Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 171 Secondary Pet

“So this is Sector 92, right?”

People carefully checked the surrounding arid land and realized that whatever monster that lived there had to be pretty tough.

“Time to get serious, you all.” Nie Chengkong soon did his job as a leader by assigning different tasks. “Zhou Jing, you’re in charge of surveillance from the sky. Yuelin, support him from the ground. The others shall help with maintaining security accordingly. Mister Mo, I heard that you have a Terrestrial Tracker under your command that is capable of detecting the faintest sound within 30 kilometers. Can we have your help just in case?”

The old man glanced at him and nodded.

“Of course.”

He opened his pet space and released a creature that looked like a cheetah with really fluffy paws. But on closer look, that wasn’t fur covering its claws, but swaying embers. It also had a long snout like that of a tapir and spots all over its skin that looked like small eyeballs.

This was a rare, dual-type Astral Pet that was considered both fire-type and earth-type. It wasn’t very good at fighting, but was still valuable for its superior senses that allowed people to identify what was happening some distance away. The other members were quite surprised to see such an extraordinary pet joining them. This Terrestrial Tracker was no less useful than a powerful attacker in their case. A dragon-type Astral Pet would still die if it accidentally stumbled into the territory of a Beast King. But with the Terrestrial Tracker’s help, they could well avoid that.

Upon receiving an order, the beast dug a hole in the ground and dived down, before it refilled the opening to cover its tracks.

Everyone looked relieved and more confident after that.

Meanwhile, Zhou Jing and Guo Yueling also summoned their scouts.

Zhou Jing’s pet was a Hundred-Eye Eagle, which was relatively rare but could still be found among many professional settler teams. It was too timid to fight effectively, but an adult Hundred-Eye Eagle could precisely tell how many ants were crawling on the floor while hovering several kilometers high in the air, which made it a brilliant lookout.

Despite its name, it didn’t actually have a hundred eyes. Though it still looked rather creepy with two pairs of eyes.

Guo Yuelin summoned a common pet called the Ground Shaker, which was… average. It was a “better than nothing” option, but that was about it.

Nie Chengkong took out the treasure map from his backpack and looked around the area.

“We’re currently standing at the edge of the designated area, while the safest route we can use is… there, to the southeast.”

Su Ping tried to find what he could remember about this “dragon scale land” and frowned. Then he carefully took a peek at Nie Chengkong’s map.

He had already searched this “section” fully so he didn’t need the map to know how to get around. The map had shown him many elements he was familiar with.

Which means I also know where the treasures are hidden…

He discovered many valuable items whilst exploring the dragon scales, though he was unable to acquire any of them. But now… things were different.

Something in his mind urged him to leave this team immediately and start exploring all by himself. It happened that he knew about even better treasures to be found in other sectors.

“We should move as fast as possible then.”

He had decided to get the job done pronto so he could satisfy Ye Chenshan’s request and be free to explore on his own. For the moment, he didn’t wish to break his promise and put all these people at risk.

The other helpers would agree, though they didn’t like it when it was Su Ping the one offering that suggestion. It was as if a man with zero idea of what he was dealing with wished to give commands.

Nie Chengkong nodded. “Everyone, have your combat pets at the ready as well, so we can fend off threats the moment we see them.”

“Yes, captain.”

No one objected. Apart from attacking enemies, their pets would also be their first line of defense.

Following everyone’s lead, Su Ping summoned the Dark Dragon Hound.

For the moment, he considered Little Skeleton to be his “main pet,” the Inferno Dragon to be his secondary pet, while the hound and the Purple Python all sat behind. He wasn’t going to use Little Skeleton or the Inferno Dragon because the team was still far from the core and the most dangerous area.

Besides, the Inferno Dragon was a definite walking beacon that would attract enemies to them due to its size, even though it somehow knew how to stay low-profile, which was rather strange for a dragon-type creature.

Luo Guxue summoned her Holy Flame Bird, which had already recovered from the wounds it sustained when battling the Magical Corpse Beast. Moreover, it seemed it had reached the middle phase of the eighth rank after that encounter. If they were to encounter a Magical Corpse Beast again, this bird would be strong enough to get Luo Guxue to safety.

Ye Chenshan’s combat pet was an Azure Lizard, a ninth-rank rock-type pet. Although, it was currently at the eighth rank since it had yet to reach full maturity.

Also, it was the first time for Su Ping to see Ye Chenshan’s pet.

Each member had been assigned a task; Zhou Jing and Guo Yuelin were responsible for keeping watch over the area, Ye Chenshan’s lizard would be the first one to engage coming enemies, Luo Guxue’s bird would use large-scale attacks to pin down groups of targets, whereas Nie Chengkong’s Fallen Priest would be the “executioner”.

The Fallen Priest was a ninth-rank demon-type pet that looked like an eight-meter-tall pilgrim with a really dangerous look. Those extra teeth and mouths grown on its head sure helped it live up to its name.

According to Nie Chengkong, this creature was so bloodthirsty that not even the might of a dragon would scare it. Furthermore, the Fallen Priest had a humanoid body capable of mastering some neat fighting techniques. That huge cudgel held in one of its hands pretty much proved it. Nie Chengkong said he had spent a crazy amount of money getting that weapon.

The old man’s pet was also a giant, ninth-rank demon-type pet called the Death Scythe. Apart from many sharp blades grown all over its limbs, it also had many small tentacles attached to its body that were capable of releasing deadly poison.

As for the muscular helper named Chen, he took out a ninth-rank Earthen Dragon, one of the sturdiest pets known to people.

Naturally, people’s pets were also signs that showed their personal strength. They thought that Zhou Jing and Guo Yuelin would show them the weakest pets since they were scouts rather than fighters. However, as far as they could see at this moment, Su Ping’s Dark Dragon Hound had won the “weakling medal” instead.

A Dark Dragon Hound was pretty good among sixth-rank Astral Pets, or maybe seventh, if it had somehow learned rare abilities. But it was basically useless to the team right then.

The old man and Chen gave Nie Chengkong an “is this guy serious?” look.

Nie Chengkong showed an embarrassed smile as he asked, “Mister Su, this… isn’t your best, right? I heard that you have a special skeleton under your command.”

Su Ping nodded. “This guy’s my secondary. I’ll summon the skeleton when necessary. I did this because the hound has a sharp nose that can help us tell danger. It can fight pretty well against common enemies too.”

Nie Chengkong remained silent.

Zhou Jing frowned at those words. “Mister Su, this isn’t a child’s play. You can leave the security work to us.” Guo Yueling followed up by saying, “He’s right. With Mister Mo’s Terrestrial Tracker, we won’t let a single mosquito slip closer.”

Su Ping wouldn’t agree with them.

Truth be told, he wasn’t so sure about the reliability of those scouting pets. As far as he could see, those three had nothing to see through certain camouflage known by special monsters that were good at stealth. On the contrary, his Dark Dragon Hound had learned a handy ninth-rank detection skill while evolving. When exploring the dragon scale lands, there was almost nothing that could escape the hound’s keen sense.

Luo Guxue noticed the dangerous silence and did her part to lighten the mood. “Uh, guys, I believe Mister Su has his reasons. We have enough combat pets on standby, so he should have enough time to add another one if something shows up.”

Nie Chengkong had more things to say but decided not to further worsen the relationship among the team when they had not started their expedition yet.

“Fine. We’ll proceed as is.”

Deep down, Nie Chengkong had completely lost faith in Su Ping.

Ye Chenshan sighed but didn’t say anything. Su Ping was his life’s savior, but he couldn’t oppose his captain either.

Old Mo sneered. “I suggest you all stop babysitting this guy. My Terrestrial Tracker alone can detect most enemies from a safe distance unless we run into a Beast King. And if we do see a Beast King, nothing will save us.”

The other members saw the old man getting angry for real and everyone tried comforting him.

Su Ping felt a bit pissed off since people kept blaming him when he was doing his job just fine, which even embarrassed his friend Luo Guxue. But before he could say anything else, something stopped him. “Wait, monsters closing in.”

“Huh??”

People were shocked by those sudden words at first, but everyone except Luo Guxue shrugged it off when they found out that it was Su Ping who had sent that alert.