C16 Devil Rat

"No need to keep looking; they're all Level Zero Devil Beasts. You can trade them in for a few crystals." Meier could tell what Fei Liang was thinking just by following his gaze.

"Only a few crystals?" Fei Liang couldn't hide his disappointment.

"A Level One Devil Beast is worth twenty to thirty crystals, a Level Two fetches fifty to sixty, and Level Three is where they start producing Devil Cores, which are worth a hundred crystals," Meier explained.

"A hundred crystals? So, a Level Three Devil Beast produces a Devil Core. What exactly is that?" Fei Liang asked, intrigued.

"The Devil Core is the essence of a Devil Beast. It begins to form in those of Level Three and higher. By Level Four, Devil Beasts generally possess a Devil Core," Meier clarified.

"Devil Cores sound valuable. Too bad you need to be at least Level Three to get one," Fei Liang lamented. He was just at the early stages of Level Two but figured he might just manage to get one.

"Okay, Meier, enough about that. Where can I find a Level One Devil Beast?" Fei Liang steered the conversation back on track.

"Right there," Meier pointed to a Devil Beast about the size of a house cat.

"Got it. But I'm without a weapon," Fei Liang said, looking perplexed. Surely he wasn't expected to capture the Devil Beast with his bare hands.

"You can transfer a battle saber over for one crystal," Meier suggested.

"Talk about a rip-off! But let's do it," Fei Liang said, his mouth twitching in annoyance.

"Right away, Mr. Fei." In a flash of white light, a battle saber materialized in Fei Liang's hand.

"Pretty efficient," Fei Liang noted, his eyes brightening. He zeroed in on the cat-sized, long-snouted mouse and whispered, "Here I come, realm energy!"

With a swift movement, Fei Liang's blade sliced through the air, and five Devil Beasts fell instantly. The remaining beasts froze as if petrified by fear. Fei Liang struck again, felling two more. Only then did the Devil Beasts scatter in a panic, clueless as to why this odd creature was attacking them.

Fei Liang pursued them swiftly, taking down three more. The survivors scattered, each fleeing back to their own dens.

Originally, there were about a dozen Devil Beasts of various sizes, with even the weakest boasting early Yellow Level strength. Had they banded together, Fei Liang might have been the one to face defeat. But Devil Beasts are, after all, Devil Beasts – limited in intelligence. They were taken by surprise from the outset, thrown into disarray, and ultimately scattered in a desperate escape.

"Meier, what kind of Devil Beast is that? It seems so feeble. Surely that's not the power of a Yellow Level master, is it? It went down without a fight." Fei Liang ceased his pursuit, a hint of pride in his voice. That last attack must have netted him over a hundred crystals.

"What's there to be proud of? You just got lucky. A mature Devil Rat has the strength of at least a Level Two. Mr. Fei, you've only been killing Devil Rat pups," Meier said, her lips curling in disdain.

"Eh," Fei Liang was momentarily at a loss for words. So he had been killing nothing but rat pups.

"Meier, how many crystals do I have now?" Fei Liang quickly shifted to a more pressing matter.

"After hunting ten Level One Devil Rats, you've gained 218 Realm Energy crystals. Adding to your previous total, you now possess 1,024 crystals," she informed him.

"Over a thousand, not bad at all," Fei Liang nodded, pleased. Even though they were just Level One Devil Rat pups, the Realm Energy they provided was substantial.

As for any pangs of guilt? Fei Liang didn't have to worry about that. He was devoid of such feelings. In a world where the survival of the fittest reigned supreme and the strong were revered, there was no room for excessive sympathy. To live was to kill; it was unavoidable. Take Earth, for example, where countless people kill and butcher animals, determining their fates based on personal preferences. Are pigs filthy and thus deserving of death? Are rabbits cute and therefore entitled to life? Such judgments are merely a reflection of human dominance, for humans are the rulers of Earth. The so-called protection of pets under the guise of animal welfare is nothing more than selective charity, a subjective human privilege. If another species were dominant, the situation would likely be much the same.

"Mr. Fei, about 500 meters to your left, there's a Level-1 wide-eared demonic rabbit hiding in the brush. You should be able to catch it," Meier's voice echoed in Fei Liang's mind.

"Got it," Fei Liang responded, springing into action.

"Heh, little bunny, no use running. Time to bring your tragic existence to a close!" Fei Liang emerged, brandishing his blade with a wicked grin. The thought of savoring some roasted rabbit crossed his mind.

The rabbit, however, responded with a swift dash for freedom. It didn't understand Fei Liang's taunts, but its instincts screamed danger.

"Not so obedient now, are we?" Fei Liang grumbled, picking up the pace in pursuit.

Hidden away in the Spirit Bead Space, Meier rolled her eyes at Fei Liang's comment. "Shameless! Blaming the rabbit for being disobedient when you're the one trying to kill it. Of course, it's going to run!"

In the Demon Fantasy World, with its sixteen stars, the chase went on.

Half a minute later, Fei Liang finally cornered his quarry.

"Go on, bunny, run! Oh, what's that? Can't run anymore?" Fei Liang taunted, his laugh sinister, resembling the big bad wolf in grandmother's clothing from the fairy tales.

In response, the demonic rabbit launched a small water arrow from its mouth, aiming straight for Fei Liang in a preemptive strike.

"Water magic, huh? Quite the fiery spirit you've got there," Fei Liang commented, nimbly sidestepping the attack. He gauged the rabbit's strength to be on par with an average Yellow Level Middle Period expert.

To Fei Liang's surprise, the wide-eared demonic rabbit didn't press its attack but instead turned tail and bolted in a new direction.

"Clever little thing," Fei Liang muttered under his breath, resuming the chase.

The pursuit was a winding one, with the Devil Rabbit launching several more water arrows. Fei Liang either dodged or deflected them. They didn't manage to wound him, but they were an annoyance nonetheless. Fei Liang reassessed his foe, suspecting the creature was nearing the prowess of a Level One Late Stage Devil Beast.

Underneath a towering tree ahead, Fei Liang once again cornered the Devil Rabbit.

The fight concluded without any surprises this time, and within minutes, Fei Liang had accrued an additional twenty-seven crystals, bringing his total to 1,051.

"Mr. Fei, you'd better start counting your blessings," Meier's voice, tinged with schadenfreude, echoed in Fei Liang's mind.

"What's going on, Meier?" Fei Liang had a bad feeling.

"About a hundred Devil Rats are speeding your way, with a Level Three Devil Rat leading them," Meier informed him in a measured tone.

"Crap, we need to move!" Fei Liang's face paled as he sensed the rumbling sound approaching, growing louder by the second. The thought of facing over a hundred Devil Rats was daunting enough, let alone a Level Three Devil Beast.

Within two seconds, a rat as large as a hunting dog emerged at the forefront of the swarm, its numbers so vast it sent shivers down one's spine. The Devil Rats at the front were squealing and lunging at Fei Liang with bared teeth.

But, just as fortune would have it, a flash of white light enveloped Fei Liang, and he vanished from the spot.