The ground cracked open, rocks tumbled, and a deep fissure rapidly spread across the surface, forming a massive mound of earth.
The dull, nauseating sounds of compression and the clatter of rolling stones echoed for a long time. In the sky, black-winged insects and blood-sucking mosquitoes intertwined, buzzing loudly.
Fearing the dual pressures of Grey Wolf and the emerging giant demonic creature, they scattered in all directions, forming constantly shifting dark clouds of insects, seemingly reluctant to leave easily.
Grey Wolf, previously the size of a small bull, became increasingly robust, its muscles bulging prominently, and its skeletal structure evolving and reshaping, slowly expanding and enlarging.
With each burn of the black flames on its body, Grey Wolf grew larger, and finally, with a long howl to the sky, it plunged its claws into the ground, exploding a massive column of black flames skyward.
The myriad black-winged insects and blood-sucking mosquitoes fell to the ground in the wake of the howl, creating a bizarre rain of insects.
"Is this the oppressive aura of a king?" Eddie sensed such an icy, dominating pressure only in golden king beasts.
Ordinary wild king beasts were incomparable to Grey Wolf's current demonic king-like momentum.
Grey Wolf, not yet a golden king beast, already exhibited such stature, possibly due to absorbing Demon King Hasin's evil demonic energy.
Yehken and the others watched in awe as Grey Wolf's size surged in the flames, eventually becoming as large as an ox, with a terrifying demonic aura. It stood tall, reaching a height of three meters.
Its two gaping maws were filled with sharp fangs, and thick smoke billowed from its nostrils, with flames flickering fiercely.
Its body, covered in a strange black flame that glided over its sleek, dark fur, added to Grey Wolf's imposing appearance, akin to a Demon King's arrival.
Eddie initially thought Grey Wolf might grow an extra head, becoming the legendary "three-headed hellhound," but it only increased in size.
Upon closer inspection with his insightful eyes, he discovered that Grey Wolf was still a two-headed demonic wolf, but it had successfully transformed from a bronze level five to a silver level four.
This transformation, though a drop in level, represented a leap in combat strength and potential.
A silver level transformation marked the beginning of hope.
If Grey Wolf had advanced to bronze level six, it would have been destined to remain a mere laborious battle beast.
Now, as a successfully transformed silver level beast, it opened a new door of hope, with a whole new realm awaiting it.
Eddie felt even more patient in cultivating it. Having successfully transformed to the silver level, could the golden level be far behind?
Given Grey Wolf's new dominating presence and inherent intelligence, it would at least become a golden king beast, if not higher.
A crazier idea crossed Eddie's mind:
what if one day he obtained a Demon King's corpse for Grey Wolf to consume?
What would it become then?
For now, this remained a mere thought, but not beyond the realm of possibility.
With a thunderous roar, the giant demonic creature finally burst through the ground.
Contrary to Eddie's expectations, it wasn't an elite-level monster but a common-level demonic insect resembling a small mountain.
It looked somewhat like a beetle with three horns: two crescent-shaped massive pincers on the sides and a spear-like pointed horn in the middle, with a ferociously grotesque head.
The ground cracked open, rocks tumbled, and a deep fissure rapidly spread across the surface, forming a massive mound of earth.
The dull, nauseating sounds of compression and the clatter of rolling stones echoed for a long time.
In the sky, black-winged insects and blood-sucking mosquitoes intertwined, buzzing loudly.
Fearing the dual pressures of Grey Wolf and the emerging giant demonic creature, they scattered in all directions, forming constantly shifting dark clouds of insects, seemingly reluctant to leave easily.
Grey Wolf, previously the size of a small bull, became increasingly robust, its muscles bulging prominently, and its skeletal structure evolving and reshaping, slowly expanding and enlarging.
With each burn of the black flames on its body, Grey Wolf grew larger, and finally, with a long howl to the sky, it plunged its claws into the ground, exploding a massive column of black flames skyward.
The myriad black-winged insects and blood-sucking mosquitoes fell to the ground in the wake of the howl, creating a bizarre rain of insects.
"Is this the oppressive aura of a king?" Eddie sensed such an icy, dominating pressure only in golden king beasts.
Ordinary wild king beasts were incomparable to Grey Wolf's current demonic king-like momentum. Grey Wolf, not yet a golden king beast, already exhibited such stature, possibly due to absorbing Demon King Hasin's evil demonic energy.
Yehken and the others watched in awe as Grey Wolf's size surged in the flames, eventually becoming as large as an ox, with a terrifying demonic aura. It stood tall, reaching a height of three meters.
Its two gaping maws were filled with sharp fangs, and thick smoke billowed from its nostrils, with flames flickering fiercely.
Its body, covered in a strange black flame that glided over its sleek, dark fur, added to Grey Wolf's imposing appearance, akin to a Demon King's arrival.
Eddie initially thought Grey Wolf might grow an extra head, becoming the legendary "three-headed hellhound," but it only increased in size.
Upon closer inspection with his insightful eyes, he discovered that Grey Wolf was still a two-headed demonic wolf, but it had successfully transformed from a bronze level five to a silver level four.
This transformation, though a drop in level, represented a leap in combat strength and potential. A silver level transformation marked the beginning of hope.
If Grey Wolf had advanced to bronze level six, it would have been destined to remain a mere laborious battle beast.
Now, as a successfully transformed silver level beast, it opened a new door of hope, with a whole new realm awaiting it.
Eddie felt even more patient in cultivating it.
Having successfully transformed to the silver level, could the golden level be far behind?
Given Grey Wolf's new dominating presence and inherent intelligence, it would at least become a golden king beast, if not higher.
A crazier idea crossed Eddie's mind:
what if one day he obtained a Demon King's corpse for Grey Wolf to consume?
What would it become then?
For now, this remained a mere thought, but not beyond the realm of possibility.
With a thunderous roar, the giant demonic creature finally burst through the ground.
Contrary to Eddie's expectations, it wasn't an elite-level monster but a common-level demonic insect resembling a small mountain.
It looked somewhat like a beetle with three horns: two crescent-shaped massive pincers on the sides and a spear-like pointed horn in the middle, with a ferociously grotesque head.
The black-armored back of the creature resembled a steel hill.
Compared to ordinary battle beasts, its size was terrifyingly huge.
Even mammoths and war kodos seemed insignificant next to it. Hessian, terrified, collapsed to the ground: "Oh my god, such a huge dung beetle?"
Yehken was trembling too: "Is this a level 7 creature? Fortunately, it's just a common level, not elite, or we'd be done for!"
However, the long-haired girl disagreed, immediately countering: "What are your eyes for? It's clearly an eight-level Double-forked Rhinoceros Beetle, also known as the War God Beetle. It's a rhinoceros beetle, not a dung beetle. Dung beetles belong to the scarab family, scientifically named Scarabaeus, commonly called dung beetles or dung scarabs!"
"Level 8?" Hessian cried in fear, overwhelmed by the thought of a level 8 creature's power.
Even as a common level, the creature's sheer size made it a formidable force on the battlefield. What could a war kodo do against it?
But Hessian's tears were in vain.
The War God Beetle paid no attention to anyone, lumbering towards the valley.
Even Grey Wolf, leaping onto its back, was ignored.
Everyone was puzzled.
Wasn't the beetle supposed to fight upon emerging?
Princess Chimmon suddenly realized something and screamed, pointing to a direction in the valley: "It's going to eat the Black Ear Balls that are about to bloom... We must stop it, or it will devour all of them!"
Eddie quickly pursued the beetle. Lifting his Ashen Blade, he unleashed a thunderous strike on one of the beetle's hind legs.
The impact resonated like a thunderclap, echoing throughout the valley.
To everyone's astonishment, the beetle showed no reaction and continued moving forward, completely indifferent to Eddie's powerful strike. Everyone was dumbfounded at such an impenetrable defense.
Grey Wolf raised its claws, capable of splitting gold and stone, and attempted to attack the beetle's seemingly fragile tail with Eddie's taught technique.
Still, the result was fruitless.
Yehken's iron staff dropped to the ground, and he knelt down, feeling helpless.
The eight-level War God Beetle, with its insanely strong defense, seemed invincible.
Its weak point, the spiracles protected by a hard exoskeleton and a shell tougher than a metal plate, was nearly impossible to access.
Eddie frowned, sensing that while the beetle lacked strong offensive capabilities, its defense was outrageously strong.
Eddie pondered how to stop the enormous beetle from devouring the precious Black Ear Balls. Attacking its mouthparts or compound eyes seemed like a good idea, but it was risky.
If struck by one of its massive horns, it would be no joke. Eddie readied himself for a final attack, channeling his Qi into the Ashen Blade's purple flames.
If all else failed, he planned to snatch some Black Ear Balls before the beetle could reach them, hoping to lure it away.
Princess Qi Ming, seeing Eddie about to attack again, urgently stopped him: "Don't attack, brother. The War God Beetle's defense is too strong.
It has terrifying strength, capable of lifting objects 800 times its body weight.
Being hit by it means certain death. Beibei, you're most familiar with insects. Do you know any other weaknesses of the rhinoceros beetle besides the spiracles?"
"I know! If you touch its butt, it will crawl faster!" Beibei's suggestion left Eddie speechless.
Perhaps it worked for ordinary rhinoceros beetles, but would it work on this mountain-sized creature? Moreover, touching its butt... That was just too awkward!
Eddie had a habit of taking charge in charming situations but leaving embarrassing tasks to others. He waved his hand grandly, "Hessian, you do it. Touch its butt!"
"Why me?" Hessian exclaimed in shock.
"It's simple," Eddie replied logically, "because you're the boss!"
Hessian wailed, tears welling up in his eyes, "Why does nobody remember I'm the boss when it comes to charming ladies?"
"First, let's deal with this. When it comes to charming ladies, you'll be first in line as the boss. Now, go ahead, gently touch its butt and smile without saying a word..." Eddie instructed Hessian, who was extremely reluctant, fearing a fall from such a height could result in a concussion. Besides, publicly touching the beetle's butt would ruin his chances with ladies. Hessian adamantly refused, preferring to be roasted like a suckling pig by Eddie rather than lose face.
Just as Eddie was about to lose his patience with Hessian, another War God Beetle emerged from the giant pit behind them.
This one was ten times smaller than the first, roughly the size of a mammoth. It seemed like a juvenile beetle.
"This one should be manageable!" Eddie struck the juvenile beetle with his Ashen Blade. Although the exterior remained unharmed, the beetle was injured, screaming as Eddie's Qi and the blade's purple flames penetrated its thick shell.
The adult beetle became enraged upon seeing its offspring attacked, charging furiously towards Eddie.
Its horns, like a bundle of steel spears, aimed directly at Eddie's diminutive figure. Eddie swiftly dodged and delivered another circular slash to the juvenile beetle's back.
He could have killed the juvenile with a fatal blow, but he refrained, opting to buy time instead.
Eddie shouted at the stunned onlookers, urging them to check if the Black Ear Balls had bloomed while he lured the rhinoceros beetle away.
The Ashen Wolf also helped, intermittently leaping towards the juvenile beetle, breathing black flames to intimidate it into retreating.
Half an hour later, after Beibei and the others collected freshly sprouted Black Ear Balls, Eddie and the Ashen Wolf returned from a distance.
Eddie called out to Hessian and Leaf, "Who wants to contract the juvenile rhinoceros beetle? Although it's not an offensive war beast, its defense is incredibly strong. It would make a great shield. Who wants it? If nobody does, I'll kill it for its magic crystal. Hurry, the adult beetle is coming back!"
Hessian stubbornly refused, "As your boss, I only contract Golden War Beasts, especially beautiful female ones. Besides, I already have Ironhide Rhino for defense."
The others, including the long-haired girl and the kids, also declined, finding the beetle too ugly and large. Leaf, however, stepped forward, seeing an opportunity in the beetle's formidable defense.
He understood that Eddie wouldn't have spared the beetle if it didn't hold potential.
Leaf's initial attempts to contract the beetle using five scrolls failed, leaving him sweating with tension.
Beibei handed him the last scroll, his final chance. Eddie encouraged Leaf to calm his mind and focus, promising to distract the adult beetle with the Ashen Wolf for five more minutes.
Meanwhile, Eddie had another motive. While leading the adult beetle away, he had noticed a strange plant bulb untouched by any creature, including the adult beetle.
Deciding to investigate further, Eddie summoned Thorn Flower, connecting its roots to the plant bulb to transfer Qi for sensing.
What could this mysterious plant bulb be, impenetrable even to his third-level discerning eyes? Eddie was determined to uncover its secrets.