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Chapter 308: Burn One's Boat, Entering the Valley
Monarch rank young pets were different from servant rank and warrior rank soul pets. In deserted places, meeting such a soul pet was very improbable. Even if someone meets one, they would have to ponder whether they have the power to take it down. After all, normal commander rank young soul pets already have powerful guards near it. Even if they weren't the soul pet's parents, they could be other powerful soul pets of the parents' territory.
Servant rank soul pets were mostly nomadic. They were innumerous in numbers, said to build the huge basis of soul pet world population. Most servant rank soul pets would choose to live in some territory and listen to the command of higher rank soul pets.
Servant rank soul pets died easily, but their reproduction rates were way higher than the proportion of their battle strengths.
Yet for warrior rank soul pets, once their phases reached a certain degree, they would usually take over caves, valleys, lakes, cliffs, or little forests that suit their lifestyles and make them their little territories, living the rest of their lives happily without others invading.
Commander rank soul pet territories were very obvious. If a mature commander rank soul pet didn't have its own territory, it was a sign of extreme poverty, a path of no future.
Commander rank territories were usually made of many warrior rank territories, creating a forest, a mountain, a piece of water, a piece of plain, etc. When a commander rank young pet hasn't matured and become independent, they almost always move around within their previous generations' territory to avoid dying at a young age.
The monarch rank soul pet territory was even more obvious. One might find a commander rank soul pet that is roaming outside, but territoryless, protectionless young soul pets were almost nonexistent among monarch ranks.
Every monarch rank soul pet was heavily protected by their previous generation. Adding on the fact that monarch rank territories were very vast and well protected, the moment other soul pets and humans walked in, they would easily be attacked.
Every rank soul pet had a certain amount of hindrance. The higher the rank, the larger this hindrance. To become a certified hunter, you needed to have very good experience, or else you could die to soul pets of the territory before you even captured the young pet.
"There should be four narrow tunnels towards the inner lake of the mountain valley. These four narrow pathways all have a commander rank soul pet there. Respectively, an eighth phase high stage aggressive Sword Beetle, eighth phase middle stage poisonous West Armor Death Scorpion, eighth phase high stage defensive Cocoon Longhorn Beetle, and ninth phase low stage all round Star Phoenix Battle Insect."
Chu Mu could see the Star Phoenix Butterfly Tail laying in one of the mountain by the inner lake. Around the mountain were tunnels that passed to each mountain. These tunnels were like natural protection to the mountain range, guarding the inner lake well. Chu Mu had to bring his soul pets down one of the soul pet ridden paths and kill everything, and then get rid of the guards protecting the Star Phoenix Butterfly Tail, and then finally capturing the Star Phoenix Butterfly Tail
This territory was very large. Even if the previous generation of the Star Phoenix Butterfly Tail didn't live there, in such a heavily guarded territory, without a definite plan, it was very hard to find a breakthrough. Chu Mu himself had observed for many days before he found four ways that could most likely give entry to the inner lake.
Now, Chu Mu had to decide which path would have the highest success rate. This was a very long battle road, and the battles would last a long time. Chu Mu was most worried about his soul pets' stamina, and if they could keep up with the fight.
Chu Mu only had around fifty percent of his soul power. This fifty percent meant that if Chu Mu didn't use any of his soul techniques, he could only switch his soul pet five times.
Yet, the chances that he didn't use his soul techniques wasn't great, because during the battle process, there were many sudden situations. These situations and emergencies needed soul pet trainer soul techniques to control, or else his soul pets could be heavily wounded or even die, causing greater losses.
Thus, Chu Mu self-evaluated, and found that he would only be able to change three to four times. To enter the inner lake and defeat the Star Phoenix Butterfly Tail as well as two ninth phases lower stage commander ranks, Chu Mu had to think clearly how he was going to structure his soul pets.
"Nie nie~~~~~" The white nightmare first gave a suggestion, suggesting them to go the ninth phase Star Phoenix Battle Insect route.
Chu Mu decisively ignored the white nightmare's intentional mischief, and started to pick a route based off his soul pets advantages and types.
"Poison isn't easy to deal with. If one of us gets poisoned, it will be very troublesome. The defensive side will waste too much energy. Let's pick the Sword Beetle. Though the Sword Beetle and its subordinates may be attack-focused, as long as we pay attention, we can pass through successfully. Who will fight the Sword Beetle and the other battle insects?" Chu Mu rubbed his chin.
"Ao~~~~~" The Devil Tree Battle Soldier decisively raised its hand. In the narrow tunnel, other than the eighth phase high stage sword beetle, there were many bug type soul pets, over hundreds and thousands. He indeed needed a soul pet that could withstand all that.
"En, you have to go." Chu Mu nodded. In group battles, the advantage of wood type soul pets was too high. If they didn’t have a wood type soul pet, they would probably use up all their fighting strength just to get the the end of the tunnel.
"Hou~~~~~~" Zhan Ye quickly raised a claw to volunteer as well. It had great stamina, endurance, could take hits, and grew as it fought. In such group battles, it indeed could show its advantage. Chu Mu thought it had to fight as well.
The last decision made Chu Mu struggle, not knowing who to send in the moment.
"Mo Xie, you should go. The eighth phase high stage Sword Beetle will be left for you, and remember to retain some stamina." Chu Mu said.
"Wuwuwu~~~~~" Mo Xie was very willing, an appearance of wanting to kill to satisfy herself.
After some more planning, Chu Mu had a basic plan. He wanted to let Devil Tree Battle Solder, Zhan Ye, and the Ghost King fight first and get to the end of the tunnel. Once they met the eighth phase high stage Sword Beetle, he would switch the Ghost King off for Mo Xie and let it defeat the eighth phase high stage Sword Beetle to enter the inner lake. Finally, he would summon his restrictive Night Thunder Dream Beast and powerful White Nightmare along with Mo Xie to deal with the two ninth phase Star Phoenix Battle Insects.
After the meeting, Chu Mu passed each soul pet some of the dwindling supply of soul cores. After hammering in the idea of the last stand, he told everyone to rest and he went to sleep too.
The second morning, full sunlight glowed through the leaves and fell upon Chu Mu's face. Chu Mu opened his eyes and breathed in a breath of fresh air. Using dew, he cleaned his face off cursorily.
"Someone there?"
Suddenly, Chu Mu and his keen senses noticed some movement. Through the branches, Chu Mu was surprised to find a group of people that was slowly creeping towards his position.
Chu Mu had just awoken and didn't hide his own aura specially, so Chu Mu knew that they must have noticed him as well.
Chu Mu didn't hide, only watching as the people neared, but he kept a vigilant heart.
"Hey, it's rare that we can see someone else in such a primitive place. What is your name? We're hunters from Guo City. I'm the leader Da Kun and these are Zhang Ying, Qin He, Wang Ji, and Yu Sui……"
The leader was a man of about twenty five or six. He looked passable, with a smile that was easily approachable and amiable, probably the type that was good at communicating with others.
The others were near the age of the leader, probably all young generation members. Speaking of which, the fact that this team could get near the monarch rank soul pets' region meant their power spoke for itself.
Chu Mu himself was deep in an environment where experts lived, so people he met must be of strength. Chu Mu could tell that these people weren't nobodies.
"I'm Chu Chen. It looks like you are entering the mountain now?" Chu Mu asked.
"Indeed, you are too? But you're alone, so to avoid accidents, do you want to come with us? We'll split the reward and you'll get a sixth." The leader Da Kun said directly.
To let Chu Mu believe they were a team of honor, Da Kun specially flashed his Hunter Alliance inner member insignia.
Soul pet trainers who met each other outside could work together, but at these times, both sides had to consider whether the other was of evil intentions.
This was why reputation became very important in communications between experts. When strangers partnered, they often used recognition from powerful factions. For example, the hunter insignia in Da Kun's hands meant that he was an inner member of Hunter Alliance. If anything happened, Hunter Alliance would definitely assume responsibility and look into it further……
If both sides had identities, such stranger partnerships would be much safer.
"Which path do you plan on taking?" Chu Mu didn't act mysterious and got to the point. These people definitely were going for the Star Phoenix Butterfly Tail. If partnering with them was beneficial, Chu Mu didn't need to undergo such danger by himself.
"The third route with the cocoon species. This path is the safest." Da Kun said.
"Then nevermind." Chu Mu shook his head and dispelled the thought of partnership.
"Alright, we won't force it. Good luck." Da Kun didn't insist and smiled at Chu Mu.
Chu Mu didn't continue to talk for much. He followed the forest straight to the path he wanted to take.
When Chu Mu left, the hunter alliance members naturally started talking in hushed tones.
The first to talk was the female Yu Sui. She watched the direction Chu Mu left in with wise and sharp eyes and said, "Is this Chu Chen person going to attack alone?"
"No way, I think he wants something on one of the roads. If we go the same path as he does, he would team with us. If not, he would decide to walk alone. He may know that with his abilities, he shouldn't attempt at the things on the inner side of the mountains." Zhang Ying said smiling.