Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"Hey, did I see it wrong? This treasure beast defeated the Golden Fire Eagle in an instant. It's unimaginable!"

"It's true! I clearly felt the strength of the treasure beast increase in the blink of an eye, rising to the same level as that of the Golden Fire Eagle. How did that happen? What's going on?"

"This treasure beast is unbelievably powerful!"

The onlookers chattered nervously about the shocking battle they had just witnessed. Nobody had expected that the Thunder Dragon Horse could unleash such enormous power, especially after it had lost its protective thunder cover. It had managed to defeat the Golden Fire Eagle in a single move. It was an incredible and astonishing victory.

Linda was as surprised as anyone else. She turned to Zachary. "What exactly is that thing on your treasure beast's head?" The thunder crown worn by the Thunder Dragon Horse was obviously no ordinary item. Indeed, based on what had just happened, it seemed to be a valuable and powerful treasure.

"It's a kind of powerful item unique to treasure beasts. Think of it as a weapon, but one that only treasure beasts can wield," Zachary explained. "Don't you have such dedicated items for treasure beasts in the Vanity Kingdom?" Logically speaking, it was natural to assume that a place like the Vanity Kingdom, concerned with the professional training of treasure beasts, would have items dedicated to enhancing the strengths of treasure beasts.

"No," said Linda at once, shaking her head. "Or at least not that I've heard of. I've never seen any treasure like this before." Linda had always believed that it was impossible for treasure beasts to use weapons like human warriors. It was the first time she had heard such an idea.

Evan was standing motionless, his face twisted with rage at the swift and unexpected defeat of his Golden Fire Eagle. It was infuriating that his powerful treasure beast had been brought down by the Thunder Dragon Horse, which was supposedly much weaker. But he was determined not to concede so easily. Since the Golden Fire Eagle was severely and likely fatally injured, he called it back, and sent out his second treasure beast. It was a Black Dragon Leopard at the fourth grade of Imperial Level. It loped out gracefully into the battlefield.

The appearance of the Black Dragon Leopard caused the crowd to burst into another uproar. While the leopard was not as powerful as the Golden Fire Eagle, it was still a scarce treasure beast, and one that was reportedly among the best fighters among all known scarce treasure beasts. The Black Dragon Leopard had been able to defeat treasure beasts with higher strength levels than itself. Its primary weapon was a hidden skill that allowed it to paralyze opponents in an instant, leaving them unable to resist any further attack. Thus, the Black Dragon Leopard was

rong? Don't you want to fight anymore?" Linda asked, seeing that Evan had gone still after calling back the Black Dragon Leopard. He didn't seem like he was about to summon another treasure beast.

Evan shook his head, trying to salvage the situation. "I'm sorry. I suddenly remember that I have something else to do, so today's fight is over. How about fighting another day?" he said brusquely, unwilling to admit that he had lost.

"Fine," Linda said. "But you must hand over your treasure, the one at the second grade of King Level. It will serve as your guarantee." She stretched out a hand expectantly.

Evan's face darkened. He had made such an excuse only because he didn't want to hand over the treasure. What Linda said made him feel angry and resistant.

"Or are you just pretending you'll resume the fight, but in reality you've given up? Are you afraid you can't win?" Linda taunted. She could see his anger and hesitation and felt determined to provoke him.

Many in the crowd heard Linda's words, and they began snickering and pointing derisively at Evan.

Evan clenched his fists, but he had no choice. "Who says I'm giving up? I just need to take care of something, but we will definitely continue this fight. Since you doubt me, I'll hand over the treasure as proof of my sincerity. You must return it to me after I defeat Harley next time." He slowly took out the treasure and held it out to Linda. It was painful for him to do this. However, the only alternative she had left him was to be ridiculed by everyone.

Linda snatched it from Evan. Without another word to him, she stepped towards Zachary and said, "All right, let's go."

Zachary nodded and called back the Demonic Emperor Beast, placing it back into the system. He met Evan's gaze and saw that his eyes were burning with hatred. Zachary was unaffected by this. He smiled and turned to leave with Linda.