Before long, Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng arrived at the Black Forest outside of Jiang City.
The moment they set foot in the forest, the air changed. It was damp and fresh, mixed with the aroma of earth and plants.
Of course, there was also the faint, musky stench of Demon Beasts.
Perched on Gu Yuexi's shoulder, Chu Sheng curiously surveyed his new surroundings.
'Whoa, this place is nice! Beautiful scenery, like a natural oxygen bar!'
He was in a great mood. After entering the forest, his [Blood Food Tracking] Skill was like a fish back in water. The sheer number of life signals within his Perception range was dazzling.
Although most were just insignificant small animals, he could occasionally sense one or two stronger fluctuations of Qi Blood. To him, they were like "Field Bosses" marked on a map—full of temptation.
'Empress, what are we eating today? How about I point the way? There's an unlucky First-Grade Early Stage rabbit a hundred meters that way. Looks pretty fat!' Chu Sheng eagerly transmitted his thoughts.
However, Gu Yuexi completely ignored him.
Her cool, clear eyes were carefully examining the tracks on the ground.
As the former Beast Taming Empress, she knew the habits of Demon Beasts like the back of her hand. For her, tracking prey was an instinct carved into her very bones.
'The tracks are fresh, the soil is damp. They were left within the last half hour.'
'The hoof prints are messy and of varying depths. More than ten of them. A herd of Iron-skinned Pigs.'
'Their direction of travel... is toward the water source upstream.'
Gu Yuexi quickly made her assessment. Without a word, she strode forward, silently stalking in that direction.
Her movements were as light as a lynx's. She weaved through the complex forest terrain without making a single unnecessary sound. Even Chu Sheng on her shoulder barely felt a jolt.
'Holy crap, she's a pro!'
Chu Sheng clicked his tongue in amazement, his admiration for the Empress growing even more.
'Looks like reincarnators really are on another level. Her professional skills are top-notch!'
'If I stick with her, I'm guaranteed to get some meat!'
After stalking for about ten minutes, Gu Yuexi stopped behind a thicket of bushes. She parted the dense leaves and peered ahead.
In a clearing not far ahead, a large group of dark creatures was gathered.
The beasts looked similar to domestic pigs but were a size larger. Their bodies were covered in a layer of hard, black, rock-like hide, and two tusks jutted out from their mouths, glinting coldly.
It was their mission target—the Iron-skinned Pigs!
Chu Sheng stretched his neck to look, and his eyes lit up instantly.
[Iron-skinned Pig, Bloodline: Nothingness, First-Grade Early Stage Demon Beast, Qi Blood Value: ~185.]
[Iron-skinned Pig, Bloodline: Nothingness, First-Grade Early Stage Demon Beast, Qi Blood Value: ~192.]
[Pig King, Bloodline: Nothingness, First-Grade Late Stage Demon Beast, Qi Blood Value: ~395!]
'Holy moly!'
'They're all walking blood-bags!'
'And a whole herd of them!'
Chu Sheng was practically drooling. The Pig King, in particular—obviously a size larger than the others and looking fat and plump—was like a deluxe surf-and-turf feast in his eyes!
'So many pigs! We've hit the jackpot!' Chu Sheng excitedly rubbed his front legs together.
Gu Yuexi, however, frowned slightly.
'There are too many—a full fifteen of them, plus a First-Grade Late Stage Pig King.'
She analyzed silently.
'With my First-Grade Middle Stage strength, I can handle three First-Grade Early Stage Iron-skinned Pigs one-on-one, no problem. But if the herd swarms me, even I will face certain death.'
'A direct charge is out of the question.'
'I have to find a way to lure them away and take them down one by one.'
'But how to lure them? With sound? That would easily alert the entire herd.'
'With food? Where would she find that much food?'
For a moment, even the experienced Beast Taming Empress was lost in thought.
But Chu Sheng, on her shoulder, heard her inner thoughts loud and clear and was instantly displeased.
'Hey now, Empress, you just don't get it, do you?'
'Luring them away? What a pain! I have a much more direct method for dealing with these brainless oafs!'
Chu Sheng chuckled to himself. He couldn't wait to start the slaughter... no, the feast!
Without even informing Gu Yuexi, a thought crossed his mind, and he released all five hundred members of his "motley crew" from the [Insect Race Space]!
BZZZZ—!
SHHHHHHH—!
The next second, Gu Yuexi felt her surroundings darken. Before she could react, a massive, dark cloud of insects—composed of flies, moths, cockroaches, and stink bugs—materialized out of thin air and swarmed toward the herd of Iron-skinned Pigs!
'All units! Target the third one from the left! Use Spiritual Contamination Attack! Annoy it to death!'
Chu Sheng gave the order!
Like a suicide squad that had received a unified command, the five hundred insects precisely locked onto an Iron-skinned Pig at the edge of the herd.
Flies and moths circled madly above its head, creating a BUZZING noise and occasionally diving into its eyes and nostrils.
Cockroaches and stink bugs crawled up its legs, burrowed into the crevices of its hide, and used their tiny legs to tickle it relentlessly!
"OINK??"
The Iron-skinned Pig had been leisurely rooting around in the dirt with its snout. Suddenly subjected to this "three-dimensional harassment" from all directions with no blind spots, it was completely bewildered.
It thrashed its head irritably and stomped its hooves, trying to drive the annoying little things away.
But there were just too many insects!
It would drive off one wave only for another to take its place. They were endless and impossible to defend against!
"OINK! OIIINK!!"
The Iron-skinned Pig squealed in frustration and rolled around frantically, but it was no use.
Finally, as if it couldn't take it anymore, it let out a furious roar, broke away from the herd, and charged toward a nearby pond. It looked like it wanted to jump in and drown the insects.
This sudden scene left Gu Yuexi, who was watching from the side, completely stunned.
For the first time, a dazed expression appeared on her beautiful, perpetually stoic face.
'What... what is happening?'
She stared blankly at the vast cloud of insects, then at the Iron-skinned Pig fleeing in disarray, her mind a complete blank.
'Where did all these insects come from?'
'And how are they so organized and disciplined, targeting only a single pig?'
A familiar scene flashed through her mind—the sudden "insect disaster" in the classroom yesterday!
She whipped her head around and stared at the "culprit" on her shoulder—who was leisurely preening its wings—as if she'd seen a ghost.
'No... It can't be, can it?'
A completely absurd suspicion, one she couldn't suppress, bubbled up in her mind.
'Could it... have been him?'
'How is that possible?!'
'It's not scientific!'
'It's just one mosquito, how could it possibly control so many different types of insects?!'
'It's not even a Demon Beast! How could it possess an ability like a "hive mind"?!'
Gu Yuexi felt like her worldview had once again been violently shattered.