Rao Wu smiled as he confidently circled the Bugbear leader, pondering on how best to attack the ninth stage monster. After a few tense moments, the young man stopped. “Let’s test him out first.” Rao Wu grinned and then dashed toward the Bugbear, ensuring he kept his profile low.

“Nwaa!” The Bugbear leader roared in anger then took in a deep breath, causing it cheeks to suddenly swell up like balloons. Du-Du-Du-Du. Half a second later, the Bugbear leader spat out several small, tennis-ball-sized poison bullets at the incoming Rao Wu.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Rao Wu, however, displayed astonishing awareness and speed as he sidestepped each bullet before they reached him. His feet danced in a strange pattern as he twisted this way and that, and he also utilized the trees to temporarily block the Bugbear leaders’ sight.

Rao Wu dipped in and out of the trees’ shadows erratically, making it difficult for the static Bugbear leader to keep track. This was the difference between the two parties’ battle experiences in the jungle. Rao Wu was used to facing stronger and faster opponents and thus had learned to use everything in the forest to his advantage.

The Bugbear leader, on the other hand, had only ever been the aggressor in this jungle; It neither understood battle tactics nor instincts. As a result, the Bugbear leader was led willy-nilly by Rao Wu.

At one point, Rao Wu disappeared behind a tree but did not emerge as expected. The Bugbear leader’s gaze fixed coldly on the tree, awaiting Rao Wu’s emergence from either side.

!!!

The Bugbear suddenly looked to the skies, urged by its primal instincts.

“Too Late!”

To the Bugbear leader’s shock, Rao Wu came flying down from the sky, dagger held aloft for an overhead strike. The Bugbear barely had time to figure out that Rao Wu climbed and then jumped off the treetop before it raised its club above its head.

Bam!

“Ugh.” Rao Wu’s dagger drove deep into the club but did not make it past the sturdy wood. Moreover, since Rao Wu was not physically as strong as the Bugbear leader, he lacked the strength to push further, and thus his momentum stalled instantly.

The sudden momentum loss should have resulted in injuries. Still, Rao Wu smartly used the club as a pivot to send his body crashing into the Bugbear. His momentum was then thrown into the Bugbear leader, sending it careening across the earth.

Rao Wu grabbed the club, which the Bugbear leader left behind as he dropped to the ground, and then quickly dashed to the Bugbear before it could recover. Bam! Not one to waste time, Rao Wu crushed the Bugbear’s skull with a heavy blow to the head. But then, just to be sure, he withdrew the dagger and sliced a deep arc across the Bugbear’s neck.

“N-nwaa—gurgle.” Twisting and choking on its blood, the Bugbear leader let out futile groans before ultimately laying still on the ground.

“Not enough.” Dissatisfied, Rao Wu returned the dagger to his ring and then stood up with furrowed brows. “I hope they’re not all like this. Well, I guess it works out for Xian Da.” Rao Wu expertly sliced the Bugbears and then withdrew their cores. After such a tough fight, these would undoubtedly push Xian Da to the next stage.

It was unfortunate that Bugbears were insect/beast types instead of dark/beast types. Insect/beast cores would only strengthen Xian Da’s beast attribute, leaving his dark attribute behind. However, there was nothing Rao Wu could do about it. This was not a perfect world where the first monsters he met were dark/beast type. For now, he would keep strengthening Xian Da while keeping an eye out for dark-attribute soul cores in the future.

When he was finished with his collection, Rao Wu walked over to Xian Da and then patted the little guy’s head. “Well done, Da-er. I’m really proud of you.” He then pulled out a jug and helped the cub sip from the Eternal Spring Water.

“Ruwuu~” As expected, Xian Da’s injuries completely healed within moments. Unfortunately, the damaged hair needed time to regrow, but there was nothing they could do about that.

Rao Wu chuckled when he saw Xian Da’s sullen gaze and patted the wolf cub. “Don’t worry. It’ll be good as new in no time.” He then looked at the pit and said, “Right now, let’s focus on getting you stronger.”

With those words, Rao Wu walked past the pit and then kicked the ground.

Rrumblee…

The surprisingly fragile earth crumbled beneath his feet, revealing a small pit similar to the one the Bugbears were in. Without a word, Rao Wu jumped into the hole with Xian Da and then walked over to a section of the wall that was covered in thick vine branches. “Alright! Let them through.”

Following Rao Wu’s shout, the vines surprisingly retreated, revealing a narrow tunnel that connected their pit to the Bugbears’. Rao Wu looked across the tunnel, his gaze catching the eyes of several Bugbears on the other side. The little boy chuckled and raised his hands as he greeted, “Hey there, guys!”

“NWaa!” The enraged Bugbears, upon seeing their hated enemy, charged into the tunnel with maximum ill-intent.

Rao Wu’s eyes gleamed when he confirmed that all the Bugbears had entered the tunnel. “Shut it!” Following his command, branches sprung out of the walls at the Bugbears’ end and closed off the entrance they just used.

If the Bugbear leader were alive, it might have sensed the sinister plot. Unfortunately, this common Bugbears severely lacked intelligence, and as a result, failed to pay attention to the fact that their exit was just blocked.

The Bugbears only had eyes for Rao Wu, and indeed, as they broke out of the tunnel on by one, they instantly launched an attack on him.

“Close it! Da-er, slaughter them!” once four Bugbears made it through, Rao Wu ordered for his entrance to similarly close, and then focused his attention on the Bugbears. “Take two, I take two.”

“Rraff!”

Accompanied by Xian Da’s confident bark, Rao Wu and the Dusklight Wolf cub charged at the Bugbears. Several minutes later, the blood-drenched, exhausted duo sat down amongst the remaining Bugbears’ corpses.

“Phew. We’re finally done.” After a moment’s rest, Rao Wu, with Xian Da on his shoulder, climbed out of the pit through the help of a dangling vine. At the top, the Dryad was staring at him with shock and awe in her eyes. “Hehe. What do you think? Impressive, right?”

The Dryad listlessly nodded, her mouth slightly agape. When Rao Wu told her his plan yesterday, she felt it was too risky, but now she realized that the child in front of her was much stronger than he looked.

Rao Wu laughed as he sat on a rock and then said, “Help me thank the Sprites. This wouldn’t have been possible without their help.”

That’s right. Rao Wu used the Sprites’ ability to create vines to create the blockade, which then forced him and the Bugbears onto a pre-selected path. The Sprites also dug the hole and controlled the barriers in the tunnel.

Rao Wu’s plan was simple. Even if the Sprites could not directly harm any living being, he could use their abilities to lay traps. However, just in case it somehow triggered their reluctance, Rao Wu had the Sprites operate the vines from remote locations. Then the Dryad relayed his instructions over to them by conveying her thoughts through their extended branches and vines.

This was a trap that worked so well, not only because of Rao Wu and Xian Da’s strength but because Rao Wu recognized and exploited the Sprites’ abilities to the maximum. If he held any prejudices towards their skills, he would never have conceived such a perfect plan.

“I shall inform them of your gratitude,” said the Dryad, but then she added, “but first, let me express my thanks. I did not believe there was a way to save the Sprites until you came along. Now, even after you leave, we have a method of defending ourselves when they need to hydrate.”

“Leave?” Rao Wu, who was about to hand a core over to an eager Xian Da, paused and then looked at the Dryad. “Forget leaving. I’m going to kill every last Bugbear in this forest before I go.”

“That’s not possible!” The Dryad immediately refuted. “Their numbers are in the hundreds, if not thousands! There’s no way you can kill them all!”

Rather than be scared, Rao Wu’s eyes actually perked up with pleasant surprise. “Thousands? Huh. There are less than I thought. Ah. Yeah. Resources are scarce. They most likely resorted to cannibalism.”

Bugbears were omnivores. They preferred meat, but could also subsidize on fruits. Unfortunately, this forest had no meat, and fruits only grew inside the Sprites. It was no wonder that they hunted the Sprites with such ferocity. Their only other option was cannibalism.

“If they are cannibalistic, then they aren’t united under one tribe,” Rao Wu’s eyes gleamed as he reasoned. Indeed, cannibals rarely ate from their own tribe. They would rather eat from a designated ‘enemy.’ That was the only way for their tribes to function without collapsing. “So, rather than fighting one massive tribe, we’ll be facing many collectives! Haha! This will be easier than I thought!”

The Dryad looked at Rao Wu in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Rao Wu, in reply, took out his encyclopedia and then flipped to the sections on Bugbears. “Look here. One of the reasons Bugbear tribes are so difficult to completely destroy is because they have an almost hive-like connection between members of a tribe. If you kill enough solo Bugbears, you’ll soon start seeing duos. Kill those and the Bugbears begin moving in progressively larger groups until eventually, the entire tribe moves as one.” Rao Wu shut the book and then looked at the Dryad. “I was concerned I would end up fighting thousands of Bugbears when we eventually corner the Bugbear Lord. But if there are truly numerous cannibalistic tribes, he truly only has a hundred or slightly more Bugbears under his command.”

The Dryad’s eyes widened in surprise as she began to understand Rao Wu’s plan. “So, you can freely attack since the eventual groups will probably only be a few dozen at most.”

“Mmhmm.” Rao Wu nodded, and then said, “but to speed things up, it would be best if we also incite a war while we’re at it.”

“A war?”

Rao Wu chuckled. “What would a tribe think if they saw the corpse of a rival Bugbear near the corpse of their fallen comrades.”

“Ah.” The Dryad shivered in fear as she looked into Rao Wu’s eyes. Surprisingly, the youth’s eyes lacked any ruthlessness. The playful, mischievous eyes sharply contrasted the truly terrible plot he was concocting. ‘How did you grow up?’ The Dryad wondered how a child could have possibly become so twisted. However, she did not dare ask for fear of upsetting him. Instead, she calmed her nerves and then said, “The Bugbears will certainly patrol in larger groups and begin invading each others’ territories more often. The deaths would be immense.”

“Hehe. More importantly, we’ll be able to operate more freely.” Rao Wu laughed as he said, “Remember, as far as the Bugbears know, the Sprites cannot attack them. They’ll have no reason to suspect it’s us unless we get caught. And if we do get caught, we can just kill them before they report to the others too.”

“A-alright.” The Dryad shuddered but ultimately agreed to Rao Wu’s plan. “We’ll do as you say.”

“Great! Then we should get moving,” stated Rao Wu as he stood up and patted his backside. “You can have some Sprites stay behind to hydrate, while a few follow us to the next watering hole. It’s time to begin a large scale massacre!”

“Rraff!” Xian Da suddenly barked out loud, drawing Rao Wu’s attention to him.

Rao Wu’s eyes widened in shock and joy when he saw Xian Da, who had grown a few inches taller in an instant. “Ooh! You finally broke through to the Third Stage, and you’re even near the top. Hehe. With a few more battles, you will definitely break through to the Middle Stages, and then you’ll be so much stronger!”

“Rraff! Rraff!” Xian Da barked and raised its chest with pride. It was even more excited than Rao Wu to embark on another battle. The feeling of growing stronger after a fight was far too addicting and enticing for soul monsters.

The Dryad looked enviously at Xian Da. She wondered if she too would grow as quickly if she became Rao Wu’s soul pet. However, the thought only brushed her mind briefly before she resolutely put it away. Her duty was to protect the Sprites from harm. Until that was completed, she could not dream of becoming another’s soul pet.

But if… Just if that was accomplished.

The Dryad looked at Rao Wu’s broad smile, and her resolution faltered for the briefest moments as they ventured deep into the forest.