Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

"Cyclops, find the strongest creature in this mountain range."

Cyclops, who had just been in the Soul Realm space, naturally had no idea what had happened. But now, seeing the black light screen that engulfed the entire town and Wen Yu's gloomy face, Cyclops, with his intellect, could roughly understand that something bad had occurred.

Hearing Wen Yu's command, Cyclops sniffed the air vigorously, doing his best to identify the various scents it contained. After a moment, he barked twice at Wen Yu and was the first to dart into the dense forest, with Wen Yu following closely behind.

...

With the invasion of the Demonic Qi, even the previously sparse vegetation in the forest began to grow wildly. Fortunately, the mutation speed of the plants was generally not very fast, so these slightly mutated plants couldn't block Wen Yu and Cyclops's path. Moreover, the forest within Chaihe Town's boundaries wasn't very large.

Before long, Cyclops stopped.

"WOOF WOOF."

"Boss, ahead! The strongest one!"

Actually, Cyclops didn't need to say anything more. Wen Yu could already feel an enormous pressure and a domineering aura emanating from up ahead.

It's truly terrifying, Wen Yu sighed softly, simultaneously piecing together the unknown battle that had taken place in the mountains earlier that morning. Two champions among the mutant beasts had fought a fierce battle. The Giant Eagle, as the defeated party, naturally no longer had the right to live in the mountains. Then, it seemed the Giant Eagle had snacked on something during its escape, resulting in the current difficult situation.

Talk about collateral damage! Wen Yu grumbled under his breath. "Get ready for battle."

At Wen Yu's command, Cyclops arched his body slightly and padded forward. Wen Yu's purpose in coming was to seek aid, but he couldn't guarantee that the unknown entity ahead understood the current situation. Whether a battle would break out, Wen Yu couldn't be sure, but undoubtedly, the chances of a fight were considerable.

...

As Wen Yu and Cyclops quietly advanced, the scene of a battlefield unfolded before them. The trees and plants had been utterly destroyed, and the ground was riddled with cracks. This was the result of ice and Blaze clashing.

Ahead, an ancient ice tree, as crystalline as a diamond, stood silently in the very center of the clearing. The ancient tree had been massive and majestic, but all of that was now in the past. The current tree showed no sign of life; its translucent body shimmered with a faint light under the dappled sunlight, like a permanent, silent monument.

That's not it. Wen Yu could feel that the king of this forest was not this dead ancient tree. So...

Wen Yu slowly scanned his surroundings until he saw a small head atop the ancient tree. It was a pure black head, similar to a snake's but more defined in form. Its pale yellow, vertical pupils were fixed quietly on Wen Yu and Cyclops, who were not far away. On the head, smaller than a baby's fist, two small, pointed horns stood erect; the slightly reddish horns appeared tender and cute. All the exposed skin on its face was covered by a layer of dense, orderly scales shimmering with a black light, giving Wen Yu an impression of impenetrability.

Seeing this little thing, Wen Yu's scalp instantly tingled. This thing, judging by its appearance alone, definitely didn't belong to any known species. Instead, it resembled... a dragon! A black Giant Dragon from Western mythology, the kind people only imagined! Though its size was far, far smaller!

"That's the one, isn't it?" Wen Yu asked Cyclops in a low voice.

Cyclops nodded cautiously, his muscles rippling continuously. His intuition, far superior to a Human's, kicked in at that moment. Although its size was tiny compared to Cyclops, it exuded an incredibly strong sense of danger to him—so intense that it felt more dangerous than any creature Cyclops had ever encountered, including Simba, the Giant Eagle, and even the Ancient Demon.

"Mm." Seeing Cyclops's reaction, Wen Yu paused in thought for a moment and then slowly took two steps forward. Although the creature before them exerted immense pressure and a sense of danger, particularly on Cyclops, Wen Yu hadn't come looking for a fight this time. The stronger the creature, the greater the overall strength of Earth's creatures in this two-realm battlefield. It also meant the higher this unknown creature's intelligence was likely to be. Moreover, the creature hadn't shown any obvious murderous intent towards them.

"Something has come up. So, I want to talk to you. Can you understand me?"

It had to be said, Wen Yu's negotiation skills weren't very high. Fortunately, in the apocalypse, such matters were unimportant. The only thing that mattered was strength.

The little creature sized up Wen Yu, then Cyclops, who stood not far behind him. Then, its small mouth suddenly opened. This action made Cyclops's hackles rise, and he couldn't stop a loud roar from bursting out.

"Quiet!" Wen Yu snapped at Cyclops without looking back, his gaze still fixed on the little creature.

Wen Yu didn't sense any killing intent.

Indeed, the little creature opened its wide mouth, and a scarlet tongue slowly extended, licking its own face in a circle. Hmm, that behavior... I guess you could call it washing its face, Wen Yu thought.

Then, the little creature leaped down from the ancient tree. Its body, no bigger than Wen Yu's forearm, landed on the ground. It wasn't as agile as one might expect; instead, it tumbled like a ball, rolling three times before coming to a stop. Afterward, the little creature slowly picked itself up, still gazing quietly at Wen Yu, not at all embarrassed by its clumsy landing.

Only then did Wen Yu get a full view of the little creature. Its overall shape was similar to a lizard, but based on Wen Yu's many years of gaming experience, this little creature bore a closer resemblance to a Giant Dragon. Its limbs were short but strong.

Yes, strong! That was Wen Yu's first impression upon seeing the creature's limbs. Beneath the Scale Armor, its muscles rippled, exuding a palpable sense of power. On its shoulders, a pair of black, fleshy wings clung tightly to its body. The claws, horns, scales, and fleshy wings—no matter how he looked at it, they all matched the image of a Western Giant Dragon in Wen Yu's mind, save for its almost negligible size.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Wen Yu looked at the little creature on the ground and asked again.

The little creature—no, the Little Dragon—cocked its head, looking at Wen Yu and Cyclops with a hint of wonder in its eyes. It carefully pondered what species these peculiar-looking creatures could be, wondering why it had never seen them before. As for Wen Yu's words, the Little Dragon could grasp the gist. Although it didn't understand the Human language, it could perceive the peaceful and genial intentions Wen Yu conveyed through his speech.

GULP. Wen Yu swallowed hard. The sound, which would normally go unnoticed, seemed rather loud in the quiet surroundings.

After a moment, the Little Dragon looked at Wen Yu and slowly nodded.

PHEW. Wen Yu let out a long sigh of relief.

As long as we can communicate, there's no need to fight! That was Wen Yu's sole thought at that moment.

"You... came to find me... for what purpose?" An intermittent voice echoed in Wen Yu's mind. The voice was somewhat immature, proving that this dragon—if one could call it that for now—was not yet an adult.

Upon hearing this voice, Wen Yu felt a chill. He naturally knew this method, which was similar to Spirit Telepathy, as it was largely how he communicated with his soul pets. But the fact that the Little Dragon before him was capable of such a feat forced Wen Yu to reassess the creature's strength.

"Have you seen the black light screen covering the entire Chaihe Town?"

The Little Dragon nodded again.

"Then, when the light screen formed, did you hear a notification sound?"

Wen Yu narrowed his eyes, quietly waiting for the creature's answer.