Chapter 322

Chapter 322

Everson widened his eyes and took a couple of seconds to grasp what Lancelot was implying. "Wait, you mean outside?"

His gaze towards Lancelot also started to look a bit odd: "Earl Cavendish, I'm afraid I can't answer that question definitively, but I can assure you that within a one-kilometer stretch of the mountain wall from the fortress to the first outpost, such things are unlikely to exist."

"If you're looking for it, you might want to search beyond this range."

Everson thought to himself, grumbling silently, who would know exactly where those rockwoods on the northern side of the mountain range are located!

Even if the fortress carves a narrow passage high up on the mountain wall to connect to the forward outpost, it's merely a narrow path!

The Lopulo Mountain Range is so high, who in the fortress would bother to investigate what's up there? As long as it doesn't threaten the safety of the fortress, who would care about those things!

The Lopulo Mountain Range is a treasure trove, hiding many plant beasts and mineral veins.

If you really want to find rockwood, it's not impossible to find them with careful searching on the southern side of the Lopulo Mountain Range, but the range is just too vast, and rockwood is a relatively rare ninth-level plant beast, making it somewhat challenging.

Everson looked at the three people in front of him, feeling as though his worldview was being repeatedly overturned today.

"Shaman Everson," Lorant, once he had clarified his task, immediately turned to the host here: "I would like to go to the first outpost to see the specific situation of the Bubble Parasitic Snail you discovered, would that be acceptable?"

"We will prepare to capture that beast, and if we can't capture it, we will kill it to prevent it from affecting Griffin Ridge," Lorant assured: "You can be assured of this."

Everson came to his senses and, hearing Lorant's assurance, nodded promptly: "Of course, no problem, with you two here, I naturally trust your strength, you can head over anytime."

"Peipei! Come here! Escort these distinguished guests to the first outpost, they will help us handle that troublesome beast!" Everson immediately turned around and shouted in a certain direction.

Regardless of how eccentric these people's actions may be, even if they were twice as eccentric, Everson wouldn't care, as long as they can help the fire lion tribe solve the current urgent problem, he has no interest in delving into the mental world of these guests.

Strong individuals always have their little quirks, that's what makes them normal.

The one called Peipei was a fire lion tribe woman with smooth, fiery red long hair, a long tail trailing behind her, and a few whiskers characteristic of the fire lion tribe on her face, a quintessential fire lion tribe beauty.

Like Everson, Peipei wore a similar robe, indicating her status as a shaman, but based on the length and thickness of the robe, she was still a young shaman.

The feathers and leather on a shaman's robe are trophies earned by the shaman, and only beasts killed by surpassing levels are qualified to be sewn onto the shaman's robe. It is believed that such prey can grant the shaman great power.

Thus, the first lesson Lorant learned among the orc race was to judge the strength of a shaman not by his age, but by how thick his coat is.

"Okay, teacher! Please follow me, everyone!" Peipei trotted over, first nodding to Everson, then smiling at the three.

She seemed quite excited, probably because she could get close to a great mage like Jacqueline who is famous outside.

However, Lorant did not move. He glanced at Lancelot and continued to Everson: "Shaman Everson, if possible, could you please find a guide familiar with the mountain conditions here to take Lance to look for rockwood on the mountain wall."

"Please rest assured, we will ensure the guide's safety," Lorant said with great confidence.

Everson did not hesitate at all in the face of this request. He promptly selected a fire lion tribe warrior from among the nearby practitioners: "Tom, you follow Earl Cavendish, take him around the fortress and outpost to look for rockwood."

He turned to Lancelot and said: "Tom is one of our best hunters here, he has eyes like an eagle, with great ability in finding hidden targets."

Everson specifically explained, indicating that he did not just randomly pick someone to satisfy Lorant's request.

Lancelot nodded in thanks and went forward to greet the fire lion tribe warrior.

After settling the guide, everyone began to move towards their own goals.

The fire lion tribe's Griffin Ridge steel fortress is at the narrowest entrance of the Lopulo Mountain Range, blocking it solidly with its steel body, as if filling a piece of the Lopulo Mountain Range.

Thus, the size of the entire fortress is not large, with a maximum width of under 500 meters. After seeing the entrance of the Pokara Mountains, Lorant felt that this place didn’t seem like a mountain entrance but rather a crack in the mountain range.

Lorant leaned over the high platform of the steel fortress and was amazed at the sight below.

Although the mountain entrance is very narrow, the number of beasts outside is still significant. In fact, as long as it's on the other side of the Lopulo Mountains, these beasts always appear in a state of a beast horde.

Unlike Pokara, which relies on many practitioners to hold back the beasts several kilometers from the mountain pass, this place is different.

After leaving here, there is no gradually widening valley. Instead, you immediately enter the vast plains on the other side of the Lopulo Mountains. Therefore, the fire lion tribe has no way and no space to push the fortress forward.

They can only guard this place, using the fortress to secure the crack in the Lopulo Mountains.

There isn’t even enough buffer space here. If a beast horde were to break out, Lorant couldn’t fathom how they would handle it.

They would probably have to hold their ground and fight to the death.

Because of such an environment, the battle tactics of Griffin Ridge also seemed quite interesting to Lorant.

In the territory of the orc tribe, there is a highly unusual plant beast. This plant beast resembles a tough, elongated vine, with one end typically in a closed bud state. However, if it sees blood, it will immediately open, using its hard flower-like shell to tear open the wounds of its prey.

This is a very important resource in the orc race. Despite its danger, every tribe must cultivate it.

The reason lies in its critical function in the various Lopulo mountain passes of the orc race.

On the high platform under a hundred meters wide, Lorant saw many archers. They used "Iron Claw Flowers" as arrows, placing the unopened buds on their bows and firing them into the beasts below.

Upon seeing blood, the opened Iron Claw Flowers would become unbreakable bonds. In this case, others on the platform simply pulled the vine’s other end to retrieve the Iron Claw Flowers and claim an injured beast as prey.

Although this method of clearing beasts is not the most efficient, it is relatively safe and can reduce waste.

At least the bodies of the dead beasts can be harvested for valuable materials, rather than being eaten by other beasts on the other side of Lopulo.

The drawback is that, despite having five combat layers, the platform’s size limits the number of adventurers who can fight.

After observing the orcs' combat style with interest for a while, Lorant and Jacqueline followed behind Pepe and began walking along the mountain wall passage towards the first outpost.

Indeed, every Lopulo fortress has such a mountain wall passage.

Besides the fortress guarding the central pass, people carved semi-hidden passages into Lopulo’s mountain walls, extending them as far as possible to position sentry posts.

The wider the field of observation, the safer the fortress itself.

For instance, the Thorn Knights mobilized the Spike Legion to charge out of the fortress and eliminate the beasts in the horde, thanks to the distant fortress spotting the threat early and giving Jane time to prepare.

If the beasts capable of triggering a horde came within sight of the fortress, they would likely have already detected it, leaving no time to act.

However, this was Lorant's first time entering an active outpost passage.

The last time he walked through the mountain wall passage of Pokara, it was an abandoned outpost passage connecting the old and new sections of the fortress after the hunting ground was raised. The feeling was somewhat different from now.

Frankly, the passage inside the mountain wall is not very wide, making people feel somewhat oppressed when standing inside. Lorant wondered how the orc warriors, who are often over two meters tall, managed to move through here.

This might be the main reason why all sentries are required to be short and highly flexible.

Even among the fire lion tribe, not every member is as tall as a wall.

Although it is a passage inside the mountain wall, small holes are opened at intervals along the mountain wall to serve as ventilation ports, ensuring that the air inside the passage does not become problematic. Even so, the air in the entire passage is far from good.

Moreover, even though it is hidden as much as possible, this mountain wall passage is not a safe place. Hundreds of meters below their feet are the frenzied beast hordes. The moment they entered the passage, Lorant's ears were already hurting from the roars of the beasts.

Not only that, because of the ventilation openings and the external shape of the mountain walls, the passage inevitably has some gaps that can be seen, and the eyes of those flying beasts are always annoyingly keen, able to spot any moving creature.

Even if it's just a fleeting glimpse through a crevice, no one can guarantee complete safety.

Therefore, it's not uncommon for sentinels to lose their lives inside the mountain walls from attacks by flying beasts.

The fire lion tribe's mountain entrance has passages leading to the left and right mountain walls, one leading to the first sentry post and the other to the second sentry post.

On the way to the first sentry post, Lorant and the others passed by the seventh, fifth, and third sentry posts. Each sentry post has carved out a significant space inside the mountain wall, and unlike the passage, they provide a broad view to monitor changes in the beast tide.

At the same time, each sentry post was once the first sentry post, but as the passage extended further, the tasks of these posts became less demanding.

Although the tasks are no longer as heavy, these posts are still formidable parts of the fortress, with many people stationed there.

They crouch in the passage or lie low under the human-sized holes in the mountain wall, carefully keeping watch.

After all, a broad view from another angle means greater danger.

So every sentinel here hides themselves well, like when Lorant was startled by a rock-like fire lion tribe sentinel crouching in a corner as he passed by.

By the time they reached the first sentry post, even with the help of Jacqueline and Fa Meng, the group's speed was not fast due to the narrowness of the passage and Lorant being an ordinary person, so it was already dark.

It was Lorant's first time entering such a dangerous place. The first sentry post is quite large, with not only an outer watch area but also a considerable space carved out inside the mountain wall, accommodating ten sentinels and meeting their daily living needs.

Inside the incredibly hard mountain wall, there is a warm hall and many small rooms, as well as facilities like a kitchen and shower room, which surprised Lorant, who had thought the people here would live as austerely as ascetics.

That night, the three stayed at the sentry post, each with their own magic tent, so they didn't have to worry about accommodation after setting them up in their small rooms.

Early the next morning, Lancelot followed Tom to the surrounding mountain walls to search for rockwood.

Before coming, Lorant had agreed with Little Qing and Little Black that they would follow Lancelot this time. Initially, the little ones were reluctant, but after Lorant promised them many snacks, the little spider reluctantly followed Lancelot.

This is also something Lorant is very puzzled about; Lancelot really seems to be naturally disliked by beast pets.

Even after spending a lot of time with these little ones, they still don't warm up to Lancelot.

This kind of constitution is truly pitiful.

Lorant shook his head sympathetically as he watched Lancelot's retreating figure.

Lancelot and Tom had to take a hidden path behind the sentry post, fly outside the passage, and then search for rockwood along the surrounding mountain walls while fending off possible harassment from airborne beasts and cutting it down.

Meanwhile, Lorant squatted on the sentry post's watchtower, carefully observing the strange bubbles mentioned by the sentry post's people.

Lorant raised the telescope handed to him by Fa Meng, and without even needing to bring it to his eyes, the scene before him began to magnify continuously.

These little things of Fa Meng are essentially derivatives of the grimoire's rules.

For example, the telescope in Lorant's hand was endowed by Fa Meng with the rule of 'being able to see far away,' so as long as Lorant holds it, this rule is realized on Lorant, allowing him to gain the ability to 'see far away.'

Of course, under the creation of Fa Meng, a child with a peculiar way of thinking, if Lorant wants to adjust the magnification of the scene he sees, he still needs to twist the magnifying glass in his hand.

As Fa Meng puts it, even the things it creates must still conform to logic!

And the necessary sense of ceremony cannot be missing!

A completely illogical creature earnestly told Lorant.

Fortunately, whether it conforms to logic or not, Fa Meng's abilities are truly useful, and Lorant now clearly sees the large area of bubbles floating above the distant beast herd.

His expression grew increasingly serious. Judging by the number and spread of those bubbles, the "Bubble Parasitic Snail" had already parasitized quite a few beasts.

It was roughly estimated that its eggs were nearly ready to hatch, and it was unclear how long it had taken for this creature to wander here.

Lorant could only speculate that this Bubble Parasitic Snail might have gotten lost and couldn't find its way back, thus becoming trapped here.

However, a Bubble Parasitic Snail in this state was particularly dangerous. The sheer number of bubbles extending over several kilometers was enough to give anyone who dared to step into its territory a hard time.

After observing, Lorant and Fa Meng crouched in a corner, whispering and discussing how to bring this troublesome creature back.

Unlike Lorant's concern, Fa Meng appeared quite confident, thumping its chest loudly, clearly not taking the beast seriously.

Jacqueline stood nearby, arms crossed: "I'll make sure you're safe, Lorant, so don't rush. If we fail to capture it alive today, we have plenty of time to plan again."

"But first, I must say, I'm not adept at capturing beasts alive. If you completely fail and abandon the capture, I will step in and kill the beast directly."

Jacqueline spoke regretfully, not out of humility. As a legendary mage specializing in combat and mastering countless powerful spells, her greatest frustration was her inability to capture those cursed beasts.

Low-level, weak beasts were naturally easy for her to overpower and capture alive.

But high-level beasts, those above level ten, were much harder.

During Jacqueline's time, the Beast Tower hadn't acquired a single living beast above level ten. The only level ten beast she retrieved was already near death.

Although the Beast Tower later enlisted powerful healing mages to save the beast from the brink of death, successfully adding another enclosure at the base of the tower, the beast remained extremely weak.

Lorant had once inspected the beast and deemed it the only one in the Beast Tower unfit for breeding.

The beast would require at least fifty years of recovery before it could fully recover. Until then, not only breeding but even normal research would be quite difficult.

This was a sore point for Jacqueline. Her combat skills were formidable, but she lacked control abilities, making her a pure force of destruction.

On the battlefield, she was unstoppable, but in situations like this, she was less effective.

Her only method of capturing beasts was to subdue them by force and then haul them back.

As for using advanced control magic to restrain the beast unharmed, that was far too complex.

So, honestly, Jacqueline genuinely hoped Lorant could pass this test, as it would mean the Beast Tower could regain the ability to capture high-level beasts.

Then she could follow Lorant and Fa Meng to hunt beyond the Lopulo Pass.

The high-level beasts in the Beast Tower were not getting any younger...

"Don't worry, Aunt Jacqueline, I'll bring that little thing back," Lorant said, not overthinking it like Jacqueline. He just wanted to complete the task so Jacqueline could accompany him to the southern desert.

No matter how vast the world was, nothing mattered more than his S-rank beast companion.

After saying this, Lorant suddenly stood up.

Earlier, he had been crouching at the edge of the watchtower, where there was a waist-high opening like a giant window. While it offered a good view, it also made it easy for beasts to spot them. Most of the time, the sentries hid in the nearby passage or crouched like Lorant.

No one wanted to expose themselves here and gamble on whether the beasts would overlook them.

Lorant's sudden movement startled many, and Peipei, standing nearby, panicked and reached out to pull him back.

Despite the large gap in the mountain wall, the sentries never used it to enter or exit. Even high-level practitioners with flying abilities would obediently follow the same route as Lancelot earlier, going far from the watchtower and finding a spot in the passage to exit.

This was not only to avoid being spotted by beasts due to their large target but also because, if discovered here, the watchtower's entrance could become the primary target for surrounding beasts.

The beast horde includes some high-level beasts, which possess enough intelligence to understand that behind this platform lies the juicy and succulent orcs.

However, the outpost only has ten people, and there's no way they could withstand an attack from these beasts.

At that time, even if the sentinels wanted to run back through the passage, it would be extremely difficult.

After being spotted by the beasts, they would relentlessly track the practitioners' locations, and as long as there were even the smallest gaps in the passage, these creatures would keep chasing.

At that point, not only would the outpost be exposed, but even the Third and Fifth Outposts in the rear could also be compromised.

After the outpost is exposed, it must remain vacant for a long time. Only after the group of beasts that discovered this place have all left or been cleared can it be used again. This is a lesson countless fortresses have learned through bloodshed.

So Pepe didn't expect that the renowned owner of the beast pet shop would be such a clueless person. His actions were too abrupt, and no one present had time to stop him.

After standing up, Lorant quickly climbed onto the half-height stone wall and then, under the horrified gaze of the orcs, gracefully jumped down.

Pepe nearly couldn't hold back her gasp, but fortunately, Jacqueline was nearby. She quickly cast a silencing spell on the young shaman and pulled her back into the passage.

"Behave!" Jacqueline expanded the silencing spell to cover the entire platform before scolding, "Don't freak out like this! You're a warrior! In such situations, you should let him go! Instead of risking another second of exposure trying to save him!"

"The safety of the outpost is paramount!"

The witch, who had overseen the fortress at the entrance of Lopulo Mountain for a century, scolded Pepe, who obediently bowed her head, unable to argue.

It may sound cold-blooded, but what Jacqueline said was indeed the optimal solution. In the face of such emergencies, even reducing the slightest risk of the outpost being exposed could give oneself and other companions a better chance of survival.

Reckless actions endanger not just oneself but the entire outpost!

Pepe lowered her head and obediently accepted Jacqueline's scolding.

Meanwhile, Lorant, during his descent, suddenly grew two pairs of massive wings on his back.

These wings were not the feathered wings that high-level knights typically have but rather a pair of luminous, dreamlike wings resembling those of a light-winged butterfly. Warm orange light shimmered slowly across the wings, trailing a dreamy light path behind him.

Although they looked delicate, they were sturdy enough to support Lorant's weight, allowing him to fly toward the direction of the colorful bubble.

Lorant glanced back at his wings with dissatisfaction, then shifted his gaze to Fa Meng, who was fluttering a pair of orange butterfly wings beside his head.

"I didn't want wings like this, Fa Meng!" He grabbed Fa Meng's short, chubby tail and threatened, "Quickly change them back to feathered wings!"

Fa Meng pouted, looking hurt, "But these wings are pretty too! Feathered wings are so common! They're not special anymore!"

In the past two days at Griffin Ridge, Fa Meng had seen over a dozen feathered wings, making the little fat dragon feel that such wings were too mainstream, which is why it secretly switched to light-winged butterfly wings.

"Exactly because they're pretty, they're common! Come on, as we agreed, big black wings!" Lorant complained while tugging at the little fat dragon's tail, "Even though feathered wings are common, black ones are rare!"

"Fine! Fine!" Fa Meng threw up its hands, acting as if it had no choice, and finally compromised with Lorant.

In the next moment, under the anxious and astonished gazes of the outpost members, the wings on Lorant's back suddenly transformed, doubling in size.

The massive black feathered wings flapped majestically behind Lorant, with black starlit feathers slowly falling and dissipating in the air.

This sudden change surprised the orcs in the outpost, but what puzzled them the most was that after Lorant made such a big commotion, neither the flying beasts lingering nearby nor the beast horde close by seemed to notice him. They simply let Lorant fly away, wobbling unsteadily.

Pepe stood there, mouth agape, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

Even Jacqueline couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Lorant's move truly left Jacqueline somewhat astonished.

Hiding one's aura or making oneself invisible is something Fa Meng can certainly do, but it requires many preconditions. To move as casually and boldly as Lorant without being detected by thousands of beasts is no easy feat.

In a beast tide, many beasts naturally possess the ability to see through disguises.

Moreover, these beasts have different abilities. Using light refraction techniques will be detected by beasts with keen noses.

Using a concealment cover will be detected by beasts with sonic abilities.

In a beast tide, being spotted by one beast means being spotted by all. Therefore, flying so boldly and unhindered above the beast tide is indeed a strange phenomenon.

Achieving this requires an extremely comprehensive concealment ability.

All of this naturally stems from Fa Meng's power of rules.

The size of the territory Fa Meng can control is quite limited before reaching adulthood. After covering all of Kamkuo, the Beast Pet Shop, and Moon Estate, the remaining expandable territory, according to Fa Meng, is less than two Blue Star territories.

It may not sound small, but these fully controllable areas are extremely precious to Lorant.

Control over the grimoire's territory means absolute safety for Lorant. Only in such places can he feel completely at ease letting his family stay; otherwise, he would constantly worry about the appearance of a powerful assassin.

Given the current status of the Beast Pet Shop, Lorant has no doubt that even legendary-level assassins would be enticed.

That is not a scenario he wants to encounter.

The Blue Star territory will undoubtedly expand again, and Lorant cannot possibly own just one Moon Estate.

Lorant wants his family to have absolute safety in all territories under his control, so the territorial ability must not be used carelessly.

Moreover, transforming an area into his own territory requires Fa Meng to invest considerable time, which is no simple task, so this ability cannot be used in combat.

But this does not mean Fa Meng is any less threatening outside its territory.

No matter where it is, Fa Meng's most formidable ability remains the power of rules. It's just that enforcing its rules outside its territory requires Fa Meng to exert more effort and preparation time.

At this moment, Fa Meng is applying its power of rules to Lorant.

When it applies the rule 'cannot be discovered by beasts' to Lorant, he could set up a speaker, blast rock music, and dance in front of these beasts without being noticed.

Because, according to the rules, they 'cannot' detect Lorant.

This is the twisted and formidable nature of the power of rules.

With this power of rules, Lorant and Fa Meng swiftly reached the area where the Bubble Parasitic Snail was located.

After circling above the beast tide, Lorant could sense the overwhelming number of beasts behind the Lopulo Mountains.

At the same time, he also realized that the beasts here are not entirely an endless tide.

He flew low, so he saw an endless tide of beasts, but Fa Meng could sense the extent of the beast tide. It told Lorant that starting from him and going about forty to fifty kilometers further, within this range, the density of beasts is that of a beast tide.

The reason these beasts gather is simple: this is the entrance to the mountains, where the steel fortress and the fragrant orcs behind it continuously lure the beasts to push forward driven by their instincts.

The beasts at the front might still see the fortress and sense the orcs' presence, having a clear target, but the beasts at Lorant's position can actually sense nothing.

They continue to push forward simply because there are too many beasts gathered here, coming to join the excitement...

Originally, Lorant thought that the Lopulo Mountains were just filled with beast tides, but now he realizes that even these beasts find it hard to survive for long under such conditions.

While they can randomly pick a lucky fellow beast for dinner when hungry, it does not satisfy the beasts' needs for breeding and more activities.

Therefore, even on this side of the Lopulo Mountains, the Beast Tide is only a small-scale special phenomenon.

Their true habitat lies beyond the Beast Tide. According to Fa Meng, the distribution of beasts there is more akin to that of the Black Forest, providing the beasts with an ideal environment to live and reproduce.

Lorant gazed out at the endless Beast Tide and suddenly became interested in the world beyond the Lopulo Mountains.

"After we deal with the Giant Sandworm, let's go explore beyond the Lopulo Mountains!" Lorant said eagerly to Fa Meng. "We'll search for that reef, and I also want to see what the world beyond the Lopulo Mountains is like."

Fa Meng nodded, her eyes gleaming as she gazed into the distance.

An adventure! The kind of tale you only find in travelogues! And now Fa Meng also understood what the Lopulo Mountains meant to humans.

After she and Lorant ventured far and wide, she would write her own travelogue for bards to spread far and wide! The grand tale of Fa Meng, the great adventurer!

The first chapter would be "Grand Adventurer Fa Meng Captures the Bubble Parasitic Snail at Griffin Ridge!"

Though she didn't know why Fa Meng had suddenly become so motivated, Lorant was happy to see Fa Meng in such high spirits at this moment, as it filled him with a sense of security.

Lorant flapped his majestic wings, hovering mid-air with his arms crossed, watching the Beast Tide below. Colorful bubbles emerged from the seemingly unaware beasts.

It was a strange visual phenomenon.

Soap-like bubbles slowly rose from the beasts' fur and tough skin, forming large bubbles before leisurely drifting away from their bodies.

Throughout the process, the beasts remained utterly oblivious, merely wriggling along with the others, trying to reach the mountain pass.

Lorant reached out to Fa Meng, who smoothly handed him a small round monocle.

After Lorant put it on, his vision was immediately enhanced with additional information.

In his view, each beast now emitted light of varying intensity, representing the energy fluctuations that practitioners often referred to.

By the brightness of the light, one could gauge the beast's level.

Soon, Lorant spotted the brightest light, glowing like a dazzling flame amidst the radiance. He took off the monocle and saw a beast covered in long spines, with a particularly bright light emanating from its body.

This light was so glaring that it would be impossible to miss unless one were blind.

Even Jacqueline would need considerable effort to locate the beast's true form, but Lorant had easily "seen" it.

This was also thanks to Fa Meng's rules.

Unlike practitioners, who might be misled by the energy of parasitic beasts when sensing energy fluctuations, Fa Meng's rule power was more direct.

Any energy fluctuation had to reveal its color, making the monocle's vision even stronger than that of many level 13 or 14 practitioners.

Lorant felt a small thrill. It was his first time encountering such a high-level beast in the wild and experiencing its cunning nature firsthand.

This particularly crafty beast, though within the "bubble domain," was not positioned in the center, surrounded by its parasitic hosts. Instead, it cleverly stayed at the edge, making it easier to escape or confuse enemies.

Unfortunately, it had encountered Lorant and Fa Meng.

The rule power, which tolerated no nonsense, left no room for its tricks!

Once the target was found, Lorant stepped back.

He knew his limits and understood that he was essentially a burden to Fa Meng. His greatest contribution here was to stay out of the way and not distract her from protecting him.

If possible, Lorant even felt he shouldn't have left the outpost at all, letting Fa Meng handle capturing the beast on her own.

However, Lorant was both curious about this rare beast and reluctant to fully reveal Fa Meng's unique abilities in the territory of the orc race.

So, that's how things ended up.

But now, with no one watching, Lorant felt he could let Fa Meng act freely.

He flew aside, hovering and waiting to see Fa Meng in action.

The little fat dragon wasn't in any rush either. She perched on the edge of the book, peering down for a bit before starting to scribble and draw on her grimoire.

Handling a level thirteen beast was no big deal for Fa Meng.

After all, she was a grimoire! An S-class beast grimoire!