Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Lorant referred to this type of secondary beast as "photophobic black lizards."

These humanoid-like secondary beasts had very slender limbs and a stomach that was slightly too large in proportion to their bodies. Each one looked as if it had been starved for a lifetime, its entire body nothing but skin and bone, its gaunt, protruding bones looking frighteningly fragile.

Even their bloated stomachs, disproportionate to their frail frames, evoked images of the legendary "hungry ghost"—a creature from folklore said to be eternally famished—making them look truly unsettling.

On their inverted triangular faces were a pair of small, scarlet eyes. A closer look into their open mouths revealed layer upon layer of tiny, densely packed teeth, a sight that was both disgusting and likely to trigger trypophobia in some people.

The ugly creatures had a row of semi-transparent, black bone membranes that extended from their spines. These fragile membranes, thin enough to flutter in the breeze, gave them a distant resemblance to large lizards.

Their sharp claws allowed them to climb iron fences with ease, scaling walls swiftly using both hands and feet. In the darkness, their eyes glowed a menacing red.

When the boxes were being pulled out, Konger and the others had already closed the light spells in this area of the beast storage early on.

At this moment, the beast storage was plunged into complete darkness.

When the box was fully pulled out, aside from the faint light filtering through a distant doorway behind Lorant and the floating octopuses, all that could be seen in the darkness were the glowing red eyes, filled with chaos and violence, clinging to the iron fence.

Even though he knew the creatures were securely locked up, the sight still sent a chill down Lorant's spine.

When these small creatures gathered in numbers, their threat level multiplied exponentially.

The fear of these creatures was deeply ingrained in human DNA, an ancient instinct that could not be erased.

The moment they saw the faint light leaking through the door, these creatures immediately became agitated, with tiny red dots darting around inside the box, bouncing off the walls in panic.

The red lights moved so quickly that they left trails behind, making you wonder what it would feel like if they pounced on you.

The rustling sounds were especially noticeable in the darkness.

Seeing that these creatures were about to be driven into a screaming fit by the slightest bit of light, Lorant didn’t waste any words. He decisively grabbed the spray bottle that was coiled around the octopus’s wrist.

Though called a spray bottle, this item was actually more akin to what Lorant recognized as a high-pressure water gun.

The magic device custom-made by the Congress of Magic was sturdy and durable, with three adjustable settings that could spray out a solid stream of water, a fine mist, or a shower-like spray.

However, regardless of the different water delivery methods, they all shared one common feature—they packed a serious punch.

For a moment, Lorant thought the device had been custom-made for him by the burly mages from the knight order, given how heavy and sturdy it felt.

It just goes to show that the pursuit of power is perhaps ingrained in the hearts of all mages, regardless of their profession.

Even on the mist setting, the spray was powerful enough to make most of the glowing eyes in the darkness disappear instantly.

Lorant couldn’t tell if the creatures were knocked out by the hypnotic spray or simply blasted unconscious by the high-pressure water.

Either way, the result was the same. Soon, these little ones quieted down completely.

This was also the main reason Lorant didn’t ask for a rework after receiving this 'spray bottle.'

Regardless of the process, the final result was quite satisfactory!

Satisfied, Lorant cast the light spell overhead, illuminating the entire area once again.

The beast cage in front of him was a mess, with water still dripping continuously from the metal mesh.

At the bottom of the cage, a large group of photophobic black lizards were sprawled haphazardly on top of each other, their strange little bodies limp, eyes tightly closed. Some were lying with their tongues lolling out, clearly unconscious.

Lorant put on his gloves, opened the cage door, and grabbed a secondary beast—a type of creature bred for specific purposes—in his hand.

Gripping the creature by its neck with ease, he examined it from all angles, then scanned it with two handheld devices. He soon confirmed that these secondary beasts had fully matured and all of their physical metrics were within acceptable ranges.

Now, they were capable of breeding healthy Light-winged Butterflies.

No longer interested in these unattractive little creatures, he roughly shoved the creature back into the cage. It had been quite annoying when awake.

Thinking back to the trouble they caused, Lorant felt a wave of bitterness, and a single tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

Fortunately! He was about to get rid of these little things soon.

Setting this box of secondary beasts aside for later use, Lorant, along with several floating octopuses, headed towards the other end of the beast storage.

In a compartment bathed in the bright light of Light Spells, there was an unusually shaped secondary beast.

It was a bonsai tree, about the same height as Lorant.

At first glance, this secondary beast looked just like a real plant. It stood quietly in a flowerpot, resembling a short, dense pine tree. The beautiful crown of the tree, with its intricately branching canopy at three different heights, looked quite exquisite.

This interesting secondary beast reminded Lorant of the guest-greeting pines from his previous life—a type of pine tree often placed at entrances to welcome guests. Just by its appearance, he even felt an impulse to place a couple of these secondary beasts at the entrance of his home.

When paired with the elegance of a traditional Chinese garden, it would certainly make a striking impression.

Unfortunately, breeding such a secondary monster requires extremely complex monsters and materials, making the cost prohibitively high.

Moreover, no matter how harmless it may appear, this is still an extremely aggressive secondary monster, not a relatively safer low-level plant monster that poses no danger even when kept as a pet.

Lorant picked up a piece of pre-cut monster meat from a distance, the meat still streaked with blood, which was the perfect delicacy in the eyes of these secondary monsters.

He shook the piece of monster meat, letting drops of fresh blood fall. The moment the scent of blood reached their nostrils, the 'Welcoming Pine' in the pot suddenly underwent a transformation.

The secondary monster disguised as branches began to twist and reveal its true form.

This was a truly deformed secondary monster, one that defied description as any single type of creature.

Once it had resumed its original appearance, it looked like a giant python, except its skin was covered in rough bark instead of scales.

Its skin was a deep brown, sparsely dotted with clumps of green fur, which served as the 'canopy' when it was disguised as a potted plant.

In terms of mimicry alone, Lorant felt this secondary monster outperformed most others.

This secondary monster, which Lorant called a 'Feasting Pine,' was now fully active, its body writhing wildly in the air, with only its base still firmly rooted in the pot.

A large vertical slit appeared in the middle of the 'trunk,' from which a crimson tongue emerged, flicking wildly.

Lorant, watching this scene that would drive anyone mad, remained unperturbed. He casually threw the piece of meat into the 'Feasting Pine's' mouth.

This wasn't because Lorant had found a way to domesticate secondary monsters as pets; rather, he had subjected this particular secondary monster to special treatment, giving him the confidence to play with it as if it were a pet.

Just by observing the increasingly violent writhing of the secondary monster upon spotting Lorant, it was clear that it was far from a benign creature.

In fact, the body of this secondary monster did not include the large pot; the tree above was its actual body.

As a secondary beast, the Diner Pine doesn’t actually need any soil. After all, it’s still a beast, albeit a secondary one. In theory, although it can disguise itself as a tree, it certainly can’t produce a flower pot with intricate carvings.

The flower pot was actually a special “cage” designed and crafted by Lorant specifically for it.

Lorant used some special materials to firmly bind nearly half of the Diner Pine’s body in the pot, leaving only the upper part free to move. This way, the secondary beast could gain a strong sense of security while also preventing it from moving, effectively trapping it in place.

This is one of the safest and most effective ways to contain this secondary beast. Compared to other methods outlined in the ability chart, it was also quite aesthetically pleasing. So, Lorant decided to securely control the beast and place it in a partition near the office area of the beast storage.

He treated it like a decorative piece, casually placing it around the office area. After all, even a level five or six beast posed no threat to a ghost spider, especially since this one was securely immobilized.

Lorant held fresh meat in his hand and shook it from where he stood, attracting the Diner Pine as it forcefully stretched out its body. The entire secondary beast, except for the immovable root part, became a straight line.

Just as it strained to keep itself taut, Konger and the eighth Konger moved with lightning speed, pulling up the net that had been laid on the ground in advance, wrapping it around the Diner Pine.

The Diner Pine struggled fiercely, but with three powerful floating octopuses holding it down, it had little chance to resist.

If this were a real level five beast, three floating octopuses wouldn’t even be enough to satisfy its appetite, but this was a secondary beast raised in the beast storage. Every aspect of their lives was meticulously controlled, and every meal was precisely calculated to meet their basic living needs. There was simply no way for it to retain any extra strength to build up its power.

Under Lorant’s command, his assistant worked with the three floating octopuses to lift the constantly struggling Diner Pine into the air, stretching it into a straight line.

Then, Konger carefully dug out the “dense soil” from the pot and pulled the Diner Pine’s body completely out, stretching it straight in the air.

From a distance, it looked like a long, straight pole suspended above the beast storage. Of course, one would have to ignore the Diner Pine’s angry roars and the constantly opening and closing “big mouth.”

Konger dragged over a large bamboo basket from the side, which contained the light-focusing black lizards that had just been knocked out.

The number of these secondary beasts was astonishing; their bodies were not large to begin with, and the black box contained over a thousand of them.

They were now haphazardly piled in several large bamboo baskets, filling them to the brim.

Lorant mixed the luminous sap of the Light Spot Flower with the finely gleaming powder of the Ridge Color Stone, creating a large basin of liquid that shimmered with iridescent light under the sunlight.

It looked like a basin of flowing gold, and the combination of two materials, each beautiful on its own, was even more stunning when mixed together.

Lorant stirred the mixture with a stirring rod, and the vortex in the basin resembled melted gold. However, the light within it was not just gold and silver but a myriad of colors, as if one could see all the colors of the world within it, making it incredibly captivating.

Lorant looked at the solution in his hands with satisfaction. Each Light Spot Flower was only the size of a fingernail, and this seventh-level plant beast was both rare and difficult to bloom. Only heaven knew how much effort he had put into gathering enough sap for this basin.

Not to mention the Ridge Color Stones, which could only be found deep within special mineral veins in the goblin territories.

These minerals, already difficult to mine, were exquisitely beautiful and among the most sought-after gems by everyone.

The value of this basin of solution was enough for Lorant to open another Blue Star comprehensive store in Mauplan, on the scale of the one in Holland!

However, Lorant merely admired the beautiful, dreamlike solution casually before grabbing a thin, black lizard-like secondary beast without hesitation and dunking it into the solution.

He showed no hesitation or reluctance due to the preciousness of the solution.

The 'Light-Fearing Black Lizard' woke up, startled by the sparkling solution.

Moreover, whether it was the intense surrounding light or the glittering parts of the solution that stimulated it, the Light-Fearing Black Lizard began to scream loudly the moment it touched the solution.

Lorant's face changed, and he quickly shook the creature in his hand, deftly throwing it far into the gaping mouth of the stretched-out Guest Pine before it could turn around to bite his fingers.

His movements were so swift that Lorant himself felt that if there were a competition for throwing Light-Fearing Black Lizards, he would easily win first place!

At the moment the Diner Pine instinctively clamped its mouth shut, the sharp sound vanished without a trace.

Lorant let out a sigh of relief, but his relief was short-lived as he saw the thousands of photophobic black lizards beside him.

Although the exact reason was still unclear, the situation was quite obvious. Once they came into contact with the solution, they would awaken, thrash wildly, screech, and attempt to bite their own fingers off.

Yet, Lorant had no choice but to go through this process with each one of them.

Fortunately, he still had his last trump card—Baby. With Baby’s silk threads, Lorant didn’t have to use his own hands, but he still couldn’t leave the place either.

Reluctant as he was, Lorant had to face the reality that even if he completely trusted the floating octopuses, he couldn’t really leave such an important beast-breeding process to them, especially when it was a breeding line he had never attempted before.

This breeding line was far too important. If anything went wrong, it wouldn’t just waste the incredibly expensive materials, but also the enormous effort he had put in over this period.

Lancelot, although working almost non-stop at the Lopulo mountain pass, had only managed to gather just enough live beasts needed for the Light-wing Butterfly breeding.

Even with his own squad and placing his men at every fort in the mountain pass to watch closely for the specific live beasts they needed, Lancelot had only just managed to gather enough.

The highest-level beasts were captured deep within the beast surge, thanks to Michael’s help. Otherwise, even Lindbergh would have found it difficult to capture a live beast above level ten under the siege of the beast surge.

Thus, every single one of these beasts was extremely precious, and Lorant couldn’t bear to waste any of them.

The breeding of that batch of beasts had already begun, but beyond that, it was really impossible to find suitable beasts anymore.

The variety of beasts was simply too vast. Finding a specific beast in the vast beast surge was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Lorant was already satisfied with what he had accomplished so far.

Therefore, this breeding route couldn’t afford any mistakes. It had to be handled with the utmost care.

No matter how tired or frustrated he was, Lorant couldn’t delegate this task to anyone else.

Letting out a sigh, Lorant took a pair of special earplugs that Baby had thoughtfully lowered down with spider silk and put them in his ears to block out the noise, then began his tedious work.

One by one, he dipped the unconscious photophobic black lizards into the shiny ‘sauce,’ then quickly stuffed them into the Diner Pine’s mouth before they could bite him. He continued this until the entire basin of sauce was used up.

Lorant had no idea how long he had been doing this repetitive task.

Even with Baby helping to share almost half of the burden, it still took him nearly a whole day.

Toward the end, he was working almost numbly to finish the job.

Lorant’s calculations were spot on. When he finished the last of the ‘sauce,’ the thousands of small secondary beasts were also exactly used up.

All the materials were perfectly utilized, with not a single bit wasted.

At this point, the Diner Pine, which had once looked like a tree trunk, no longer resembled anything that could be associated with a ‘tree.’

Its already sturdy body had expanded fully from the excessive ‘food,’ and the parts that looked like tree wrinkles had been completely stretched open. A ‘wooden log’ had turned into a giant cone-shaped barrel-like object.

If anything, only a beast pet as massive as the Longevity Tree could compare to this one.

Lorant feared that the next photophobic black lizard would finally cause the Diner Pine’s body to burst open, but even after the last secondary beast was swallowed, the Diner Pine still kept opening and closing its huge mouth, as if it hadn’t had enough to eat.

At Lorant’s signal, the floating octopuses gently lowered the bloated, black cylindrical Diner Pine to the ground, holding it by its sides. The bloated Diner Pine continued to roar at Lorant, but it could no longer twist or move, now completely immobilized.

The sight of the round creature lying on the ground, unable to even roll over, left Lorant completely unconcerned about any potential threat.

He calmly walked up and crouched beside the Diner Pine, carefully inspecting the body of this secondary beast. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw faint light blue dots appearing in the center of the originally green patterns.

This was the sign he'd been waiting for—proof that the light-winged butterflies had successfully bred!

The photophobic black lizards that had just been fed to the Diner Pine weren't simply dinner but had actually been part of the breeding process.

With the help of Maomao and the floating octopuses, Lorant found a new spot for this round Diner Pine to rest.

This was a new area added to the beast storage, a small extension built at the rear after the glass was installed.

Lorant had specifically designed this space for the incubation of the light-winged butterflies.

Exiting through the back door, Lorant stepped into a large sunroom with clear glass walls that let the sunlight stream in.

Even after the sun had set, the glass and insulation charms kept the warmth from fading away.

He placed the Diner Pine in the center of the sunroom, then applied a special transparent gel to its body, finally able to relax.

If everything went smoothly, in less than a month, the Diner Pine would hatch light-winged butterflies after soaking up enough sunlight.

Standing on the balcony of his bedroom, Lorant held Bear Two and stroked its soft fur, his mind buzzing with excitement as he watched the sunroom.

After nearly a year of preparation, this long-awaited pet beast was finally about to hatch, and Lorant couldn't wait to see the results.