Chapter 98: The Thunder Warhorse

The outskirts of the Divine Graveyard were a forest frequented by humans, and Li Xie's group often saw mercenaries in action as they entered. 

"Brother Reyao, why don't we fly in?" Li Xie asked. According to Art Reyao, high-level magical beasts were deeper within the Divine Graveyard, and running to the area where these beasts roamed would take four to five days at full speed, which puzzled Li Xie. 

Their group included two tenth-level Sword Saints, and Li Xie himself could fly. Even if Art Reyao couldn't fly, he could be carried by either Ze Ennade or Brad Pitt, and flying would be much faster than running.

Art Reyao replied, "Look at the sky. At this moment, there are many experts in the Divine Graveyard, but who dares to fly? Very few people can fly, and flying consumes a lot of combat energy and exposes oneself easily. If discovered by a high-level flying magical beast, one could easily become a target for concentrated attacks, with no time to escape. No one dares to fly over the Divine Graveyard. Let's move quickly; this area is very safe, and we need to save time."

They ran day and night and reached the area Art Reyao deemed dangerous in just a day and a half.

This area was a mountain forest with valleys and streams. Occasionally, they heard loud calls or roars and saw some fifth and sixth-level magical beasts, which fled upon seeing Li Xie and his companions.

"Shhh…"

Art Reyao motioned for everyone to hide behind a rock and took out a bottle of green liquid from his spatial ring. He whispered, "This is wormwood juice. Rub some on yourselves to mask our scent. Everyone, control your combat energy fluctuations and hide your aura as much as possible. We are now in the territory of high-level magical beasts. Fifth and sixth-level beasts are afraid of humans and will run away, but seventh and eighth-level beasts are hostile to humans and may attack. Especially eighth-level beasts, who consider humans part of their diet. From now on, if you feel someone is watching you or notice any unusual movements, inform me immediately. Do not underestimate the danger. If a dozen eighth-level beasts target us, we may not return from this forest."

With Art Reyao's serious warning, everyone nodded solemnly, not wanting to risk their lives.

Especially Li Xie, who had thought magical beasts were like wild animals, potentially dangerous but generally afraid of humans. He hadn't considered that eighth-level beasts would see humans as prey and, in the deep forest, the best hunters were not humans but the creatures that lived there.

After applying the wormwood juice and suppressing their combat energy fluctuations, they cautiously proceeded under Art Reyao's guidance. After a while, Art Reyao squatted by a one-meter-wide stream, touched the soil, and pointed at some footprints. "I remember there's a group of seventh-level Thunder Warhorses nearby. Judging by these prints, they should be close. Everyone, be careful. Thunder Warhorses move in herds and have fiery tempers. They will charge at humans on sight."

Li Xie noticed the messy hoofprints on the ground, indicating a large number of horses.

Continuing to advance stealthily, they reached a high slope and peeked down. Thirty meters below was a valley with a three-meter-wide stream, where a herd of horses was drinking.

These horses were about two meters tall at the shoulder, resembling ordinary horses. But if mistaken for ordinary horses, one might not understand how they met their end.

A closer look revealed their blood-red eyes. Their skin varied in color, but their manes were all purple, with tufts of purple hair around their hooves. Upon closer inspection, blue electric currents occasionally flickered in their fur, and the electricity became more pronounced when they moved.

According to Skamod's "Beast Notes," these were seventh-level Thunder Warhorses, capable of summoning lightning to attack. Their hooves caused electrical damage with each step, and their cries resembled thunderclaps.

Art Reyao whispered, "There are 103 Thunder Warhorses here. Given our strength, capturing them would result in severe injuries and wouldn't be worth it. Thunder Warhorses have a strict hierarchy. This herd is large and strong, so they have priority in everything, including drinking water. We'll wait here. When they leave, a smaller herd of about thirty might come to drink, which we can handle. If no other herds come within a day, we'll look for other magical beasts."

Li Xie squinted at the Thunder Warhorses, thinking that if he could capture them all, he could form a super army of a hundred men. Moreover, the blood energy of the Thunder Warhorses was 40,000 points, comparable to an eighth-level magical beast, making it hard for Li Xie to give up the idea of capturing them.

However, Art Reyao was an expert. If he said they couldn't handle 103 Thunder Warhorses, Li Xie trusted his judgment and didn't argue.

Art Reyao continued, "Look at that purple Thunder Warhorse with a white lightning pattern on its forehead. That's the leader, the king of the herd. You can tell the leader by the white lightning mark on its forehead. The leader commands the herd, and if it senses danger, it will order an attack. If we encounter a manageable herd, we must first subdue the leader. Otherwise, a collective attack from the herd would be dangerous. Remember, the weak point of Thunder Warhorses is their shoulder and neck area. A heavy blow won't kill them but will immobilize them temporarily."

Art Reyao's expertise in knowing even the weak points of these creatures reassured Li Xie.

This journey might not waste that billion gold coins after all.

The group continued their stakeout for half a day, from noon to evening. The Thunder Warhorses showed no sign of leaving and seemed to use the valley as a resting place, likely staying overnight.

The purple Thunder Warhorse with the lightning mark on its forehead even started mating in front of Li Xie and the others, making thunderous noises during the act.

Art Reyao frowned deeply, "We need to move. This herd will likely stay here for ten days. Damn, we've encountered their breeding period. During this time, Thunder Warhorses are extremely hard to capture and will fight to the death if threatened."

"Just leave like this?" Li Xie found it hard to accept. They had staked out for half a day, and now it seemed they had to leave empty-handed.

Art Reyao whispered, "There's no choice. They are mating, and this will last ten days. During this period, they won't leave the valley and will fight to the death if threatened. Unless we can overpower them completely, they're not our target right now. Let's move carefully without alerting them."

"Wait." Li Xie, unwilling to leave empty-handed, said, "I have a way to put them all to sleep. Let's try it before leaving."

Li Xie had some Sleeping Incense, a powerful sedative given to him by Lady Gaga. He had made two doses, each capable of knocking out a hundred people. Tests had shown it knocked out Kano, a seventh-level Sword Saint, instantly, but had no effect on Ze Ennade or Fandi Seer, and took half an hour to affect Jack, a ninth-level Sword Saint.

Li Xie wondered if the Sleeping Incense would work on seventh-level Thunder Warhorses. It was worth the risk, given the potential gain of capturing a hundred seventh-level beasts.

Li Xie took out a packet of Sleeping Incense and said, "This is a sedative prepared by a friend. If dissolved in water and consumed by the Thunder Warhorses, it might put them to sleep. Can we discreetly get this into the stream?"

The effectiveness of the Sleeping Incense on the Thunder Warhorses was still unknown, but the immediate problem was how to dissolve it in the stream without being noticed.

Going upstream wasn't practical since the sedative effect would dissipate by the time it reached the herd. They needed to dissolve it nearby.

"A sedative that can knock out seventh-level magical beasts?" Art Reyao was intrigued. Beast bodies had strong resistance, and finding a sedative effective even on low-level beasts was rare, let alone on seventh-level ones. He looked at the packet in Li Xie's hand curiously and smiled, "It's simple to get it into the stream."

"How?" Li Xie asked.

Art Reyao's gold necklace moved, and a section detached, revealing a triangular head with red eyes the size of grains. This startled Li Xie, "A ninth-level magical beast, the Golden Thread Viper."

The Golden Thread Viper was an extremely rare magical beast, its body as thin as noodles but could grow up to ten meters long. Its golden color made it nearly impossible to detect or catch, and its body was incredibly tough, impervious to any weapon.

Skamod's notes mentioned seeing it once, without knowing who owned such a beast. It seemed the one Skamod saw was likely purchased by Art Reyao or was already his magical pet.

"Brother Xie, you have a good eye. Most people who see my little Gold don't know what it is," Art Reyao said, taking the packet from Li Xie and giving it to the Golden Thread Viper. "Put this into the stream without being noticed, and don't drink the water yourself."

The Golden Thread Viper, named Gold, nodded and slipped off Art Reyao's neck. Its ten-meter-long body slithered into the ground, disappearing from sight.

Soon, tiny bubbles appeared in the stream where the herd drank, unnoticed and unsuspected by anyone.