Lord of the Magical Beasts

“Not good, sir! We have to retreat quickly!” the fox elder shouted, but unfortunately, it was too late.

The group saw a silver light flash past their eyes, then the scenery around them changed drastically. The cave disappeared, and they arrived in a desert. The desert was endless, without water, without wind. It was still all around.

With the strange transformation, everyone from the powerful Bullmen to the ordinarily composed Medusas all became immensely fearful. No one understood what was going on.

“Get into formation, quick!”

After his surprise, Yang Ling gave a composed order. Even though he did not understand what was going on, he had a feeling that a tempest was approaching him. He was prepared to engage defensively with the formation, reacting to any changes with his passivity. Of course, it was imperative that he send out scouts to find out about the terrain around them, in case they got ambushed.

In their fear, the group acted quickly, forming a tight oval-shaped formation of defense. The Bullmen, Ogres, Medusas, and barbarians were each responsible for a direction, protecting the elf archers and Spellcasters within the circle.

Seeing Yang Ling preparing to send out his scouts, the fox elder let out a frustrated sigh before slowly explaining the situation.

“Sir, this is a Magical Illusory Spell Formation. We have to find a way to get out as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if we don’t suffer an attack, we’ll be stranded here until we die!”

Legend had it that there were no intelligent races on the Tailun Continent during the prehistoric times. Then, after the God of War descended, he created angels using light, Beastmen using fire, humans using mud, and all the other creatures using water…

According to the historical records, there had been many splinter races of the fox tribe during the ancient times, of which the Heavenly Foxes were the most powerful. Unlike the ordinary Beastmen, the first generation of Heavenly Foxes looked similar to ordinary Fire Foxes, but they had the possibility of evolving into a human form after they developed nine tails.

It was rumored that when he was creating the Heavenly Foxes, the God of War had infused them with a drop of his own Blood Essence. In order to absorb the immense energy that they were born with, they had no choice but to undergo thousands of years of evolution within the body of a Fire Fox.

Every Heavenly Fox could be said to be a lucky fox naturally imbued with the blessings of the God of War. They naturally possessed massive amounts of fire element Magical Energy, and each of them was an impeccable fire element Spellcaster. They could even use the lowest level fireball spells to terrifying extents.

Other than fire element magic, the Heavenly Foxes also had a revered ability—the Magical Illusory Spell Formation. They could create a dream-like Magical Spell Formation. The outcome was disastrous if an outsider accidentally stepped into one of their intricate traps. They would either be attacked by the Heavenly Foxes or trapped in the Magical Illusory Spell Formation until they died of hunger.

“It is rumored that in ancient times, the Beastmen were massacred by the Church in the name of exterminating cults. Our population rapidly decreased from tens of millions to just over a million, and the lives of all who survived were in constant risk.” The eyes of the fox elder turned red as he tightened his grip on his staff. He continued, “At the critical moment, a Heavenly Fox living in seclusion stepped forward, took a risk, and lured the Sage level fighters of the Church into an intricately set Magical Illusory Spell Formation, finally perishing there with them. It sacrificed its life as the price for the ceasefire between the Beastmen and the Church!”

“That’s right! It was because of the efforts of the Heavenly Fox that we the Beastmen race could sign a ceasefire agreement with the hypocritical Church of the humans. Over the millennia, despite the vile living conditions, we still proliferated, generation after generation!” The Medusa leader paused, then continued, “From then on, the fox tribe has received the respect of all of the Beastmen!”

After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling asked in confusion, “Since the Heavenly Fox is also part of the Beastmen tribe, then why would it appear here and trap us in this Magical Illusory Spell Formation?”

Yang Ling was confused, unable to understand the situation. The Beastmen looked at each other, no one knowing what was going on. The ox chief scratched his head in frustration, while the Medusa leader had a grim expression, not saying a word. Even the old fox elder could not find a reasonable explanation, despite trying to remember all of the historical records he had read in the past.

Seeing the Beastmen unable to come up with an idea despite their discussions, Yang Ling could only sit down on the ground, cross-legged. He summoned a dozen Horned Bee Beasts and instructed them to form groups of three. He then sent them in all four directions to scout the surrounding terrain, and to discover if they were really in a Magical Illusory Spell Formation.

The Horned Bee Beasts were speedy, but they still didn’t find the end of the desert even after flying for an hour. The land had no signs of life, not even a blade of grass, much less any monsters.

Other than the golden sand on the ground, the desert only consisted of more, boundless, golden sand!

As the images sent back by the Horned Bee Beasts became more and more hazy, Yang Ling felt that it was becoming harder and harder to control them. He realized that they had already reached the largest distance at which he was still able to control them. Without a choice, all he could do was call them back.

Could this be a large scale, high level Maze Formation?

Thinking back to the strange desert that had suddenly appeared, then looking at the vast stretches of golden sand, Yang Ling had a thought. According to the explanation on the stele, when one cultivated to a high level, they could set up large scale Maze Formations using their Wizard Techniques, creating dream-like traps.

“Oh no. What is that?”

Just as Yang Ling was prepared to investigate the area further, an eagle-eyed elf archer suddenly shouted in shock. Lifting his head to take a look, he saw a line of black figures suddenly appearing in the horizon, bringing with them a sky full of dust.

The black figures were fast, soon revealing their ferocious identities. It was not a flood, but a tide of Twin-headed Horse Spiders, without an end in sight.

“Retreat, we have to retreat now!”

“Oh Yiblis, where did this many Twin-headed Horse Spiders come from? Could this desert be their hive?”

…

Seeing the endless swarm of Twin-headed Horse Spiders approaching them, the group was immensely fearful, and even the powerful Bullmen were no exception. Their hearts thumped wildly, their limbs turned numb.

“Tighten the formation, quick!”

After swallowing with difficulty, Yang Ling gave a decisive order. In the boundless desert, they would eventually die of exhaustion even if they managed to outrun the Twin-headed Horse Spiders. Rather than retreat in fear, it was better for them to defend themselves where they stood and find a way to dispel this detestable Magical Illusory Spell Formation as soon as possible.

Under Yang Ling’s command, the huddling Beastmen seemed to have found an anchor. Under the agitation of the Twin-headed Ogre Braska, they once again slipped into a Bloodthirsty Frenzy, fiercely flailing the weapons in their hands. The Spellcasters such as Goode and the fox elder also weren’t waiting around as they hurriedly cast a magical shield for the warriors in the outer ring.

The Twin-headed Horse Spiders were speedy, splitting into two groups and surrounding Yang Ling’s forces soon after. After letting out a strange, ear-piercing sound, they unleashed waves of attacks, unafraid of death. They would chomp down on the bodies of the brave warriors even if they died.

Just as they were retaliating with all their might, the people witnessed a strange scene!

They would bleed immediately if they were bitten by a Twin-headed Horse Spider, but if the spiders were killed, they merely vanished into thin air, not leaving a trace!

Could these monsters have received the curse of Hell?

Seeing the strange sight, the group lost their color in shock, sweat covering their bodies. They became more and more uneasy as the battle went on. According to the ancient legends, there was no way to kill a monster cursed by the Demon God of Hell. They could quickly regenerate in the Altar of the Demon God then charge out once again.

While they were distracted by panic, a few barbarians and Bullmen met their doom in the blink of an eye, their corpses dragged out by the Twin-headed Horse Spiders before being torn to shreds in an instant. Seeing the fresh red blood, the still-twitching dismembered limbs, and the white brain matter, some of the pale elf archers vomited on the spot, their legs becoming limp.

“Sir, what are we going to do?” In his fear, the fox elder looked nervously at Yang Ling. He only had a shred of hope left in his heart, and that was for Yang Ling to summon his Magical Beast army and hopefully fight back against the horde of Twin-headed Horse Spiders.

What do I do?

Seeing the dead Twin-headed Horse Spiders eerily vanish into thin air, Yang Ling felt his scalp turn numb. He knew that summoning his Magical Beast army now would not have too much of an impact. The crux of the issue still lay in how they were going to dispel this strange Magical Illusory Spell Formation.

Could all of this be an illusion? Is the entire desert just a large scale Maze Formation designed to kill us?

After a moment’s deliberation, thinking back to the explanation on the stele, Yang Ling had a thought. Without hesitation, he immediately sat down cross-legged and injected the Wizard Power in his body into the desert.

After infusing a large amount of Wizard Power into the desert, Yang Ling’s powerful mental energy spread outward as if it were a spider’s web. The mental energy swam within the vast sea of sand, spreading outward without any obstructions…

Golden sand, boundless golden sand!

Some time later, after passing through various dunes of sand, after spreading past the vast nothingness, Yang Ling’s body suddenly shook. He felt as though his mental energy had encountered a layer of glue, unable to advance for the longest time.

Could the Spell Coordinate of the Magical Illusory Spell Formation be behind this obstacle?

After his surprise, Yang Ling put in all of his effort. His small Wizard Core pulsed in agitation, infusing a large amount of Wizard Power into the vast desert. His powerful mental energy also scattered outward as a result.

Feeling Yang Ling trying his best, the Heavenly Fox that was hidden somewhere seemed to also have increased its intensity. In that instant, the color of the sky turned darker, and a wild wind blew. The attacks of the Twin-headed Horse Spiders became more insane, and the glue obstructing Yang Ling’s mental energy became thicker. After trying for a moment, Yang Ling noticed that not only was his mental energy unable to advance, it was being pushed back little by little.

Hmph, so I was right!

Feeling that his mental energy was being forced back, Yang Ling was not alarmed, but elated. If the Heavenly Fox was trying its best to counter him, it meant that he had actually found the Spell Coordinate. As long as he could scatter the Heavenly Fox’s mental energy, he could probably dispel this Magical Illusory Spell Formation.

Rather than attack in all directions, he might as well focus his efforts on this point!

Deliberating for a moment, he came up with an idea. He suddenly retracted the mental energy he had scattered outward then focused his attacks on that point. As expected, the Heavenly Fox was caught off guard, and his mental energy managed to gain significant ground in a short amount of time.

Successfully breaking through and gaining distance, Yang Ling could faintly see a round, fire red ball. It looked like a miniature sun, or the Essence Crystal of some Magical Beast.

Could this be the true Spell Coordinate?

In his joy, Yang Ling once again increased the intensity of his attack, letting his powerful mental energy burst forth, hoping that he would be able to charge through in one move and destroy the fire red ball. Unexpectedly, his enemy cried out and retaliated with all its might. In that instant, Yang Ling felt as though he had been hit by a hammer, or as if his brain had been bitten by ten thousand ants. It was an intense pain!

In the instant Yang Ling suffered from the trauma, the light in the desert grew dim, and all of the Twin-headed Horse Spiders mysteriously stopped moving, becoming still as statues.

With the sudden transformation, the group became fearful, not understanding what was going on. They were afraid that some monster would suddenly emerge. Only the fox elder who was familiar with the historical records had a thought and glanced at Yang Ling with a look of understanding.

As everyone was overly-nervous, no one noticed the soul ring on Yang Ling’s finger releasing faint traces of silver light, charging into Yang Ling’s brain, fast as lightning. No one noticed that the pagoda-shaped mark between Yang Ling’s brows was becoming clearer and clearer, as images of fierce lifelike beasts appeared.