Chapter 590 565: Where Do Mounts Come From?

After the battle, Gu Ming didn't rest.

He didn't even have time to sit and take a sip of water. Wiping the sweat, grass ash, and Demon Fiend blood from his face, he waved to the still-panting team behind him, signaling for them to head south immediately.

No one complained. They all knew why he was in such a hurry.

The fire they had set burned too large. The thick smoke billowing into the sky was an unconcealed beacon for any Demon Fiend packs for miles around.

Lingering here would only invite another siege.

In silence, the team reformed and moved out, weaving quickly in the direction of Lanqi City.

It wasn't until they had passed through the potential warzone marked on the map and entered a relatively quiet stretch of hills that Gu Ming finally raised a hand to signal a halt.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, overcome with relief.

Some unscrewed their canteens and chugged water; others leaned against their Pet Beasts, panting with their eyes closed.

An Iron-Backed Lizard lay on the ground, its guttural cry low and muffled, its belly still heaving violently.

Gu Ming leaned against the rock face at the base of a cliff, his eyes half-closed. He knew one thing for certain:

'After that first battle to break through the Demon Fiend defensive line, I could have just left the whole team here. Lu You and I could have broken through on our own, riding the Four-star Cyan Cloud Falcon. With its Speed, it wouldn't take long to reach Lanqi City.'

'We might not have run into any more resistance along the way.'

'Two people are a small target. We're fast and mobile. Crossing the remaining warzone wouldn't be difficult.'

The thought flashed through his mind for just an instant before he stamped it out.

'Since I agreed to take this squad under my wing, there's no justification for abandoning them to cross alone.'

'Besides, the idea that we wouldn't encounter any more Demon Fiend ambushes was just a best-case scenario. Believing in assumptions like that on the battlefield is a good way to get yourself killed.'

「One hour later.」

Gu Ming stood in a hidden crevice, his back pressed against the cold, rough rock wall as he peered into the distance.

The sky had yet to fully brighten. Beneath a sliver of pale gray, a dark, oppressive cloud was moving at high speed up ahead.

He stared for several seconds before he could see it clearly. It wasn't a cloud, but a flock of beasts showing the external traits of Demonization.

It was a massive flock of Ice Cone Birds, circling on the horizon. The edges of their wings reflected a cold, white light in the morning glow. Based on their physical development, they were adult Four-star specimens.

From a distance, they were shrouded in a faint aura of frost. The very air seemed to lose its warmth wherever they passed.

He couldn't help but feel relieved.

'Good thing I didn't abandon the others.'

'With this flock of ice birds blocking the path, the risk of breaking through alone is too high.'

'But with an entire squad of Beastmasters at my disposal, there's still a way to handle this. It's not a total disaster.'

He took a step back and turned toward their temporary camp.

A full night had passed since he'd left Iron Gate Fortress.

Dawn was seeping through the cracks of the horizon, dyeing the cliff face a thin, golden-gray.

The squad members had formed groups of two and three and were practicing their Skills before setting out.

The Fire Element Beastmasters practiced the timing of their Skill combinations. The Wind Element members practiced using their Skills to generate a stronger field of wind pressure.

No one had to push them; they pushed themselves.

The last battle had taught this hastily assembled team a simple truth.

Out here, connecting their Skills just a little faster could mean dealing more damage, killing more Demon Fiends, and avenging their fallen friends and family.

Gu Ming crouched on a rock, replaying the flight path of the Ice Cone Birds. His mind was already formulating tactics for the small squad.

This Demon Fiend's Attribute was completely different from the last wave's.

The Ice Cone Bird is an Ice Attribute creature. Its wings are natural ice cones. When it attacks, its wings spin, launching the cones outward in all directions like centrifugal blades.

If they unleashed an icy wind as a flock, the power would stack.

First, one Ice Cone Bird would beat its wings, fanning out an icy wind. Then a second would follow, and a third.

When dozens of Ice Cone Birds flapped their wings in unison, the Cold Qi would form a resonating wind tunnel. Within this tunnel, a localized rain of ice cones would be accelerated again and again, its power stacking until it became a true blizzard.

Even though they were only Four-star, once that blizzard formed, it could easily slaughter an entire battalion of Five-star Pet Beasts.

Only a Six-star Pet Beast could break through it with brute force.

As for the ground, Gu Ming hadn't observed any Demon Fiends on the move.

The area beneath the circling Ice Cone Birds was unnaturally still; he couldn't spot a single wandering Low-star Demon Lizard.

From his experience at Iron Gate Fortress, it was impossible for there to be only one contingent of Demon Fiends.

Either the ground units were operating somewhere behind the defensive line, or the Ice Cone Birds had claimed this area as their feeding territory, and no other Demon Fiends dared approach.

In either case, Gu Ming couldn't see a viable detour. They had to take out this outer wave of Ice Cone Birds first.

A new plan began to take shape in his mind.

'These Ice Cone Birds can be ridden.'

'They're products of Demonization, so we can be crude and direct in how we deal with them.'

'There's no need for formalities like rental contracts. We just have to beat them into submission, control them, and command them by force.'

'If we can capture this flock of Ice Cone Birds, we can give everyone in the squad a flying mount and speed up our journey south.'

He looked up toward Lu You, who was under the opposite cliff face checking on her Rainbow Wing Butterfly.

The Rainbow Wing Butterfly rested on her fingertip. It gave a few test flaps of its slightly spread wings, stirring up a faint, iridescent glimmer.

Lu You felt his gaze and looked up, communicating with him via Divine Sense.

"Control the Ice Cone Birds?"

"Hmm, it shouldn't be a problem... Yes, definitely not a problem."

As she finished her thought, her expression hardened with resolve.

Gu Ming gazed at her rosy cheeks, a bit surprised. He'd been worried about whether Lu You's Pet Beast could handle the task of mental control.

'Looks like Lu You is even stronger than I thought.'

Gu Ming gathered everyone, squatted on a flat rock, and quickly sketched a simple Array Map on the rock's surface with his finger.

"This time, the Demon Fiend is of the Ice Attribute.

"The tactic we used last time, planting grass and setting fires, won't be very useful against them.

"Once the blizzard forms, our sea of fire will be blown out instantly."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the main combatants and the support team gathered around him.

"So, the core of our strategy this time won't be fire."

"Then what's the plan?" The squad members were at a loss. If they couldn't use their specialty Skills, they'd be nothing more than decoration.

"I'll use Spiritual Combat Techniques for a joint suppression, while the rest of you implement a multi-stage pharmaceutical control."

His finger tapped twice on the Array Map:

"Lu You and I will launch a surprise attack. Do you have any high-potency Hallucinogen formulas capable of controlling Four-star Ice Cone Birds?"

"Yes, yes, we do!"

The Five-star Grass Element Beastmaster immediately raised his hand.

They might not be the best fighters, but when it came to growing things, they were experts.

They knew Hallucinogen formulas too. But because of regulations, they could never use them in excess on Pet Beasts, which is why they hadn't considered pharmaceutical control before.

Now that the restrictions were off, they could use deadly doses. Even a Four-star Demon Fiend, having originated from a Spirit Pet, had physiological traits that prevented it from being completely immune to drugs, barring a few special species.

The Ice Cone Bird was clearly not one of those exceptions. Demonization only affected the spiritual level and the Inner Core; it hadn't yet reached the point of altering physical resistance.

High-star Demon Fiends were another matter entirely, but that wasn't relevant here.

Gu Ming turned to the Wind Element team members to confirm their Skill combinations, discussing the details intently.

The Wind Element team was responsible for blowing the High-Potency Medicine Powder into the center of the flock. It couldn't disperse prematurely; it had to form a dense chemical cloud.

Gu Ming continued to finalize the details one by one.

After a short while, the Beastmasters exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of emotions.

Some looked eager to try, while others frowned in thought, but no one voiced any objections.

After the last battle, the group had developed an almost instinctual trust in Gu Ming's tactics.

"Alright, let's do it this way.

"With multiple layers of control stacked together, even a Demonized Pet Beast can be temporarily forced into service.

"But there are still dangers.

"Occasionally, one or two with strong resistance might wake up mid-process. When that happens, a Spiritual Pet Beast will be on standby to immediately re-establish control." Gu Ming looked at Lu You.

Lu You didn't hesitate, nodding. "The Rainbow Wing Butterfly can perform continuous suppression on those of the Same-star Level.

"As long as no more than five wake up at once, I can hold them."

Once everyone confirmed their roles, they got busy with their own tasks. Gu Ming took Cyan Treasure to replenish the Plant Life Light Wave, rapidly catalyzing the process.