Chapter 658: Monster Appears

"He did very well and had an impressive record, but he disappeared for many years," Old Zhou chuckled. "He's probably short on money now, which is why he's back to being a mercenary."

In this line of work, people coming and going is perfectly normal.

He Lingchuan felt a little relieved to hear this.

He had been wary when Hu Bin suddenly appeared alone earlier. Hu Bin claimed to be a Ke family hunter, but the entire Ke family team had been wiped out, leaving no one to corroborate his story. His identity could therefore be fabricated however he wished.

He Lingchuan knew he had many enemies in Lingxu City. While they might find it difficult to act against him there, this wilderness was a different story.

Why was Grass Sea Hunting such a popular and grand event? Because it was full of uncertainties, and even the most experienced veterans could suffer an unexpected accident. Although it had been held for hundreds of years, every session saw casualties; it was by no means as leisurely as a spring outing.

This was, after all, the Demon Kingdom, and its people were wild by nature, disliking anything predictable. Variables and dark horses made it interesting and worth betting on. There was no telling how many people had disappeared after entering the F-Realm over the years. Lingxu City's strict prohibition against ranks above Cavalry General entering the Eye of the Storm also stemmed from such considerations.

Now that Old Zhou had confirmed Hu Bin's identity, He Lingchuan felt somewhat relieved—unless, of course, the two had colluded beforehand. It didn't seem likely.

As he was contemplating, Hu Bin, not far away, gazed at the sand on the ground and said, "Something's coming."

The sand twitched slightly. He Lingchuan also felt a faint tremor from the ground.

Hu Bin simply lay down, pressing his ear to the ground to listen intently. "A large number are coming this way… it’s a beast horde!"

"Which direction?"

Hu Bin listened for another dozen breaths, then pointed northeast. "From that direction!"

A long, dense, and piercing whistle immediately sounded from the camp. Upon hearing it, everyone knew it was time to evacuate. Most people here had experienced beast tides before and were not foolhardy. They quickly packed their tents and broke camp, moving with swift efficiency.

Since the beast horde was moving from northeast to southwest, they decided to evade it by heading southeast. Just as everyone had collectively moved over two hundred *zhang*, dust indeed billowed from the northeast, followed by a thundering multitude of beasts!

Whether in the human world or the F-Realm, He Lingchuan had rarely witnessed such a large-scale beast migration. Numbering over five hundred, every Danube beast, regardless of its appearance or size, was running with all its might. They ran with both style and momentum. They swept past the former campsite like a wind, their iron hooves trampling the ground, and continued southwest, leaving only a vast cloud of grey haze in their wake.

Standing on the hillside, everyone watched with a shiver of fear, grateful for their timely evacuation. Otherwise, they would have been trampled to death.

"Are these Danube beasts crazy?" someone asked in disbelief. "Normally, you can barely find one, but now they're all swarming together?"

The Eye of the Storm had been open for ten days, and the Danube beasts around the two-world passage had been mostly cleared out. For the next twenty days, how many floatstones they could acquire depended entirely on luck. The first five days determined the winners, and everyone spent the remaining time trying to collect spoils. The F-Realm was barren, and Danube beasts were typically scattered.

"Something gathered them, and its deterrent power over the Danube beasts is far stronger than ours," Hu Bin suddenly said, pointing towards the former campsite. "Look, it might be those two creatures!"

After the beast horde passed, dust was flying, and two figures emerged vaguely in the haze. It was unclear if they were bringing up the rear or following closely.

Each creature was about one *zhang* long and had a strange appearance. To He Lingchuan, they resembled dinosaurs, with short forelimbs, long hind limbs, and a long tail. However, their bodies were slender, allowing them to twist their spines like snakes. Their shoulder joints were exceptionally flexible, enabling their forelimbs to move more than two hundred degrees. Viewed from directly above, their upper bodies actually bore a slight resemblance to humans, particularly with their broad shoulders.

These two monsters typically moved on all fours but could also stand on their hind legs. Most notably, they had two tufts of short hair on their foreheads. It was worth noting that creatures in the F-Realm typically had no fur.

The hunters nearby asked each other what these were, but no one knew. Even veterans like Captain Zhou and Hu Bin, who had hunted for over a decade, shook their heads, admitting their ignorance. Someone even muttered, "Could these things be demons?"

He Lingchuan even recalled Dong Rui's demon puppets, which also appeared similarly distorted.

The two monsters seemed to notice the humans and demons on the hillside but showed no interest. Just then, a Danube beast, foolishly appearing from nowhere, charged towards the former campsite. The haze was too thick, and it might have been a bit nearsighted. Only when it got close did it spot the two monsters, let out a terrified cry, and slammed on its brakes. It slammed its head to the ground in a face-first stop, but it didn't care, scrambling up and turning to run, even slipping twice. It was clear that these creatures were extremely terrifying to it.

He Lingchuan immediately recalled the vortex worms that had been afraid to approach earlier. They didn't even dare to touch the ground where the monsters had walked. This kind of oppressive aura was not something ordinary Danube beasts possessed, even though the two monsters didn't appear particularly imposing in size.

Now, this Danube beast happened to be charging directly towards He Lingchuan's position.

"Damn it!" everyone cursed.

However, the two dinosaur-like monsters didn't give it the chance. One of them suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a beam of white light, accurately striking the Danube beast's hind leg. The Danube beast's body slumped, and it continued to run a few more steps, but its speed rapidly diminished. He Lingchuan saw with his own eyes that a very thin layer of white frost condensed on its leg, then spread to half its body… In just two breaths, the Danube beast's hind section was frozen solid, leaving only its forelimbs struggling to paw the ground while its head turned and bellowed incessantly.

The two monsters leisurely ambled over and began to enjoy their meal. They ate it alive.

Standing on the hillside, everyone watched the continuous wailing and the gruesome sight of flesh flying, momentarily speechless.

Only Hu Bin patted He Lingchuan's back, reminding him, "Frost breath, incapacitates an enemy in two breaths. The footprints you found earlier might have been left by them."

He Lingchuan watched intently. He didn't know the full extent of the Frostsilver Beast's abilities, but he could tell that these two monsters' ice magic was exceptionally powerful. The temperature on the F-Realm plains was also around minus ten degrees Celsius. Danube beasts, despite lacking warm fur, could still move freely here, indicating their cold resistance exceeded that of creatures in the human world. But these two monsters' frost breath could freeze most of a target within two breaths of impact. The parts left unfrozen were merely for ease of eating; otherwise, freezing it completely would have been no trouble at all. From the Danube beast's reaction upon seeing them, it had clearly encountered its natural predators.

In other words, besides the Frostsilver Beast, there was now another type of monster in the F-Realm that was skilled in frost breath?

These two monsters were particularly wasteful, only consuming the Danube beast's brain, floatstone, and heart before abandoning the carcass and walking away. Indeed, a large herd of running food lay ahead; why would they bother with rough meat here?

On the hillside, everyone sighed, rubbing their wrists. "Why would these creatures also compete with us for floatstones?" Strange as it was, they were all experienced hunters, yet they had no intention of attacking these two monsters. It was as if their sixth sense told them to stay far away; these creatures were not to be trifled with.

"Perhaps floatstones enhance their agility," Hu Bin said gravely. "By the way, I heard this kind of call fourteen years ago at the base of the Frostsilver Beast's mountain."

As they ran, the two monsters made a 'kang-kang' sound, like knocking on bamboo clappers. So, the sounds the people in the camp had heard earlier were actually made by them?

He Lingchuan's heart stirred at the words. Fourteen years ago, the Frostsilver Beast had suddenly left its hidden mountain peak and appeared on the plains, coincidentally at a time when these monsters were also nearby. Was it a mere coincidence?

"What do we do now?"

Everyone chattered, but a few captains huddled together to discuss, and ultimately all agreed to follow the beast horde. Their reasoning was simple: The nearby Danube beasts had all been driven southwest by those two monsters. Heading in any other direction would yield no floatstones, so they had no choice but to follow southwest and see if they could get a share or pick up some leftovers.

Hu Bin interjected, "Further southwest, isn't that the territory of the Thunderous Colossus?"

As soon as they left the Eye of the Storm, the Thunderous Colossus's territory lay to the west. The beast horde was migrating from northeast to southwest, heading straight into the Colossus's domain.

"Precisely."

"If the beast horde is truly being driven by them, then these two creatures are highly intelligent," Hu Bin said. "What do they want?"

Lingxu City had been hunting in the F-Realm for hundreds of years, and it could be said with certainty that most monsters here possessed surprisingly low intelligence, generally relying on their formidable physique and natural talents to survive. Understanding how to drive beast hordes to achieve their goals was already a very advanced strategy.

He Lingchuan added, "How will the Thunderous Colossus react? Can this beast horde pose a threat to it?"

"I heard the Thunderous Colossus sleeps most of the time, and no one has seen it for many years," Old Zhou replied. "Two hundred years ago, a team trespassed into its territory and somehow angered it. It's said that forty or fifty people were instantly incinerated, leaving nothing but ash after being struck by several bolts of lightning. But if it's such a massive beast horde… I'm not sure if it can withstand it."

Someone else added, "The Danube beasts within the Thunderous Colossus's territory all obey its commands. This is going to be interesting."

That's why the hunters wanted to follow and see if they could benefit from the situation. Fortune favors the bold, and those brave enough to hunt in the F-Realm were certainly not lacking in daring or desperation.

After their discussion, everyone followed the beast horde and set off southwest. Along the way, several more teams joined, and by the end, the number of hunters participating in the joint operation exceeded fifty. It was worth noting that there were only sixty teams participating in the Grass Sea Hunt, totaling six hundred people.

Captain Zhou asked everyone to remove their masks as a sign of their commitment to joining, and everyone complied without exception. This was also an unwritten rule: for joint operations in the F-Realm, participants had to remove their masks to prevent any covert mischief. Wearing a mask made it easier for people to harbor ill intentions.

He Lingchuan also followed the crowd southwest. His Void Mountain operation required frost pellets, which grew on Frostsilver Beasts. When he had first arrived at this campsite, he thought the attacker of the Danube beasts would be a mutated Frostsilver Beast. However, it was not.