Chapter 65: Companions in the Wasteland

Chapter 65: Companions in the Wasteland

East of the Mirror Moon Spring was the Flying Catkin Swamp, which was about one or two weeks’ journey from here. Large amounts of flying catkins floated there all year round. According to records, those catkins were alive, each an independent life, so Bran wanted to go see them. Logically, a gust of wind could sweep these catkins away. What force was binding them?

…

Bran and Huahua were currently in a period of high excitement. No matter how much experience and memory Bran retained from his previous life, many of his behaviors were still influenced by the growth and development of his body. He and Huahua grew more and more wild at heart, and their demands for prey kept getting higher, leaning towards more difficult and challenging targets. It seemed this way brought endless fun to the boy and the cat. In the midst of thrills and excitement, these two little ones constantly challenged their own limits. Every success brought them immense satisfaction. As for failures, given their currently intact state, it showed that this boy and cat were very good at escaping.

They had even deviated from the natural direction. It was no longer just for food, but for the thrill brought by killing. Bloodlust began to take root and sprout in the personalities of the boy and the cat.

Bran and Huahua were currently struggling with a thick-skinned wild boar, which wasn’t a wise choice. The two little ones were like two fleas, jumping around this huge boar. Although they caused countless wounds to the massive creature, they couldn’t deliver a fatal blow.

The boar had sobered up from its initial panic and the rage after being injured. It wanted to shake off these two annoying little creatures, just like it got rid of the mosquitoes and insects often swarming around it. It just needed to ignore them and charge towards a mud pit. So, it lowered its head and charged in one direction without looking back. Bran and Huahua didn’t want to give up yet, at least not in their current excited state of mind. They started chasing after it.

Their struggle had already caught the attention of other Predators. A lioness happened to be hiding on the boar’s escape route. The lioness didn’t let this opportunity slip; she delivered a fatal blow to the boar and was now firmly biting its throat. Bran, who had caught up, took the chance to thrust his Short Blade into the boar’s eye socket, completely ending its life.

Now they faced another troublesome problem: the division of the prey. The lioness’s huge head was now facing Bran, who appeared far too small before her. The advantage of her massive size gave the lioness a sense of oppression, and she believed she should have the right to decide how the prey was divided.

Predators in the Northlands did not lack cooperation; even between different species, they sometimes formed temporary alliances. But when the hunt ended, the division of food wasn’t based on who contributed the most effort, but on strength—who could occupy a more convenient or priority-eating position.

However, Bran and Huahua wouldn’t think that way right now. Their excited mood gave them an unstoppable impulse to solve any situation they encountered with force. So, Huahua let out a threatening cry: “Aowoo…”

Bran began to prepare, looking for a position to strike with his blade. The Short Blade he had just pulled from the boar’s eye socket had blood slowly dripping off it, gradually revealing a blade that glittered with star-like sparks. Perhaps sensing its master’s excitement, the blade began to vibrate and hum.

Even beasts avoid pointless fights. Facing the eager, troublemaking boy and cat, the lioness chose to back down. Bran still took two strips of meat from the prey’s spine, then sat with Huahua not far away to eat separately. This confused the lioness a bit. Her copper-bell-like eyes swept over them several times, then she tentatively took a bite. Finding no reaction from the other side, she finally relaxed and let out a series of roars.

Three cubs gradually appeared in Bran’s perception, approaching the area. This instantly put Bran on high alert. Where there were cubs, there should be a male lion and a Lion Pride. Bran didn’t want to be in the middle of a Lion Pride, so he spread out his Mana Web, letting the tide of Mana surge around to carefully sense his surroundings. The lioness opposite seemed to sense something and watched Bran warily, observing him carefully.

There was no Lion Pride around, but other Predators were following the scent of blood and approaching. This was strange. What situation caused a lioness to take her cubs far away from the pride?

Beasts naturally have a sharp intuition for danger, and Bran was naturally unable to muster any killing intent towards various young animals. This was caused by the general environment of his past life—compassion for the weak and helpless. This trait was deeply ingrained in Bran’s Soul. So, after carefully sensing and searching, Bran’s demeanor instantly softened, and the faint bloodlust he had shown disappeared without a trace. Then, when the cubs curiously approached him, he shared the tender and delicious meat in his hand with the little lions. Bran’s change quickly influenced the lioness. Now they were sitting together intimately, and while the lioness licked and cleaned herself, she occasionally gave Bran a lick too. This dissatisfied Huahua, who kept extending her paw to bat at the lioness. Though, without extending her claws, such attacks didn’t even count as tickling the lioness…

…

This was a relatively relaxed and pleasant stretch of the journey. With Bran and Huahua being the two daring flea-like troublemakers, during hunts, the lioness could easily bite the target’s vital points, and then Bran would follow up to finish it off. When daring acts no longer felt thrilling and exciting, Bran and Huahua lost interest in this kind of hunting. The lioness, however, was very satisfied with her recent life, which was fully reflected in her attitude toward Bran and Huahua.

As they got closer to the Flying Catkin Swamp, the lioness began to show fear and hesitation. They were still a long way from the swamp, so it shouldn’t be due to any changes in the Flying Catkin Swamp. Based on the circumstances when the lioness appeared, Bran could roughly guess some reasons. But this was simply the natural order; did he need to intervene? Even if he helped them now, as he gradually moved beyond the lioness’s hunting range, when he left, would the final outcome really change?

So Bran started to act mysteriously. After talking a bunch of nonsense in front of the lioness, he played a coin-guessing game. He stretched out his hands in front of the lioness to see which hand she would choose…

…

Bran looked somewhat speechless at the Lion Pride not far away. He knew it would be like this. A young male lion had driven out the old one and taken over the pride. As the new king, he would kill the cubs in the pride. But this lioness before him had broken some natural Rules; she actually left the pride with her three cubs.

Alright, since we’re both rule-breakers, I have an obligation to help you, even if you didn’t guess the coin correctly, Bran made excuses for himself. I will kill the Lion King, and you will return to the pride with your cubs. At least the cubs can grow up safely in the pride for a while. If they’re lucky, they will reach adulthood.