Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 431 The Power of Cola: Unstoppable

Led by Coke, Chen Yuan and the little ones continued their journey deeper into the increasingly wide, rocky underground passage.

The deeper Chen Yuan went, the greater his surprise became.

The vastness of this underground space far exceeded his imagination. The enormous dome seemed endless, and the hanging stalactites resembled an inverted forest. Some of the stalagmites were so thick that it would take dozens of people to encircle them.

An underground river surged in the distance, its deep rumble echoing through the air.

The glowing moss and crystal communities are growing larger and larger, illuminating some areas as if it were daytime, and even forming unique underground "grassland" and "forest" landscapes.

The air circulation seemed better than expected, carrying the scent of damp earth and the fragrance of some unknown plant.

"Isn't this underground world a closed system?"

As Chen Yuan cautiously advanced, he pondered to himself: "Such a vast space and complex ecosystem require enormous energy input and material circulation. Could there be an unknown underground network beneath the Qinling Mountains that connects an even wider area? Could these passages extend all the way to the underground of other provinces?"

This sudden thought shocked him. If it were true, then the value of this underground world beneath his feet and the pets that inhabit it would far exceed his initial estimates.

Nowadays, the Beastmaster Association and the vast majority of Beastmasters focus their attention on land, sky, and sea, with very few people paying attention to the underground world.

Perhaps the underground world is just as vast and boundless as the land world, and is inhabited by countless beasts.

Along the way, the traces of battle became increasingly dense—the rock walls were covered with new claw marks, impact craters, and charred marks from energy burning.

Broken scales, broken rock spikes, and still-wet bloodstains were scattered on the ground.

Along the way, they encountered several ongoing battles between pets, with the two sides being the Stonecutter Lizard and the local pets that inhabit the area.

At this moment, without Chen Yuan's order, Cola, who could no longer contain himself, would let out an excited bark and rush into the battlefield like an arrow released from a bow.

It either whips up a gust of wind that blows the stone-cracking lizards about, or it uses sharp wind blades to precisely slice through their seemingly hard, thick keratinous scales. Its movements are clean and efficient, instantly dismantling the opponent's offensive and rescuing the injured wild pet.

The rescued animals, still shaken, let out grateful cries to Cola and Chen Yuan before quickly fleeing the troubled place.

Cola stood tall and proud, its bright blue eyes gleaming with smugness, its tail wagging like a propeller, clearly enjoying the feeling of chivalry.

Chen Yuan watched the departing figures of the pets and muttered to himself, "It seems the strength of the native underground pets is not ideal."

According to his own observation, the average strength of the wild pets inhabiting this forest is slightly higher than that of the outside world. However, he did not expect that these underground pets would be so useless, and they were helpless against this group of stone-cracking lizards.

"Yo yo yo~"

Upon hearing this, Qingpo quickly flew to Chen Yuan and vigorously swung its front hooves.

That's not true at all!
Because this is a very remote place, the pets that live here are relatively weak.

Looking at Qingpo's excited explanation, Chen Yuan smiled, then his gaze sharpened, his smile faded, and he said in a deep voice, "I suddenly remembered something."

"Oh?" Qingpo landed on Chen Yuan's shoulder, casting a questioning look at him.

As Chen Yuan walked forward, he asked, "Will you be affected underground? Will you be able to leave this forest?"

"Yo"

Qingpo fell into a brief moment of contemplation, then shook his head.

It doesn't know either.

Chen Yuan turned his head to look at Qing Po, whose eyes were sparkling, and immediately became interested. He smiled and said, "Perfect timing to do an experiment and see if you can leave this forest through the underground world."

"If so, it means that the energy that is binding you is limited to the land and sky and has not penetrated into the ground."

He paused briefly, staring at Qingpo who had suddenly frozen in shock, his smile widening: "If possible, I can find a way to take you back to the farm to meet the other farm members. Hmm, the town is quite lively with the New Year celebrations lately; you could have a look."

"Yo!"

As they went deeper, the smell of blood and gunpowder in the air grew stronger, and the roar of fighting became increasingly clear.

Suddenly, from the direction of a vast cavern that seemed to be supported by countless giant stone pillars, came an extremely violent sound, far exceeding the previous crashes and roars.

Interspersed among the sounds were the deafening roar of rocks cracking, the dull tremors caused by some heavy creature stomping on the ground, and a roar filled with violence and majesty.

Chen Yuan's eyes sharpened, and he immediately raised his hand to signal everyone to be on alert: "There's a big guy ahead, be careful when you approach!"

"Ow!"

Cola looked ahead, her gaze sharp.

The journey was filled with nothing but weak and easily defeated stone-cracking lizards, which was too boring and did nothing to highlight my majestic and powerful aura.

Hopefully, the big guys in front are tough enough to take a beating.

Using the shadows of the massive stone pillars and jagged rocks, they crept forward silently.

The closer they got, the stronger the aftershocks of the battle became. They could even feel the ground vibrating beneath their feet, and the air was thick with dust and a pungent, sulfurous smell.

When Chen Yuan peered through the gap between the two stone pillars and saw the scene inside the cave, his pupils contracted slightly.

The cavern is extremely spacious, with a height of 100 meters and an area comparable to several football fields.

In the center of the cave, a fierce battle between pet beasts was taking place.

One of them was the Rock-Splitter Dragon described by the Steel-Headed Groundhog.

Its size was even larger and more ferocious than Chen Yuan had imagined, with a length of about ten meters. Its dark brown rock scales reflected a cold, metallic luster under the illumination of the luminous crystal clusters on the top of the cave.

The pair of giant wings, made of rock and cortical membrane, spread out completely, blotting out the sky. Each flap of the wings sent sand and stones flying, producing a dull whistling sound as they cut through the air.

Its head was crowned with stone horns, its mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and its eyes, burning with a violent red light, were fixed on its opponent.

The Rockbreaker Wyvern's attacks are ferocious and direct. Sometimes it pounces and bites, leaving deep grooves in the rocks with its claws; sometimes it sweeps its huge tail like a battering sledge, smashing stalagmites in its path in half; sometimes it opens its mouth and spews out rockfalls, sending countless sharp rocks hurtling towards its opponent like cannonballs.

The beast battling this ferocious creature was also a colossal being, and a giant-type pet that Chen Yuan was quite familiar with.

This giant is over ten meters tall and its entire body is made of a dark gray rock that looks like a super alloy that has been forged through countless trials. Its muscle lines are full of explosive power.

Its head is square, and its eyes burn with a calm, earthy yellow light, making it appear resolute and tenacious.

The giant's arms were extremely thick, his fists were like two huge meteorite hammers, and a glowing rhomboid gem was embedded in his chest, constantly emitting light.

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Mountain Giant."

Mountain Giant, an advanced form of the Rock Giant, with the attributes of Rock and Earth.

However, at this moment, the mountain giant was at a complete disadvantage in the battle.

Its seemingly indestructible rock armor was covered with spiderweb-like cracks and deep claw marks, and in some places even small areas had collapsed, revealing the gradually dimming rhomboid gems underneath.

As the battle continued, the Mountain Giant's movements became noticeably slower. Each time it parried a Rockbreaker's pounce or tail sweep, it produced a teeth-grinding roar, its massive body shaking violently and rocks falling in a shower.

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered, a hint of doubt in his gaze. The mountain giant and the rock-cracked dragon before him were both at the third tier of strength and had the same attributes; logically, the situation shouldn't be one-sided.

Moreover, the Mountain Giant is thick-skinned and tough, and it is difficult for the Rockbreaker Wyvern to inflict substantial damage on it using only its attack methods.

A thought struck him, and Chen Yuan looked around before realizing the real reason why the mountain giant was in trouble.

It turned out that several ordinary stone-cracking lizards were also swimming around the perimeter of the battlefield.

Like cunning hyenas, they do not directly engage in the battle between the giants, but constantly seek opportunities to launch sneak attacks from blind spots when the mountain giants are busy dealing with the main attack of the rock-cracked dragons—either by gathering sharp rocks or by suddenly bursting out of the ground and tearing at the mountain giants' ankles with their claws.

Although these attacks could not cause fatal injuries, they greatly disrupted the mountain giant's rhythm and depleted its already limited physical strength and energy.

"Roar!!!"

The mountain giant let out a deep, weary, and angry roar as it withstood another fierce attack from the rock-cracked dragon. It staggered backward, crashing into a massive stone pillar and causing cracks to spread.

The light emanating from the diamond-shaped gem on his chest had dimmed considerably, his breath was extremely weak, and he was about to collapse with a thud.

"Roar--!"

The Rock-Splittering Dragon let out a triumphant roar of victory in sight. It flapped its rock-like wings and hovered above the mountain giant's head, its gaze looking down with disdain. Its huge mouth opened wide, spewing out a foul wind.

The stone-splitting lizards swarmed around, and in the blink of an eye, they surrounded the heavily injured mountain giant.

"Roar"

The mountain giant staggered, but clenched his fists tightly, trying to burn off the last bit of his strength.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan had a sudden thought: "Go ahead, Cola."

"Awooo!!!"

Upon hearing the command, Cola, who had been itching to make a move, instantly unleashed a burst of energy around him, his muscles tensed, and he transformed into a light brown lightning bolt that was difficult to detect with the naked eye, rushing directly into the outer edge of the battlefield.

In an instant, a strong wind arose.

A fierce wind came from all directions, stirring up gravel and dust, and like an invisible, violent tsunami, it instantly swept up all the stone-cracking lizards that were surrounding the mountain giant.

The stone-splitting lizards were blown about like fallen leaves in the violent airflow, colliding with each other, screaming as they were violently flung against the surrounding rock walls with muffled thuds, and were rendered unable to fight in the blink of an eye.

This sudden turn of events startled the Rock Dragon, which was about to finish off its opponent, and its ferocious gaze instantly locked onto Cola, who had caused the disruption.

"Ow~"

As the champion pet of the first Donghuang Tournament, Cola had defeated countless powerful pets. Facing the enraged Rock-Splitting Dragon, it instead let out two defiant howls.

What are you looking at?
"Roar!!!"

Enraged by Cola's gaze, the Rockbreaker Dragon abandoned the nearly fallen Giant Rock Golem King and roared furiously.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan stroked his chin and muttered, "As expected, Cola's ability to provoke is far superior."

With a flap of its wings, the Rockbreaker Dragon displayed an agility that belied its massive size, instantly turning towards the cola.

The next moment, its huge mouth opened wide, and a barrage of sharp stones shot out.

"Ow~"

Faced with a dense array of sharp rocks, Cola didn't retreat but instead smiled contemptuously.

Is this all the Rock-type Pokémon you know how to do?

Cola didn't even make a big dodging move. He just raised his head slightly, and his body was filled with waves of energy. Countless extremely condensed wind blades with cold light flashing at the edges suddenly burst out!

Tsk tsk tsk!

The wind blades met the rocks in mid-air, but instead of a deafening explosion, a series of crisp sounds, like a sharp knife slicing through tofu, rang out.

The hard rocks were easily sliced ​​and shredded as if made of paper by the incredibly sharp wind blades, turning into fluffy piles of harmless stone dust that fell down.

The Rockbreaker's crimson pupils suddenly contracted, clearly not expecting its attack to be so easily neutralized.

However, what horrified it even more was that after the countless wind blades shattered the rocks, their momentum did not diminish at all, and with a sharp whooshing sound, they had already reached it.

puff!
puff!

The Rockbreaker only had time to barely turn sideways and use its rocky wings to protect its vitals.

But the wind blades had already struck the hard base of its wings and the scales on its sides. In an instant, the hard rock scales were cut open with two deep wounds that exposed the bone, and dark red blood mixed with stone powder sprayed out.

"Roar"

The Rockbreaker let out a painful, incredulous howl, its massive body staggering backward from the intense pain and impact.

"Roar?"

At the same time, the mountain giant, who was about to fall to the ground, saw this scene, blinked, and suddenly felt much better.

"Ouch!"

Seeing that the Rockbreaker Dragon had been severely damaged, Cola pressed his advantage.

The air around him was compressed to its limit at this moment, and circles of blue ripples quickly spread out beneath his four feet.

In the next instant, its entire body transformed into a blue drill that pierced through space, carrying an aura capable of tearing everything apart, and crashed into the rock-cracked dragon, which was unsteady due to its injury, at a speed that could not be detected by the naked eye.

boom! ! !
A deafening roar exploded across the arena, and the massive body of the Rockbreaker Dragon was struck squarely in the chest by the terrifying impact concentrated at a single point.

The heavy breastplate dented and shattered instantly, and the entire body was thrown uncontrollably off the ground as if hit by a high-speed train, drawing a messy arc in the air before crashing heavily onto the rock wall dozens of meters away with a deafening roar, shaking off countless rocks before sliding to the ground.

The battle began in the blink of an eye and ended in an instant.

The cola landed lightly on the ground without even taking a deep breath.

With elegant and composed steps, it walked up to the limp Rockwrath, raised one forepaw, and gently pressed it against the Rockwrath's neck, which was twitching slightly in pain.

Cola lowered its head, its azure eyes calmly fixed on the other's red pupils, which were glazed over with pain and fear. Then it raised its head and let out a long, drawn-out bark towards the depths of the underground cave.
"Ow!"

Who else? !

Call out your best fighters!

The bark echoed for a long time in the vast, empty underground chamber, continuously resounding in the ears of the mountain giant.

The mountain giant raised his eyes and stared intently at the majestic Cola, his heart churning like a surging tide.

(End of this chapter)