System Log: Sub-Mission – Westward Expansion Activated]
Squad Leader: Baoyun the Ironhide Ape
Assigned Beasts: 20
Objective: Explore and secure Sector W-9
Region Status: Partially Collapsed Ancient Domain
Hazards: Dormant constructs, hostile giant-type beasts
Bonus Objectives:
Recover ancient forging materials
Locate Beast-King Ruin
Defeat regional tyrant beast
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Baoyun stood at the edge of a canyon cracked open by time. Jagged cliffs jutted up like broken tusks, while winds carried faint echoes of battle hymns long past.
Behind him, his squad thumped their chests in unison—gorillas of stone bloodline, armored boars, horned rhinos, and two mountain lions with gleaming claws.
> "Good," Baoyun grunted. "We don't sneak. We don't crawl. We conquer."
And so, they marched.
---
The western forest was heavy with pressure—not from Spirit Qi, but memory. Ruined statues littered the landscape, depicting massive beasts locked in eternal struggle. Some bore dragon motifs. Others looked like primitive titans.
One statue was shattered, its chest hollowed out—and inside lay something that pulsed.
A core fragment, still glowing faintly.
Baoyun approached and crushed the surrounding debris. The artifact flared, activating a long-dormant formation.
---
[System Alert – Trial Triggered]
Trial Site: Fallen Arena of the Beast-King
Objective: Defeat the Echo of the Warden—an ancient giant beast spirit
Time Limit: 15 minutes
Failure: Squad morale and loyalty drop by 25% due to cursed Qi exposure
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The ground opened.
A massive construct of bone and bronze emerged—a spectral beast with the shape of a mammoth-ape, its body stitched together by Qi and stone. The Echo of the Warden raised a club the size of a tree—and roared.
Baoyun cracked his knuckles.
> "That's more like it."
---
The battle was brutal.
Baoyun charged first, leaping off a crumbling pillar and slamming his fists into the Warden's jaw. The echo staggered, but swung back with seismic force, flattening part of the canyon wall.
His squad spread out, baiting the beast's rage while war boars tunneled beneath to collapse the supports holding the arena's edge.
> "Bring it down!" Baoyun roared. "Make it fight our battlefield!"
The terrain crumbled, and the Echo fell into a pit—right into a trap layered with spirit-forged spikes crafted by Baoyun from mined relics.
The spirit wailed—but Baoyun dropped in after it, delivering a thunderous full-body slam with Qi-laced fists.
> BOOM!
Silence.
The Warden's core fractured. The spectral body dispersed.
---
[System Log – Mission Success!]
Zone W-9 Secured
Special Rewards Obtained:
Titanbone Core – can be used to craft defensive formations or enhance beast physique
Memory Ore – rare mineral storing ancient forging blueprints
Elite Recruit: Cliff-Treader Lion King – a rogue beast of noble bloodline swore allegiance after witnessing Baoyun's strength
Territory Beast Count: 322 / 1000
New Trait Fragment Gained: Titan Lineage (Unstable) – unlocks potential bloodline awakening when conditions are met
---
Baoyun looked at the fallen arena, breathing heavily.
> "This forest… remembers strength. Good."
He turned to his squad, now roaring in triumph.
> "We bring the ruins home. We bring power home."
Then, grabbing the Memory Ore, Baoyun muttered,
> "Tian will want this. He'll know what to build with it."
---
As the western winds howled behind him, Baoyun marched back toward the heart of the Azure Dragon's domain—stone-clad, iron-willed, and one step closer to a thousand-beast dynasty.