The brown fur bear charged against Hei and his little sisters using its body weight as a weapon. Xing, however, thanks to Ye's warning, had those few seconds to prepare herself. Shortly before the impact, she took off, and as if she were walking in the air, she avoided the bear's charge and continued forward.

The bear, angry at having been dodged so easily, turned his body and resumed the chase. Despite the size, its speed was incredible, and in a short time, it had almost reached Xing.

"s.h.i.+t, it's too fast. We won't be able to lose it this way."

'What do we do, big brother? Do we fight?'

"If we fight, I don't know how long it could take. If c.o.c.kroaches were to reach us, it would be the end for us. No, I have to reason with it."

As Xing kept running and Ye being the navigator, Hei turned to the bear chasing them. "I don't know why you're chasing us, but we don't have bad intentions. We are just running away from the c.o.c.kroaches. Please let us go."

The second level bear looked astonished when it heard the language of spiders being emanated from the mouth of a human. However, it didn't stop chasing Hei, Ye, and Xing, although its pace had slightly slowed because it decided to respond to Hei's words.

'Let you go? Filthy human, who do you think is to blame? If it weren't for your stupid rules, we inhabitants of this forest would not be in such danger now. You lock us in specific boundaries without the possibility of going out and kill us if someone tries to get to the third level. As if that wasn't enough, you filthy human brats come here to kill us for some stupid prizes. Do you think I would leave a human alone because he asks me? When have you ever done the same for us? And you filthy traitors. Do you think you are safe just because you sign a stupid contract? One day humans will stop considering yourselves useful, and when that day comes, you will be ma.s.sacred like the rest of us.'

The bear's words were harsh and full of anger and resentment. It was evident that it must have spent a long time with humans. From those words, Hei sensed that it must have been one of the most powerful spirit beasts in the forest, probably one of its lords.

"Xing, stop. It won't let us go for any reason, but we can't waste too much time with him. Let me try to persuade him." Hei proposed to his little sisters.

However, the two divine beasts shook their heads, trying to stop their big brother.'Are you crazy, big brother? Don't you see that it isn't in the mood for dialogue at all?''Ye is right. It will attack us as soon as we stop. How are you going to make it change its mind?'

"I have a plan. Ye, Xing. Activate your bloodlines and your Elemental Laws. Don't aim to kill him. Just tried to stop its attack, okay?"

When Ye and Xing heard Hei's plan, they had many doubts in their minds. Nonetheless, they did as their big brother requested. After all, they had total trust in Hei. If he thought this could convince the bear to stop chasing them, then they would follow his command without hesitation.

'Nightmare Spider Bloodline, Activate! Law of Poison, Poisonous Spider Web! Law of Illusion, Tinnitus!''Serpent of Darkness Bloodline, Activate! Law of Darkness, Dark Fog! Law of Metal, Alloy - Steel + Chrome!'

Within moments, Ye and Xing launched their attacks. A black fog obstructed the sight of the bear while a loud whistling sound began to ring in its ears, making it impossible to locate the enemies with its hearing. The sense of smell was still functional, but the attacks of the two divine beasts weren't over.

Peng!

A metallic noise rang out as Ye stopped the charge of the bear with her body. Soon after, a sticky spider web with a potent poison was launched by Xing. The brown fur bear, which had lost the power of its momentum, found itself caught in this spider web. Fortunately, its spirit power was acting as a barrier against the insidious poison. However, every second that pa.s.sed, it could feel its body's spirit power getting thinner because of the poison.

The second level spirit beast, however, paid no attention to this. Chaos was reigning inside him at the moment. Having endured such techniques on its own body, the bear could perceive it.

'Divine Beasts! No way! How is it possible?! Answer me!' the bear exclaimed towards Hei, not even bothering to get rid of the spider web.

"I will explain it to you, but I want your word that you will listen to what I have to say without attacking."

The bear nodded yes with its head. Hei ordered Xing to free it from the spider web and watched the bear's movements with attentive eyes. However, the spirit beast kept its word and sat on the ground, waiting for Hei to begin speaking.

"My name is Hei. I can't reveal much to you; it's a delicate matter as you can imagine. These you see are my little sisters, Ye and Xing. I was raised by a divine beast who is our mother. Unfortunately, she died some time ago, so only Ye and Xing remain as specimens of the divine beasts. What you said about the conditions of you, forest inhabitants, is true. It's not just you, but all the other spirit beasts forced to live that way.

Our mother gave me the task of protecting my little sisters. The only way to do it is to create a place where they can live free without having to fear being hunted by humans. At the moment, I'm weak. I don't have the strength to do this. But when I get it, you will see that I will change things and make sure that the spirit beasts no longer have to live like this.

However, right now, we have a more immediate problem. The c.o.c.kroaches and the group of termites that are sowing death and destruction in the forest. You too, spirit beasts of the forest, have been attacked, right?"

At Hei's question, the bear sighed and replied, 'Yes, it is so. We five lords of the forest went to teach them a lesson, but the enemy was stronger than we expected. The seven termite guards aren't too big of a problem. The five of us could have done it somehow, along with our subordinates. However, the problem is the king and queen termites—two third level spirit beasts. I don't know what they have in mind when doing such a thing since humans will kill them once the barrier dissolves. But if this continues, we may not be able to resist to witness this. Hei, right? Let me ask you something. What you said before, was it the truth? Are you really aiming for this?'

Hei got off Xing's back and approached the bear until he was right in front of it. So he gave his answer, "Yes. It is the promise I made to my mother and myself. I will definitely keep it. Whatever it takes.

For this reason, I ask for your help. No, not just yours. Even the other lords of the forest and other spirit beasts. Help us defeat the c.o.c.kroaches and the group of termites. With the combined effort of you, spirit beasts of the forest, and the other humans, we can a.s.semble a force to thwart the c.o.c.kroaches and the termite king and queen."

Upon hearing Hei's proposal, the hairs of the bear's fur fluctuated with the disgust of that idea. But even if it was nonsense to propose it, it was also the plan most likely to succeed. The problem was the hatred and contempt that many spirit beasts felt against humans.

'Impossible! Collaborate with humans? For what? Might as well become c.o.c.kroach dung than helping humans.'

"Are you sure? If you let all humans be killed, it will be the end of all the spirit beasts that live here. In the group of humans, there are children of important families. Even if the Empire is willing to accept the risk of losing them, it doesn't mean they won't take revenge, especially if even one of the Emperor's sons is present. Is your hatred against humans so great that you are willing to jeopardize the forest where you live? The life of all the spirit beasts here?"

'ROAR!!! HUMAN! The fact that a divine beast raised you doesn't change anything. I won't let you use that tone with me. Who do you think I am? I am one of the lords of the forest. Don't you dare to judge me with the same parameters as your dirty race.

So be it. I will help. I will gather the other lords of the forest and the other strong fighters. However, we won't do it for free. We want guarantees. We want to deal with that son of the Emperor. If the conditions offered are acceptable, we will cooperate.

Disappear now. We will come to find you at the camp you have created. Don't worry about the c.o.c.kroaches; I'll take care of getting rid of the swarm that's chasing you.'

"Alright. Thanks. One question, though, before we go. What's your name?"

'You don't have to know. If you prove yourself truly worthy, I will tell you. Maybe.'

The bear rose from the ground and disappeared into the vegetation. As there was no longer any reason to stay there, Hei climbed over Xing and continued to march towards the fort. He had to arrive as quickly as possible and inform Long Tian of everything he had discovered.

*

To return to the camp as quickly as possible, Hei traveled at night without stopping, alternating with Ye and Xing. All three of them were suffering from lack of sleep and mental exhaustion for the fights of the previous days. Nonetheless, they didn't stop and continued to advance. Thanks to their stubbornness, they managed to get to the fort at dawn.

The situation at the fort was calm, although there was a veil of concern and anxiety. None of the first-year students in the fort knew when the c.o.c.kroaches would attack. Therefore, all of them struggled to relax and indulge in sleep for even an hour.

The lookout guards noticed the figure of a black snake with golden patterns approaching at high speed. Since the particular colors of Ye and Xing were unique among the spirit beasts, the guards immediately recognized who the snake belonged to. In an instant, they sent a message to Long Tian and the other generals to warn them that Hei had returned.

In an instant, the false sense of calm and silence broke. Word had spread in the fort that Hei had gone on a scouting mission to find out more about the situation. Considering that the longer they stayed there, the more likely they were to die, it was normal for everyone to be waiting for some news that could change their desperate situation.

Hei quickly climbed the walls of the fort, bringing with him Ye and Xing, who had returned to their pet.i.te form. Without delay, he made his way to the Long Tian's tent, where he and the other generals had already gathered to await Hei's arrival.

"Hei!" Lian said as she ran towards him to examine his conditions. There were traces of concern and relief in the bewitching sapphire blue eyes of the beautiful young woman. She had been worried all this time thinking about what could have happened to Hei, Ye, and Xing.

"I'm back," Hei replied as he stroked her head. Then he gave her Ye and Xing, who had fallen into a deep sleep from the effort they had taken to run all night.

"From your tone, it seems that you have not returned empty-handed." Long Tian commented. He waited for Hei and Lian to finish greeting each other before returning to the main topic.

"Yes, the situation is worse than we thought."

Without wasting any more time, Hei explained everything he had seen at the c.o.c.kroaches nest. He also added his encounter with the bear who had proclaimed itself one of the lords of the forest.

"Third level spirit beast. And there are two." bitterly commented Feng Chen. As Hei said, the situation had gotten worse than expected.

"Well, now we know who the enemy is. It is already something. We can try to formulate a plan." Hu Jie tried to find positivity in Hei's words.

"Hu Jie is right. Now we can formulate a plan. But there is still an unknown factor to be clarified. Hei, I'm not a beast tamer, and I know little about spirit beasts. Therefore I am not able to make an adequate judgment on the truthfulness of the words of such creatures. However, you are a beast tamer, and you have proven yourself worthy of my trust. If we were to find an agreement, can we rely on the help of these spirit beasts? Won't they attack us by surprise just to kill us? Remember that it's not just your life or that of your teammates that are at risk. More than 3000 lives, including the spirit beasts of the various beast tamers, are at stake."

Long Tian's tone was as cold as if he was trying to put pressure on Hei and test what the young beast tamer really thought about it. Without stepping back, Hei gave his answer.

"If you offer conditions that satisfy them, then yes. They, too, are threatened by these attacks. They are carrying carca.s.ses of spirit beasts in addition to human ones. They are also not stupid to allow all the people present here to die. They know that the Empire will try to take revenge, especially if something happens to you."

At Hei's response, Long Tian sighed and shook his head as he was incredulous with himself for the words he was about to say. "Alright. Let's organize this meeting. I will try to satisfy their requests as much as possible. But you will have to come with me as a translator and intermediary. However, remember that I can't promise anything. I am just one of the Imperial Princes; my powers are limited."

Hei nodded his head to indicate that he understood the meaning hidden behind these words.'Freeing them is impossible, and the same goes for declaring this forest outside the empire's jurisdiction. A truce. It is what Long Tian, ​​as the Imperial Prince, can promise at most.'