King of Beasts

Chapter 49: Who is Lu Ran?

Manager Ying had thought that Lu Ran and Erha were in for a tough battle.

After all, necromancy has too many early advantages: invisibility, walking through walls, possession…

Moreover, Erha seemed to be at a lower level than the necromancy cat.

But then, the necromancer was taken out in an instant?

“Trash!” Manager Ying scoffed.

Although pulling out an advanced weapon played a part in turning the tide, having a weapon alone wasn’t enough. That dog… the way it handled sword momentum.

And its superb energy flow technique, as well as its control over the weapon, did not seem characteristic of a level 6 pet beast!

Even an advanced beastmaster raising a new pet could hardly expect more.

Manager Ying quickly descended to the ground, looking towards Lu Ran and Erha.

“Roar?” General Ha was seeing Manager Ying for the first time. Observing the cat scrutinizing him, it put on a regal expression.

What are you looking at?

Overwhelmed by its unparalleled brilliance?

Such a trivial necromancy, easily defeated.

“It doesn’t look very smart though!” Manager Ying wondered.

“Bark bark bark bark bark bark!!!” General Ha was shocked. Was this cat insulting him? That’s something Lu Ran often said!

It had just been so cool, why should this cat speak ill of it? It remembered this grudge!

“Wow ka!!!” On Lu Ran’s shoulder, Sudden Death King was amazed. It held utmost respect for General Ha, not just because it could easily dispatch necromancers, but also because it possessed the trait of dealing effortlessly with any formidable opponent!

Sudden Death King pondered that this wasn’t just about General Ha being brave, but rather that its thought processes were unusual.

It guessed that even if a giant dragon appeared, General Ha would still charge at it, advocating the equality of all beings.

“Nonsense, my General Ha has incredible intuition and off-the-charts intelligence.” Lu Ran naturally defended his pet beast.

“If all rookie beastmasters were like you, there’d be no worries about them being singled out by necromancers.”

Manager Ying’s mouth twitched, feeling like letting Lu Ran train was a bit of a waste.

Was this just handing him accolades for nothing? And here she had been tiring herself out…

Indeed, superpower wielders are all quite formidable.

Manager Ying looked towards the necromancer amidst the dust, and couldn’t help but acknowledge that it was fortunate the necromancer had let its pet beast overlay itself before the attack. Otherwise, it would surely have been nothing more than a corpse by now.

Even with soul power covering its entire body for protection, the necromancer was still severely injured. Deep sword gashes across its chest had burst open the flesh, with blood spurting out, and one arm was hanging by a thread, nearly severed.

Lu Ran and Sudden Death King both preferred not to look that way.

“That’ll do, it won’t die.”

“Call that guy, let him clean this up,” Manager Ying said to Lu Ran.

“Alright.” Lu Ran sighed in relief. Although getting involved in such matters was a bit disheartening, the thought of soon receiving a bonus pleased him.

It would be best if he could cover General Ha and Sudden Death King’s meals for the next month in one go, and, while at it, obtain a Thunder awakening fruit. That way, it wouldn’t be a waste of General Ha’s energy spent launching repeated gale sword qi and his own time wasted today!

Lu Ran took out his phone and dialed Zhao Chen’s number. At that moment, Zhao Chen was waiting for news at the Jinling Beast Taming Edifice. When he received Lu Ran’s call and confirmed the address, he immediately exclaimed with joy, “Great! We’ll be there right away!”

After hanging up, Lu Ran couldn’t help but glance at the bloody necromancer and said to Manager Ying, “Manager Ying, I think he’s still quite rational. If it wasn’t for the Space skill blocking his teleport, he might have already escaped to Infinite City.”

“From the moment he encountered me to luring me here, his behavior wasn’t much different from an ordinary person. This guy, he managed his restraint well, didn’t he? Could it be what you said, that he has a talent for becoming a necromancer?”

Manager Ying looked at Lu Ran and said, “You’re thinking too much! It’s purely that this guy is too weak.”

“Necromancy pet beasts feed on souls, but souls are complex and contain many life emotions. The more souls they devour, the greater the contamination they cause to themselves, and over time, they lose control.”

“Because necromancers have a contract with their necromancy pet beasts, they too are affected to some extent, gradually becoming insane.”

“The reason he seems relatively normal right now is not because he has a strong will, but simply because they haven’t devoured many souls yet.”

“Of course, ‘not many’ is relative. For them, it’s still a significant boost. This guy has been a beastmaster for less time than you, just a few days, yet his pet beast is already level 8, while yours is only level 6. That’s the advantage of being a necromancer.”

So that’s how it is…

“Do necromancy pet beasts need to devour supernatural souls? It seems like he hasn’t shown any intention of attacking ordinary people or animals.”

“Not necessarily, but ordinary souls are like inferior food. They need a huge quantity to be satisfying. Consuming too diverse a diet can more easily drive necromancy pet beasts and necromancers into madness. That’s why even necromancers hardly ever let their undead devour ordinary souls; it’s like digging their own graves and isn’t conducive to growth.”

“It’s like you wouldn’t go eating dog food, right?”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough.” Lu Ran felt awkward, General Ha showed a disgruntled expression, and Sudden Death King pondered.

“Why are you asking so much?” Manager Ying looked at Lu Ran with suspicion.

It always felt like Lu Ran wasn’t holding back something.

This guy, initially acting terrified of the necromancer.

Then, he turned around and defeated him in a flip of the hand.

Doesn’t seem like a good person.

“Ha… ha…” Lu Ran said, “Just trying to understand more about a potential enemy.”

“Is that so…” Manager Ying was skeptical but continued, “Then let me tell you.”

“The necromancy attribute is very unique. The only known method of creation so far is through the beast taming skill ‘Undead Resurrection.’”

“Undead Resurrection: When one’s contract pet beast dies, it can be transformed into an undead, adding a necromancy attribute but likely losing its original attributes and memories, becoming puppet-like. Also, after the complete transformation into undead, the species level has a certain chance of changing, either increasing or decreasing.”

Lu Ran furrowed his brows.

“Currently, there’s no intelligence indicating that any secret realm can yield the beast taming skill ‘Undead Resurrection.’ This skill is currently exclusive to The Other Shore, and it’s unknown how they’ve acquired it in large quantities.”

“Do you know why The Other Shore has survived attacks from various countries and has never been destroyed?”

“Why?”

“It’s because they have monopolized this beast taming skill, which allows them to frequently absorb new members.”

“Think about it. If your pet beast dies, would you want it to leave you forever, or would you want it to be reborn in another form? If you want it to be reborn, you would have to join The Other Shore. What would you choose then?”

“Woof” General Ha grimaced, as if it was being cursed to die by Manager Ying.

“Even if only one in ten skilled beastmasters chooses to join The Other Shore, they will continuously have a fresh influx of new blood.”

“I always feel like you could be the one who might be tempted in the future…” Manager Ying grew more suspicious.

Lu Ran: ??

“That’s definitely not the case; I’m quite firm in my convictions,” Lu Ran assured.

Although, the skill Undead Resurrection was indeed very tempting…

But the more he learned, the more trouble Lu Ran sensed. First, finding food was too much of a hassle; he didn’t want to hunt other beastmasters. Second, the potential loss of the pet beast’s memories before death made him wonder, would it still be the same pet beast?

“Let’s hope so!” Manager Ying said. “Getting involved with that kind of thing only drags you deeper and eventually turns you into something neither human nor ghost. You all have great prospects; there’s no need for that.”

“Alright, what do you want? You’ve taken care of a necromancer, albeit a novice, but there should still be a decent bounty. I promised you, the rewards are all yours,” Manager Ying spoke indifferently.

“Crystal coins, crystal coins will be fine! Thank you, Manager Ying.” Lu Ran’s smile broadened. With crystal coins, he could buy whatever resources he wanted.

As he spoke, there was a stir around them; it seemed that the official beastmasters from Jinling were arriving…

…

Night.

Having personally encountered a necromancer, Zhao Chen was worried that Lu Ran might be psychologically affected. He had thought about getting psychological counseling for Lu Ran, but since it had been a long time since he left the dojo, Lu Ran just wanted to return there and declined the kind offer.

Lu Ran acted as if nothing had happened during the day, and at night, he went out to eat with his master and others. Unbeknownst to him, Manager Ying had already started communicating with Gu Qingyi.

“Gu Qingyi, finally you picked up the phone.”

“Manager Ying? Sorry, I was doing some evolution research. What’s up, is there something you need?”

“You’re quite lucky, where did you find such a promising newcomer? Today I met the Lu Ran you had your eye on. He’s quite talented. He might even make it to the top and become a reliable right-hand man for you.”

“Ah?”

“What do you mean by ‘ah?’ Do you think I’m underestimating his potential?”

“No, the Lu Ran you mentioned… who is that?”

Manager Ying: “Meow meow meow???”

A moment later.

Manager Ying hung up the phone, deep in thought. So, Lu Ran really hadn’t lied to it! He and Gu Qingyi… really aren’t familiar!

“Damn! Why did I go through all the trouble to train him and even provide him with resources? What a loss!”

“No, wait, it’s not really a loss. The guy does have potential. Since Gu Qingyi says he’s not her person, maybe I should… make a preemptive move and recruit him into the maid café?”

“But he’s contracted with a dog, that won’t work.”

Manager Ying continued to ponder and finally decided to investigate Lu Ran’s background first.

“Within six hours, I want all his information, including that of the Erha. I have a feeling there’s something unusual about Erha’s past. Investigate thoroughly the experiences of Erha and Lu Ran before they met.” It took out its phone and spoke to the other side.

“Why is it that you get to slack off and travel while I have to dig up intelligence? The original really plays favorites.” Under the moonlight, a black cat with eyes like green emeralds complained.

Manager Ying ignored the complaint and continued to think, recalling carefully. It then realized that there might be something wrong with Erha’s body. Could it be what it suspected?

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