"It stinks so bad. What kind of place is this?" Li Feng pinched his nose and said.
At that moment, the instruments in the hands of the treasure hunting team members suddenly flashed rapidly, and the alarm sounded even louder.
"Brother, look! There's a treasure chest up ahead!" He Ziming shouted excitedly.
"Let's go!" Han Chengyong led the way, rushing forward first.
The others quickly followed, the ground littered with the remains of various strange beasts, the foul stench permeating the air.
Su Heng also pinched his nose and ran quickly, originally having no intention of entering, but seeing a treasure chest right in front of him, who wouldn't be excited?
Zhou Ran trailed behind the group, occasionally glancing around through his Star Spirit Mirror. Though there was nothing unusual, Zhou Ran felt something was off. Earlier, Han Chengyong had mentioned that a powerful energy beam had erupted when they were about to break through the stone door, yet now there was no sign of anything unusual. Was it too quiet?
The prelude to a storm?
Zhou Ran had already experienced countless births and deaths in the system plane. In the past, such situations always led to major incidents. However, the treasure chest before him was incredibly tempting, especially since this was his first time entering the area beyond the stone door.
Just as everyone approached the treasure chest, a demonic wind blew from the side, and the treasure chest opened on its own in a strange manner.
A bone claw extended from the treasure chest, followed by a massive humanoid skeleton crawling out, its hollow eyes staring at everyone.
"Is that… the Zombie King Beast?" Han Chengyong's pupils contracted, his face filled with horror.
This Zombie King Beast stood over twenty metres tall, clad in grey armour, with a several-metre-long dark black sword in its right hand, resembling a war god.
"Goodness! How unlucky are we?"
"We just encountered a swarm of carrion beetles, and now a Zombie King Beast has appeared."
Zhou Ran paused, carefully examining it. When he saw the sword in its hand, his eyes lit up with excitement.
A blood-red gem was embedded in the sword hilt. Zhou Ran recognised it immediately—it was Demon Blood Essence, and it was far superior to the one he had seen before.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Moon Dog beside him was also extremely excited, transmitting waves of excitement through the mental contract and urging Zhou Ran to obtain it at all costs.
Zhou Ran snapped back to reality, calmed it down, and immediately approached Han Chengyong and the others.
'It's an eighth-rank upper-tier zombie king beast, and with that sword in its hand, its strength is probably already close to ninth-rank,' Zhou Ran said solemnly.
Han Chengyong's expression was grim. If his Dark Gold Magic Bear hadn't been injured, he might have been able to fight it, but he could only turn to his team members behind him and say, 'Bring out your combat-ready beasts! Kill it!'
He then immediately commanded the Giant Claw Mantis to charge at the Zombie King Beast. The two beasts were vastly different in size. Though the Giant Claw Mantis was also an eighth-tier beast, as an insect-type beast, it shared a common weakness: its relatively small stature.
When facing such a massive beast, it inevitably had some disadvantages. Fortunately, its speed was exceptionally agile, allowing it to hold its own for a while.
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded vigorously and summoned their beasts in unison.
Wang Tao's seventh-tier Flame Spirit Monkey, He Ziming's sixth-tier Earth Shadow Giant Turtle, Li Feng's sixth-tier Flame Spirit Tiger, and Jiang Yuxi's sixth-tier Shadow Soul Magic Rabbit...
In an instant, dozens of strange beasts appeared in the cave, like a small army, charging forward all at once and surrounding the zombie king beast.
This zombie king beast was truly powerful. Facing so many strange beasts, it did not show any weakness, relying on the treasure sword in its hand to attack wildly.
Zhou Ran had originally intended to summon the World-Destroying Thunder Tiger again, but he restrained himself, deciding not to reveal too much unless absolutely necessary.
While everyone else was summoning beasts, Su Heng had been watching Zhou Ran and mocked, 'What, you don't have any beasts? Are you afraid of dying? Or do you think an unripe ninth-tier beast is invincible? You fool.'
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ran glared at Su Heng with hatred. The Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog, sensing its master's disgust, suddenly roared at Su Heng. The overwhelming aura of a ninth-tier beast sent Su Heng kneeling on the spot in fear.
Han Chengyong and the others who had been fighting earlier were all stunned, but the most shocked was Su Heng. In that instant, he had felt death—an absolute terror.
He had actually been scared out of his wits by a beast! As a seven-star beast tamer, his status was incredibly prestigious. In the outer city, he was a man who could command the winds and rains, whose word was law. Yet now he had been scared into kneeling on the ground?
After a moment of shock, he snapped back to his senses, his eyes red with fury as he glared at Zhou Ran: 'You little beast, I'll kill you!'
Only then did Su Heng command the golden retriever behind him to charge madly at Zhou Ran, attempting to tear him apart.
'Hmph! It's just a seventh-rank golden lion. Erbao, eliminate it!' Zhou Ran said disdainfully.
Han Chengyong immediately reacted, rushing over to hold Su Heng back, saying, 'Su brother, let's talk this out. Don't get angry. In this situation, we can't fight among ourselves!'
Su Heng was nearly furious. Having knelt before Zhou Ran in public, his dignity shattered, what else could he say? Die!
He violently unleashed his starlight energy, constantly commanding the Golden Light Lion in his mind, but the Giant Claw Mantis suddenly appeared, blocking his path. Additionally, Han Chengyong was also emitting powerful spiritual energy, temporarily suppressing Su Heng. This surprised him once again. As fellow Seventh-Rank Beast Tamers, why was he so much stronger than me?
Li Feng and Jiang Yuxi were also terrified. After all, Zhou Ran was someone they had brought along. If something happened, it would be disastrous. So they also desperately stood in front of Zhou Ran.
"Lin brother, Lin boss, don't get angry! Our goal is the treasure!" Li Feng looked at Zhou Ran's icy gaze and grew increasingly anxious. The other party had a "powerful background" and was definitely not someone he could afford to offend.
'That's right!' Jiang Yuxi held Zhou Ran's hand and kept trying to calm him down.
'His mouth is too foul. Even my beast can't stand it. He's asking for it.' Zhou Ran said coldly. Although their primary goal was to eliminate the zombie king beast ahead, having such a petty person around meant that if he suddenly stabbed him in the back, it would be the end.
Moreover, Zhou Ran had already anticipated that this fight would never happen. Han Chengyong and the others would definitely intervene. He had already decided that if he caused trouble, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate both the zombie king beast and him at the same time, to prevent him from causing more trouble.
Zhou Ran had developed a ruthless and decisive personality in the system dimension. When faced with someone who might become an enemy, it was best to eliminate them early on.
Upon hearing Zhou Ran's words, everyone couldn't help but feel ashamed. It was indeed Su Heng who had mocked him first, but to allow the beast to attack him just because of that—that was too bold. Though you might have a powerful background, Su Heng is also from a prominent family in the inner city. Aren't you afraid of creating enmity?