King of Beasts

After being momentarily distracted, Lu Ran quickly recovered and continued his inquiry.

Passerby A: [Dr. Gu, when are you going to send me back to the Green Sea…]

Whether it’s for the evolution of general ha or the dark crow, the subsequent preparations need to be started.

For general ha, a new lifebound weapon needs to be forged.

As for the dark crow, its soul strength needs to be continuously cultivated.

The forging materials needed for the former are easy to acquire. Considering Lu Ran’s current financial status, it’s not difficult to purchase them. With the assistance of the Flame Sprite and the forging experience from the Cult of Necromancy, and with a bit of practice, the forging should be achievable.

However, according to the forging diagram, to forge the necromancy weapon embryo, a soul flame is required.

This type of flame, soul flame, is something that Lu Ran hasn’t managed to research yet. He feels he might need some external help.

That is, to hunt fire type ferocious beasts and extract their souls for research.

For the latter, it also requires Lu Ran to hunt a large number of ferocious beasts and extract their souls to make cuisine for cultivating the dark crow.

If Lu Ran wants to dive deeper into necromancy studies, staying completely in the infinite city won’t work. Besides the breakthrough secret realm, the monsters in ordinary secret realms are heavily data-driven, shattering on contact and not allowing for soul separation. Therefore, he needs to find a solution in the real world.

Gu Qingyi: [Is it urgent? Should I push them a bit?]

Passerby A: [Yes, very urgent. By the way, are there any places in Xia Country where wild fire type ferocious beasts are abundant, uncontrollable, and in need of massive clearing?]

[Mental and dark types are needed too!]

Gu Qingyi: [Uh, what are you planning to do.]

Passerby A: [As a beastmaster from Xia Country, I want to eliminate some safety hazards for the public.]

Gu Qingyi: [Speak plainly.]

Passerby A: [The next step of cultivation requires a large number of souls…]

Gu Qingyi chuckled, it seems this Holy Son of Necromancy is planning to take action in the real world…

While Lu Ran was enjoying himself outside.

In the Green Sea.

A fishman resembling a toad surfaced onshore.

[Where exactly is it?]

The big king had sent it to find a turtle bearing a stone tablet, but it had been searching for a long time without success.

After asking around, it learned that the turtle was also an outsider, seemingly having entered the ocean from the land.

Originally, the Fishman Empire had a ban on entering the land easily. However, it understood the consequences of failing the task assigned by the big king.

Distressed, the fishman began to wander aimlessly around the waters near the Green Sea, seeking information.

However, it wasn’t long before a Flock of crows hovering in the sky took notice of it.

[Intruder sighted!]

[Intruder detected!]

Although the Dark Crow General wasn’t present, this Flock of crows had already developed the habit of reporting different invading species to the corresponding general for resolution.

At Qingwu Lake.

The black turtle was enjoying a leisurely retirement, occasionally teaching life lessons to the King Carp Lu Ran had chosen. Life was very pleasant.

However, as a Flock of crows began fluttering over the lake, a sense of alarm struck the black turtle.

“Damn it.”

The old turtle glanced at the yet-to-mature King Carp, feeling a bit uneasy.

How has trouble come even before the new general has grown up?

“Fine, let’s go take a look.”

“It shouldn’t be anything major.”

“After this last task, I’m retiring for good!”

The old turtle wrestled with its thoughts for a while but eventually decided to take a look, driven by the occupational habits it had developed over these past days.

It strapped on the stone tablet newly forged by Lu Ran, glanced at the crows, and in the next moment, the Flock of crows formed a wind circle, lifting the black turtle into the air.

“What is this??”

Before long, the fishman leader, still searching for the stone-bearing turtle in the Green Sea, saw a massive Flock of crows descending from the sky.

Squinting, it could tell just by their breath that this Flock of crows was a bunch of weaklings, almost all below level 10.

They couldn’t compare to it, the proud level 38 fishman leader.

But what stunned it next was:

The Flock of crows slowly descended, and as the dark mass of crows dispersed, a giant turtle bearing a stone tablet appeared directly in front of it.

It was as if the Flock of crows were merely the turtle’s subordinates or even its mounts!

Seeing the stone tablet-bearing giant turtle it had been searching for finally appear, the fishman’s eyes widened in disbelief.

[Ah, you’re quite the turtle, aren’t you? Even managed to get so many birds as your mounts. Our big king doesn’t even have this many tricks up his sleeve.]

This fishman seemed to possess a Special Ability that allowed it to communicate clearly with the black turtle.

The black turtle’s face darkened.

Damn.

It had been tricked.

Seeing the “intruder,” its heart sank.

Another fishman.

It regretted everything.

It looked up at the Crows circling above, contemplating if they could take it back.

However, these Crows seemed only responsible for bringing it here, without any intention of taking it back until the trouble was resolved.

Black Turtle: ???

Dark crow, is this how you train your subordinates?

It, the old turtle, was not going to forget this slight.

“Damn it,” the old turtle thought as it looked silently at the fishman, feeling a bit intimidated. The last time it fought one of these fishmen, it had been tough, and this one had to be even stronger than the last.

Was it here for revenge?

The old turtle’s stomach churned because it knew that Lu Ran and the dark crow were not in the Green Sea these days.

Why, why did they say the Fishman Empire wouldn’t cause trouble in the short term?

What is this?!

[Fine, if I die, I die. I’ve lived long enough anyway. Maybe dying like this isn’t so bad after all. At least I wouldn’t have to endure anymore suffering. But still, I’d rather die of old age naturally…]

However, just when the old turtle thought its end was near, the next words from the fishman left it stunned.

For the enemy wasn’t here to cause immediate trouble, though for the black turtle, it felt like trouble nonetheless.

“Woolee!” the fishman began.

[You must be the commander of these coastal waters, right? I’ve heard about you from my subordinates. Your heroic deeds have reached the ears of our big king, who has taken a great interest in you. I’m here to convey his decree, inviting you to become a general of our Fishman Empire!]

[Come with me.]

[Don’t refuse, or you’ll miss your chance to change your turtle destiny.]

Boom.

In the next moment, the fishman unleashed a powerful surge of energy, creating a gale that smacked against the black turtle, leaving it stunned.

“Wow… (I…)” The black turtle was about to say, “If you want me to become a general in your empire, you might as well kill me.”

But in a split second, the fishman’s expression grew impatient. With a swift move, it leaped onto the black turtle’s head and slapped a fishy hand down onto its skull.

It hated communicating with turtles, finding it too troublesome.

Better to just knock it out and take it away.

With a single strike, the black turtle was rendered unconscious. The fishman commander grabbed one of its legs and began dragging it toward the ocean.

Seeing this, the Flock of crows was utterly dumbfounded.

…

Some time later.

In Antarctica.

With the arrival of the escort team from Xia Country.

Lu Ran also returned to reality from the infinite city, planning to head back to Xia Country first.

However, as soon as he emerged, he noticed Manager Ying’s not-so-happy expression, accompanied by the weather elf, waiting for him outside.

“Lu Ran, something’s happened.”

Lu Ran was immediately taken aback by the grave look on Manager Ying’s face.

“Huh? What happened?”

Lu Ran paused, asking, “Are there a few hundred First Generation powerhouses waiting to ambush us on the way?”

“In that case, forget going back. I’ll just stay in the infinite city until I reach level 60…”

Manager Ying’s lips twitched. “Is that even possible?”

“It’s your Green Sea that’s in trouble.”

“Oh, crap.” Lu Ran was stunned. “Green Sea? What happened to Green Sea??”

“What could possibly happen in Green Sea?”

Manager Ying explained, “Not long ago, a Flock of crows descended upon my cat-eared maid café, hysterically crashing into the windows, trying to convey some message.”

“But since my clone in Green Sea was busy escorting you to Antarctica, there was nobody there who could understand what the crows were trying to relay.”

“However, through contacts with the maid café staff, one of my clones that was still in the country rushed over and received some bad news.”

“What news?” Lu Ran felt an ominous foreboding.

“The fishmen of the Fishman Empire have once again landed in Green Sea City.”

“Could it be that enormous damage was caused?” Lu Ran asked, but he dismissed the possibility in the next moment. After all, something like that would require contacting the Green Sea Association, who would then seek assistance from the Jinling Association.

“No, it’s not that,” Manager Ying said. “I spoke with the Crows and got the full story.”

“It seems that the fishman your black turtle general defeated earlier went back and reported this to the Fishman Prince.”

“Surprisingly, the Fishman Prince doesn’t seem to want revenge, but instead appears to have taken a liking to the old turtle.”

“So this time, they sent people to abduct your black turtle general, intending for the old turtle to become its subordinate.”

Lu Ran: ???

“Damn it,” Lu Ran cursed after a moment, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“They dare to steal my general?”

“But how do you plan to get it back?”

“I…” Lu Ran felt overwhelmed, unable to understand how he had found himself in such a mess.

However, the news gave him some comfort; as long as the old turtle surrendered and complied, its life wouldn’t be in danger. Otherwise, Lu Ran would feel incredibly guilty.

After all, if he hadn’t assigned the black turtle to guard the coastal waters, it wouldn’t have gotten into this situation.

From the black turtle’s perspective, it had always wanted to retire, but now it was being captured by the Fishman Empire to serve as a war general, which must be incredibly frustrating.

Damn it, does that Fishman Prince have a screw loose or something? Wanting a turtle at level twenty-something?

“I definitely can’t abandon the black turtle. No matter what, I have to rescue it.”

“Manager Ying, do you have any ideas?”

Lu Ran was at a loss. Even Gu Qingyi, Xia Country’s top expert in maritime warfare, probably wouldn’t have a way to rescue someone from the Fishman Empire.

Manager Ying remained silent for a moment before saying, “I’ve heard that the Fishman Empire has a Mermaid Princess. If you become the Fishman Prince’s brother-in-law, you might be able to ask for the black turtle back…”

“Or you could storm the place, but we can’t defeat them. What if you level up first? After all, it seems like the Fishman Empire doesn’t have any ill intentions towards the old turtle. Given the old turtle’s Talent, it might even become a general in the Fishman Empire. Its Talent is quite good; it hasn’t trained seriously, yet its level has been rising steadily. In a place like the deep sea, it’ll probably grow even faster.”

“Eventually, you can reunite on equal footing…”

Lu Ran: ???