During their leisure time, Nuo Ta finally asked, "You, my friend, have been keeping a low profile. By the way, your displayed talents are truly terrifying."
"More than terrifying, and your combat strength is formidable. You managed to take down a B-rank Giant Mantis with just a few moves," Hong Chang added, her tone filled with admiration.
However, Chu Tian casually replied, "The Giant Mantis may be B-rank, but it's in the lower tier of B-rank beasts. Despite its strength, it's not difficult to deal with once you know its weaknesses."
Hearing Chu Tian's explanation, Nuo Ta chuckled and said, "You're being modest. Nevertheless, unless it's absolutely necessary, you shouldn't reveal your many talents. You know how the Federation's higher-ups are. The Skesen incident is a good example."
"I understand that," Chu Tian nodded.
"Speaking of which, Chu Tian, what talents do you have exactly?" Hong Chang asked. "It would be helpful to know so we can plan our battles better."
"I currently have awakened fifteen talents," Chu Tian replied. Of course, he didn't mention anything about the system, as that secret couldn't be revealed to anyone.
"My current talents include Cryomancy, Strength, Pyromancy, Bow Transformation, Aura Concealment, Spiritual Sense Perception (range of 80 meters), Speed, Bone Armor, Water Control, Thunderstrike, Steel Body, Shockwave, Blade of Gale, Psychokinesis, and Shadow Step."
"These talents should be self-explanatory, and I hope you can keep this information a secret. After all, I don't want to end up on an operating table in a laboratory anytime soon," Chu Tian half-jokingly concluded.
Nuo Ta patted Chu Tian on the shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry, we won't reveal your talents. If it comes to that, we can always get a Mental Link contract from a talented warrior. That way, if we ever have thoughts of exposing your abilities, you can sense it in advance."
Hearing Nuo Ta's suggestion, Chu Tian nodded and said, "I trust you both. If we have other talented warriors join our team in the future, I will consider it."
With that settled, Chu Tian began preparing bedding for Hong Chang. However, at that moment, he suddenly stopped and looked outside the cave.
"What's wrong?" Hong Chang asked, puzzled. "Is there a beast nearby?"
Chu Tian shook his head and whispered, "It's not a beast; it's people, and there are quite a few of them, around twenty."
Chu Tian explained what he had seen with his spiritual sense, and then he smiled, saying, "Let's move away quickly. In case the people from the Storm Legion discover us, we'll be in trouble."
Hong Chang agreed, and they quietly left their hiding spot, heading in the opposite direction of the Storm Legion's resting area.
After walking for more than 5,000 meters, they stopped at a small hillside. Nuo Ta used a single-person electronic telescope to carefully observe the area to make sure they were far enough from the Storm Legion and to ensure there were no nearby beasts.
"We can rest here for now and conserve our energy. When the time comes, we can leave directly to avoid the Storm Legion," Nuo Ta suggested.
Chu Tian agreed, but Hong Chang was still curious. "Why did the Storm Legion appear in the seventh mission area? Our whereabouts shouldn't have been exposed."
"It's possible that someone tampered with our armored vehicle," Nuo Ta recalled. "When we left the second defense perimeter earlier today, I felt something hit our vehicle, but when I checked, there was nothing. Perhaps someone intentionally installed a tracker on our armored vehicle. After all, other teams often employ such tactics."
Chu Tian wasn't too concerned about it, but he did realize that he had attracted some trouble. While the Federation didn't allow human-talented warriors to engage in mutual combat, there was still the possibility of foul play.
"Now, these Storm Legion members have encountered the Bull Demon, and it seems they've paid a significant price to defeat it," Chu Tian remarked nonchalantly.
After setting up their tents, Hong Chang lit a campfire, Nuo Ta checked the supplies they had brought out from the armored vehicle's storage space, and Chu Tian recalled the Thundermark Snow Fox from his system space.
The Thundermark Snow Fox let out a series of yawns, clearly hungry.
"You actually kept one," Hong Chang laughed.
Chu Tian cradled the still-closed eyes of the Thundermark Snow Fox and fed it with a bottle. "I gave one to Claes as a thank-you for helping me with the Death God set. As for this one, I thought it would be nice to have a pet."
After feeding the fox some milk, Chu Tian handed it a few pieces of beef. Hong Chang then offered to help feed the animal while Chu Tian went to assist Nuo Ta in cooking their meal.
Hong Chang was curious and asked, "By the way, how big is a wild Thundermark Snow Fox, and when can they start to fight?"
"The initial combat capability is about three months, even though they are C-rank. Young foxes at three months are at most E-rank to D-rank in combat ability. If we're talking about one year old, they should have their combat instincts awakened and can reach C-rank," Hong Chang explained.
Chu Tian paid attention to something else and looked at the young fox while it was sniffing the aroma of the food Nuo Ta was preparing. He then asked Hong Chang, "So, how big are wild Thundermark Snow Foxes?"