King of Beasts

Two days later.

The rumors about Lu Ran being the “Holy Son of Necromancy” were slowly dying down.

If the international beast taming alliance had actively responded to public reports, the rumors might have persisted.

However, with no response or indication from either the international beast taming alliance or the Xia Country beast taming alliance, the topic became uninteresting.

Regarding the specific details of the breakthrough secret realm related to necromancy, Lu Ran had not disclosed much to anyone.

Besides Manager Ying and Dr. Gu, not even Fang Lan had asked about it, and Lu Ran had not volunteered any information.

Moreover, Fang Lan had no time to pay attention to Lu Ran at the moment. She, along with other domestic poison researchers, was busy studying the blood and venom of the Platypus Sea King Beast.

The Platypus Sea King Beast, a level 60 upper overlord species BOSS.

The guardian overlord of the Level 5 Legendary Secret Realm in Xia Country.

During the month Lu Ran spent in the breakthrough secret realm, a team of First Generation from Xia Country successfully conquered it, becoming the first team in the world to conquer a Level 5 Legendary Secret Realm.

Although the Platypus Sea King Beast was mainly water-based, it possessed some toxicity. The platypus is one of the few venomous mammals, so the research on its body materials was naturally assigned to this group of poison experts.

They were so busy that they had no time to care about other matters. Even if they knew the truth, Fang Lan would probably feel that the Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden and the Holy Son of Necromancy seemed like a well-suited pair, much like siblings.

After all, by secular standards, or in the eyes of those who were her opponents in the breakthrough secret realm, she did not seem like a good person.

Boom!!!

An uninhabited island outside the Green Sea.

A thunderstorm had been raging for two days.

Under the violent thunder and rain, a “Black Dragon” was advancing, bathing in lightning.

“Roar!!!”

Every strike of the terrifying thunder made the scales of the sudden death king emit hot steam, causing the flesh beneath to burst open.

“How do you feel, sudden death king? Impressive, isn’t it?” Lu Ran, wearing earplugs, asked while sitting on a rock.

“Roar!!!” The red eyes of the sudden death king were illuminated by the lightning, tears welling up, wondering why it was always filled with such emotion…

“Pitter-patter!! Pitter-patter!!” The weather elf floated beside Lu Ran, encouraging the sudden death king.

“Roar…”

The sudden death king wiped its tears. Though it constantly endured lightning strikes, it was understanding enough to know it shouldn’t blame the baby weather elf.

After all, it was Lu Ran who was the real devil for bringing the newborn here for special training.

Granted, the weather elf seemed to be enjoying itself.

The weather elf’s species ability was to control the weather. For them, controlling the weather was as instinctive as survival. Lu Ran’s request for it to manipulate thunder was not met with resistance; instead, the elf found it quite fun.

As for the power of the thunder the weather elf could control, Lu Ran was secretly amazed.

If relying solely on its own power, the thunder the weather elf could generate wasn’t very strong-enough to instantly kill a weak level 20 supernatural species creature at best.

But the weather elf, with its nature control trait, could unleash a power far exceeding its own level if the environment was suitable.

Take this isolated island, for instance. The surrounding thick rain clouds naturally harbored terrifying thunderous energy. By bringing the weather elf here, these rain clouds essentially became its toys.

A single lightning strike was too much for the sudden death king to withstand with just its body.

“Environment is a crucial factor influencing a pet beast’s combat power.”

“Big King! Big King!!!” As Lu Ran sighed, a dark crow swiftly flew over the dim horizon.

While cautiously eyeing the lightning in the sky, it sped up.

“Dark Crow?”

Lu Ran looked over.

“Big King, something terrible has happened,” the dark crow hastily said as it quickly landed beside Lu Ran. It tilted its head back, took a gulp of rainwater to moisten its throat, and then spoke:

“The black turtle general… has returned severely injured!!”

“The stone tablet was smashed, and its turtle shell has cracks, possibly from a fierce battle in the sea region!!”

“What happened?” Lu Ran’s expression changed.

“Never mind, where is it? Take me there first.”

“The black turtle general is currently unconscious near the shore, being guarded by the flock of crows.”

“General Ha!!!” Lu Ran called out. On the other side of the island, amidst a wind and snow environment, General Ha, practicing energy flow, heard the call and immediately dashed over.

“Take me to the shore. Cloud Baby, you stay here with the sudden death king. If anything unexpected happens, just shout ‘Manager Ying,’ and it’ll be okay. I need to handle something first.” Lu Ran patted the soft body of the weather elf and spoke.

“Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!” The weather elf nodded obediently.

As for the sudden death king, it gave a deep look and waved its large hand, indicating it also had the right to know about the situation with the black turtle general!

As a former colleague, the black turtle general’s plight could not be ignored by the Thunder Dragon General.

“Are you trying to slack off?” Lu Ran, already seated on General Ha, rolled his eyes. But the sudden death king had a point. “Fine, follow along.”

With that, Lu Ran’s entire team set off.

…

Near the shore, the area had already been cleared by the flock of crows. The black turtle general lay unconscious and gravely injured. Not only was the stone tablet Lu Ran had given it missing, but its usually impervious turtle shell was also covered in cracks.

As Lu Ran and his crew arrived, the flock of crows was dispersed by the dark crow.

Lu Ran’s expression darkened as he approached the black turtle general. He took out the divine deer pendant and waved it gently. In the next moment, the black turtle’s injuries were completely healed.

“Mmm-” The black turtle seemed to regain consciousness, struggling to open its eyes.

[This is bad, really bad.]

It muttered inwardly, looking utterly desperate.

“Old turtle, snap out of it.” Lu Ran patted its shell.

“It’s all good now; your injuries are healed.”

“Huh?” The black turtle finally noticed its surroundings. No longer in the deep sea, it was now surrounded by Lu Ran, General Ha, the sudden death king, and the dark crow, all looking at it with concern.

[Did I escape back?]

[Boo-hoo, you owe me for this one!] The old turtle, realizing it had successfully made it back, teared up.

“Black turtle general, what on earth happened?”

“What kind of danger did you encounter in the ocean?” the dark crow asked urgently.

Lu Ran also asked, “Yes, old turtle, what happened to you out there?”

Before this incident, Lu Ran had dispatched the black turtle general to command the coastal waters. He had even enhanced it with Dragon Blood and forged weapons for it.

The black turtle general quickly became the King of the Coastal Waters, as expected. None of the surrounding sea creatures were its match.

But now…

“I encountered a monster,” the old turtle replied.

“It had a human-like upper body and a fish-like lower half, and it could communicate with various water creatures.”

“It claimed to come from the ‘Fishman Empire’ and sought to command this area.”

“Of course, I refused, but I completely underestimated its strength. Although I managed to drive it away, I was gravely injured in the process.”

“Fishman? Empire?”

Hearing the black turtle’s words, Lu Ran sensed trouble. He felt deeply uneasy.

“Caw!” Beside him, the dark crow also showed a fierce expression.

“Manager Ying!!!” Lu Ran used the Manager Ying summoning technique once again.

In the next moment, a rather reluctant cat arrived.

“Manager Ying, listen to me. We’ve got a serious problem. It seems that a ‘sea beast force’ has formed in the Eastern Sea. The old turtle, whom I sent to guard the coastal waters, was attacked by a ‘mermaid ferocious beast’ claiming to originate from the ‘Fishman Empire’.”

“Huh?” Upon hearing this, Manager Ying, who had just arrived, instantly became alert.

“Damn.” It then shot a glance at the black turtle general and said, “Is this true?”

“Uh-huh.” The black turtle nodded.

“This is indeed a serious matter,” Manager Ying said gravely. “Land-based ferocious beasts haven’t yet formed any semblance of a nation, but the ocean… it’s already happening?”

“Fishmen… mermaid… species related to humans? Are these supernatural evolutions of fish?”

“Or did the Blue Star originally have ‘mermaids’ that have grown stronger with the revival of spiritual energy?” Manager Ying wondered aloud.

Land creatures had always explored the ocean too little.

“The current issue isn’t that, but the ‘Fishman Empire’. Just from the name, it sounds like a species capable of landing. Otherwise, even if they established an empire, they would likely just stay in the ocean,” Lu Ran pointed out.

“Now that there are low-level soldiers-well, if the black turtle general was able to repel them, they should be considered low-level. Anyway, they’re already approaching the mainland, which clearly indicates their intent to expand their influence toward the continent,” Lu Ran said.

Black turtle: ?

“…” Manager Ying pondered for a moment and then continued, “Well, with our current capabilities, we can’t handle this alone. I’ll pass this intelligence on to Gu Qingyi.”

“The sea region of Xia Country is generally managed by her. Among the First Generation, she is particularly skilled in maritime warfare as the Dragon Tamer.”

“Only she is skilled in maritime warfare among the First Generation?” Lu Ran frowned. “That’s extremely risky. We’re dealing with the forces of the deep sea ferocious beasts; it’s beyond what a single First Generation can handle.”

“I understand your concern, but don’t worry too much just yet,” Manager Ying said seriously. “For now, we’re just scaring ourselves. We don’t even know the full situation on the other side. In any case, don’t worry. While we may not be able to deal with them in the ocean, if they dare to land, they’ll be the ones facing their doom.”

“In the meantime, as the King of Green Sea, you need to tighten the defense of the coastal waters. This area’s defense is not as strong as Shanghai’s. It would be best to bring in some experts to hold the fort, so that runaway mermaid won’t come back with reinforcements,” Manager Ying advised.

“I understand,” Lu Ran nodded. The Fishman Empire, huh… we’re entering turbulent times.

He felt that his position as King of Green Sea was being challenged for the first time.

“I’ll go inform Qingyi now,” said Manager Ying as it took out a phone and walked aside.

At this moment, the black turtle turned its head and sighed deeply. “With my meager strength, encountering such a formidable enemy, I’m afraid I can’t bear this responsibility any longer.”

“I have no choice but to retire to Qingwu Lake and live out my days. I humbly request Big King to allow me to retire in peace…”

Before Lu Ran could respond, the dark crow landed on the black turtle’s shell and said, “Got beaten up and you want to quit? Big King is not a petty person. Since you have bled for Green Sea and made great contributions, if there’s anything that can enhance your strength, even exquisite resources, Big King will get them for you.”

“The Fishman Empire entering the coastal waters is not yet a huge wave. If they dare to take one more step forward, it will be a total upheaval!”

“Get stronger, black turtle general. We, the seven general beasts of Green Sea, will together sound the horn of counterattack against the Fishman Empire!” the dark crow declared with fierce eyes.

“Indeed, old turtle. We owe you a great deal this time. I will soon acquire even more powerful resources to enhance your strength,” Lu Ran said.

General Ha and the sudden death king also cast encouraging glances toward the black turtle, with the weather elf looking bewildered. Old turtle, you can do it. At least you can fight for another five hundred years!

Black turtle: ???