Chapter 579 - 454: The Iron-Eating Beast’s Search for Its Cub (Part 2)

Chapter 579: Chapter 454: The Iron-Eating Beast’s Search for Its Cub (Part 2)

Flora Bloom looked at the cub in the woman’s arms.

The cub was covered in white fluff, but since it had just been born, its fur wasn’t completely dry. Flora could see its pink, tiny body, which, upon closer inspection, had the features of a dog but the posture of a cat.

Flora instantly felt that the little cub looked incredibly familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

’Is it a dog? No, it’s not a puppy or a kitten either! Newborn puppies and kittens have much thicker fur. Besides, what cat or dog has a tail this short? It’s like a bear’s tail...’

’A bear?’

A thought suddenly struck Flora. Aethelgard City was situated in a hilly basin with unique terrain and soil, making it a year-round producer of bamboo shoots. It was the nation’s top supplier.

Besides its bamboo shoots, the city was most famous for a rare little animal that loved to eat them: a precious and treasured species from Veridia, the panda.

According to myths and legends, the panda was also known as the Iron-Eater, the mount of the ancient War God, Chiyou. Its fur was said to be like steel needles, and its four claws sharp enough to rend steel. Its teeth could devour any metal.

’Holy cow! Man, this is a real treasure!’

’Based on the course of evolution on Earth, if this really is a panda, it might actually evolve into the creature from the legends of Chiyou’s mount.’

In contrast to the small cub in the woman’s arms, the one held by the six-person team didn’t look to be in good shape.

The reason Iron-Eaters were so rare on Earth wasn’t just their unique diet. It was primarily due to the difficulty of breeding them.

Iron-Eaters typically only birth a single cub at a time. Their mating season occurs only once a year, and after that, these creatures refuse to over-procreate, focusing instead on quality over quantity.

Unfortunately, young Iron-Eaters are incredibly delicate and difficult to raise. This has caused their value to skyrocket and has driven them to the brink of extinction.

"Stop right there! Give the little cub back to us!"

The woman stopped and tilted her head slightly. "Didn’t I leave one for you? I’d say I’ve been more than generous to you natives."

"One more word out of you, and I’ll kill you, even if my father told me not to!"

"You! We paid such a heavy price for these cubs! The one we have was weak from birth, and the mother is injured—she can’t possibly care for both. And you cruelly snatched the strong, healthy one!"

"You... you’re shameless!"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Six crystalline shards, radiating a biting cold, suddenly fell from the sky and struck the ground at the feet of the six team members. One of them staggered, dropping the cub in their hands!

’Damn it!’ Flora was frantic. There were two Iron-Eater cubs, one strong and one weak. The weak one was already in poor health, and now, after being dropped, it began to twitch uncontrollably.

The Iron-Eater cub was on the verge of death. Seeing this, Flora couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Don’t be rash! They don’t seem to have any intention of saving that sickly cub now. I’ll use my superpower to cover you."

Flora tossed the sleeping Polly into Lex Cross’s arms. Then, concealed within his devouring power, she slowly approached the cub on the ground, its life force fading with every second.

Flora had complete confidence in Lex Cross’s superpower. However, the woman named Irene Seymour was a Nebula Level user and incredibly sensitive to environmental changes, so Flora had to be extremely careful.

Fortunately, both sides were too busy arguing over the cub in Irene Seymour’s hands to notice that the other Iron-Eater cub, the one that had been dropped and left for dead, had vanished.

The instant Flora’s fingers brushed against the cub, she tossed it into the Spiritwater River to soak.

After evolving multiple times, the spiritual water could no longer be described in terms of the basic properties or form of normal water.

It was crystal clear, and while it seemed light enough to allow the little creatures playing in it to float, it was actually denser than any other substance of the same volume.

The cub had only been floating in the Spiritwater River for a few seconds after entering the space when it began to stir. It swam to the bank, and its tiny body started to emit mouse-like "SQUEAK, SQUEAK" sounds.

The imprint of the space allowed it to communicate with Flora without any barriers. The cub was currently clamoring that it was hungry.

Before Flora could even arrange anything, it wobbled unsteadily toward the small farmhouse. A moment later, its tiny, white, fluffy body had wriggled its way into the dairy cow’s hay stall.

’Well, I’ll be. An animal’s survival instincts really are innate. No one taught it, yet it knew to find its own milk to drink.’