Chapter 74 - Ambush

In one corner of the Chestnut Forest, four men sat in a circle next to a bonfire. Around them, there were various shapes hidden in the darkness.

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings and the cry of a bird rang in the air. The humans stood on their feet as the shapes around them put themselves in a circle, ready to attack the intruder and defend the humans in the center. However, when they saw what had emitted the cry, they all relaxed.

"Isn't that the Royal Eagle of the fifth brother? Why is it here? Did something happen in the city?” One of the men asked as he pointed to the approaching eagle that looked familiar.

"Yes, it's his. Come."

An authoritative voice replied, and the royal eagle went down while it emitted various cries. It was communicating the events that happened to his companions. However, the term ‘companions’ didn’t refer to the humans there, but the silhouettes hidden in the shadows.

These silhouettes were, in fact, nothing but the spirit beasts of these men. When the clouds above them shifted, the moon's rays could finally illuminate those spirit beasts.

There were six spirit beasts with a powerful and fierce appearance. Each of these was a predator of its species, and you needed to take great care when facing them. Indeed, fighting them was highly discouraged if possible, whether it was a spirit beast or a martial artist.

The spirit beasts present were - a three meters long Arctic Wolf with white fur; a six meters long Saltwater Crocodile; a one and a half meter Red-head Centipede; a one meter and a half long Yellow Scorpion; a two and a half meters tall Mountain Gorilla and lastly a four meters long Barbarian Lion.

Among those spirit beasts, the Mountain Gorilla and the Barbarian Lion were those who exerted the stronger pressure and commanded the others. These two beasts were, in fact, comparable to a sixth stage spirit apprentice while the others were comparable to a fifth stage. Moreover, they were also the two spirit beasts of the man with the authoritative voice that was none other than that group's head.

Once the royal eagle ended its speech, the Barbarian Lion quickly told its master what the bird had said.

Although humans couldn’t 'normally' speak the spirit beasts’ language and not all spirit beasts possessed vocal cords capable of formulating articulated sounds like words, communication was still possible.

If the spirit beast in question had learned the human language, through the mental connection between it and its master, it was possible to exchange a telepathic conversation, understandable for both. With a bit of wit, one could even make one's spirit beast like a kind of translator with other spirit beasts, thus overcoming the wall that separated humans from other species.

However, that skill wasn’t something that everyone could do. Almost all the spirit beasts disdained human language and were reluctant to learn it, including spirit beasts linked to a human being.

Consequently, whether a spirit beast could learn the human language or not, depended exclusively on the skill of the tamer in convincing their spirit beast to devote its time and efforts in learning a new language.

Not everyone was able to do it, but those who could manage it could define themselves at a higher level than the rest of the other beast tamers and would be much more sought after by the upper echelons of the martial artist society.

"What did the fifth brother’s royal eagle say?" one of the group members asked, who was also the owner of the Arctic Wolf with white fur.

"The fifth brother was captured. He is still alive, but his Imperial Raven was taken out." The chief's voice was cold. Inside he was full of anger at the news he had just received.

This reaction wasn’t due to his companion's capture but to the loss of one of his spirit beast bags. Those were his family's treasure for generations, and he couldn’t allow it to remain in the hands of others. Especially with the opening of the Secret Dimension that was getting closer and closer. If it hadn't been for the high stakes, he would never have lent one of his two bags, not even to one of his lifetime companions.

"And now what? Should we leave or...? "

"Nothing. We do nothing and stay here. If the enemy didn’t kill the fifth brother, it means that they intend to question him. It is almost certain that the fifth brother will speak, not immediately, but he will speak. Therefore, the enemy will know about us and what we came to do. At the same time, they will learn about the treasure I carry, and therefore, they won’t warn the city guards. Instead, they will decide to attack alone. After all, martial artists are the most greedy beings when it comes to precious objects. And it will be at that very moment that we will attack. We will take them by surprise and kill them."

"But boss, we have no way of knowing which way the enemy will come. The forest is large. Also, if they know about us, won't they suspect an ambush?"

"Yes, it is sure they will expect an ambush, and they’ll try to take advantage of the size of the forest. But did you forget it or what? We are beast tamers, and we command each a spirit beast. If necessary, you can divide yourselves and explore the perimeter of the forest to flush them out using the nose and other abilities of your spirit beasts. The only thing to worry about is when they will come. But in any case, they will certainly come, in the end. After all, they were sent by a sect to investigate the matter."

"Boss, you didn't tell us what this enemy looks like."

"The eagle didn't see them in the face. It just said they are two youths, that's all. But that's good for us, isn't it? Or will you allow some kids to defeat you?"

"Never. We've killed so many opponents so far. We won't let some stupid sect disciples beat us," the other men in the group replied.

As mercenaries not affiliated with a sect, they possessed an innate contempt for sect disciple martial artists, especially those belonging to famous sects’ younger generation. But it wasn’t just them; almost all martial artists not belonging to sects or prominent families shared this thought.

How could children, who had always been cradled safely in their sect, be their opponents? They, who had gone through countless challenges and risked their skin to get to where they were now? If it had been a sparring contest, they might have lost. But here, it was a real fight to the death. Youths who didn’t know the world and were virgins in smearing themselves with enemy blood were destined to die under their fangs.

The discussion ended at that point. As it was night, they decided to lie down to prepare for the next day's hunt. Even if their fifth brother spilled the beans, the two youths would surely have waited for the next day to attack, in order not to risk being slowed down by the poor visibility. In a night fight, thanks to the senses of their spirit beasts, they had the advantage.

*

On the outskirts of the Chestnut Forest, Hei was standing next to Lian. Before him, there was the body of a man without conscience.

"Good, let the plan begin."

Hei had Xing bind the man to a tree and gagged him. Then, he asked Ye to inject a poison of euphoria into him to wake him from his unconscious state.

The man soon awoke with a start as he quickly turned his eyes to the right and left. He was trying to figure out where he was and quickly realized that they were in the Chestnut Forest.

"You woke up. I need your help to call your comrades." Hei announced in a flat voice as if he were doing the most natural thing in the world.

Therefore, using his sharp nails, he caused a series of wounds on the man's body. The injuries weren’t too deep but were sufficient to cause blood to leak out. The smell of blood would then attract nearby creatures.

The imprisoned man who noticed the danger tried to break free and make no with his head, pleading with the young man before him to let him go. But Hei didn’t take pity of him and turned to Lian, his little sisters, and Mi.

"In position now. Ye, inject the poison and hide. Xing, remember what I told you, you must succeed. Mi, you control the situation from above and let us know if you notice any movements. Mother, when I tell you, let Shui go out, okay?"

Hei's plan was simple - using man to attract the royal eagle and possibly some of his companions. The primary objective was the royale eagle, and Xing would deal with this. Hei, Lian, Ye, and Shui instead would keep the other enemies occupied. However, since Shui's body was difficult to hide, Hei decided to make it appear only at the last moment when they had engaged the enemy in combat.

As for his mother, Hei had asked her to stay hidden. If they had always relied on her for every situation, they would never have grown up. However, to make things safe, he asked his mother to keep all of them in telepathic contact since he wasn’t yet able to send his thoughts through his spirit power.

Meanwhile, as predicted by Hei, the blood smell spread through the air, attracting the attention of various predators in the forest. When they notice the strange movements of the forest inhabitants, the group of beast tamers was alarmed and woke up from their sleep.

"What is happening? Why is there all this activity? "

"I don't know. What do we do? Let's check?"

"What if it's a trap?"

While the others panicked, the leader of the group ordered in an authoritative tone.

"That's enough. Fourth brother, third brother. Check the situation. Take your fifth brother's eagle with you, and if there are problems, send it back. The second brother and I will arrive immediately."

The two appointed persons made an unhappy face. They didn't want to go and see for themselves. But they had the support of the royal eagle that was able to patrol the area from above. If necessary, the eagle could alert their eldest brother. So, in the end, they still executed the order.

With them, the arctic wolf with white fur and the saltwater crocodile moved as well. Soon, their silhouettes were swallowed by darkness as they made their way to the forest outskirts where the noise came from.

*

When the two men moved with their spirit beasts, the other spirit beasts in the area that had been ensnared by the smell of blood recoiled in fear. They had learned at their own expense the power of the group of humans and spirit beasts at their command.

Even the previous forest rulers, the colony of paraponera ants, had been decimated by the human group's attack. After that carnage, the spirit beasts in the forest had learned to avoid this group.

Thus, without being hindered by anyone, the two men arrived at their destination. They followed the royal eagle, which had identified its master from above, despite the fact that the vegetation was hiding him.

"Fifth brother!" The two men said in chorus.

Although it was dark, thanks to their torches, they were able to recognize the man tied to the tree, who was in horrible conditions. His skin had taken on a pale white color, and his eyes were struggling to stay open while he was breathing heavily, gasping because of the gag.

Without wasting time, those, called fourth brother and third brother, immediately went to their fifth brother and removed his gag. But when they did, they could hear their brother say in a low voice, "It's a trap, run away."

It was too late, though. Despite the warning, the beast tamers had fallen into a trap the moment they approached that place. In a flash, from different points of the forest around the three men, several shadows came out at full speed.

Hei, Lian, Xing, Ye, and Shui aimed their respective targets - Xing would eliminate the royal eagle; Ye would deal against the saltwater crocodile; Shui would face the arctic wolf instead; Hei and Lian would keep busy the two humans.

In an instant, Hei's group spirit power, as well as those of his enemies, exploded outside their bodies. That action indicated the beginning of the battle to the death that was about to take place.