Shen Qi lowered her voice and said softly, “It’s nothing.”
“In that case, you die.” With that, knowing she had powerful weapons, Yan Di no longer underestimated her lightly.
Shen Qi’s agile body dodged his fierce strikes, and she used her retractable belt to evade his sharp claws each time they were about to reach her.
Her speed, stamina, and strength were equivalent to the fourth rank, and with these weapons, she could fight him to a draw.
In other words, she was practically at the fifth rank.
Yan Di frowned at this moment, looking at this cunning Male Beast. He had underestimated him. Suddenly, he felt that a small frame wasn’t so bad—it made dodging quite nimble.
Moreover, he didn’t know what that thing in this Male Beast’s hand was, but it could fly through the trees.
If he could bring him back and make him a subordinate, Ze would probably be pleased too.
He lowered his claws and looked up at Shen Qi standing on the branch. “Your abilities seem decent. How about coming to the Dark Gloom Forest? If the King is satisfied, you’ll naturally receive his rewards.”
The Dark Gloom Forest? The King?
Shen Qi pondered carefully. If this Evil Beast was already at the fifth rank, what rank would their Evil Beast King be?
Her lips parted slightly. “Not interested.”
Yan Di chuckled lightly. “Not interested? Then you’ll die here.”
Yan Di instantly transformed into his Beast Form—a lion with orange-red fur, its long, whip-like tail lashing through the air.
His feet dug into the ground, slowly creating depressions as if gathering strength. The next moment, he leaped upward.
Shen Qi’s expression grew serious. This Evil Beast had clearly enhanced its abilities after transforming into Beast Form.
She had just left the branch when, the next second, the massive lion landed exactly where she had been standing.
Without a moment’s pause, it charged at her again. She shot several daggers at it. As Yan Di dodged the last one and steadied himself, he sensed something even more dangerous coming at him. He sidestepped, but his arm still grazed it.
“Ah—” A pained scream came from an Evil Beast behind him.
Yan Di turned sharply and saw a small black object pierce that Evil Beast’s arm, blood flowing continuously.
He then looked at the fresh cut on his own arm. It must have been grazed by that black thing. If he hadn’t dodged in time, it would have embedded itself in his arm.
He stared at the seemingly weak but dangerous Male Beast not far away. “Stay alert, don’t let—”
Before he could finish, he dodged to the side because he saw her shoot that black thing again.
This Male Beast! He had no respect at all! He hadn’t even finished speaking!
Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, the other Evil Beasts stepped forward to help.
Shen Qi seized the opportunity to fire, taking out the lower-ranked Evil Beasts, leaving only two who looked extremely similar and this talkative Evil Beast.
He let out a long roar, his tone filled with anger. “How do you have so many tricks!”
The Evil Beasts that had just been dealt with weren’t killed by her daggers. Instead, when several Evil Beasts charged at her together, she “whooshed” away to the other side, causing them to crash into each other in surprise.
He saw her innocently shrug. “It’s not my fault you can’t keep up.”
Yan Di’s chest heaved with anger, clearly provoked by her. Sen Yan and Sen Zhu looked at the fallen Evil Beasts, their expressions equally grim.”Mission: Enter the Dark Forest. Reward: Upgrade spatial storage. Please complete as soon as possible, Host.”
In the midst of her ongoing battle with the three of them, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in her mind. She froze for a moment, nearly stumbling, and as she steadied herself, a sharp claw left a gash on her arm.
Clutching her bleeding arm, she cursed inwardly.
Damn it! If the mission was to go to the Dark Forest, why wasn’t it issued earlier? Now that she had already killed so many Evil Beasts, how was she supposed to infiltrate the inner areas?!
Was this System doing it on purpose? Trying to force her into a conflict with them before assigning a mission that would make her comply unwillingly?
“Dear, that’s not the case. Xiao Yu suggests the Host complete the mission as soon as possible.”
Listening to its excuses, Shen Qi nearly choked with anger. For the first time, she had a major change of opinion about the System.
This wasn’t some cold, emotionless system—it was clearly stirring up trouble and making things worse!
Seeing her injured, Yan Di’s eyes flickered with surprise for a moment before a teasing smile spread across his face. “No matter how slippery you are, even you’ll get tired one day.”
“I already told you, why not come to our Dark Forest? Follow our King, and you’ll live a life of luxury.”
It seemed he thought she was out of strength. Her eyes darted around, and she immediately put on a pained expression.
“Huh? Did I really hurt you that badly?” Yan Di asked, puzzled by her tightly furrowed, dark expression.
Sen Yan and Sen Zhu nodded to Yan Di and asked, “How should we deal with him? He’s crippled so many of our Evil Beasts…”
Yan Di’s gaze lingered on the weapons beside her. After a moment of thought, he spoke, “Take him back first. Let the King decide.”
He had initially considered killing her for injuring the Evil Beasts he brought, but the things she carried piqued his curiosity, and she might still be useful to them.
Yan Di grabbed her beast hide and flung her over his back. Before Shen Qi could steady herself, a fierce wind roared past her ears.
Seeing this, Sen Yan and Sen Zhu slung the unconscious Ai Chu over their backs and slid forward to follow.
Shen Qi clung tightly to his fur, jolting and bouncing along the way. She was extremely annoyed.
Even if she hadn’t been injured before, this rough ride was enough to give her bruises. The constant shaking made her stomach churn.
Unable to hold back, Shen Qi complained, “Lion, can’t you be a bit steadier?!”
“You Male Beast, why are you so weak? I think you need more training. With such a small frame, how will you ever find a Female? Females prefer strong and powerful ones.”
Yan Di chuckled inwardly. The roughness of the ride was partly intentional.
Hearing her complaint, he slowed down slightly, worried she might pass out before he could bring her back.
But his interest in her grew even more. Such a small body, yet with the stamina of a fifth-rank Beastfolk—he found her both pitiful and formidable.
Curious, Yan Di asked her, “Male Beast, what tribe are you from? What’s your name?”
Shen Qi made up a name on the spot. “I’m… from the Ape Tribe. My name is Xiao Qi.”
“The Ape Tribe…”
Yan Di murmured to himself.
That made sense. He remembered that the Ape Tribe’s physique wasn’t as large as that of ordinary Beastfolk. Moreover, the Ape Tribe had created the first fire and made many strange and unusual things.
The Beastfolk of the Ape Tribe were quite clever, but their combat strength wasn’t particularly high. This Male Beast must hold a high status in the Ape Tribe, given all the dangerous things he carried.The king had previously considered recruiting an ape tribe beastman as a subordinate. Coincidentally, he achieved a double harvest—capturing a female and gaining an ape tribe beastman.