Starting with the Broken-Winged Frost Butterfly: Beast Taming

Chapter 85 The Older Rulers

"A chain of animal head ornaments?"

Zhu Ran looked surprised. He was about to finish his work when he discovered this guy's whereabouts. How could he ignore it?

Convinced that the greatest threat inside the cave had been eliminated, Zhu Ran and his teammates acted alone. At this moment, he was accompanied only by the Broken-Winged Frost Butterfly, four adorable little tigers, and the frozen Blood Drummer and Deceitful Skull.

"Catch it; we might get more information —"

Zhu Ran believes that the ancient kingdom of soldiers has hidden secrets, otherwise it would not have been possible to incubate a large number of mature A-level beings, nor would it have been possible to keep it hidden from three waves of pioneers and explorers, remaining dormant until now.

The best way to investigate the truth is to find someone who knows the facts.

The Beast Head Chain mingled with the three great evil soldiers and possessed its own intelligence. If he claimed he didn't know anything, who would believe him?

Having made up his mind, Zhu Ran followed them in the dark.

However, the beast-head chain was very slippery, specializing in squeezing into those narrow passages. There were many that Zhu Ran could enter on her own, but Xue Xi could not, and had to give up.

"It roams this area, lying in wait, waiting for it to show itself—"

Zhu Ran simply found a dry rock, closed his eyes and took a nap, ordering Jingxiang and Daxiong to keep watch.

When he was a little while ago, a tiger's paw scratched at his nose. Zhu Ran woke up and looked silently into the darkness to the side.

"boom!"

In the blink of an eye, Xuexi no longer tried to conceal her aura, and her frosty energy, like a waterfall, engulfed the entire passage.

A roar came from inside the passage, followed by a scream.

Then, the sound gradually disappeared. Xuexi groped her way forward and suddenly unleashed an Ice Wheel Slash, smashing the rock wall.

On the other side of the rock wall, ice crystals shimmered, and the beast-head chain was obediently frozen in the ice, only able to move its two eyeballs.

"Gotcha!"

Zhu Ran was thrilled. It had taken him quite a while to catch this thing, and if he didn't get any valuable information out of it, he wouldn't mind leaving it frozen in ice forever, never to wake up again.

"Bang!"

Xuexi first moved the ice block that had been used to beat the blood drum over and smashed it on the ground, making a heavy thud.

Noticing the bear head on the beast-head chain, its eyes trembled slightly. It uttered a soft "ee" and slowly tapped open the ice to reveal its facial features.

Then, Xuexi folded her wings and voluntarily gave up her spot.

Zhu Ran walked over with a smile, reached out and touched the few remaining lightning burn marks on the face of the giant bear head, and asked cheerfully, "I don't know if your news is up-to-date, but anyway, the Xuan Yin Myriad Soul Banner and the Skull Staff have both been defeated."

"The remaining Blood Drummer may survive, but if it doesn't stand with the human race and work honestly, its only fate will still be to be crushed to pieces."

"Roar!" the beast-head chain hissed softly.

The chill that pierced its skull forced it to suppress the ferocity surging in its eyes.

The ice blocks, pounding with blood, sent chills down its spine, and its features contorted with fear.

"You actually killed my three elder brothers! I don't understand, I don't comprehend it—"

"Oh, so you're not only intelligent, you can also speak human language?"

"Roar!" The beast-headed chain roared hysterically, until it saw Xuexi flap her wings, about to deliver another blow to its forehead, it bit its lip and forced itself to calm down.

"I don't want to die. Spare my life, and I won't hold a grudge against you—"

"There's no point in talking about these empty words."

Zhu Ran's head was held high, but at this moment, he was the one in a superior position. His calm tone carried an undeniable pressure: "Next, I will ask you questions and you will answer them. If I find out that you have lied or concealed anything, I guarantee that you will wish you were dead."

As soon as Zhu Ran finished speaking, he winked at the four adorable little tigers.

So, Shizuka, Nobita, Gian, and Suneo simultaneously used their Heart-Shaped Eyes to charm the bear's head.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—" the beast-headed chain screamed, and the status column read, "Mental Tear | Slowly appeared."

Zhu Ran watched with great interest. Logically speaking, beasts have no gender, so the little tiger's skills should be useless against it.

But the shape of the beast-head chain was different from others, and out of curiosity, he tried it and found that it actually worked.

After about ten seconds, once the little tiger had withdrawn its pupil technique, Zhu Ran's smile faded, and he asked coldly, "Have you colluded with the three great fiends, intending to reap the lives of us humans?"

"Yes—" the beast-headed chain gasped for breath, struggling to speak, "Are you allowed to invade, but we are not allowed to fight back? Although we don't know how prosperous and brilliant your civilization is, our beast race is equally ancient and ancient. We are unwilling to be oppressed and enslaved for nothing—"

Zhu Ran's heart stirred, and she changed her questioning approach: "Have you always lived in this world, never taking a single step outside?"

The beast-head chain looked bewildered.

Although fluent in human languages ​​and exceptionally intelligent, the word "world" was still somewhat ahead of its time, and it could not accurately understand its meaning.

After Zhu Ran patiently explained, the beast-head chain finally realized, "So this is the world!" — Yes! We have never stepped out of this world. This is our home, and we are so attached to it that we would never want to leave!

Zhu Ran nodded slowly. If this statement was true, the weapons and beasts that brought destruction to the ancient sages of the human race during the Dark Ages might not have anything to do with the ancient kingdom of weapons.

Putting himself in the shoes of the beastmen, he understood that humans were "visitors from outer space." They destroyed this secret realm, and those who resisted were either killed or captured, making them no different from "demons."

But understanding doesn't mean respecting. Everyone is born with their own stance, and everything is for survival and becoming stronger—Zhu Ran organized his thoughts and then asked, "Let me ask you again, did you discuss a foolproof plan with the three fierce weapons before you underwent your tribulation?"

"Hmm—" the beast-headed chain hesitated before replying, "If my transformation is successful, I will gain additional control over the lightning element. If you dare to covet me, I will simply annihilate you all!"

"If I fail, I will flee back to the main camp, and my three brothers will take care of it."

"Are you two very close?" Zhu Ran asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not really—" The beast-headed chain was afraid that a wrong answer would lead to its death, but it was also afraid that the four little tigers had some kind of ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood. After hesitating for a while, it stammered, "I have only known my three brothers for a little over ten years, and during that time we would all go into a deep sleep in batches."

"My three elder brothers promised me that once I reached Rank A, I would be one of the Four Kings here, on equal footing with them."

Zhu Ran sneered and continued, "Now that two are dead and one has been captured alive, you think you won't hold a grudge against me? It seems I have another reason to kill you."

"That's not how it works!"

The beast-head chain tore away its last shred of restraint and self-respect, its blood-red maw gaping wide, its voice tinged with a sob: "I am willing to submit to you, to be your contracted pet, to do your chores, to guard your house—is that alright?"

C

"don't want."

Zhu Ran shook his head and said seriously, "You are too weak. How could I waste my precious life contract on you?"

The beast-headed chain was shocked, and its voice fell much lower for a moment: "But I'm still young, with limitless potential. This is only my first attempt at A-level; isn't it normal that I didn't succeed?"

"Give me a few more years, or help me find some magic tools to speed things up, and I swear I'll reach Grade A!"

Zhu Ran examined the beast-head chain with a suspicious look.

Although I was 70-80% sure, the thought of this simpleton being on equal footing with Xuexi in the future felt a little unsettling.

"real!"

The Beast-Head Chain was almost crying. Compared to the long lifespan of the Beast Warrior race, it had just passed its baby stage and was still a teenager.

Why don't humans believe this?

"Then let me ask you again, your beasts hid away, and this sudden resurgence was just to launch a counterattack against the human race?"

Zhu Ran still had the phrase "My death will bring eternal night" lingering in his mind. Since the beast-head chain wanted to show its loyalty, he should tell the truth, and he might give it a way out.

"Of course not!"

The chained bear with its beast-headed head showed a human-like panic: "Although the vast majority of sentient beasts don't like you humans, we are generally lazy and not united. We really can't do something that has been planned for a long time—"

"But, but————"

The beast-head chain suddenly deflated, saying sullenly, "But I really don't know why the three big brothers, Xuan Yin, Skull, and Blood, who were lying low for so long, had to show themselves at this time."

"you do not know?"

Zhu Ran emphasized his words, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I really don't know!"

The beast-headed chain was startled and said in a panic, "Didn't I already say that I'm still young and haven't reached Rank A? I'm not qualified to know about important clan matters, and my three elder brothers are unwilling to talk to me about them either—"

"However, not long ago I overheard something and vaguely heard Second Brother Skeleton ask Eldest Brother Xuan Yin, 'This time, should we compete?'"

"Then Brother Xuanyin said, 'Why not compete? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we succeed, one of us will be called the "strongest," invincible among our clan—'"

Lost in his memories, the Beast Head Chain paused, then added, "Following what Second Brother Skeleton said, if we fail, we will also die."

"Then Brother Xuanyin said, 'So before that time comes, let's kill more alien races and stockpile more souls, bones, and blood! Stupid!'"

Zhu Ran listened with great interest, but the beast-head chain moved its lips, unable to say anything more.

"That's all?" Zhu Ran glanced sideways. "You think you can buy your life with this little bit of information? Do you think I'm a philanthropist?"

"Hmm—uh—eh—"

The beast-headed chain paced anxiously, then suddenly an idea struck him. He roared, "There's a guy who definitely knew before, and might still know now. Since two of our three older brothers have sacrificed themselves, leaving only the not-so-bright third brother—I'll take you to find him. Maybe we can pry a clue out of him!"

Zhu Ran remained calm and asked, "And who is this 'it'?"

The beast-head chain, having finally grasped the logic, quickly replied, "Actually, this valley didn't belong to the three elder brothers more than a hundred years ago. They seized its territory and settled here."

"The original owner of the valley, however, never died and is hiding in a secret chamber deep within the cave—"

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