King of Beasts

Chapter 161: A Villain is Just a Villain

“Got it!”

Everyone was confused, and so was Lu Ran.

This breakthrough secret realm was yet another highly unconventional one.

It involved the derivative occupation of a beastmaster: a necromancer.

The curse witch was gone, but necromantic power was also quite niche.

However, compared to curse power, necromantic power had been studied to some extent by various countries.

After all, the international criminal organization “The Other Shore” had risen to power by mastering necromantic power.

Therefore, any beastmaster with some experience would have a general understanding of necromancy and what a necromancer does.

Of course, with the revival of spiritual energy, The Other Shore rarely hunted beastmasters anymore.

It’s likely that they were busy hunting supernatural beings outside to level up, slightly reducing their presence during each country’s busiest times.

“Does Infinite City have a storage check?”

At this moment, Lu Ran didn’t immediately choose a faction but pondered internally.

He remembered the “Death Revival” skill book in his backpack and suspected that Infinite City had performed a backpack check on him.

“Whatever the case, this breakthrough secret realm came at a perfect time!”

Lu Ran originally hoped to encounter a normal breakthrough secret realm, but now, even though this one seemed unusual, he felt surprisingly okay with it.

The source of necromantic power, Lu Ran guessed, was most likely related to the death dragon.

Entering this kind of secret realm would make it easier for him to investigate intelligence related to the death dragon.

Moreover, Lu Ran intended to cultivate a necromantic pet beast, but even in Xia Country, there wasn’t much experience in this area.

Just like when he increased his culinary skills in a previous breakthrough secret realm, this one might provide him with some valuable knowledge about necromancy.

And now, the most important issue was choosing a faction identity.

A civilian beastmaster participating in the Mingan City crusade… or a civilian beastmaster lured by necromantic power.

Lu Ran’s mouth twitched.

For a normal beastmaster, they would surely choose the first option. After all, it sounds like the “righteous” side, regardless of the circumstances.

The evil image of necromancers had long been ingrained in people’s minds due to The Other Shore organization.

Moreover, even on the Star-Moon Continent, necromancers were not well regarded.

This was not because necromancy was inherently discriminated against, but because the growth of a necromancer was too unstable. Long-term absorption of soul power could lead a necromancer to lose their sanity and become increasingly insane, resulting in extreme actions.

This is why the Beast Taming Empire viewed necromancers as unstable elements and did not allow civilian beastmasters to contact this power privately.

Imagine a normal beastmaster encountering this breakthrough secret realm—who would want to work with a group of people who could go crazy at any moment?

Additionally, the empire’s side seemed like the “big leg

1

” to cling to. Joining the Beast Taming Legion might make it easier to pass through the secret realm.

Lu Ran’s first thought was to choose to become a member of the campaign force.

However, he quickly hesitated because, since it was a “faction confrontation mode,” the other faction couldn’t be entirely a trap. Infinite City wouldn’t be so unfair to challengers, right?

Civilian beastmasters lured by necromantic power… Choosing this faction might grant some “special identity” or “additional buffs.”

[Most people would definitely choose the righteous side. Perhaps all the challengers would choose faction (1).]

[In this case, if I choose faction (2), disregarding NPC factors, it would be a solo fight against all the challengers. If successful, would the rating rewards be richer?]

[Additionally, since the story involves being lured by necromantic power, it indicates that there’s a tempting source of power within Mingan City. The likelihood is high that only faction (2) can access this special side quest.]

[Perhaps choosing faction (2) could yield some extra rewards.]

Lu Ran gritted his teeth and decided to see how Infinite City would arrange his identity in faction (2).

“I choose (2)!”

At the same time, the nine other challengers who entered the same secret realm as Lu Ran also made their choices.

“(1)!”

Once everyone made their choices, the voice of Infinite City sounded again.

[Faction selection complete.]

[Breakthrough Task: Faction Victory!]

[Prompt (1): The condition for faction victory is the ownership of Mingan City after 14 days.]

[Prompt (2): This secret realm is a historical projection. Internal lifeforms cannot be taken out or contracted.]

[Prompt (3): …]

Except for the novice secret realm benefit “Eye of Data,” which was no longer available, the other prompts were not much different from their first breakthrough secret realm. Of course, since this was PVP, involving challenger confrontation rather than PVE, an additional death immunity was included: should a challenger die, they would be sealed by Infinite City and could return normally after 30 days.

Once the voice faded, everyone felt a dizzying sensation, finally arriving in a brand-new world.

“Where is this?”

After entering the breakthrough secret realm, the nine who chose faction (1) opened their eyes and found themselves in a massive training ground.

Opposite them, a middle-aged man in armor slowly approached and spoke, “Thank you all for extending a helping hand to the Beast Taming Legion.”

“Currently, our forces are severely lacking, but an order is an order. To maintain the empire’s stability, the necromantic forces in Mingan City must be eradicated.”

“Your task is simple: assist the Beast Taming Legion in guarding the outskirts of Mingan City to prevent necromantic power from spreading. Our reinforcements should arrive within a month.”

“Huh??” An Asian man in armor, who also entered the breakthrough secret realm, widened his eyes and said, “Are you saying that the Beast Taming Legion won’t launch an attack on Mingan City for a month??”

Hearing this, the group of beastmasters who chose faction (1) fell silent.

“That’s correct. We are currently a fragmented force, without even a single level 3 beastmaster. According to intelligence, the beast taming strength of Mingan City is not weaker than ours.”

“Additionally, due to battles elsewhere, manpower is extremely scarce. It will take at least a month for reinforcements to arrive.”

A moment later.

The beastmasters who chose faction (1) collectively felt a pang of regret, realizing they had stepped into a significant pitfall.

After the middle-aged beastmaster left, the nine beastmasters from different countries exchanged glances. Among them, the Princess of Light from Yinglun and the Knights of Light Order immediately caught the attention of the other five.

“You’re the Princess of the Golden Generation!” a neon beastmaster exclaimed upon noticing her.

The Princess was delighted to see that she and her three companions were matched together, as these three had come specifically to assist her in completing the breakthrough. However, upon seeing the other five, she frowned.

“Hello. Are you all fourth-generation beastmasters?”

“No, I’m a third-generation beastmaster, and my occupation is a doctor,” said the neon beastmaster. “I haven’t paid much attention to levels recently and just decided to enter a level 1 breakthrough secret realm.”

“Same here,” a black woman spoke up. “I’m a historian… Wow, this era is so fascinating. It’s a period with very vague historical records. There might be great discoveries to be made.”

A tall man in golden armor retorted. “Didn’t you hear? The Beast Taming Legion said they might not launch an attack on Mingan City for 30 days.”

“By then, it will be too late. Our breakthrough task would have already failed.”

Through their conversation, the Knights of Light from the Golden Generation despairingly discovered that their five teammates were all third-generation beastmasters, not fourth-generation, and were virtually nobodies in terms of combat strength.

Regarding the breakthrough task, they had no particular ambitions. They were the type who would be content if they could safely return, breakthrough or not.

Of course, now that they were in the same faction as the Golden Generation, they planned to follow the Golden Generation’s lead entirely. If they could win effortlessly and gain points, who would want to fail?

“I knew it wouldn’t be so easy to rely on the Beast Taming Legion’s strength,” the Princess sighed. “But it’s okay. According to that legion beastmaster, the necromantic forces in Mingan City aren’t very large.”

“The strongest necromancer is probably only at level 2, which is just the normal difficulty for a level 1 breakthrough secret realm. There’s no need to worry too much.”

“As long as we can persuade the remnants of this Beast Taming Legion to cooperate with us in launching an attack, there’s a good chance we can take down Mingan City.”

The Glory Knight, deep in thought, said, “Their task is to guard outside Mingan City to prevent necromantic power from spreading. Convincing them to take the initiative in attacking won’t be easy, even if we show strength beyond that of a typical level 1 beastmaster.”

“The only way to get them to initiate an attack is if the necromantic power from Mingan City starts spreading. They would have to attack early to contain it and fulfill their task.”

The neon beastmaster said, “Makes sense. So, should we send an undercover agent into Mingan City to deliver intelligence to the necromancers, making them aware that the Beast Taming Empire plans to eradicate them? That way, we can provoke a conflict between the two forces.”

“Then, we can assist the Beast Taming Legion in capturing Mingan City, quickly completing our task.”

The Moonlight Knight said, “By the way, how many challengers are there this time? Just 9? Is it possible that someone chose faction (2)? If so, the faction confrontation might become more complicated.”

“Unlikely, right?” the black woman said. “Who in their right mind would choose faction (2)? They’d have to be really bored.”

…

Inside Mingan City.

At this moment, Lu Ran, wearing a black robe of unknown origin, was indeed quite bored.

Around him were more than a dozen other black-robed beastmasters. It was impossible to tell if they were natives or fellow challengers.

Lu Ran was currently following this group of black-robed beastmasters, listening to a deadpan young man’s indoctrination.

“You have made the most correct choice of your life!”

“Flesh is weak, the soul is eternal! The path of necromancy is undying and everlasting.”

“In these chaotic times, becoming a necromancer is the only hope for survival.”

“I, Gory, will now teach you the techniques to awaken necromantic power.”

“If your aptitude is good enough, you will have a great chance to transcend the limitations of flesh and exist in the world as a spirit!”

“A month from now, the Lord Divine Envoy of the Holy Church will arrive in Mingan City. Those of you who excel in necromancy will have a chance to be taken to the Divine Chosen Land to receive the blessing of God.”

Wow, this sounds like a villain! This is a necromantic cult! Lu Ran thought to himself in the crowd.

“The soul, like the spirit, is the original power that every life possesses. The decaying empire calls this great power evil simply because they fear its strength, which could replace their authority.”

“However, the practice of necromancy is indeed dangerous. Not every pet beast is suitable for developing soul power. If a pet beast lacks sufficient soul talent, it is very risky for a beastmaster to learn necromancy.”

“Before I teach you necromancy, I must first test the soul talent of your pet beasts. If they have no talent, then for your own safety, I will not teach you necromancy. You may need to find a suitable new pet beast before further training.”

“Ah?” Lu Ran was taken aback. Wow, this missionary is actually considerate of the followers’ safety.

The missionary took out a pitch-black stone and said, “This is the Soul-Calming Stone. It can temporarily force the soul of a living being out of its body. If a pet beast has good soul talent, it can stay outside its body longer and even have strong combat abilities in soul form.”

“It’s like getting a preview of the necromantic state.”

“But if the soul talent is poor, the soul will quickly be forced back into the body, like a fish out of water.”

“Next, I will use this to test the necromantic talent of your pet beasts.”

[Name]: Soul-Calming Stone

[Level]: Rare

[Introduction]: A special stone containing unique power that can temporarily force the soul of a living being out of its body without harming the soul or the body itself.

Lu Ran used the eye of data to glance at the Soul-Calming Stone. It seemed the missionary wasn’t lying.

This stone is great! I wonder if The Other Shore has it! But Xia Country doesn’t have such resources. I must find an opportunity to snatch a few pieces!

Footnote:

1. Big Leg(大腿):

   In Chinese, the term “大腿” (literally “big leg”) is a metaphor for a powerful or influential person or entity. The phrase “抱大腿” means to seek support or protection from such a person, similar to the English expressions “cling to a powerful ally” or “seek the backing of a big shot.”