-of-effect attack skills if I encounter this kind of secret realm again.]

General Ha was still more suited for one-on-one duels.

And the Sudden Death King was best used as a tank.

Although they could manage group attacks to some extent, it wasn’t their main specialty. What Lu Ran needed was a pet beast that had perfected its capabilities in one specific area.

“Next up, it’s time to clear the battlefield,” Lu Ran quickly called General Ha and the Sudden Death King to join him in farming the remaining enemies for extra rating points.

At the same time…

“Run, run for your lives!!!!” The Imperial Army soldiers, seeing Lu Ran advancing, broke out with renewed strength and frantically tried to break through the Necromancers’ encirclement.

But… it was futile.

A brutal, bloody battle quickly concluded, with smoke and bloodshed marking its end.

…

This fantastical battle almost made the numerous Necromancers of the necromancer faction fall to their knees in admiration of Lu Ran.

The Mingan faction achieved an all-around victory without any surprises.

After annihilating the Imperial Army and returning to Mingan, the missionary Gory celebrated grandly, completely convinced by Lu Ran’s monstrous strength. It even filled him with hope of seeing Lu Ran become the Holy Son of the Holy Church in the future.

If possible, he was willing to lead his followers in fully supporting Lu Ran and join whatever faction Lu Ran chose in the future!

However…

After this victorious return, Lu Ran fell into silence within Mingan. No different from before the battle, he continued quietly researching soul cuisine. This scene left Gory, Hei Yu, and others speechless.

Geniuses… are they all like this?

At this moment, what Lu Ran cared about the most was the breakthrough reward.

Although he had annihilated the enemy, the success criteria for the breakthrough task was the control of Mingan after 14 days, so the task was far from over.

Even though the Imperial faction had been wiped out, if any contingencies they left behind managed to destroy Mingan, Lu Ran would still fail.

Fortunately, nothing out of the ordinary happened until the 14th day.

And finally, Lu Ran’s breakthrough reward arrived.

[Congratulations, you have completed the breakthrough task.]

[Rating: SSS-Level!]

[Congratulations, you have obtained 1 million crystal coins.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained a contract card (bound).]

[Congratulations, you have obtained an exquisite-level resource: Millennial Soul Bone (the bone of a soul beast with powerful soul power, can be used for making soup, forging, or possession).]

[Congratulations, you have obtained a beast taming skill: Soul Enhancement (enhancement-type beast taming skill that allows the beastmaster to consume their own stamina to enhance the soul of their pet beast).]

[Congratulations, you have obtained a trait crystal: Necromancer Clone (when fused with a pet beast, provides an exceptionally strong soul talent, allowing it to create a necromancer clone that shares consciousness with the main body and can train soul power, which further can be merged with the main body).]

[You have reached the requirements for a ‘Level 2 Beastmaster’ promotion. Would you like to promote now?]