Chapter 168 The Stinking Blood Pool

This giant crocodile possessed quite formidable combat power, managing to hold out for so long despite being besieged by the Frost Spider, Kuru, the Money Rat, and the Manticore. In the end, it was only when Zorma, Bardi, Woff, and Karl all joined the fray that it was beaten to the brink of death, losing all ability to resist!

Jia Zhengjin had the fake dragon grab the giant crocodile by the head, but lifting it up proved to be a bit difficult. Consequently, he had to have Bardi control Kuru to grab the tail, flying in tandem from front to back. Furthermore, with Zorma and the Manticore below, Woff and the Frost Spider, and Karl and the Money Rat all lending their support, the five humans and five beasts together managed to barely lift it off the ground.

To prevent any accidents on the way, Jia Zhengjin instructed Woff to control the Frost Spider, spewing a large amount of sturdy silk to wrap the entire body of the giant crocodile. Even if it were to recover during the journey, it would have no way to attack!

Jia Zhengjin guessed that the giant crocodile's strength was at least Tier 2. If it were a Tier 1 magical beast, it wouldn't have been this difficult to defeat.

Just after flying a short distance, Jia Zhengjin spotted a Spark Praying Mantis ahead—a Tier 1 magical beast he had previously encountered and killed.

Although he couldn't bring two magical beasts home at the same time, and he currently wanted to collect Tier 2 magical beasts as much as possible, the experience points and loot from a Tier 1 magical beast were still things Jia Zhengjin desperately needed.

Thus, the team temporarily lowered the Tier 2 giant crocodile. In any case, there was no need to worry about other creatures approaching; this fellow's tier was enough to scare away all ferocious beasts.

With a flying magical beast and a fake dragon, catching up to the Spark Praying Mantis was no difficult task.

After Jia Zhengjin and Bardi blocked its escape routes on both sides, the Spark Praying Mantis changed direction under the coercive pressure of the fake dragon, fleeing frantically to the side.

Woff the werewolf, together with the Frost Spider, had already blocked the way forward.

When the Spark Praying Mantis turned around, it found that the rear was also blocked by Zorma and Karl.

Cornered, it decisively chose to fight.

However, having had prior experience, they already knew what magic the Spark Praying Mantis possessed. With preparations made, its attacks appeared quite feeble, leaving it completely unable to counterattack!

[Notification]: Woff eliminated the Spark Praying Mantis, you gained 700 experience points!
[Notification]: You obtained a Grocery Store Blueprint!
[Notification]: You obtained an Insect Helmet!
[Notification]: You obtained Insect Bracers!
[Notification]: You obtained Inferior Insect Boots!
[Notification]: You obtained Inferior Insect Bracers!
[Notification]: You obtained Pumpkin Seeds!
[Notification]: You obtained a Pistol Bullet Crafting Blueprint!

The Grocery Store Blueprint was already in his possession, rendering it completely useless!

Among the four pieces of insect equipment, two were of normal quality and two were inferior, none of which surpassed what he was currently wearing.

Only the pumpkin seeds and the pistol bullet crafting blueprint were somewhat decent.

However, being able to craft pistol bullets was practically meaningless! Because just making bullets without a gun was a complete waste!

Moreover, the firepower of a pistol probably wouldn't be stronger than a Tier 3 magical beast, right? Jia Zhengjin could currently control the fake dragon to unleash powerful Tier 3 magical attacks. It was questionable whether a pistol could even pierce the tough hide of a magical beast!

Dissatisfied as he was, it was still better than nothing!

After confirming that there were no low-tier magical beasts around, the team returned to pick up the giant crocodile magical beast and resumed their flight toward the city.

After flying for a short while, a sudden, overpowering stench assaulted their nostrils. Jia Zhengjin nearly tumbled off the dragon's head and hurriedly covered his mouth.

The others were not faring any better. Why on earth was there such an intense odor in this unexplored area?

It was simply atrocious! It was the exact smell of decaying corpses!

All five of them held their breath as much as possible, pressing forward with the giant crocodile.

Flying at the very front, Jia Zhengjin was the first to spot a huge pool of water nestled within the dense forest. The water in the pool was pitch black, as if heavily polluted. The stench emanated from there, becoming somewhat unbearable.

"Lord Gene, should we take a detour?" Zorma asked, finding the stench hard to endure.

"No!" Jia Zhengjin forced back his nausea and commanded the fake dragon to fly closer. "We must investigate what is going on. Although this place is still quite far from our city, what if monsters appear that threaten the safety of our city?"

"Lord Gene, there are too many bugs here!" Bardi shouted loudly.

"I know! Most of them are flies," Jia Zhengjin replied with a nod. "In any case, let's clear the area a bit first!"

Receiving the command, the fake dragon began to descend slowly, coordinating with the other four magical beasts to place the giant crocodile on the ground. Immediately afterward, it opened its jaws and unleashed a fierce torrent of flames toward the foul-smelling pool of blood teeming with flies and mosquitoes.

Under the blazing fire, the blood pool gradually evaporated and dried up. Although the stench remained overwhelming, at least the situation was changing.

As the blood in the pool dwindled, Jia Zhengjin caught sight of an incomplete giant snake skeleton that had previously been submerged: "Good thing we discovered this in time, otherwise, by the Blood Moon night, a very troublesome monster would have resurrected here! But how did it die in this place?"

Regardless of his bewilderment, he first had the black, polluted blood of the pool evaporated away, then threw in massive quantities of plant fiber and wood, having the fake dragon burn and cremate the remains.

Once fully dealt with, though a lingering odor remained, at least there was no need to worry about this colossal skeletal serpent resurrecting during the Blood Moon night. Even if it was somewhat far from the city, it could still potentially wander over and wreak havoc, couldn't it?

"Lord Gene, there are many footprints on the ground, and they are accompanied by blood clots leading all the way ahead!" Zorma said after coming over to inspect closely.

"What kind of footprints are they?" Jia Zhengjin asked.

"Hmm~" Zorma studied the ground intently for a good while. "One large, one small... it looks like the footprints of two humans... wait! Judging from the pattern and distribution of these footprints, they actually seem to belong to the exact same person! Could it be someone who uses a special magic that allows them to alter their body size? But looking closely at these prints, they differ somewhat from those left by a normal person walking..."

"Are there any shortages of bizarre occurrences within the Magical Beast Forest?" Jia Zhengjin remarked. "Do these footprints seem to lead in the direction of our city?"

"Lord Gene, I should say these footprints came from the direction of our city!" Zorma reminded him.

"Lord Gene!" Bardi suddenly emerged from a nearby bush, using a branch to hook down a tiny scrap of cloth. "This fabric looks somewhat familiar..."

"Oh?" Jia Zhengjin hurriedly stepped closer, and upon taking a look, he was instantly astounded. "How is that possible?"

"Lord Gene, what is it? Do you recognize the owner of this fabric?" Bardi asked hastily.

Zorma looked on with immediate curiosity as well.

"You don't recognize it?" Jia Zhengjin countered with a question.

Hearing this, Bardi lowered his head to take another close look, and his expression suddenly shifted. "Alex? But that's not right! Wasn't he killed that day, even if he turned into a zombie?"

"That's what I'm wondering too!" Jia Zhengjin furrowed his brow.