Time ticked by, second by second. Phantom sprinted with all its might across the suspension bridge, every muscle straining to its limit.
Lin Yu watched anxiously, his eyes darting between the system timer and Phantom's sprinting form as he calculated the remaining time and distance.
Gradually, Phantom adapted to its adjusted stride and picked up speed once more.
At 46 seconds, Phantom had crossed another third of the bridge.
At 55 seconds, Phantom had only 130 meters left to reach the other side.
"Now, Phantom! Activate your skill! Use Haste!"
Lin Yu shouted to Phantom, timing it perfectly.
As the skill activated, Phantom's speed surged, and the distance to the other side shrank rapidly.
The wolf pack by the side howled with excitement, ready to welcome their king's triumphant return.
However, Lin Yu's heart was still in his throat.
Even though Phantom's speed had increased again, there was almost no time left. It seemed nearly impossible for it to make it back within the time limit.
If Phantom had been human, it could have grabbed the ropes on either side to cross the final stretch. But alas, it was a wolf.
"Phantom, jump!"
In the final second, Lin Yu roared at Phantom.
Phantom leaped at the command, soaring through the air.
At the same time, all the wooden planks on the bridge shattered and plunged into the abyss below.
The short distance of a dozen meters now seemed like an insurmountable chasm.
Under Lin Yu's tense gaze, with a soft THUD, Phantom used its skill-boosted speed to clear the dozen-meter gap and land safely.
"Hahaha, I knew you could do it!"
Lin Yu joyfully hugged Phantom and planted a huge kiss on its head.
The surrounding wolves let out joyous howls, and the wild boars began to grunt in delight.
A moment later, Lin Yu's smile faded. He tried to open the golden treasure box but found that he couldn't. Left with no choice, he stored it in his personal inventory.
He then began to command his forces to retreat.
The depths of this cavern hid unknown regions, and the uncertainties were too great. To be on the safe side, retreating as soon as possible was the best course of action.
Once again, the boar herd took point, with the wolf pack and Lin Yu following close behind.
Before long, they were approaching the cave's exit.
The passages inside the cavern were a complex labyrinth of forks and turns. Coming in, they had simply followed the golden light.
It was only on the way out that Lin Yu realized just how complicated the layout was.
Fortunately, aside from the human Lin Yu, all the other members were beasts. Beasts have their own methods for finding their way home, so the return trip went relatively smoothly.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
Just as Lin Yu reached the mouth of the cave and was about to step outside, a set of heavy footsteps echoed from a side passage.
He turned his head to see a massive brown bear charging out of the darkness.
The brown bear was incredibly burly. Its massive paws were nearly the size of the head of the highest-leveled boar in Lin Yu's party.
Lin Yu had no doubt that if he took a swipe from one of those paws, he'd be saying goodbye to the competition and returning to Cuiwei Star.
The bear's eyes were crimson, as if breathing fire, and a ferocious aura washed over them.
'What a ferocious bear!'
Lin Yu clicked his tongue in amazement. The bear was ferocious, but he wasn't afraid. He was confident that as his territory expanded, this bear would eventually become one of his subordinates.
As the brown bear drew closer, Lin Yu realized its eyes weren't just *like* they were breathing fire—they were *actually* breathing fire.
'Whoa, so cool! This is definitely no ordinary brown bear!'
As he marveled, Lin Yu commanded his beasts to retreat. No matter how he looked at it, fighting the bear here wasn't worth the risk.
The pack of beasts sped back the way they came, leaving the ferocious brown bear far behind.
Seeing that they were about to return to his territory, Lin Yu's mood lifted. Today's haul had been substantial; he'd gained a great deal just from patrolling and exploring his newly converted land.
And there would be many more days like this to come, until the World Tree brought the entire starter continent under its domain.
-----------------
CRRAAASH—
Just then, a large tree up ahead crashed to the ground, and a massive figure blocked the beasts' path.
"Well now… look at the cute little bear. You actually followed me!"
"I am Blazing Flame Guardian Brules! Infidel, hand over the treasure box you have stolen!"
A coarse, deep voice emanated from the brown bear—no, from Brules.
'It can talk?'
The moment he heard the brown bear speak, Lin Yu's eyes went wide. He had completely ignored the content of what Brules said.
As far as he knew, there were several types of talking animals in the Lord Competition.
One: high-grade beasts. Two: Hero-Class beasts. Three: high-level, intelligent, and long-lived beasts. Four: the Beast Race, an intelligent race among beasts. Five: other special, mutated beasts.
'If the beasts in my territory could evolve and learn to speak, that would be amazing,' Lin Yu thought with a flicker of anticipation. 'Maybe I could even get some beast-eared girls, Cat Demons, or bunny girls...'
"Infidel, hand over the treasure box you stole!"
Brules spoke again.
"Treasure box, you say? I didn't take it. Which one of your eyes saw me? Go on, look. Do you see a treasure box anywhere in my party?"
The golden treasure box was already in his personal inventory; Lin Yu was confident the brown bear named Brules would never find it.
"Infidel, my Lord has already told me. The treasure box is in your personal inventory."
"Hand over the treasure box at once, or I will be forced to take it from your corpse!"
"You need evidence for accusations like that. Just because your Lord says I have the box, I have it? Says who?"
'As long as we can talk, there's a chance,' Lin Yu thought. 'If we can communicate, I might be able to bluff my way through this.'
"ROAR—"
"You dare question my Lord? Die!"
The great brown bear charged recklessly toward Lin Yu, its paw raised high before swiping down violently.
"Fuck! Protect me—!"
Lin Yu scrambled onto Phantom's back. The wolf leaped backward, carrying him away from the bear's attack. Seeing that Brules seemed to have lost all reason, Lin Yu quickly commanded his beasts to charge.
The boars charged first, tusks lowered, ready to gore Brules.
But Brules swatted them aside, one by one.
The wolf pack followed, leaping to bite at Brules in the brief moment it was occupied with the boars.
After repelling the boars, Brules simply rolled over, forcing the Forest Wolves latched onto it to release their jaws and dodge aside.
However, two of them held on for dear life, digging their claws in and scratching furiously.
They had latched onto spots where Brules's own claws and teeth couldn't reach, and rolling on the ground failed to do much damage either.
This seemed to enrage Brules, and sparks once again flew from its eyes.
"BOOM—"
With a huge explosion, a ring of fire erupted from the bear, instantly engulfing the surrounding forest in a sea of flames.
The Forest Wolves biting Brules were instantly incinerated. In the distance, Lin Yu caught the scent of roasted meat; they obviously stood no chance of survival.
That single move from Brules snapped Lin Yu, who had been watching from a distance, back to reality. His expression turned grim.
The sky grew dim. Bathed in the dazzling firelight, Lin Yu sat atop Phantom, his mind racing.
"Scatter and retreat! Regroup at our starting point!"
At his command, the beasts swiftly retreated. Once they were out of Brules's sight, they all broke into a sprint toward the territory.
"Phantom, let's go!"