As the beast herd retreated, Brules's attention immediately turned to Lin Yu.
Seeing Phantom trying to escape with Lin Yu, he immediately gave chase and attacked.
Phantom carried Lin Yu and dodged nimbly. Although Brules's assault was fierce, Phantom was faster, always managing to avoid the attacks at the last possible moment.
After dodging a few more times, Phantom carried Lin Yu out of Brules's attack range, then quickly sprinted toward the territory.
No longer weighed down by the beast herd, Phantom quickly brought Lin Yu back to the territory.
Back in his territory, Lin Yu's frayed nerves finally settled.
Here, he didn't have to worry about his safety.
To say nothing of the hidden Pea Shooters and Timid Mushrooms nearby, as long as that brown bear dared to enter the territory, it would also become Lin Yu's subordinate under the effect of the territory trait "Nature's Dominance."
After a short wait, Blazing Flame Guardian Brules appeared at the edge of the territory.
It stood quietly on a large rock outside the territory, looking at Lin Yu waiting for it. A trace of confusion flickered in its eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a vicious glare as it charged toward Lin Yu.
Seeing this, Lin Yu was overjoyed. He kept a straight face and backed away repeatedly, feigning fear of Brules, which only made the guardian run even faster.
'Yes, just like that. A little closer, a little closer!'
Watching Brules's movements, Lin Yu gloated inwardly. Under his control, the surrounding Pea Shooters were merely on standby and did not attack the brown bear.
"ROAR—"
Brules charged into Lin Yu's territory. Lin Yu stopped backing away and looked into its eyes, wanting to confirm if he had subdued the ferocious great bear.
Then, he saw the brown bear's furious gaze.
"Shit, this is bad! Phantom, save me!"
The brown bear took a few quick running steps, swung its paw, and swatted at him.
"AWOO—"
Lin Yu felt a sharp pain in his side as he was sent flying. Phantom's mournful howl followed immediately after.
"Phantom!"
"Dammit, attack! Attack!"
He looked at Phantom, which had collapsed beside him, and the claw marks on its body that were so deep the bone was visible.
Lin Yu froze, but he quickly snapped out of it and immediately released his hold on the Pea Shooters, letting them return to normal.
Once restored to their normal state, the Pea Shooters immediately launched an attack on Brules.
Pea after pea, filled with explosive energy, struck its body, instantly making it cry out in pain.
Brules swayed left and right, occasionally scrambling and rolling on the ground, trying to dodge the sudden onslaught.
But it was already deep inside Lin Yu's territory, surrounded by Pea Shooters on all sides.
These Pea Shooters were all firing at it at full speed.
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR—"
Brules was enraged, its eyes once again spewing blazing fire.
"BOOM—"
Another ring of fire spread out from the brown bear.
The surrounding woods were all burned to charcoal.
Without the cover of the dense surrounding forest, the Pea Shooters' tall statures and unusual forms were suddenly revealed without any obstruction.
Brules also spotted these strange plants and realized they were the culprits attacking it. It immediately went full throttle and charged toward one of the Pea Shooters.
It withstood the explosive peas and charged straight for a Pea Shooter.
It raised its paw and swatted the Pea Shooter.
The Pea Shooter was bent over from the blow, but it stubbornly continued to fire.
Then, Brules swatted it again. The Pea Shooter snapped in half, its large head falling to the ground, motionless.
Still not satisfied, Brules stomped viciously on the Pea Shooter's head on the ground a couple of times before hatefully charging toward a second one.
...
Lin Yu calmly observed all of this from the side.
He discovered that the brown bear used its ring of fire every five minutes to burn away the surrounding vegetation and find the hidden Pea Shooters.
It was safe to say that the cooldown time for the ring of fire skill was five minutes.
Even as he watched the number of surrounding Pea Shooters dwindle, Lin Yu wasn't worried.
He unhurriedly summoned the fierce beasts within his territory.
Mainly thick-skinned wild boars and agile wolf packs.
***
When night fell, the sound of Pea Shooters' peas cutting through the air was gone.
Brules hid behind a large rock, panting heavily, its body covered in wounds.
But it wasn't worried. Without those annoying plants, there was nothing in this area that could threaten its life.
To prevent Brules from resting—and to strike while the iron was hot—Lin Yu commanded the beast herd to attack again, with the wild boars as the vanguard and the wolves behind them.
At the same time, with a series of "PUFF~ PUFF~" sounds, Timid Mushrooms burst out of the ground one by one.
It was now night. They had ended their hibernation, emerged from the ground, and begun their defensive duties.
Under the cover of night, one deep purple spore bullet after another secretly struck the brown bear.
Brules was completely unaware of this. It only felt that the stupid pigs and silly dogs, which had been no threat to it during the day, could now actually pose a slight threat at night.
Although its injuries were a factor, the gap in their attributes and the suppression from its higher tier still existed. The difference shouldn't be this great. In the end, it could only attribute this to the strange place giving a buff to its enemies.
However, as a Divine-Selected Treasure Box Guard, it had its own pride and would not tolerate being defiled by these low-level beasts.
So, the injured Brules roused its spirits and rallied once more.
It let out a series of deafening roars, swatting aside one approaching enemy after another.
At the same time, a thin Flame Shield appeared on its body. In the dark of night, this red-glowing shield was exceptionally bright.
In the fiery light, Brules's enormous, blood-soaked figure was particularly striking, making it the flashiest thing around tonight.
The wolves and wild boars attacking at close range were all burned by the Flame Shield when they struck the brown bear.
Even though they clawed and bit with all their might, they failed to harm Brules and ended up seriously injuring themselves instead.
Only the purple spore bullets, infused with natural energy, dealt some damage through their continuous attacks.
Relying on its Flame Shield, Brules didn't dodge or evade, constantly attacking the beast herd. It would still occasionally release a ring of fire, but with decreasing frequency.
In the chaotic battle, whenever Brules got close, the Timid Mushrooms would retract into the ground and hide.
Therefore, Brules never realized where the attacks from the darkness were coming from.
Distracted and misled by the attacks from the wolf and boar packs, Brules fought a long and arduous battle with them.
Although its momentum grew more ferocious, the attacks from the Timid Mushrooms hidden in the darkness still caused more and more severe wounds to appear on its body.
Eventually, Brules stopped releasing the ring of fire. Its Flame Shield flickered in and out of existence; its stamina and energy were no longer sufficient to keep it active.
Brules's legs had suffered fatal injuries, leaving it unable to move. It could only half-crouch in the center of the area, panting "HUFF... HUFF...", passively enduring the assault of the spore bullets.
The ground around it was littered with the bodies of animals, lying every which way, their state—dead or alive—unknown.