The Strongest Beast-Tamer (Transmigration)(GL) - Chapter 19

Yi Xian was thrown down, rolling across the ground with her arms protecting her head. Even so, the impact left her dizzy and in pain. She forced herself up, wincing as sharp pain shot up her leg, but she ignored it and fixed her wary gaze on the birdman before her.

Its body was grotesque. A human head sat upon a bird’s torso covered in messy gray feathers streaked with black and red. Its talons were pitch-black and glinted silver at the tips like blades. Compared to the ones she had seen on the cliff, this one was slightly smaller.

A human face with a beak… What kind of twisted creature was this?

Yi Xian turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Behind her came a series of harsh, grating cackles, mocking her futile struggle. The flapping of wings stirred violent gusts of wind that chased after her. Trees around her shook violently, some even toppling under the impact or being slashed apart by the creature’s claws. Yi Xian dared not look back. She could only pray that Lan Tong would come looking for her, perhaps to retrieve her corpse if nothing else. Even that would be better than being left to rot in the wilderness.

If she had a gun, she would have fired without hesitation, emptying every bullet into the monster’s chest. But under Lan Tong’s constant supervision, she hadn’t even managed to hide a bone knife. That beast had confiscated everything she could use as a weapon.

“You are the most stubborn human I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Even on the brink of death, Yi Xian’s tongue remained sharp. The conditions for survival that the madwoman offered were too tempting. She had almost agreed. Three conditions, ten, a hundred, she would have said yes to all of them.
But once she yielded, it would never end. Every time danger came, she would cower and depend on others for salvation. She refused to become a weakling she herself would despise.

To her, giving in wasn’t just surrendering to the madwoman. It was surrendering her own soul.

Something slammed into her back, hurling her across the ground. Pain tore through her body. Her chest burned, and bl00d gushed from her mouth, flecked with pieces of torn flesh.

I’m going to die.

This cursed world, these cursed beasts, this cursed fate… was it all going to end here?

The birdman’s steps drew closer. Yi Xian forced herself to roll onto her back. She didn’t like facing her enemies from the ground, especially not such a hideous, sneering monster.

She spat another mouthful of bl00d and raised her hands. “I won’t run anymore. Help me undo this.”

She almost forgot that the shackles on her wrists could serve as weapons. They were cumbersome, but in a moment like this, they might turn into her last advantage.

Better to shatter like jade than live as broken tiles.

The birdman stretched his neck forward, eyeing the iron chains. His laughter was grating. “So you’re a slave.”

Yi Xian stayed calm as his claws reached toward her. Just when they neared the shackles, his movement changed. The claws darted instead toward her collar. Yi Xian had expected it. She quickly looped the chain around his wrist, twisted her body, and locked his arm with her legs. Her waist turned sharply.

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking filled the air.

The maneuver was simple but cost Yi Xian all her strength. Darkness edged her vision, but she still heard the birdman’s pained, guttural roar. She smiled faintly. Even if she died, she would at least leave him wounded. Let these monsters know humans weren’t easy prey.

A sigh echoed softly.

From her chest, a beam of white light burst forth and condensed into the shape of a fox. The white fox leapt forward, intercepting the birdman’s furious strike. Yi Xian’s chains shattered at the same time, the metal fragments scattering as her body was flung away like a fallen leaf.

Squeak!

Not far from her hand, a small silver mouse poked its head from beneath a pile of leaves. A single green leaf perched like a hat on its head, and a tiny bag was strapped across its back, tailored perfectly to its size. Its red eyes spun curiously as it looked toward the battle raging nearby before it scurried to Yi Xian’s side.

Squeak! Squeak!

The mouse jumped anxiously on Yi Xian’s bloodied face, squeaking in distress when she didn’t respond. It sniffed along her arm until it found the finger it had bitten before. Grinding its teeth, it bit down again. It bit hard.

The pain shot from Yi Xian’s thumb straight to her mind. Her ears rang, and her fingers twitched.

The silver mouse scrambled onto her face again, squeaking frantically into her ear.

Yi Xian felt as though something was calling to her. Despite the agony coursing through her body, she fought to regain consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw the same little silver mouse bouncing in agitation atop her cheek.

If only it would stop using her face as a trampoline.

Yi Xian wanted to ask what it was trying to do. When she opened her mouth, bl00d spattered out, drenching the tiny creature and turning its silver fur red. The mouse froze for a second before it squeaked furiously, waving its paws as if scolding her.

Even through the haze of pain, Yi Xian almost laughed. Its expression was so comically human, like someone standing on the street shouting angrily at the world.

The ridiculous sight made her smile faintly. She drew in a shaky breath, but the searing pain overwhelmed her again. Darkness clouded her vision once more.

When her senses returned, the mouse had disappeared from her face. It stood before her, rummaging through the little bag slung over its shoulder.

The next instant, a massive battle axe appeared in its tiny paws. The weapon was so large that its blade hovered less than an inch from Yi Xian’s nose. Her heartbeat almost stopped.

Then, just as suddenly, a sword appeared. Then another. Weapons, books, scraps of food, even old scrolls. All spilled out one after another. The little bag seemed like a treasure chest that could produce anything.

Yi Xian stared, dumbfounded. Her entire worldview was collapsing again. Licking her lips, she asked weakly, “Do you… have a bow?”

Squeak!

Squeak squeak!

Yi Xian couldn’t understand what it said, but judging from the disdainful twitch of its whiskers, it wasn’t saying anything polite. Still, it dove back into its bag, rummaging around until it pulled out a dusty bow and a glowing green arrow.

She could hardly believe it. It really had one!

Yi Xian’s heart surged with excitement. She picked up the bow, testing the string. It still worked.

Boom!

Yi Xian turned toward the explosion of light. The white fox was slammed against a tree by the birdman’s wing. Its figure flickered, turning translucent.

That shouldn’t be possible. Yi Xian had seen its strength before. Why was it so weak now?

Unless the birdman’s power was that overwhelming.

There was no time to think. Yi Xian steadied herself against a tree and nocked the arrow. Her hands trembled violently, refusing to obey. She took a deep breath, but her body still shook uncontrollably. The truth was cruel. Her body was too weak, and her injuries made it worse.

“Hey, little mouse. Give me a hand.”

Squeak squeak squeak!

The mouse chattered indignantly but still scurried up her leg, climbed onto her shoulder, and stood on the glowing green arrow. It stomped its tiny feet twice, then returned to her shoulder and gave a sharp squeak.

Yi Xian nodded grimly. This shot will either kill or be my end.

The white fox turned its narrow eyes toward her. A flash of white light passed between them before it vanished, returning into her chest.

The birdman lunged forward, furious at missing his prey. His bloodshot eyes followed the fading light, just in time to see a streak of green fly straight toward him.

The arrow struck true.

Yi Xian’s body gave out. She collapsed to the ground as the silver mouse darted away, swiftly gathering every item it had scattered. The birdman stumbled forward, took two steps, and crashed to the ground, the green arrow lodged in his forehead.

A golden shadow fell from the sky. A massive lion slammed into another birdman, crushing it into the earth. The ground trembled with the impact, dust rising in thick clouds.

The silver mouse disappeared in a flash, vanishing as if it had never existed.

Yi Xian barely registered the chaos. All she saw was the lion, Lan Tong. The beast’s claws tore into her opponent’s throat, bl00d spraying across her golden fur. She didn’t even notice her own wounds.

Lan Tong must have caught the faint sound of Yi Xian’s breathing. She slammed the last enemy into the ground before turning sharply toward her. Her predatory gaze softened as she sprinted over, kicking aside the half-dead birdman in her path.

Yi Xian knew how this would end. In a place like this, with no doctors or healers in Kus City, she had little chance of survival.

Lan Tong shifted into human form. Her arms and legs were covered in claw marks, dozens of them, deep and raw. She knelt beside Yi Xian, her sharp eyes scanning the human’s body. Leaning close, she sniffed lightly as though marking her territory.

Yi Xian wanted to slap her. Even now, she’s doing this?

“Where are you hurt?”

Yi Xian tried to answer, but only coughed bl00d, splattering it across Lan Tong’s face. Lan Tong’s jaw tightened.

She lifted Yi Xian carefully, and that was when she saw the wound on her back. It was torn open and blackened at the edges.

“Poisoned.”

Yi Xian leaned weakly against her shoulder. Great. Poisoned and dying. Perfect.

Then her clothes were ripped open. The sudden cold air made her skin prickle.

What the hell is she doing?!

Yi Xian struggled weakly, but to Lan Tong, her efforts were no more than a faint twitch. The beastwoman lowered her head and began to suck the poison from the wound, spitting it out again and again until the blackness faded to red.

Yi Xian clenched her teeth. It hurt so much she wanted to curse, yet a flicker of emotion stirred inside her. That primitive method actually works? She’s going to poison herself at this rate.

This beast has no sense at all!

From a distance, the little silver mouse perched under a leaf, holding a purple fruit in its paws. It chewed leisurely while squeaking twice in Yi Xian’s direction, its expression oddly mocking.

Whatever it was laughing about, only the gods knew.