Chapter 130: Strange Screams

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Knight Squad set off again, heading north towards Thorns Ridge. The successful extermination of the southern part of Thorns Ridge had boosted the team's morale, and even the young esquires' faces now bore a hint of ferocity.

However, the main force of the extermination squad was neither the esquires, Marcus, nor Liszt.

It was Dou Sen.

He had become belligerent and brimming with energy, almost tireless. From small creatures like squirrels to large monsters like the Ice Tree Frogs, they all fell victim to his onslaught.

Especially the low-level ice attribute monster, the Ice Tree Frog, which squatted on a branch, casting the spell "Ice Blade" to bombard Dou Sen indiscriminately. But Dou Sen had even mastered climbing trees on his own, and despite the Ice Tree Frog's frantic leaps, it was still caught by Dou Sen, who killed it in a few bites without even using Rock Spike.

The demeanor of the king of Thorns Ridge was taking shape.

"Dou Sen is not far from being a mid-level monster, my lord. Its combat power is getting stronger, and I feel that it is still growing stronger," Marcus said sincerely as he watched Dou Sen carry an Ice Tree Frog in his mouth, wagging his tail, and place his trophy beside the Pegasus Horse.

Raising a fighting monster that was loyal and brave was incredibly practical.

Liszt happily threw a strip of fried meat to reward Dou Sen – Dou Sen was very picky about his food and preferred cooked food over raw.

"At first, I thought the Bloodline Fruit failed to change its bloodline and that it was still just a Wild Earth Dog. But now, we can't jump to conclusions so easily. Master Marcus, don't you feel that after two days in Thorns Ridge, Dou Sen has grown another circle in size?"

"It has indeed grown another circle. Dou Sen is now as big as a tiger."

An adult Wild Earth Dog could at most compare to the size of a leopard. Dou Sen had now reached the size of a tiger and was still growing.

Liszt waved his hand, and Dou Sen dashed out again to continue his hunting spree.

"No matter what, Dou Sen is only half a year old and not yet fully grown. It's already this strong, so when it reaches adulthood, there might be no opponents below mid-level monsters." Monsters generally developed quickly, but Dou Sen was clearly faster. In the castle, Liszt had never neglected him, feeding him plenty of meat.

Compared to ordinary monsters in the forest that ate raw food to survive, Dou Sen always ate cooked food, which had a higher nutrient absorption rate. He could cast spells in less than three months and fight adult monsters in half a year. After eating the Bloodline Fruit, his body swelled, and his magic power surged, allowing him to crush low-level monsters effortlessly.

When Dou Sen reached adulthood, the monsters on Coral Island would have no match for him except for the Purple Sand Crocodile.

As they spoke, Dou Sen encountered another monster. This was a giant Thunder Fang Boar, followed by four smaller Thunder Fang Boars.

They were likely a family related to the Thunder Fang Boar in the southern part of Thorns Ridge.

Facing Dou Sen, the large boar was quite aggressive, but Dou Sen was much more cunning than expected. He circled around and pounced, killing the baby boars.

He avoided direct confrontation with the large boar.

After the large boar exhausted its magic power with a barrage of Thunder Strike spells, Dou Sen began to release Rock Spikes, taunting the boar. Eventually, he found an opportunity to knock the Thunder Fang Boar to the ground, delivering a finishing blow with a Rock Spike through its neck, sending the entire boar family to their doom.

Holding his bow and arrows, Marcus barely had a chance to act: "The timing of the magic spell was perfect. Dou Sen is highly intelligent, and your training of it has been very effective, my lord."

Liszt was equally idle: "It is indeed very smart. Monsters rely on instinct, but it relies on its brain." He was increasingly satisfied with Dou Sen.

With Dou Sen, the extermination mission was as easy as a leisurely outing.

Marcus didn't let the esquires idle around. When they encountered a lone Wind Blade Wolf, he had Liszt call Dou Sen back and then arranged for the esquires to surround and attack the wolf: "This is an old and weak Wind Blade Wolf. It has started to lose its fur and was probably driven out of the pack. It's up to you."

In the end, three esquires were injured, but ten esquires managed to kill the Wind Blade Wolf together.

The prey was hung on a tree.

The group continued deeper into the area.

As they approached the seaside, it also meant that the northern part of Thorns Ridge was almost cleared, but the harvest wasn't particularly rich. There were only five Thunder Fang Boars (one large and four small), one Ice Tree Frog, and one Wind Blade Wolf, totaling six monsters. They did hunt many wild beasts, but Liszt had no interest in them.

Accustomed to monster meat, wild beast meat was considered inferior food.

"It's a pity that Thorns Forest will soon disappear. Flower Town will no longer have an environment suitable for monsters to inhabit. In the future, if I want to eat monster meat, I'll have to buy it outside."

The harvest from clearing Thorns Ridge would provide enough monster meat for him to last half a year.

After that, he would have to spend a lot of money to buy monster meat to eat.

Marcus saw things in perspective: "Once Thorns Ridge is converted into farmland, the castle's tax revenue will significantly increase. Naturally, my lord will be able to use gold coins to purchase monster meat. Moreover, at that time, the two potions, Black Tulip and Flame Mushroom, will also bring in substantial income, making Flower Town increasingly prosperous."

"We still need to develop more sources of income. In the future, we won't just eat, but also cultivate the Knight Squad." The success of hunting monsters fueled Liszt's ambitions. "I hope that next time during the expansion order, my knights can win me true glory. A lord needs more land!"

Marcus's eyes gleamed: "I am at your service, my lord!"

"Woof woof!"

Dou Sen suddenly barked, interrupting the lord and knight's pleasant daydreams.

Taking advantage of the situation, Liszt activated his Magic Eye to check the surroundings. Then, he saw signs of magic power in the distance, indicating that a monster was lurking nearby.

"I didn't expect to find a monster so close to the seaside. Go, Dou Sen."

Upon receiving the command, Dou Sen leaped forward and charged straight at the monster. He had obviously sensed the monster's presence earlier than Liszt.

Liszt and the others followed at a relaxed pace.

They could hear Dou Sen's occasional barks and another dog's bark.

"I didn't expect there to be another Wild Earth Dog," Marcus deduced from the sound that the monster was a Wild Earth Dog.

"It's normal. Wild Earth Dogs breed in Thorns Ridge, so there couldn't have been only two or three of them. In fact, I think there might still be some that escaped – Thorns Ridge couldn't have had only one Shadow Snake or one Ice Tree Frog. There might even be Wind Falcons nearby."

Pausing for a moment, Liszt continued: "Of course, it's hard to say. Eighteen years ago, before Flower Town was built, this place was all forest and was cleared once by the Coral Island Knights. The Shadow Snakes and Ice Tree Frogs might have been survivors from that time… Monsters can live for many years after all."

Compared to ordinary wild beasts, monsters had a longer lifespan.

Theoretically, they could have survived until now. The Wild Earth Dogs, Wind Blade Wolves, and Thunder Fang Boars had found breeding partners and could continue to reproduce; the Shadow Snakes and Ice Tree Frogs were likely to go extinct, but their bloodlines might continue, as they could mate with wild beasts.

There was not necessarily absolute reproductive isolation between monsters and beasts of the same species.

In the realm of fantasy, it is not uncommon for beasts to be violated by monstrous creatures, resulting in the birth of offspring that are a blend of both worlds. Liszt's steed, the Fire Dragon Horse, is a prime example of this, being the progeny of a mythical Fire Steed and a common horse.

The proliferation of species always experiences its ups and downs.

Sometimes they evolve, sometimes they regress; even magical beasts are not forever confined to being mere beasts.

Suddenly.

Liszt sensed something amiss; he could no longer hear Hiddleston's roars, but instead, the agonizing cries of another ferocious earth hound reached his ears. Yet, there was something peculiar about these cries—they were indeed pained, but the breath behind them was consistently drawn out, not at all resembling the cries one would expect from a creature being hunted down by Hiddleston.