Chapter 354

Chapter 354

Little Black soared into the air, letting out a raspy cry, and quickly caught up with its little brother, who was hovering obediently in the air, waiting for it.

Paul's vision came to a halt, and before he could even feel puzzled, he heard Lorant's voice beside him: "Hold on, Paul. I'll get Little Black to take you for a spin outside the beast shop."

Without Little Black, or rather, without Lorant's guidance, Paul's Blood-Eyed Black Raven would not be able to leave the airspace above the beast shop.

By the beast shop's rules, it could only move in Fa Meng's controlled area to stay safe.

All Blood-Eyed Black Ravens could only leave the beast shop's vicinity during experiments, venturing far under Fa Meng's strict watch. The rest of the time, the beast shop's area was sufficient for them to expend their daily energy.

Paul was momentarily stunned. His vision was carried far away, and he instinctively thought he was already flying in the sky. Only when Lorant's voice reached him did he realize he was still seated at the beast shop, merely having his vision carried away by a Blood-Eyed Black Raven.

Soon, in Paul's vision, he saw a Blood-Eyed Black Raven swiftly darting towards him from behind, circling around him, and then taking the lead ahead.

He trailed behind the Blood-Eyed Black Raven, slowing his pace as they headed towards the Black Forest.

When Blood-Eyed Black Ravens and humans use the vision-sharing skill, there is a very faint telepathic connection. This means that if Paul strongly focuses on a thought, the little Blood-Eyed Black Raven can pick it up.

However, Blood-Eyed Black Ravens are only C-level beast companions, and they may not accurately understand some complex thoughts. Therefore, how to communicate simply and effectively with a Blood-Eyed Black Raven is something that Beast Tamers need to learn well.

But this was Paul's first time dealing with such a unique beast companion. Not fully understanding the beast, the cautious knight refrained from giving any commands to the Blood-Eyed Black Raven, letting it act freely instead.

Paul was no stranger to flying. As a high-level knight, he was quite accustomed to this sensation. After quickly getting used to the vast view, Paul began to enjoy the beautiful scenery before him.

The two Blood-Eyed Black Ravens flapped their wings and flew over the outpost's vicinity. Though they drew the outpost's attention, the fact that they were heading to the Black Forest, not from it, and that these unfamiliar 'beast' birds had come from the beast shop, led the outpost's sentinels to choose to ignore them.

Soon, their gaze reached above the Black Forest. This was already the beasts' territory. As the two Blood-Eyed Black Ravens deliberately lowered their altitude and provocatively flew by, they provoked angry roars from the beasts.

When facing beast companions, beasts behave quite differently from when they face humans.

They will attack beast companions, but more often than not, it's motivated by a desire to hunt or to drive away intruders from their territory. If there is no real threat or if the beasts have no hunting desire, they will not actively attack beast companions.

Paul found this experience quite intriguing.

Why is it that although many practitioners possess flying skills, few can fly deep into the Black Forest?

Because as soon as they dare to take off in front of these beasts, all the beasts within sight will attack them en masse!

Being chased and attacked by thousands of beasts is nothing like the ease and comfort of the current situation.

Little Black was clearly a seasoned pro. It led its little brother, deliberately lowering their bodies to skim over a group of level two beasts. As the beasts roared and looked up, they dove back down, scaring the lower-level beasts into scattering.

The ability level of Blood-Eyed Black Ravens is roughly equivalent to that of level three to four beasts, but their strength is not outstanding, and the aura they emit is not strong. Being just a young one, the two youngsters could only intimidate level one and two beasts.

After scaring the level two beasts, the two little ones raised their flight altitude and continued flying deeper into the forest. About an hour later, the boundary between the outskirts and the depths of the Black Forest came into view before Lorant and Paul.

"This!" Paul couldn't help but be surprised. His vision had started to shake about five minutes ago, manifesting as alternating between seeing the sky above the Black Forest and his own actual vision. Lorant, considerately, explained that this meant the Blood-Eyed Black Raven's vision sharing was almost at its limit.

If they went any further, the ability might expire.

But even so, he was extremely surprised. When the Blood-Eyed Black Raven was aimlessly playing above the Black Forest, Paul had no clear perception of the distance between it and himself. But now, seeing the deeper color of the boundary line, he finally realized that the distance between the Blood-Eyed Black Raven and himself was at least close to fifteen kilometers!

What does this mean? It means that with such a beast companion, the outpost can observe the entire outskirts of the Black Forest from now on!

The entire outskirts of the Black Forest can be under the outpost's control.

This is enough to preemptively suppress thirty percent of the low-level beast tides within the Black Forest!

"Is this the boundary of the Black Forest, store owner?" Paul couldn't help but turn to Lorant for confirmation.

Lorant smiled with his eyes closed: "Of course, believe what you see, Paul. Neither I nor the blood-eyed ravens would trick you with illusions."

"No, no, you know I don't mean that!" Paul shook his head helplessly, unable to counter Lorant's teasing: "It's just so amazing! It's truly incredible!"

He couldn't think of any other exclamation, only repeating phrases like 'so amazing' and 'truly incredible' over and over.

Lorant smiled slightly, feeling quite proud: "This is what beast pets are all about, right?"

The power of the blood-eyed ravens, Paul had only experienced it once and was already hooked.

If Lorant hadn't firmly told him that the blood-eyed ravens must stay in the beast pet shop for social training and would not be considered for sale until a month later, Paul would have wanted to take one home that very day.

Lorant wasn't making excuses to deceive him; the blood-eyed ravens were indeed still too young, with their baby feathers not even fully shed. How could Lorant let these little guys leave his side so soon?

However, Paul still managed to secure some benefits for the Thorn Knight Order. He placed an advance order for fifty blood-eyed ravens, which would be sent directly to the Thorn Knight Order's headquarters once they were ready to leave the beast pet shop.

At thirty thousand gold coins each, the price of the blood-eyed ravens wasn't expensive in the beast pet shop, but among C-tier beast pets, they weren't cheap either.

But Paul didn't hesitate at all this time, quickly sealing the deal.

Previously, the Thorn Knight Order had completed their initial transaction with the beast pet shop, transferring the last live beasts to the beast warehouse, thus freeing themselves from a heavy debt.

With the addition of beast pets, the strength of the Thorn Knight Order had greatly increased, and naturally, their income had also improved.

He could finally stop living so frugally.

Spend when you need to, save when you can!

Besides ordering a batch of new beast pets, the supply officer also brought Lorant some shocking news.

"Some time ago, another pass was discovered on the north side of the Kamkuo region," Paul said, petting the blood-eyed raven that had just flown back and was eating bits of jerky on his shoulder.

"What do you mean, 'another pass was discovered'?" Lorant looked at Paul in confusion, his mind momentarily unable to grasp the meaning.

Paul smiled and explained to the store owner: "It was discovered by the church. Their pass is at the very edge of the Kamkuo region, next to the Black Forest."

"You know, the Black Forest actually hides many Lopulo passes. Because people couldn't block them, they created such a large Black Forest as a buffer," Paul said, seeing Lorant nod before continuing: "The watchtowers around the Black Forest are actually a supplement to the pass fortresses."

"The pass guarded by the church is at the eastern edge of the Human Empire within the Black Forest. Some time ago, adventurers ventured deep into the Black Forest and found that the beast density was unusually high only a few hundred kilometers from the edge. So the church sent people to confirm the situation, and a small pass that had never been discovered before appeared," Paul said, taking a sip of tea. These were indeed things Lorant didn't know.

This incident had only occurred less than a week ago, and even the church wasn't prepared on how to handle it, so only a few high-ranking practitioners knew the details.

In theory, the beast pet shop had enough qualifications, but they were still a newly established organization, lacking in history and connections.

Lorant frowned slightly, understanding what Paul meant.

A hundred kilometers, this distance was too close for a Lopulo pass hidden in the Black Forest.

Even if it was a small entrance, with relatively less threat compared to a large valley like Pokara, it still had to be taken seriously.

Otherwise, if it was unfortunately discovered by high-level beasts and an unexpected beast tide occurred, it would have a devastating impact on the dozens of watchtowers around the Black Forest.

"So, what do the military and the church think?" Lorant asked with interest, intrigued by the information.

Paul shook his head: "There hasn't been an official discussion yet. The last time a Lopulo pass was discovered was five hundred and seventy-three years ago. This incident is too heavy a message for everyone."

"So neither the military nor the church has the ability to make a private decision on this matter."

Paul looked at Lorant seriously: "Regarding this matter, the military will definitely convene the Guardians' Council for discussion. And with the beast pet shop's current status, the military will surely invite you to participate in the meeting."

"I came today to ask you in advance if you have any thoughts on this matter."

Lorant looked at Paul somewhat inexplicably: "Thoughts? What thoughts would I have? Of course, I support the construction of fortresses in the Lopulo Mountains!"