Goblin Dependency

"Hmph chhh..."

The dense, pitch-black mane swayed slightly as a white-hoofed wild bull, most common in the plains region, snorted loudly.

Hot breath surged from its nostrils as it chewed grass that it had swallowed not long ago, now flowing back from its stomach, half-digested.

A pair of wild, animalistic round eyes, unique to wildlife, stared aimlessly at the plains ahead.

As a fully grown bull, over three meters in length and weighing more than a ton, in this plains region, few predators dared to target it as prey, except for rare and powerful demons.

With two sharp horns on its head, the ability to easily crush skulls with its solid hooves, and muscles as hard as rock under its thick fur... Even the tigers in the nearby forest or the fierce brown bears generally wouldn’t risk hunting such an animal unless under extreme circumstances.

Not to mention they are herd animals; with a small group of over ten adult white-hoofed wild bulls, even weaker demons would think twice before attacking.

Based on the typical lifespan of a white-hoofed wild bull, this healthy mature bull still had at least ten years of peace ahead of it, until an unexpected disease struck in old age or its weakened elder body became a breakthrough point for the herd, turning into a feast for strong predators.

However, it seemed that circumstances were changing.

"Moo!"

Alongside the alert cries from the companions on the outskirts, a commotion suddenly erupted in the herd.

Many wild bulls that had been leisurely chewing food started to run away in the direction away from the outbreak.

This adult bull didn’t see what happened, but due to the survival instincts ingrained deep in the blood of herbivorous animals, it ran with the group.

Although it was most likely just a few starving coyotes or a passing leopard, the bull did not take any chances.

Sometimes, for wild animals, having low intelligence isn’t necessarily bad; at least it wouldn’t be swayed by past experiences to ignore potential future dangers.

The approach taken by this white-hoofed wild bull was quite correct, but unfortunately, its luck seemed to have run out.

As it started to run forward, it accidentally tripped on the rocks on the ground. Losing balance, it was pushed hard by escaping companions nearby, and like a mountain of meat, it crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

When it got back up, the original herd had scattered completely, leaving it alone at the rear.

"Moo!"

With a low, muffled call, this adult wild bull wasn’t panicked.

As it had done many times before in dangerous situations, it turned its body, lowered its head, and aimed its sharp horns at the direction where enemies might appear.

Then, using its advantage in size and strength, it could...

Its chaotic and instinctive thoughts were abruptly cut off.

The lowered perspective spun upward as something like scarlet liquid spurted into the air.

Amidst endless weakness and dizziness, strange wolf howls and fleeting black energy mixed; it seemed to see a bull carcass standing still, missing its head.

It didn’t even have time to think why such a bull corpse appeared here, why it seemed to have suddenly flown.

The next moment, darkness like a torrent swallowed its vision and thoughts.

"Bang!"

Without central control from its head, the over one-ton headless bull corpse slowly fell.

Blood gushed like a fountain from the smooth neck stump.

Not far beside it, the bull skull with two horns upside-down lay embedded in the soil.

Wolf Mouth bit the sword hilt tightly; the bone rope chain prevented the blade from separating from the body, clanged crisply against the hard shell armor on the chest.

Xia Nan shook his head slightly, flicking off the blood residue on the sword blade.

Wolf Mouth leaned against the shoulder, the longsword was swiftly sheathed into the body side sheath slot, enveloped by the flesh seam.

No maintenance was needed; the sheath organ of the Soros Blade Wolf secreted special mucus that effectively cleaned dirt and residues from the sword blade surface. The keratin layer near the flesh seam opening had strong friction for polishing. Every time the sword was drawn or sheathed, it was equivalent to a complete maintenance process for his weapon.

Looking at the bull corpse on the ground ahead, Xia Nan’s deep gray wolf eyes, hidden between crown-like shell gaps, flashed with thoughtful contemplation.

He certainly wasn’t savoring the bull’s death, not like those dirty, ugly, lowly goblins; his little quirks hadn’t developed to that stage.

What Xia Nan carefully reflected on at that moment was his hunting battle process just now.

The target was just a common wild bull; he didn’t use skills like "Gravity Etching" or even apply the newly elevated Level 4 "Heavy Tide."

He simply utilized "Teeth Hunting" and "Vortex Slash," executing a simple yet effective battle skill.

The entire execution still flowed smoothly, and this combination of battle skills under wolf form showed signs of becoming a fixed combo.

But...

As Xia Nan evolved repeatedly, he adapted better to the body of wolves.