Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 375 - Taming Trails - 4

Both men screamed involuntarily, the Yino soldier from the pain coursing through his arm, the wounded and fainted tracker from some subconscious suffering as several ʼparasiticʼ mushrooms were torn from his system.

The sound echoed through the forest clearing.

”What happened?!” exclaimed the flyer, watching both men writhe in apparent torment.

The Yino soldier examined his arm, where the energy seemed to have partially vanished, as if erased by some invisible energy. The purple veins that normally pulsed with abyssal power had been burned away, leaving pale, empty channels beneath his skin. He could feel a strange void where his abyssal energy once flowed.

But then, from the depths of his abdomen, he felt something stir. The abyssal scorpion that had been implanted weeks earlier activated, pumping new corruption to fill the void. The process was painful but efficient, purple veins beginning to regenerate slowly as the creature worked to restore its hostʼs connection to dark power.

”Seems to be side effects of fighting that thing,” gasped the soldier, quickly inventing an explanation. ”My beast had an aggressive reaction to save the soldier from... whatever infected him.” The lie came smoothly.

His companion looked at him with understanding born of shared corrupted beasts species, the same scorpion. ”Can you continue?”

”Yes,” he responded, though his voice sounded strained as the scorpionʼs rebuilding process sent waves of discomfort through his system. ”But now we have a report to make and more questions than answers.”

They turned toward the flyer, who continued holding the unconscious tracker but now appeared to be breathing more normally. The wounded manʼs complexion seemed to have improved a bit, color returning to his previously ashen cheeks.

”The filaments have disappeared on this side,” observed the flyer with amazement. ”The left shoulder wounds no longer show those golden markings. Itʼs as if something had... cleansed them.”

The two Yino soldiers exchanged another meaningful look.

”One of us should return with him,” suggested the affected soldier, who still felt the stinging sensation of the abyssal scorpion reconstructing his connection. ”To report this... incident.”

”Iʼll go to the deep forest,” offered his companion. ”My beast wasnʼt affected. So I want to check the source of the problem... You go and take advantage of being there to get that arm examined too.” The division of responsibilities made sense while serving their intelligence-gathering mission.

The other Yino soldier nodded, understanding the logic behind the decision.

Whatever was in that place the wounded man came from, whatever had created those mushrooms aggressive against abyssal energy, could be related to reports about a child capable of using purifying light.

”Take them to the nearest healers but on the rift side, our Yino could help against that unknown ʼparasiteʼ,” he ordered his companion while helping transfer the trackerʼs weight. ”And make sure the report mentions the... ʼpurifyingʼ effects of whatever infected him.”

His companion nodded, understanding the implications perfectly. If they had found something capable of neutralizing abyssal energy, Yino needed to know immediately what they were dealing with.

ʼWhat kind of power could simply burn away abyssal energy on contact?ʼ

The answers, he suspected, lay in the place where the fugitivesʼ trail had ended.

♢♢♢♢

Ren and Lin finally emerged from the ruinʼs main tunnel, now in a more natural cave that was somewhat more spacious and without the dense golden spongy coating on its walls…

But relief quickly transformed into horror when they encountered the remains of the trackers.

They were barely recognizable as human. The bodies had been consumed almost to the bones, with only some equipment shreds indicating they had once been people. Golden mushrooms grew abundantly over the remains, forming small macabre gardens that pulsed with bioluminescence.

”Dear Dragon Gods,” whispered Lin, instinctively backing away. ”Was this...?”

”I suppose they stepped on the mushrooms and stirred up the spores,” Ren confirmed solemnly, his voice weirdly carrying a mental disconnection but also the weight of someone who understood the mechanism of such death. ”Without proper protection, they were consumed from within. Thatʼs why the coating I gave you...”

Lin looked at the grayish dust still glowing dimly on her exposed skin, suddenly understanding that she had been walking on the razorʼs edge of horrible death throughout their entire underground expedition.

”Your mushroom really is essential for entering down here,” she murmured, with new appreciation for the small creature now manifested in Renʼs hair.

They headed toward the nearest surface entrance when Ren stopped abruptly. The mushrooms in his hair pulsed with a warning pattern.

”Someoneʼs watching us,” he murmured, his eyes scanning the dense foliage in the distance. ”Abyssal. Strong.”

♢♢♢♢

Moments before…

From his position on a low hill, the Yino agent cursed the terrainʼs characteristics. The outer forest hadnʼt been designed for rapid military movement, and the numerous natural traps scattered across the ground forced him to considerably reduce his speed.

If they had been released to the chase earlier... But that altercation at the border had distracted them and stolen important time.

Partially ignoring precautions, he used his earth control to create temporary platforms over the most dangerous areas, risking some fatigue in exchange for speed. His beasts responded eagerly, manipulating the ground beneath his feet to provide safe passage across the treacherous terrain.

When he finally reached a position with clear view of the mushroom area, he also perceived Linʼs power that was no longer so far underground, and he saw them immediately when Ren emerged with his kinda obvious redhead visible above the surface.

The child from the report. Small, apparently young, but with those characteristic mushrooms sprouting from his hair. It had to be him, the supposed possessor of the ”purifying ray” that worried Kassian and therefore Kharzan and his own superiors in Yino.

Now everything made sense.

The mushrooms, the infection zone his abyssal energy instinctively avoided, the purification power. Perhaps it wasnʼt an ability of the child, but a weird, lucky symbiosis with this strange and new species of fungi.

A more logical explanation for an apparently impossible phenomenon.

Behind the child emerged an adult woman, moving with the predatory grace of someone accustomed to combat. Even at this distance, he could feel the power she radiated. Her posture, the way her eyes continuously swept the perimeter, the energy she emanated... She was highly likely responsible for murdering Patriarch Strahlfangʼs commander-son.

The agent quickly evaluated the situation.

His two Silver 3 level beasts were more than double the strength of the killed boy... But would it be sufficient against an opponent with the energy signature of a Silver 3 and her enigmatic small companion?

The woman would be easy in a one-on-one encounter, but... The child was difficult to evaluate. The energy he emanated fluctuated between relatively strong and weak but didnʼt feel particularly powerful, just... repulsive, different. As if his mere presence were an affront to the abyssal nature of half his powers.

He would prefer to face them with help just in case, or separately to carefully analyze that strange child... but he had a mission and couldnʼt let them escape. His employment, like most agents, wasnʼt optional. Risks came with the territory.

The woman first, he decided. Eliminate the primary threat, then attempt to capture the child alive for a lengthy interrogation.

He began to move, preparing his approach, when he realized something disturbing.

Both were looking directly at him. Not just in his general direction, but specifically at him. The child had even raised a hand to point out his exact position.

How the hell had they detected him?

♢♢♢♢

”Abyssal Scorpion Silver 3,” murmured Ren, his eyes closed in concentration while his enhanced and improved mushroom analyzed energy signatures he would have been unable to distinguish before. ”And a Rock Spirit Silver 3... A variation of the Behemoth that has evolved toward extra durability instead of massive size. Both his beasts with defensive specialization...”

Lin whistled softly. ”Double. And both at Silver 3. That guy wonʼt be easy to hurt.”

Ren could now understand abyssal beasts within his knowledge range despite their corruption.

”Can we run?” asked Lin, though her posture suggested she already knew the answer.

”His beast configuration suggests 480% total defensive increases, plus 240% in everything else… the problem is that includes speed,” Ren continued with the detailed information Lin had learned to value more than simple muscle. ”With that velocity, he would catch us before we could gain significant ground,” he concluded, his hands already moving toward his slightly improved dagger. ”Heʼs alone, which is to our advantage...”

”Do you think we can bring him down?” Linʼs question carried huge trust in Renʼs analytical abilities.

Ren nodded, though his expression remained serious. ”Between you and me, yes. Especially now that I know exactly what beasts he has and how they function... plus I saved some useful materials.”

Lin smiled, a fierce expression that completely transformed her face. ”Then letʼs welcome him properly.”

Her beast began to manifest, the panther lizard wrapping around her legs in dark patterns. The combined power of her buffs elevated her to speed levels comparable with their opponent.

Ren activated his own strength, the ring manifesting in luminous lines running through his body while crystalline armor began forming over his skin.

”Ready?” asked Lin, her voice carrying the calm certainty of a professional preparing for battle.

”Ready,” confirmed Ren, and together they launched toward the battle that would determine if they escaped this pursuit with their lives.