Chapter 100: Brotherhood in the Cave

The electric current jumping across Li Xie's body didn't cause him any harm. It flickered for a moment, then dissipated into the ground.

Arthur Leiyao couldn't help but feel astonished at this.

The electricity produced by magical beasts is different from natural electricity. It is triggered by magic or combat qi unique to the Continent of the Gods, and its lethality is far beyond comparison.

For instance, a fifth-tier Sword Saint struck by natural lightning might feel only numbness, with no serious harm. But struck by an equal amount of lightning summoned by a fifth-tier magician or magical beast, they might be in severe danger.

The same principle applies to flames, ice, poison, water, etc., generated by magic or combat qi; their lethality is far greater than that of natural elements due to the inclusion of magical or combat qi damage.

The electricity of a seventh-tier Thunder Warhorse, triggered by magic, is enough to fry a seventh-tier Sword Saint. Yet, Li Xie, a person without any magic or combat qi fluctuations to resist such harm, was unharmed by the seventh-tier lightning. The only explanation was that his body could be immune to magical damage.

Only certain special magical beasts are innately immune to magical or combat qi damage. For humans to achieve such immunity, they must rely on their own magic or combat qi. To be immune without activating magic or combat qi, one would need to be a demigod.

Arthur Leiyao naturally suspected that Li Xie wasn't a mere mortal but a demigod, which would explain why he could withstand the seventh-tier lightning without any magic or combat qi fluctuations. Additionally, a mere mortal struck by a seventh-tier Thunder Warhorse's hoof should be dead. Yet, Li Xie could still speak.

"No need to be surprised. I indeed have no magic or combat qi. I'm not a demigod either. If I were, I wouldn't need your help capturing magical beasts," Li Xie said. Having been in the Continent of the Gods for some time, he understood the concept of demigods. Seeing Arthur Leiyao's astonished expression, he could guess what he was thinking.

However, Li Xie himself couldn't understand why he was immune to seventh-tier lightning without feeling a thing.

Could it be that vampires are immune to the magic of the Continent of the Gods? He wondered how high the tier of magic he could be immune to and whether he could also be immune to combat qi.

He thought he'd need to test it out sometime.

Being immune to magic was undoubtedly a good thing. Li Xie didn't delve deeply into it, attributing it to his unique vampire constitution. Still recovering from his injuries, he gave a brief explanation to prevent Arthur Leiyao and Brad Pitt from thinking he was a demigod, then took out a bottle of blood and began drinking.

Li Xie carried a lot of blood drawn from his guards in his space ring, all stored in wine bottles, so drinking it in front of others would look like he was just having red wine.

Though everything pointed to Li Xie being a demigod, as he said, if he were a demigod, he wouldn't need Arthur Leiyao to help capture magical beasts. Arthur Leiyao just regarded Li Xie as an extraordinary person, marveled at him for a moment, and then resumed loading the magical beasts into the beast cages.

"Hurry up. There might be high-tier magical beasts eyeing us. We need to find a safe place before dark," Arthur Leiyao said.

He seemed quite concerned about this, and Li Xie quickly joined in packing up the Thunder Warhorses.

The recent incident made him realize how dangerous capturing high-tier magical beasts was.

Magical beasts above the fifth tier possess intelligence, and the higher the tier, the smarter they are. Some special species can be as intelligent as humans, like Zeennard, who can transform into human form and blend in seamlessly.

Given the intelligence of such magical beasts and their territory, it was clear that the horse king had pretended to be asleep, intending to avenge itself even at the cost of its life. Li Xie was the one who fell into its trap. If the horse king had kicked his head, Li Xie, with his current strength, wouldn't have survived.

Surviving this time was pure luck.

This made Li Xie more cautious and more willing to follow Arthur Leiyao's guidance. He didn't want to find himself surrounded by dozens of eighth-tier magical beasts and realize that the hunters had become the hunted.

Soon, they had packed all 103 seventh-tier Thunder Warhorses into the beast cages, and Li Xie stored them in his space ring. Led by Arthur Leiyao, they found a cave three meters deep and two meters wide and tall to rest.

"Wait here. I'll set up some traps. If there's any movement, rush out immediately, understood?" Arthur Leiyao said.

They all nodded, and Brad Pitt gathered some wood and started a fire.

Zeennard sat to the side, meditating, seemingly reminiscing about his previous life in caves.

When Arthur Leiyao returned, Li Xie took out some fine wine and tossed each of them a bottle. "Let's celebrate our big haul."

"Cheers."

After a few drinks, Li Xie asked, "Aren't we going out tonight?"

Arthur Leiyao replied, "It's not safe to go out at night. Our vision is limited, but the magical beasts can see much better than we can. It's too dangerous."

Li Xie wanted to say he had the "Night Vision" ability and could see everything clearly at night, but he decided to follow Arthur Leiyao's advice. After the recent incident, he planned to do whatever Arthur Leiyao said. Survival was his priority.

"By the way, Brother Xie…" Arthur Leiyao moved closer to Li Xie. "About that…"

Using the war god again, speaking so kindly, and looking embarrassed. 

Li Xie glanced at him, guessing his intentions. Shaking his head, he said, "The drug is called Dream Incense. Frankly, I only have one portion left, enough to knock out a hundred people. I don't know if I can make more. If you need it, I'll see if I can make more when I return to Chrysanthemum City. If I can make two more portions, one will be yours."

"Alright, it's a deal." Arthur Leiyao raised his glass. "This stuff isn't just useful for knocking out magical beasts; it can save my men's lives sometimes. I promise, any magical beasts I catch using this Dream Incense will be yours."

"Haha… deal." Li Xie didn't know the exact use Arthur Leiyao had in mind, but with his promise, Li Xie would definitely try to make more. Free labor was invaluable.

"Brother Xie…" Brad Pitt chimed in. "Um…"

"You'll get some too, Brother Pitt. We're brothers; we share both blessings and hardships." Li Xie was in high spirits after capturing over a hundred seventh-tier magical beasts. He didn't mind sharing. He was generous with what he had, despite loving money.

"Brother, sharing blessings and hardships. Haha, well said. I, Brad Pitt, accept you as my brother." Brad Pitt slapped Li Xie's shoulder heavily. Mercenaries were straightforward and bold. If they liked someone, they could form a deep bond quickly.

Li Xie looked at the two of them. After spending time together, he found Arthur Leiyao professional and trustworthy and Brad Pitt bold and straightforward, both worth befriending. He, infected by Brad Pitt's enthusiasm, laughed heartily and said, "We call each other brothers, but why not make it official?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let's become sworn brothers with a ceremony." Li Xie stood up, full of excitement.

"Great." Brad Pitt stood up as well.

Arthur Leiyao followed suit. "It would be an honor to become sworn brothers with you two."

"Meow…" The little cat raised its front paw.

Li Xie glared at her. "Go away. This is for humans only."

"Meow." The little cat was furious. She jumped onto Li Xie's head and bit off half his ear.

Arthur Leiyao and Brad Pitt's eyes widened. "She… she bit off half your ear."

"It's nothing. She has a temper." Li Xie was used to being bitten by the little cat. Missing a chunk of flesh was like a mosquito bite to him.

As their eyes were just returning to normal, they bulged out again. "Wow, your… your ear grew back."

"Oh, actually, my ear was gone long ago. This is a fake ear. Don't be surprised, brothers." Li Xie casually picked up the little cat and tossed her aside. The little cat disdainfully turned her head and walked towards Zeennard.

Zeennard's eyebrow twitched, and his cold face turned a bit bitter. He knew that his cat sister was upset and that he was about to suffer.

Arthur Leiyao and Brad Pitt rubbed their eyes, trying to process what they had seen, but didn't dwell on it. Brad Pitt said, "Brother Xie, I don't have a chicken or yellow paper. Do you?"

Um…

Li Xie's mouth twitched. He didn't have them either. Judging by Arthur Leiyao's embarrassed smile, neither did he.

"Let's swear brotherhood with a blood oath," Arthur Leiyao suggested another method.

This made Li Xie's mouth twitch even more. He was a vampire.

"I think swearing by the gods would be more sacred. What do you think

?" Li Xie offered a compromise.

"Alright." They both agreed. Li Xie added, "Let's arrange our ranks by age."

"Good."

Thus, in that small cave, the future three giants of the Continent of the Gods formally swore brotherhood.

"Master of Sleep, hear my vow. I, Li Xie, swear brotherhood with Arthur Leiyao and Brad Pitt. We will share blessings and hardships, never betray, never abandon. If I break this vow, may the divine light never shine upon me."

"War God, hear my vow. I, Arthur Leiyao, swear brotherhood with Brad Pitt and Li Xie. We will share blessings and hardships, never betray, never abandon. If I break this vow, may the divine light never shine upon me."

"War God, hear my vow. I, Brad Pitt, swear brotherhood with Arthur Leiyao and Li Xie. We will share blessings and hardships, never betray, never abandon. If I break this vow, may the divine light never shine upon me."

"Brothers." Li Xie held their hands. "I'm twenty-three this year. Please look after your younger brother."

"I'm eighty-one," Arthur Leiyao said.

"I'm eighty. You're the eldest brother."

"Alright, brothers. Let's drink and celebrate tonight."

"Cheers."

The little cat looked at them disdainfully, snorted, and unhappily looked at Zeennard, biting his finger, only to find she couldn't pierce his skin. Frustrated, she started clawing at his arm.

Zeennard sighed, feeling rather aggrieved. What did this have to do with him?