Truthfully, if it had been any other 2-star beast tamer that said such words, Hall Master Han surely wouldn't have gotten angry.
What triggered him was... the expression of that fellow who spoke. The other party acted as though he would surely suffer if he didn't heed his words. Not to mention, the contempt in his eyes couldn't be any more apparent...
To think that a 4-star pinnacle beast tamer like him would be looked in contempt by a young lad... Contempt your head!
This Demon Cinque Beast possesses the Dragon Bloodline, resulting in its proud nature. It's normal to be unable to tame it. Do you really think that I wished to go this far? It's precisely because there's no better solution that I'm doing this!
Hmph! Conceited!
It sure is a wonder why Hall Master Sai would become friends with someone like you.
"Don't bother about them, focus on the roasting instead. The more aromatic it is, the better!"
Suppressing his rage, Hall Master Han instructed.
"Yes!" Elder Hu and the others nodded, and they increased the intensity of the flame. The aroma of the Deerhorde Beast immediately grew deeper, inducing groans of protest from one's stomach.
...
While that group was about to erupt from rage, Zhang Xuan and the others stopped at a distance several hundred meters away.
"This will do!" Zhang Xuan waved his hands.
"Zhang shi..." The crowd turned to look at him with questioning gazes.
They had absolute trust in Zhang shi's capability. Since he had said that something was going to happen, there was a high chance that something would happen.
"Is Zhang shi worried about a stampede occurring?"
A thought flashed past Hall Master Sai's mind and he frowned. "Given how the aroma of the Deerhorde Beast is diffusing in the surroundings and considering the irresistible appeal of it to the spirit beasts, it is highly likely that a large group of spirit beasts might be attracted into the area... But... if a stampede is going to occur, won't we still be caught in it at this distance?"
Under the charge of thousands and thousands of savage beasts, all life forms would be torn to shreds. If a stampede were to really occur, even if they were to escape several dozen kilometers away, they would still be caught within it.
"Ah! That seems possible!"
Everyone also came to a realization.
What Hall Master Sai said made sense. There was indeed a high probability of a stampede occurring. Such a matter had occurred in Coax Ridge before so this wasn't an unfounded worry.
Given the aroma from the Deerhorde Beast, it wouldn't be surprising if spirit beasts were lured in. But if it was such a situation, shouldn't they run away as far as possible? Wouldn't it be courting death if they chose to remain here?
"A stampede? You sure have wild imaginations!"
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan was speechless. "Since even you all can tell that other spirit beasts could be lured in by the aroma of the Deerhorde Beast, do you all think that a group of 4-star beast tamers would neglect this possibility?"
"This..."
The crowd's faces immediately turned red.
That was indeed true. Since even outsiders like them could tell that much, how could 4-star beast tamer veterans neglect such a possibility?
Since the other party could even foresee the rejection of the Demon Cinque Beast and prepared countermeasures in advance, they must be prepared for the possibility of a stampede occurring already.
"Don't worry, such a thing can't possibly happen!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.
"Why?" Zhao Feiwu was bewildered.
Even humans like them found it hard to hold themselves back before the allure of the Deerhorde Beast, how could spirit beasts possibly resist it?
Seeing how the usually astute 'gongzi' asked such an obvious question, Zhang Xuan rolled his eyes. "Even though the Deerhorde Beast is very aromatic, how far do you think the smell can diffuse to?"
"This..." Zhao Feiwu was immediately stumped.
There was no doubt about the allure of the meat, but at their current distance, the aroma was already barely discernible. If they were to go any further, it would be completely undetectable already. Even though spirit beasts possessed far stronger senses of smell than humans, it would still be impossible for them to discern a smell several kilometers away.
"Besides, where do you think we are? We are on the territory of the Demon Cinque Beast! Even if other spirit beasts were to catch a whiff of the aroma, do you think that they would dare to gather here?" Zhang Xuan continued.
"Ah..." Zhao Feiwu blushed in embarrassment.
Powerful spirit beasts and savage beasts demarcated their own territories, and weaker beasts wouldn't dare to step into their boundaries. After all, the moment they stepped past the boundary, there was a high chance they would be killed as a prey. The Demon Cinque Beast could be considered as the strongest spirit beast throughout the entire Nine Folds Mountain. Given the duration it had lived here, how could there be any nearby beasts who still dared to trespass on its territory?
Wasn't that courting death?
"If I'm not mistaken, in a ten kilometer radius where the Demon Cinque Beast lives, there won't be any other spirit beasts. No matter how aromatic the Deerhorde Beast is, it's impossible for it cause an uproar among spirit beasts beyond ten kilometers away!" Zhang Xuan explained.
"Ten kilometers?" Only then did everyone finally came to a realization.
Stopping two kilometers away, it was true that they hadn't spotted any spirit beasts along the way. Even though they had noticed a few footprints, they were sparse. Most probably, those belonged to spirit beasts who accidentally wandered into the area and fled hurriedly after smelling the Demon Cinque Beast's scent.
Otherwise, given that they were a large group, it was odd that not a single spirit beast had come forward to pester them.
No matter how aromatic the Deerhorde Beast was, it was impossible for a spirit beast that was ten kilometers away to smell it. And even if one did, would it dare to walk in here?
This was the territory of the strongest spirit beast in the Nine Folds Mountain!
It was no wonder why Hall Master Han had no fear. He probably already knew in advance that it was impossible for a stampede to occur.
"But if it isn't a stampede... What other situation could happen?"
Eventually, they returned back to the original question.
"Look on, you'll understand soon enough!" Zhang Xuan didn't explain the matter.
Since Zhang Xuan was unwilling to speak, the others didn't think that it was appropriate to question him further.
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At that point, Hall Master Sai suddenly requested awkwardly, "If there's any danger, I beseech Zhang shi to save Hall Master Han. The only reason why he snubs you is because he doesn't know of your capability. In truth, he isn't a bad person..."
No matter what, Hall Master Han was his friend. He couldn't possibly watch on nonchalantly if the other party was in danger.
"Un, if something really happens, I'll help him. However, I just fear that they might not be happy if I do make a move!" Chuckling softly, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. "Alright, you all should continue watching. It should be about time!"
Hearing those words, the crowd turned their sights to the front.
At this point, the cooking of the Deerhorde Beast was about to be finished. The aroma had already reached an unbearable level.
These elders were all skilled in outdoor survival skills, and they had brought some seasoning along with them for this operation. Even though it was abrupt, their skills weren't inferior even to the top chefs of Honghai City. Not just the aroma and the taste, even the tone of the meat was perfect. Just the sight of it was enough to induced uncontrolled salivation in one.
"Brother Demon Cinque, can you smell it? If you become my tamed beast, this will be yours. Besides, you only have to stay by my side so there's nothing for you to lose. Once my lifespan reaches its end, you'll be free once more. What else is there to consider?"
Knowing that the aroma had already permeated through the entire formation, Hall Master Han continued, "Hurry up and make your decision or else, we'll be eating the Deerhorde Beast by ourselves. By then, it'll be too late! I believe that you should know the value of the Deerhorde Beast as well. This is the only one in the entire Nine Folds Mountain, and once you miss it, you'll surely regret it for life!"
Hall Master Han's words were indeed very persuasive, any other spirit beast would have already been convinced by now. However, the eyes of the Demon Cinque Beast were still tightly shut, and it remained completely motionless. It seemed as though it was asleep.
"When did the Demon Cinque Beast become so docile?"
At this moment, Zhao Feiwu also realized that something was wrong.
According to the legends passed down in the Myraid Kingdom Alliance, this fellow was ferocious and savage. Back then, someone had also tried to use a formation to trap it. However, it was a pity that the stamina of the Demon Cinque Beast seemed to know no limits. Soon, under its struggling, the spirit stones in the formation ran dry and it broke out of the formation!
Formations could be sustained by both spiritual energy in the surroundings and spiritual energy from spirit stones. The former would require a long charging period for the formation to be sustained whereas the latter only demanded sufficient spirit stones.
But regardless which of the two it was, formations required an energy input to sustain it. To cope with the struggling of the prisoner, it would have to expend a greater amount of energy. Once the spirit stones ran dry, even if one didn't know the exact method to break the formation, the formation would still crumble by itself.
This was precisely the reason why the corridor of the Formation Master Guild had a time limit of two hours.
If not, as long as the examinee struggled, it would just be a matter of time before the energy in the formation ran dry... Breaking out of the formation under such circumstances wouldn't be a test of one's skill.
Despite the ferocious nature of the Demon Cinque Beast before, it chose to lie down as though an obedient child. Even though it was interested in the Deerhorde Beast before, there wasn't any signs of it wanting to break out of the formation... This was contrary to its nature.
"Hall master, it's done!"
Just as everyone was puzzled, Elder Hu and the others were done cooking the Deerhorde Beast. The golden spirit beast meat and the deep aroma made it irresistible to all.
"Good, bring it over!"
Hall Master Han nodded.
Elder Hu and the others nodded as they brought the cooked Deerhorde Beast flesh over.
"Do you see that? If you were to hesitate any longer, we'll be digging in..."
Hall Master Han chuckled as he turned his gaze to the Deerhorde Beast. Just as he was about to pick it up to entice the other party, his eyes suddenly widened in astonishment and he erupted. "What the heck is this! Who in the world ate it?"
"Ate it?"
Everyone turned their sights over, only to see the previously intact Deerhorde Beast missing a limb. Only a trail of bones hung limply on the body.
In other words... someone had secretly eaten one of the limbs!
Hall Master Han was frenzied.
Who in the world was the one who ate the Deerhorde Beast?
Even though he kept saying that they were going to dig in, it was actually just a method to coax the Demon Cinque Beast. If they were to really eat it, the possibility of taming it would drop to zero.
In other words, he was just saying it, it was impossible for him to really do it. Why... in the blink of an eye did a limb suddenly go missing? Not to mention, not the slightest piece of meat was left on the limb.
Aren't you all going too far? Don't you all know how much effort I have put into taming this fellow?
Hall Master Han glared coldly at Elder Hu and the others.
Hall Master Sai and that infuriating 2-star beast tamer had left as soon as the roasting process started so it was impossible for them to be the culprit. The only plausible suspects were the elders standing before him.
"Hall master, we... didn't do it!"
Being glared at by the other party, Elder Hu and the other leaped in shock. They hurriedly shook their hands in denial.
They had been swallowing their saliva and suppressing their agitation while roasting it, not daring to nibble the slightest bit of it. They were also baffled by how a limb went missing all of a sudden?
"You didn't do it? Are you saying that the flesh flew away by itself?"
Hall Master Han lashed out.
What kind of teammates did I find... I asked you all to roast the meat to entice the Demon Cinque Beast into submission and yet you all ended up feasting on it yourself...
What is wrong with you all!
"Hall master, it really isn't us. I can swear to that..."
Seeing that the hall master didn't believe them, Elder Hu raised his palm to vow to the heavens when he suddenly froze, and his expression slowly warped in shock. "Hall master..."
"What's wrong?"
Hearing the sudden exclamation, Hall Master Han traced Elder Hu's gaze back to the Deerhorde Beast meat and he nearly spurted a mouthful of blood.
The Deerhorde Beast, which was initially missing one limb, was missing two now. Staring at the bare bone hanging off its body, an air of eeriness floated in the area.