Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 169: Targeting the World's No. Bounty Hunter

Huo Hong had never seen such a majestic Wind Hound.

A breeze blew by, ruffling the wind hound's light brown hair, making it fly wildly, and its emerald blue eyes were bright and sharp.

With its long limbs stepping on the ground and its fluffy tail swaying from side to side, its majestic posture is impressive.

No, he had seen such a majestic Wind Hound on TV.

That was more than 20 days ago. Huo Hong, a local beastmaster in Baokun City, went to the Taibai Cup in person and witnessed the shocking scene of the Ningfeng Hound fighting the Rock Meteor Giant.

That fierce fight is still unforgettable to him, and he was immersed in the heroic posture of the Wind Hound for a long time.

It was a pity that he had already contracted the Qinglan Hunting Hound, otherwise he would have chosen the Ningfeng Hound as his initial pet without hesitation.

Along with the Wind Hound came a group of dark shadows. Squinting, one could quickly identify these figures as the street urchins in the forest - the Skylarks.

The Skylark is a pet that gives most beast masters a headache.

It is almost as difficult to deal with as the Attendant Bee, and its individual strength is mediocre, but it always comes in groups and swarms forward.

If you mess with them, you will be chased endlessly.

"Are you OK?"

A voice sounded beside his ears, bringing his wandering thoughts back to reality.

Huo Hong looked forward and saw a very familiar figure. He exclaimed in surprise: "Advisor Chen!"

Chen Yuan was already very calm about being recognized by others. He was about to respond when he heard Huo Hong's voice continue:

"Are you here to complete the mission as well?"

"There's only one wind-skipper here, so there might not be enough to share."

Chen Yuan: “?”

Seeing Chen Yuan's surprised expression, Huo Hong realized that he had misunderstood something, and quickly stood up and explained: "Advisor Chen, I am a bounty hunter, and I came here for this blitzkrieg."

Chen Yuan's gaze passed over Huo Hong and fell on the bumpy area in front of him. He nodded thoughtfully.

The so-called bounty hunter is a profession that has only recently emerged.

Simply put, they are beastmasters who earn high bounties by completing tasks for their employers.

Chen Yuan had specifically learned that low-level bounty hunters were there to help find lost pets, or to help drive away wild pets that stole food, etc.

Chen Yuan even heard that an employer specifically hired a bounty hunter with a tracking pet to help catch the mistress.
High-level bounty hunters may be involved in dangerous pet battles, or even serve as their employer's bodyguard and go on adventures in the mountains together.

In short, as long as there is enough money, bounty hunters can do anything.

Provided that no illegal behavior is involved.

“Chirp, chirp!”

The skylarks hovering in the air became angry when they saw the mess on the ground, and a series of shrill hisses sounded.

It was not until Sparks called out that the group of skylarks calmed down.

"This is Consultant Chen's Flame Cloud Falcon." Huo Hong was moved when he saw that the group of noisy Skylarks obeyed the order given by Huo Sparks.

"Ow"

Coke drooped his ears, realizing that this was another of the big sister's bootlickers and beast tamers.

However, Huo Hong's next words made Kele look up suddenly.

"But compared to the Flame Cloud Falcon, I prefer your Wind Condensation Hound."

Chen Yuan and Kele looked at Huo Hong at the same time.

Huo Hong looked at Coke who was so close to him, suppressed his excitement, looked away, looked at the Qinglan hunting dog lying on the ground, and said slowly: "As you can see, I am a beastmaster who is keen on canine pets."

"And your Wind Hound is the strongest and most handsome canine pet I have ever seen."

Hearing this, Coke's eyes lit up with joy, and the smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.

Coke raised his head high and subconsciously looked at the big sister hovering in the air. He wanted to shout immediately to let the big sister and the friends on the farm know the news.

Ouch!
Have vision!
Finally someone discovered that I am the strongest and most handsome canine pet!
But Huo Hong's voice did not stop: "After becoming a mid-level beastmaster, I want to contract an equally handsome wind hound."

"Can"

"I have been searching for a long time, but none of the wind hounds can compare to yours."

Chen Yuan subconsciously looked at Coke, only to see the latter jumping happily on the spot, with its big fluffy tail like a blooming dandelion.

If Huo Hong had a favorability system, he would definitely see Coke's favorability towards him rising rapidly.

"Let's get down to business." Chen Yuan forced himself to change the subject. "You said there's a wind-skimming shrew here?"

He remembered the basic information of this pet. It was clearly an earth-type pet, but its name was incompatible with the earth type.

Liefeng Liefeng, it should be a wind-type pet.

But he had heard from his younger brother that when a pet is upgraded to Morning Star quality, not only will its appearance undergo a radical change, but it will also gain an additional attribute, becoming a composite attribute.

Take the Flame Cloud Falcon for example. It currently has the fire attribute. Once it advances to Morning Star, it is very likely to have an additional wind attribute.

Or maybe it's the Steelhead Gopher, which lives deep underground. Chen Yuan guessed that it would probably have more unearth attributes after it advances to Morning Star.

The Wind-Snatching Mouse that Huo Hong mentioned might gain wind attributes after it advances to Morning Star.

"Yes." Hearing Chen Yuan's question, Huo Hong's face instantly became serious, and he replied seriously, "Advisor Chen, I have been tracking this wind-snatching shrew for a long time. It stole food near Nanhe Town some time ago, and I drove it away. It ran here to eat the wind-snatching millet again."

He pointed to the Youfeng millet whose seeds had been eaten and continued, "These Youfeng millet are almost eaten by it."

Obviously, this wind-skipping shrew is the culprit for the decreasing number of wandering wind millets.

Hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn't help but look up at the skylarks with a strange expression: "A shrew is eating wind millet here in a swaggering manner, and you didn't notice it?"

“Chirp, chirp!”

There was a commotion among the group of skylarks, and finally the leader of the skylarks gave an explanation.

Their feeding time is in the morning, while the shrews usually feed in the afternoon and night, so they just miss it.

In addition, the wind-skipping shrew lives deep underground, its tracks are hidden, and it is difficult to be discovered.

Over time, the skylarks, unable to find the culprit, could only attribute the decreasing number of migrating fish to various factors, such as bad weather, too little sunlight, poor water quality, etc.

There were even some skylarks who suspected that there was a traitor among them, who secretly ate up the Youfeng millet when they were not paying attention.

“Chirp, chirp!”

After learning who the culprit was, the flock of skylarks wanted to fly into the dark cave immediately, pull out the hateful shrew, and peck its butt with their sharp beaks.

But the skylark can fly but cannot go down into the cave.

Then the next thing is very simple. Drive away this shrew, and the skylarks with sufficient food will no longer snatch the silver pine cones.

In this way, the conflict between the Tyrannosaurus clan and the Chickadee clan can be easily resolved.

But before that, there is one thing that needs to be resolved.

Chen Yuan asked Xiang Huohong: "What is the specific content of your bounty mission?"

Facing Chen Yuan's question, Huo Hong answered truthfully: "It is a task issued by a certain research institute. It is said that it is to study the relationship between the spiral burrowing behavior of wind-skimming shrews and the wind pressure energy conversion rate. A second-order wind-skimming shrew is needed for the research."

Although he didn't understand the research content at all, Chen Yuan still nodded.

Pet animal research is of course inseparable from the pet animals themselves, but due to various factors, the pet animals used for research are in short supply.

Whether it is the Beastmaster College or various research institutes and research units, they are all actively seeking help from all walks of life or issuing relevant tasks in order to have more pets join the research.

This type of pet is different from traditional mice. They often live well, have enough food and drink, and are not life-threatening.

At most, you can contribute a little blood and hair from time to time.

If the pet is willing, it may stay, marry, have children, and reproduce.

"I'll help you catch this wind-skipping shrew." Chen Yuan took the initiative to speak.

The Qinglan Hunting Dog fell to the ground, apparently defeated in the fierce fight with the Wind-Snatching Shrew. Chen Yuan just happened to take action to resolve the matter.

"Ouch!"

Hearing this, Coke shouted quickly.

I'll come, I'll come!
It wants to use its heroic performance to completely conquer Huo Hong and Qinglan Hunting Dog and win over its first batch of loyal fans.

Hearing this, Huo Hong reminded, "Advisor Chen, this wind-skimming shrew is very cunning and will keep digging holes to fight in a roundabout way."

"And it can also feint attacks." Huo Hong still found it incredible when thinking of the previous battle scene.

The Wind-Snatching Shrew deliberately made a noise underground to trick the Qinglan Hunting Dog into jumping aside, which played into its hands, allowing it to burrow out of the ground and defeat it.

"Ouch!"

Before Chen Yuan could respond, Kele had already strode to the dark cave entrance. He looked down and could not see the figure of the Wind-Snatching Mouse.

It stood there and called for a while, but the Wind-Swallow did not come out.

"Ouch!"

Coke was immediately annoyed and slapped the ground with his claws, but he could do nothing.

It is not an iron-headed baby and cannot burrow into the ground, let alone find the trace of the wind-skipping shrew.

If only Tietouwa were here.

Chen Yuan also fell into deep thought: "Now the question is not how to defeat the wind-snatching shrew, but how to lure it out."

It stays underground all the time, and no one can do anything about it except the Iron-Headed Kid.

Or you could master powerful earth-based techniques, strike the ground, and cause a massive earthquake, which might drive the Wind-Swallowing Mouse out.

However, the Falling Horned Beast is only at the first level and has not yet mastered this move.

This is one of the great advantages of earth-type pets. They can burrow into the ground, leaving the opponent helpless.

It's the same reason why sparks can fly. Once they are high in the air, it is difficult for the opponent's attacks to hit them.

Coke, on the other hand, can neither fly nor burrow into the ground. It can only watch stupidly and cry out in helplessness.

"It seems that we have to ask for external help." Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he decided to let Sparks go back to the farm and call Tietou Wa over.

Faced with the request of the big sister, Tietouwa, who has always admired the big sister, could not refuse.

It had no choice but to remind Yaya and Diandian Flying Cat again and again to guard the farm well and not let strange pets sneak in.

It was half an hour later when Tietouwa came to Chen Yuan.

Considering that the farm security force would be at risk of paralysis once Tietouwa left, Chen Yuan looked around and decided to let the Falling Meteoric Beast return to the farm first.

After this little guy came to the farm, he lived a comfortable life, had enough food and drink every day, his body size grew by two sizes, and his strength also made a qualitative leap, gradually approaching the second level.

With the help of Runrun Duck and Diandian Flying Cat, who are both at the second level, it is not a problem to guard the farm even though Tietouwa is not here. In addition, this place is not far from the farm, so Sparks can fly back at any time.

"There is a shrew underground. Go down and pull it out." Chen Yuan gave the order.

"Crack!"

Tietouwa nodded heavily, his face serious and resolute.

It must finish the job quickly and then get back to the farm as quickly as possible to perform its duties.

Huo Hong hesitated, "Advisor Chen, that is a Level 2 Wind-Snatching Turtle."

His words revealed his distrust of Tietouwa's ability.

It's normal to think about it. Everyone knows that the two pets that Chen Yuan has contracted are the Flame Cloud Falcon and the Condensed Wind Hound. Since this Steel-headed Groundhog has not been contracted by Chen Yuan, its strength is naturally not that strong.

But out of trust in Chen Yuan, Huo Hong did not say anything final.

What if this steelhead gopher was also carefully nurtured by Chen Yuan?
Chen Yuan smiled slightly: "Prove your strength with actual actions."

It just so happened that after Tietouwa had advanced to the level of a commander, he urgently needed an actual battle to test his current strength.

Yesterday's match with YaYa was just a brief one, with neither side able to perform to their full potential.

In fact, Tietouwa didn't care about Huo Hong's words at all. It was quietly thinking about how to end the battle quickly and how to return to the farm as quickly as possible.

Compared with guarding the farm, the distrust of others was nothing, and it didn't even cause the slightest ripple in Tietouwa's heart.

Tietouwa walked with steady steps to the dark cave entrance, looked around carefully first, and then went into the cave.

In an instant, Tietouwa's figure disappeared.

Huo Hong suddenly explained, "Advisor Chen, that's not what I meant. I meant that this shrew is very cunning and powerful. We may need to take a long-term view."

After saying this, Huo Hong wiped the sweat from his forehead.

It was a close call. Fortunately I explained it in time, otherwise I would have left a bad impression on Consultant Chen.

Chen Yuan's smile remained unchanged: "It's okay. It's actually a good thing to always be skeptical. We can't have a stereotype about any beastmaster."

Hearing this, Huo Hong nodded subconsciously: "Yes, yes, I think so too."

As he was speaking, Huo Hong suddenly realized something was wrong and his voice became quieter and quieter.

If I nod in agreement now, doesn't that mean I am not confident in the strength of the Steelhead Gopher?
So he quickly shook his head: "No, no, I mean"

His thoughts were in a mess and he couldn't organize the words to explain in an instant. His voice stopped abruptly and he finally held his forehead with his hand helplessly.

Oh no, this really left a bad impression on Consultant Chen.

boom!
Suddenly, the ground not far away trembled slightly. In the moment when the sand and dust flew, a slender wind-skipping mouse jumped out from it.

"Crack!"

The Iron Head Boy followed closely behind, and the steel blade pierced out from the ground and went straight to the Wind-Swallowing Shrew.

The wind-raiding shrew quickly landed on the ground, and the forked blades at its tail spun at high speed, instantly stirring up a sandstorm that swept up gravel and blocked its vision.

"It's the same trick again." Huo Hong's eyes narrowed.

Earth-related skill, spiral drilling attack.

Based on the physical characteristics of the hurricane-shrew, the drill bit on the front paw and the fan blades on the tail can work together to dig a hole at the fastest speed, or create a sandstorm to interfere with vision during a raid or escape.

It was with this move that the Wind-Snatching Shrew easily avoided the [Green Ivy Binding] of the Qinglan Hunting Dog.

But this sandstorm seemed to have no effect on Tietouwa.

The Iron Head Boy curled up his body and used the [Steel Spiked Roller] to transform into a spinning top and rolled along the way. The ground broke and cracked wherever he passed, and he went straight into the sandstorm.

boom!
The next moment, the body of the Wind-Swallowing Shrew flew out of the coverage of the sandstorm and fell heavily to the ground.

"The attack worked!"

Seeing this, Huo Hong spoke out excitedly.

"Ouch!"

Seeing that Tietouwa had the advantage, Coke jumped left and right in a hurry.

I just asked you to bring out this wind-skimming shrew. How did you steal my limelight?!!
Seeing the Wind-Swallowing Shrew fall to the ground, Tietouwa's eyes turned fierce. Adhering to the basic concept of resolving the battle as quickly as possible, he suddenly rushed out and stabbed with the [Charge Blade].

The next moment,

The sharp blade in front of him accurately hooked the forked leaves on the tail of the wind-skipping shrew, and with sudden force, he grabbed the latter's tail and smashed it heavily to the ground.

The scales of the wind-skipping shrew were almost broken by the fall, and its sandy yellow fur was oozing with light blood, and it let out a slight wailing sound.

"So simple?" Huo Hong was stunned.

His Qinglan hunting dog was played around by the gusty shrew, but the Steelhead gopher pinned the gusty shrew down and beat it up.

So how big is the gap between Qinglan Hunting Dog and Steelhead Gopher?
But Consultant Chen didn't even have a contract with this steelhead gopher.

For a moment, Huo Hong's thoughts were in turmoil, and he even began to doubt whether he was suitable to be a beastmaster.

But soon, Huo Hong figured it out.

"How can you compare yourself to a perverted beastmaster like Consultant Chen?"

"There are not many beast masters in the entire Baokun City who can rival Consultant Chen."

"I'm afraid only Taibai Cup champion Zhuang Jianbai can compete with Consultant Chen."

After his thought came to light, Huo Hong continued to look forward.

The wind-skipping shrew did not lose its fighting ability because of this. It endured the pain and slowly stood up. It quickly dug the ground with its spiral front claws, raising dust and sand, and then it dived underground again.

Tietouwa followed closely behind and went underground again.

Afterwards, the two could clearly hear slight sounds of fighting coming from underground, mixed with the painful howls of the wind-snatching mouse.

Chen Yuan turned his head to look at Huo Hong and suddenly said, "Do you know why the Qinglan Hunting Hound is no match for the Wind-Snatching Shrew?"

Faced with the sudden question, Huo Hong seemed to be back to the tense moment when he was asked a question by the teacher in class. He subconsciously straightened his back, brainstormed, and then answered carefully: "Because Qinglan Hunting Dogs can't burrow into the ground?"

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "This is part of the reason."

After a short pause, he continued, "Your Qinglan hunting dog probably doesn't have powerful attack skills."

In his impression, the Qinglan Hunting Dog is a functional pet with a keen sense of smell, excellent tracking ability, and excellent lurking ability, but it lacks the high attack skill that can make the final blow.

This kind of pet is at a great disadvantage in a one-on-one fight.

"Yes." Huo Hong nodded.

"Have you contracted a second pet?" Chen Yuan asked again.

Huo Hong: "I'm still struggling. I originally wanted to contract a wind hound, but I couldn't find one I liked before the pearl and jade."

"Ow~"

Coke vaguely understood the idiom and immediately broke out into grinning.

"I suggest you contract a Fire Hound." Chen Yuan gave his opinion. "The Fire Hound has a very high cost-effectiveness. The fire skills it possesses are very powerful, and it has a gentle temperament. It is very suitable for cooperating with the Qinglan Hunting Hound."

As one of the new pets highly recommended by the association, the Firefly has an advantage that cannot be ignored - the breeding cost is low.

Huo Hong is a bounty hunter and is obviously not well off financially, so the pet recommended to him must be cost-effective.

Huo Hong nodded thoughtfully, his eyes flickering, and then he couldn't help but ask, "Advisor Chen, compared to the second pet in the contract, I want to ask you something more."

"You said."

"Even if I contract other pets in the future, I only want to use this guy as my main pet." Huo Hong stroked the head of the Qinglan Hunting Dog with a smile in his eyes, "I want to know how to train the Qinglan Hunting Dog to be as powerful as the Steelhead Gopher."

Huo Hong did not mention the Flame Cloud Falcon or the Condensed Wind Hound. He knew that with his own abilities, it was impossible for him to train the Qinglan Hunting Hound to this level.

But if it's a steelhead gopher, there might be some hope.

Chen Yuan suddenly fell into deep thought.

He couldn't possibly say that he would feed some spiritual plants or eat a spiritual fish whenever he wanted, right?
After careful consideration, Chen Yuan gave his own answer: "Give full play to the subjective initiative of pets, let them train actively, and become stronger actively."

"And let them know why they are getting stronger."

After hearing this, Huo Hong fell into deep thought for a long time.

"Crack."

At this moment, Tietouwa came out from underground, dragging the unconscious Wind-Swallowing Shrew. With a calm face, he walked slowly to Chen Yuan.

"You did a great job." Chen Yuan said with a smile.

"Huh?"

Tietouwa just nodded slightly and asked if there was anything else he needed to do.
After Chen Yuan shook his head, Tietou Wa nodded to Chen Yuan and the big sister to say goodbye, and then rushed towards the farm as fast as possible.

"Advisor Chen, what is this?" Huo Hong looked puzzled.

"This is related to the subjective initiative I just talked about." Chen Yuan explained, "This guy is responsible for guarding the gate of my farm. He regards this as his responsibility."

"In order to better guard the gate, it chooses to train hard every day and night."

“That’s the subjective nature of it.”

After hearing Chen Yuan's explanation, Huo Hong's expression was extremely complicated. The first thing he thought of was - such a powerful pet is just used to guard the gate in Consultant Chen's house?
The thought flashed through his mind and he fell into deep thought.

Is it really useful to exert subjective initiative?
He suddenly realized something. Ever since he contracted the Qinglan Hunting Dog, although he had been formulating a good training plan and the Qinglan Hunting Dog was also executing it well, the two of them never knew why they were training.

He thought about it for a long time and could only give one reason - to make more money.

Huo Hong carefully told Consultant Chen the reason why he and Qinglan Hunting Dog trained so hard. He was very worried that he would be disliked by Consultant Chen because of this reason.

But Chen Yuan just smiled lightly: "There is no more real reason than this."

"Then you two should aim to make more money, which can extend to becoming the best bounty hunters, and use this as motivation to start training."

"I believe that it won't be long before you make great progress."

At this point, Chen Yuan made a small joke: "Maybe one day, you will become the most powerful bounty hunter in the world."

At this moment, Huo Hong looked at Chen Yuan in front of him and felt like he was a towering figure.

Such selfless teaching, such moral character, and such strong strength.

Perhaps only Consultant Chen is worthy of the title of Baokun City's number one beastmaster.

Huo Hong squatted down, stared at the Qinglan Hound in front of him, clenched his fists, and said with a smile: "From now on, we will follow the example of Consultant Chen and Ningfeng Hound, aim to become the world's number one bounty hunter, and move forward in big strides."

"Ow!"

(End of this chapter)