Five or six Forest Wolves and two wild boars still circled it, occasionally snarling and roaring, but they no longer dared to advance.
Without the beast pack running interference, Brules finally realized that the ones continuously attacking it from the darkness weren't the dumb pigs and dogs in front of it.
However, it was too late by the time it figured this out. The situation no longer permitted it to clear out the hidden plants in the dark, as it had done with the Pea Shooters during the day.
Besides, even if it had ample stamina, it likely wouldn't have made a difference.
Under the cover of night, the Timid Mushrooms were already difficult to spot. What's more, they would burrow underground to hide whenever an enemy approached, which made them even harder to find.
Brules understood its fate. Coupled with its immobility, it ceased its pointless struggles.
And so, under the watchful eyes of Lin Yu and the remaining beasts, Brules motionlessly endured the onslaught of spore attacks from all directions.
In the end, it stared at Lin Yu and let out a final, mournful cry, as if accusing him of fighting without honor. Then, it went silent.
After checking a few times to be sure, Lin Yu confirmed that Brules was dead and slowly approached its body.
"Such a powerful Flaming Brown Bear, to make me go through so much trouble!"
"Now, let's see what you really are."
[Name]: Blazing Flame Guardian Brules
[Grade]: Legendary (Gold)
[Affiliation]: God of Wild Hunting
[Level]: 10
[Attack]: 150
[Speed]: 100
[Defense]: 350
[HP]: 22,000
[Skills]: Flame Shield, Flame Aura, Heavy Strike
[Description]: Guards the gold treasure box. Any non-believer of the God of Wild Hunting who takes the box will be subjected to its relentless attacks until death.
[Status]: Deceased
Looking at "[Affiliation]: God of Wild Hunting" and comparing it to the description of his "Nature's Dominance" ability, Lin Yu finally understood why the territory trait hadn't worked on the Flaming Brown Bear.
"Nature's Dominance" only worked on ownerless plants and animals. A dedicated Guardian like Brules was outside its sphere of influence.
In gaming terms, "Nature's Dominance" could turn neutral beasts into his own, but it couldn't convert beasts that already had a factional allegiance.
Now that he understood why the Flaming Brown Bear couldn't be subdued, Lin Yu's confusion was cleared up, and a great weight was lifted from his heart.
'As long as there's nothing wrong with my territory trait, everything is fine.'
The great battle was over; now it was time to clean up the battlefield.
Since both sides in the battle were beasts and there was no game-like loot drop system, there were no valuable treasures to collect.
Lin Yu surveyed the scene for a moment, brought the surviving beasts back to the World Tree, and then had sprites come to harvest the carcasses for meat.
'As for the rest, I'll let nature take its course.'
He was confident that in this dense jungle, the corpses would be quickly consumed.
After all that was done, Lin Yu returned to his Lord's Mansion inside the World Tree and collapsed in exhaustion.
Today had been utterly exhausting. The initial exploration had involved a great deal of walking and repeated searching. Then, the process of obtaining the gold treasure box had been fraught with peril, and the mental pressure had been immense.
The existence of Blazing Flame Guardian Brules had completely reset Lin Yu's understanding of the monsters on the beginner continent. Its power had nearly brought an end to his journey in the lord competition, and his new followers had suffered heavy casualties.
Thankfully, it had been a close call, but he had made it through. Lin Yu was confident that if he were to face it again, he wouldn't end up in such a sorry state.
...
「The next day.」
Lin Yu woke up bright and early. Inside the World Tree, after a night of being nourished by its natural energy, his weary body and spirit had fully recovered to their peak.
He took the treasure box out of his storage space and stared at the now-purple chest, feeling utterly dejected.
He had been so preoccupied with escaping last night that he'd forgotten about the gold treasure box in his storage space. He had brought it into his territory, and just as he'd feared, it had been downgraded.
Unwilling to accept this, Lin Yu thought it over and decided to make another trip to the cave.
'Since that Blazing Flame Guardian Brules was the Treasure Box Guard for this chest,' he reasoned, 'there might be other treasures in that cave.'
He summoned Phantom, preparing to ride the wolf back to the depths of the cave for another look.
He had brought Phantom into the Lord's Mansion inside the World Tree last night. Having been immersed in abundant natural energy all night, the wolf was now fully recovered.
Before setting out, Lin Yu returned to the site of the previous night's fierce battle to replenish his Pea Shooters, this time planting some Potato Mines among them as well.
-----------------
"Phantom, let's be careful going in," Lin Yu said. "We're not here to fight. We're just going to see if we can find any treasure."
The man and wolf carefully avoided the obstacles on their path, heading deep into the cave. Upon reaching the innermost cavern, Lin Yu walked to the edge of an abyss. He took out the purple treasure box and placed it on the ground, hoping for a miracle that might restore it to its former grade.
Then, he and Phantom began to search the area as they waited.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Five minutes...
Half an hour passed. Golden particles began to swirl around the chest, scrambling to enter it. However, the chest didn't turn gold. Its light remained purple, now merely threaded with a few streaks of gold.
'Huh? It's actually working?' he thought in surprise. 'But at this rate, it'll take forever to turn gold again. Tomorrow, this area will become part of my territory. There's nowhere near enough time!'
'Forget it. I have to think of another way.'
Lin Yu thought for a moment and decided to check the side path where Brules had appeared. Maybe he would find something there.
A short while later, the man and the wolf followed the fork in the path where Brules had appeared and arrived in another cavern.
Here, Lin Yu discovered a magnificent Divine Hall. Enshrined within was the statue of a heroic, majestic, giant black bear. The moment he laid eyes on it, Lin Yu felt an overwhelming urge to prostrate himself in worship.
Just as he was about to kneel, Phantom dragged him out of the Divine Hall.
"Fuck, that was freaky!" Lin Yu exclaimed, shaken. "Why was I about to worship a bear?"
Lin Yu's heart pounded with lingering fear. His intuition told him that if he had knelt, something would have happened that he'd regret for the rest of his life.
Afterward, Lin Yu found a stone tablet in a corner near the Divine Hall. The inscription on it explained everything.
This was the Divine Hall of the God of Wild Hunting. Anyone who worshipped inside would become one of the god's believers.
Then, by passing the trial of the treasure box and obtaining the gold chest, they could get the architectural blueprint for a Divine Hall of the God of Wild Hunting and recruit the gold-grade Temple Guard: the Holy Mountain Giant Bear.
Those who were not believers in the God of Wild Hunting would be unable to open the chest even if they managed to take it.
To open it, one had to come to this place and use an altar next to the Divine Hall to infuse it with energy. This would break the seal, allow the chest to be opened, and even restore its grade back to gold.
Lin Yu immediately placed the purple treasure box onto the altar beside the Divine Hall. A beam of golden light shot out from the hall, channeling through the altar and into the chest.
The treasure box instantly turned back to gold, while the Divine Hall, in turn, became visibly faded and worn.
The process seemed simple, but it would have been nearly impossible for anyone else. This place had been guarded by a top-tier boss from the beginner continent: a level 10, gold-grade Guardian.
Namely, Blazing Flame Guardian Brules. If it hadn't been so eager for glory that it chased Lin Yu into his territory, he would have had no way to defeat it.
Here in its own domain, it would have been impossible to kill it with just the beast pack's attacks.