The silver fox pup looked at the human in sheer terror. It was about to be killed like its sibling. The beast closed its eyes to await its doom.
"I'm sorry... Grandpa. I can't kill it." He lowered the blade and gazed at the beast. Even as enraged as he was, he couldn't take it out on this newborn fox.
A distance away, the fight continued. The Nine-tailed fox and cultivator finally released an ancient scroll that held within it an entrapment spell. Rays of bright light sprang from the parchment and wrapped around the Spirit Beast, encasing it in a sphere of energy.
"Try and escape that, you beast," mocked the cultivator. Even though he finally had a moment to catch his breath, he knew the sphere wouldn't hold very long. He looked back towards where they were fighting, and the cub waited.
Without waiting another single moment, he flew off. Arriving back where he killed the golden fox, something was amiss. "Where is my fox?" He began to scan the area, but all he could see was a dead cub. Landing, the sword cultivator kicked the carcass in an almost tantrum. He then spotted a few human footprints. Someone stole his supper while it was in the oven. "AHHHHHHH!" He released a sword energy beam to vent his fury.
The loud explosion and destruction caused the ground below Gunn's feet to rumble. "It seems one of them has realized this fox is no longer there." At this moment, Gunn was running with the cub in his arms. In the distance down the hill, he saw the den of level 2 Spirit Beast. Gunn looked back and then down at the mud den cave. "Hang on, little one."
Gunn slid down the hill to the mud hole with the fox. Three mud tortoises looked at the boy with curiosity. Gunn didn't freak out, though, as his grandpa told him that Mud Tortoises are passive creatures. They spend most of their time eating grass and absorbing energy through the mud. Knowing he wouldn't make it home in time, these tortoises will keep enemies away.
"Errrah!" The tortoises sensed an enemy and moved towards their cave. The human and fox covered in mud followed.
Up in the air, the sword cultivator used his divine sense to scan the area. Using spiritual energy in the space around him, the cultivator examined a human and fox area. As he flew over the tortoise den, he saw five life signs, and seeing a large Mud Tortoise guard the entrance, he ignored it and continued onward in his search.
After an hour went by, the Spirit beast left the cave to play in the muck and eat grass. The fox looked at Gunn and began making a noise. Gunn sighed cause he could tell the fox must be hungry. Scrunching his brow, he didn't know what to do.
"Ok, fox, you stay here. I'm going to forage in the immediate area." The fox cub tried to follow but could tread the mud, so it slumped into the den's corner.
Flicking the excess mud off of him, Gunn began to search the area around them. He found a berry bush up the hill and began to pick it. Hearing a twig snap, Gunn leaped to the side as Stone Viper Spirit Beast struck. The level 1 beast used this beast to await prey. It even fed it its own spirit energy to nourish it.
Gunn rolled out of the way. The snake's strike missed as the mud hid the boy's heat from the beast. Crushing his second to last smoke bomb, Gunn sped off towards the den. The stunned snake lost his prey and looked on at his destroyed berry bush. Now he would have to relocate and find a new honeytrap.
Gunn, proud of his escape, trudged through the mud and entered the tortoise den. Upon entering, the fox cub made a happy noise seeing the human. The cub didn't know to trust this human or not after watching the other slay its sibling, but seeing the berries in Gunn's hands, the fox forgot its worries and pounced. Knocking the berries to the ground, the beast began chasing all the rolling berries around the den. Gunn sighed at losing all the food to the cub, but this wouldn't be the first time he went hungry.
All of a sudden, a heavy pressure engulfed the entire area. It felt like this invisible weight was searching every soul around. The boy could barely breathe from this feeling. After what felt like an eternity, the pressure subsided, and the tortoise beast outside rushed into the den.
The sword cultivator in the air finally sensed the human but couldn't pinpoint the exact spot. Flying back towards the tortoise den area, he came upon the half-destroyed berry bush. With a swing of his sword, an energy strike flew down and pierced the lifeform near it. The snake, still recovering from the poison, never got to leave and died instantly.
"It was only a snake beast," mumbled the man. He looked around and said, "I know he is nearby. I guess I will have to kill every beast and my cub within this area to kill this human thief. If I can't have him, then neither will you."
Holding his sword and thrusting it into the sky, the sword cultivator chanted an attack that released thousand of sword beams outwards, spreading into the four winds with great speed. The sword cultivator heaved a huge breathe as it would take him a long time to recover from this widespread attack.
Five of the beams were heading straight towards the den at lightning speed. The Spirit Beast tried to flee, but their big bodies got stuck in the entrance. With a loud bang, the sword beams pierced the den as death-curdling screams rang out.