Chapter 296: The Ninth Outpost
Chapter 296: The Ninth Outpost
The guard on duty, upon learning that Li Qian and his two companions were there to see one of their superiors, respectfully inquired, "May I ask how I should address the three of you?"
"My name is Li Qian, a junior of Old Ti. This is Elena, a student of Old Ti, and the last person..." As he spoke, Li Qian suddenly paused, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "...can also be considered an acquaintance of Old Ti!"
He refrained from directly revealing Ms. Han Ke's identity, intending to give Old Ti a pleasant surprise and also to observe his reaction.
The guard noted down the identities of the three, primarily Li Qian and Elena, and then returned to the gatehouse to make contact.
Before long, he returned to the gate, "I'm sorry, Deputy Ti is not currently in the Governor's Mansion."
"Then where did he go?" Li Qian immediately asked.
The guard replied, "He's on patrol at the Ninth Outpost."
Li Qian had heard of the outpost, a special observation post established by major cities in the Dimensional Plane to monitor specific locations.
It could also be considered a warning station.
For instance, some areas were home to extremely powerful Extraordinary Beings, who, despite not exhibiting significant aggression, still required vigilance.
In other cases, certain places had weak spatial nodes, frequently giving rise to unstable rifts, necessitating constant vigilance.
These special situations all fell within the observation scope of the outpost.
"May I ask about the Ninth Outpost..."
Just as Li Qian was about to inquire further, Elena suddenly interjected, "Let's go, I know where it is."
Since Old Ti was not in the Governor's Mansion, Li Qian and his companions abandoned their plan to enter. They turned around and headed back.
At that very moment, inside the Governor's Mansion, within the Beast Tower, a middle-aged man with a square face, appearing to be in his forties, murmured, "Old Ti, you can't hide forever."
"Moreover, hiding won't solve anything. Eventually, you have to face it, and you have to resolve it..."
After murmuring, he closed his eyes again, continuing his meditation in a seated position. His entire body was as still as a wooden statue.
Meanwhile, in a simple town about a hundred kilometers from Phoenix City, Old Ti stood atop the town's protective wall, his brows furrowed in concern.
In front of him, a thick cloud of dust enveloped a particular area, and with his exceptional vision, he could clearly see beasts running back and forth within the dust, seemingly tireless.
Old Ti fixed his gaze on the beasts in the dust cloud; they were a group of unicorn rhinoceroses, and he had no idea what they were up to. They had been occupying that area for several days.
Over the past few days, these unusually excited and agitated unicorn rhinoceroses had kept him on edge. He feared that they might suddenly launch an attack on the Ninth Outpost.
While it was called an outpost, in terms of scale, it was more like a small town. Not only did it have Beastmasters residing there year-round, but it also served as a crucial supply point for Beastmasters venturing into the Despair Swamp.
If these unicorn rhinoceroses charged the outpost, it might be destroyed.
Old Ti had been stationed there for several days to prevent such an occurrence.
Moreover, the number of unicorn rhinoceroses in the dust cloud was not small, and among them was even a Unicron Tyrannosaurus of Overlord Rank. If they attacked the outpost, Old Ti didn't think he could withstand them alone.
Just as Iron Old was anxiously observing, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn as a group of unicorn rhinos, seemingly crazed, charged towards the Nine Number Outpost.
"What you fear will come!" Iron Old exclaimed from a distance upon witnessing this scene.
Without hesitation, he directly summoned one of his companion beasts, the Thunderstorm Lion.
In this situation, the Thunderstorm Lion, a frontal assault-type companion beast, was the most suitable choice.
Golden Bud was not by his side, and even if she had been, her role was primarily supportive, so her impact would be limited even if she were released.
As for the Inferno Viper, its small size made it more suitable for launching surprise attacks, and large-scale group battles were not its forte.
Finally, there was the Four-Winged Mantis, which was Iron Old's trump card, and he had not planned to use it just yet.
He furrowed his brows in thought, gazing at the Thunderstorm Lion, which was already engaged in battle with the unicorn rhinos, his eyes filled with doubt.
He couldn't understand why this group of unicorn rhinos had suddenly gone berserk.
Just as the Thunderstorm Lion and the unicorn rhinos were locked in combat, the situation became increasingly tense, and a lion's roar echoed through the sky.
"Roar, roar, roar..."
"That's... the Thunder Griffin!" As it drew closer, Iron Old instantly recognized the identity of the companion beast that had suddenly appeared in the distance.
Then, his face revealed a strong expression of bewilderment.
The Thunder Griffin, like the Thunderstorm Lion, was evolved from the Electric Light Lion, differing only in their evolutionary paths.
The potential of the two beasts was not significantly different, so it was hard to say which was superior. Therefore, his astonishment was not primarily due to the appearance of the Thunder Griffin, but rather the rider on its back.
The three people who greatly surprised him.
Li Qian, Elena, and the person he wanted to see but also feared meeting... Han Ke!
"Roar, roar, roar..."
The Thunder Griffin landed, directly on top of the wall of the Nine Number Outpost, and then, at Elena's command, it joined the fray, assisting the Thunderstorm Lion in dealing with the group of problematic unicorn rhinos.
"Iron Old, what's going on here?" After landing, Li Qian immediately approached Iron Old and asked without hesitation.
Iron Old looked at Li Qian, a wry smile appearing on his face. "I don't know either."
If he knew the reason, he wouldn't have to be so passive.
Now, he only hoped that the group of Unicron Tyrannosaurs in the distance wouldn't get involved, or the situation would completely spiral out of control.
"This group of unicorn rhinos is not quite right..." Elena's vision was astonishing; with just a simple glance, she noticed the abnormalities.
"Actually, this group of unicorn rhinos has always lived not far from the Nine Number Outpost. However, they are usually gentle and rarely initiate attacks on human beastmasters, let alone directly charging at the outpost." Iron Old continued to explain.
After listening to this explanation, Li Qian was also quite puzzled.
He had some understanding of unicorn rhinos; they were a relatively gentle type of companion beast, and logically, they shouldn't exhibit such behavior as seen now.
Amidst his doubts and bewilderment, he couldn't afford to give Iron Old any surprises, so he immediately began to ponder.
Whether it was Ms. Han Ke or Elena, they both temporarily restrained their thoughts, focusing all their attention on the crisis at hand.
(End of Chapter)
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