Thinking of Maine's reaction at being carried away, Xie Sen couldn't help but feel anxious. He ordered the flying rhino to stop while commanding the watermelon vine to lift him up and carry him back.
As he was hoisted up, the flying rhino soared upward again, forcing his feet onto its back.
The flying rhino's gentle voice echoed in his mind, tinged with doubt: "Can you fly?"
"I can't," Xie Sen said. "Stop. I want to go back."
"Didn't you say you can recycle energy? There are too many beasts out there. I'll take you to a safe place."
"No," Xie Sen said hurriedly, worried that it would flap its wings and leave. "My friends are waiting for me there. They'll worry if I leave like this."
The flying rhino readily agreed: "Then I'll take your friends with me."
Maine's expression instantly turned extremely grim as he watched Xie Sen being carried away by the flying rhino. Holding on to the watermelon vine with one hand and tapping the cliff wall with his feet, he slid swiftly from the top to the bottom.
Long Teng waited for him to land, then immediately grabbed a watermelon vine and prepared to jump. Thinking of Bai Jiao, he squatted down and said, "I'll take you down with me."
Without hesitation, Bai Jiao jumped onto his back, and Long Teng carried him quickly down to the bottom.
Main was running in the direction Xie Sen had left when the flying rhino, which had taken Xie Sen away, returned and landed in front of him.
Xie Sen waved from the rhino's back, "Main!"
Main gave the rhino a cold look and jogged onto its back.
Xie Sen's voice echoed in his mind: "Your friend is unkind. I want to throw him down."
Xie Sen quickly said, "No, he's just worried about me."
After reaching Main, Long Teng and Bai Jiao ran directly towards Main. They had only taken a few steps when they heard heavy footsteps behind them, and the ground shook slightly.
Long Teng glanced back and saw that the contracted beasts and wild beasts that had been fighting were all following them, running in the same direction.
"Ahhh..." Even if he was incredibly resilient, he couldn't help but scream. He pulled at Bai Jiao, "Run!"
Maine jumped onto the flying rhino's back, holding Xie Sen's hand as he examined him. His expression softened slightly once he was sure Xie Sen was alright, but he tightened his grip slightly.
Xie Sen was about to say something when he heard Long Teng's cry. He glanced forward, his scalp tingling at the sight of the beasts. He recalled the ten-meter-long watermelon vine tied to a tree on the cliffside, letting it bind both of them simultaneously before hoisting them onto the flying rhino's back.
He urged the flying rhino, "Hurry!"
The flying rhino flapped its wings and soared, calling out to the nearby herd. Its voice was quiet but penetrating. Flying Eagle responded with a high-pitched cry, flying alongside it.
Giant Tiger Beast, Giant Elephant Beast, and the other high-level contracted beasts that couldn't fly were running in unison below, followed by a swarm of various beasts.
Maine sat on the flying rhino's back, one hand gripping its neck and the other holding Xie Sen firmly.
Xie Sen recalled the watermelon vine. Long Teng, clutching Bai Jiao's arm with his left hand, looked back and exclaimed excitedly, "How cool!"
Bai Jiao settled himself, gently stroking the Flying Rhino's back and examining it for a moment. "That looks like the Flying Rhino, the S-rank contracted beast that disappeared during the heyday."
The Flying Rhino said in Xie Sen's mind, "It's just gone into seclusion, it's not gone."
Bai Jiao then looked uncertain, "But the Flying Rhino's horn should be silver-gray, not red."
Xie Sen understood; it had to do with the red energy. Sure
enough, the Flying Rhino said in his mind, "My horn has changed color since the day I gained the energy."
Xie Sen pointed at the horn and said to Bai Jiao, "It's the Flying Rhino. The changes in the forest are all due to its horn."
He began to wonder. Red energy could give the Flying Rhino strength and even significantly increase its intelligence. Why would it allow him to withdraw its energy so easily?
Thinking of this, he quickly summoned Adam in his mind: "Adan, how exactly do I recover the energy?"
Adam said, "Cut off its horn, then you hold it in your hand, and I can absorb it."
What? Xie Sen's mouth curled in shock: "Are you kidding?"
Generally, horned animals use their horns as important defensive and offensive weapons. In the forest, not having horns is like committing suicide!
"Of course not," Adam denied seriously.
Xie Sen said, "Is there no other way? Can I hold its horn and absorb it directly?"
"No, recovering energy from dead objects is the safest. If I recover it directly, the red energy will subconsciously absorb energy from the animal during the recovery process, and it will die."
Xie Sen couldn't help but worry. How could he make such a request?
After hearing Xie Sen's explanation, Long Teng craned his neck to examine the Flying Rhino's horn. "Isn't its horn incredibly powerful?"
Bai Jiao replied, "Yes, it's the Flying Rhino's most important weapon. It's an omnivorous, mostly herbivorous contracted beast, but it can hold its own against carnivorous contracted beasts like the Flying Tiger, thanks to its horn."
He paused, "However, its horn is different from usual. If these animals are after its horn, then its horn must be even more powerful than usual."
Xie Sen glanced at him in admiration. "Indeed."
Long Teng grew even more curious. "I really want to touch it!"
As they were talking, Maine suddenly warned, "Someone's there."
Xie Sen followed his gaze, looking toward the river ahead to the right. He saw a massive animal swimming upstream, four people perched on its back. It was too far away to discern its features.
As the Flying Rhino was about to fly over them, Xie Sen heard it let out a puzzled "Huh!" and then descended, finally hovering not far from them.
"It's you!"
"Oh my god, a flying rhinoceros!"
The four people in the water looked in amazement at the flying rhinoceros and the three
men on its back, Xie Sen. Xie Sen was also a little surprised; he had recognized two of the four.
One was Aqi, the S-rank contracted beast master who had accompanied Rui Luo during the league, and the other was the young master of the Qiao family, whom he had met at the birthday party.
All four looked grim, almost identical, with bloodshot eyes and dark circles. Their clothes were mostly torn, revealing white, bloody bandages underneath. They were clearly injured.
After Aqi and the others' shock, they looked horrified at the massive herd behind them. The young master of the Qi family couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"
Long Teng asked curiously, "Why are they asking that? Haven't we met before?"
Bai Jiao chuckled at him, "They're asking something different than you think. They're probably just expressing surprise."
"Oh," Long Teng rubbed the back of his head and smiled, not sure if he understood.
"Master Qi, look! A giant tiger beast!" One of the chestnut-haired boys nudged Master Qi with his arm, pointing at the giant tiger beast running behind him.
Master Qi's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had seen some incomparable treasure.
Xie Sen glanced back, then paused again. The beast he had previously left behind was about to catch up.
He asked the Flying Rhino: "Why did you stop?"
"There is a contracted master of the Flying Rhino," the Flying Rhino replied, "I have to take him with me, maybe he will be useful."
Xie Sen looked at the four people, and his gaze finally fell on Aqi: "Are you the master of the Flying Rhino?"
Aqi nodded, his eyes fixed on the Flying Rhino, and said in a deep voice: "Yes."
"Can you go with us?" Xie Sen said.
Aqi's eyes lit up, but he didn't agree immediately. He clenched his fists and looked at Qi Shao. Qi Shao said, "We came here together. Why don't we go with you?"
Maine said coldly, "They can, but you can't."
Xie Sen coughed awkwardly. Qi Shao was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "I don't have to ride on the flying rhino."
The chestnut-haired boy summoned a giant goose. Qi Shao pointed at Aqi and the gray-haired man and said, "We'll ride on the giant goose. Please take Aqi and Ali with you."
Xie Sen glanced back and said to the flying rhino, "They're almost catching up."
The flying rhino descended again and flew in front of Aqi. Xie Sen said, "Hurry and jump on."
Aqi and Ali jumped onto the flying rhino's back with a swift movement. The flying rhino flapped its wings and flew forward swiftly.
Aqi's palms trembled slightly as he touched the flying rhino's hide, his eyes red. Ali patted his shoulder, "Don't be sad. You're very lucky."
Xie Sen gave the two a strange look, not quite understanding their reaction.
Long Teng, with his usual hearty laugh, patted Aqi's other shoulder. "Isn't that cool? Super exciting? Hahaha..."
Bai Jiao rubbed his brow helplessly, and Xie Sen shook his head and sighed.
No matter how you looked at it, Aqi's eyes weren't red with excitement, were they?
But his interruption had a positive effect. Aqi's expression softened, a faint smile breaking through his otherwise serious face. "Very cool."
The flying rhino carried them forward, occasionally turning. Twenty minutes later, they passed a mountain path about two kilometers long. The path, wedged between two peaks, was less than two meters wide, making it a barrier for most beasts.
Aside from the flying eagle beast, the giant tiger beast and the giant elephant beast were unable to follow and fled down the mountainside.
After crossing the path and flying for about five minutes, the flying rhino beast finally came to a stop in a canyon surrounded by mountains.
The canyon was densely covered with vegetation, with no tall trees, providing excellent visibility and a secluded location.
Maine and Long Teng jumped directly from the flying rhino's back. Xie Sen walked to the edge, feeling a pang of fear at the drop of more than three meters. This was practically like jumping from a second floor.
Maine held out his hand: "I'll catch you."
Xie Sen blushed slightly. He glanced back, feeling awkward. Even Bai Jiao, the only female, had jumped straight down, and he was still hesitating.
He looked at Maine and shook his head: "No, step back a little. I'll hit you."
Maine raised an eyebrow, but instead of retreating, he took a step forward.
The flying rhino, considerately, lowered itself to allow Xie Sen to jump down. However, it had overestimated Xie Sen.
The moment it lowered itself, its body tilted. Xie Sen, who had been standing on the edge, was also tilted. Without even a second thought, he fell straight down.
The moment the weightlessness hit him, Xie Sen screamed, too busy to even think about summoning vines for help.
However, the expected pain never came. Maine caught him firmly and held him horizontally in her arms.
Xie Sen grabbed Maine's shoulder and asked worriedly, "Is your arm okay?" He was worried the impact had strained Maine's arm.
"It's okay," Maine's eyes softened at his concern. "You're very light."
Xie Sen jumped off him. "I weigh at least a hundred pounds, not light at all."
"Sorry, I didn't know you were going to fall. Luckily your friend caught you," the flying rhinoceros said.
Xie Sen coughed dryly and mentally replied, "It's okay." It was a bit embarrassing, but thankfully the others didn't laugh at him.
He walked directly in front of the flying rhinoceros. Its eyes were large, black, and round, bright and clear, and its expression was gentle, easily endearing.
He raised his hand and gently touched its horn. Instantly, he felt a surge of intense energy. At the same time, the temperature of the peony on his shoulder rapidly increased, as if it were a substance, flowing through his arm and into the horn.
The moment the heat reached the rhino's horn, he felt a surge of energy surging toward its arms. The flying rhino he saw had transformed. No longer a body of flesh and skin, it was now composed of countless red dots, now uncontrollably swarming toward its tip—the horn.
"Get your hands off me!"
"Moo!!!"
Adam's cry and the rhino's howl came almost simultaneously. Xie Sen instinctively withdrew his hand, but someone grabbed him by the waist and dragged him back several steps. The
flying rhino leaped up from the ground, thrashing and howling in place, shaking the ground.
Maine's face paled. If he had been a step slower, Xie Sen would have been knocked down and trampled by the flying rhino.
Xie Sen noticed that Maine's hand was trembling slightly. He was stunned for a moment, and his heart moved slightly. He turned his head to look at Maine and smiled at him: "I'm fine."
Maine stared at him, his voice tense: "Do you know how dangerous you were just now?" He put his arms around his waist and gradually tightened his grip, lowered his head, and said in a low voice, "You said you would stay with me forever!"
"It was my mistake just now." He whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Asen, are you okay?" Long Teng ran to Xie Sen and asked nervously, Bai Jiao also looked at him with a worried look on his face.
Xie Sen smiled at them. "It's okay."
A'dan spoke in his head, "You can't touch its horns. The system senses the energy and will absorb it uncontrollably. Meanwhile, the red energy will absorb its energy."
Xie Sen stared at the frantic flying rhinoceros, feeling guilty. "What do we do now? It looks distressed."
"You can soothe it," A'dan said. "Have you forgotten? You carry the aura of nature."
Xie Sen patted Maine's hand. "Let go." Maine
stared at him intently. "What are you going to do?"
Xie Sen didn't hide it. "I'm going to soothe it."
"You can soothe it?" A'qi, who had been looking at the flying rhinoceros anxiously, glanced over at him. "What's wrong with it? It looks distressed."
"No," Maine said. "You can't approach it now. It's too dangerous."
The flying rhinoceros was enormous, leaping wildly. Fortunately, they were only jumping near where it lay, not charging forward. Otherwise, they would all be in danger.
To approach it would be tantamount to committing suicide.
Xie Sen patted the back of Maine's hand soothingly, and contacted the Flying Rhino in his mind: "I'm so sorry, I apologize for my recklessness. Can you hear me, Flying Rhino?"
He thought for a while: "Moo~Moo~Flying Rhino, can you hear me? If you can, lie down, I can help you."
The Flying Rhino did not respond, but it slowly stopped jumping and lay down. Its body did not move, but it banged its head against the ground. Obviously, it was in pain.
Xie Sen pulled down Maine's hand and held it: "If you're worried, come with me."
Maine didn't stop him this time. He followed him closer to the flying rhinoceros, and Aqi followed closely behind them.
Xie Sen raised his hand and touched the Flying Rhino's slightly bulging belly, exuding kindness while communicating with it: "I'm sorry, are you feeling better now?"
The Flying Rhino's head banged against the ground less and less frequently, and its voice was much weaker than before: "You are not human. Humans don't have this kind of natural aura. I felt it when you were on my back just now."
Xie Sen said: "You can think of me as a plant-type beast master. I'm really sorry about what happened just now."
"This is not the first time," the Flying Rhino said. "When I felt the energy just now, it was much more uncomfortable than before. My head felt like it was about to explode, and my whole body was burning. I only felt comfortable when I was constantly washed by water."
Xie Sen suddenly realized: "So you stopped at the waterfall?"
"Yes," the Flying Rhino's voice deepened. "I hurt many beasts along the way, and many contracted beasts also sensed the energy and found me."
"Initially, we found that being close to energy can make us more intelligent and warlike, but we can control the urge to fight, but the beasts can't."
"They want to snatch the energy, and in the process of snatching, they even kill each other. For the first two days, the forest was like hell."
"Later, the contracted beasts reached a consensus to protect the energy. However, we discovered that while our intelligence would still increase after being near the energy for a long time, we gradually lost control of our bellicose impulses, and it took a toll on our spirits."
"Also, because of the energy, many unprecedented plants grew in the forest, some of which were poisonous, and some beasts accidentally died from ingesting them."
"We realized that if this continued, the energy could bring about a catastrophic disaster for the forest. Ultimately, we decided to find a way to destroy the energy, but we just couldn't find a solution,"
Xie Sen thought to himself. No wonder the Flying Rhino reacted with relief, not wariness, when he heard him say he could reclaim the energy.
"You should reclaim the energy now!" the Flying Rhino said.
Xie Sen hesitated for a moment: "The energy is in your horn..." He paused, unable to finish the words.
The flying rhinoceros said, "Do you want to cut it off? I just felt it. If you absorb it directly, I will die."
Xie Sen looked at it in surprise: "You are so smart."
The flying rhinoceros said, "This is the wisdom given to me by energy. Besides, the IQ of S-level contracted beasts is very high. Humans nowadays often underestimate us."
Its voice was gentle and steady: "Cut it off, the forest should return to peace."
Xie Sen stroked his hide gently: "Then what about you?"
"You don't have to worry about me. The flying rhinoceros's horn is renewable and can be regenerated in two years at most." The flying rhinoceros seemed to chuckle, "I like you, you are a friendly friend of the contracted beast."
Xie Sen laughed. He felt the kindness and tenderness of the flying rhinoceros: "You will be in danger in the forest without the rhinoceros horn."
"Who said I want to stay in the forest?"
Xie Sen was stunned, and suddenly thought: "Yes, you can go out with me, I will take care of you."
"Maybe I don't need to trouble you," the Flying Rhino said, "if he has the ability to make me form a contract."
Aqi was stunned when he saw the Flying Rhino suddenly turned its head and looked at him, then subconsciously looked at Xie Sen: "What does this mean?"
Xie Sen looked at Aqi: "Do you want to form a contract with it?"
Aqi's eyes were firm: "Of course, this is," his voice choked, "This is the dream of our Yan family, for generations."
Xie Sen was stunned. He didn't expect his answer to be so profound.
The flying rhinoceros sighed softly: "You humans always regret."
Xie Sen was puzzled. The flying rhinoceros said again: "That's great. Let him do it. Cut off my rhinoceros horn first, and then let me see his ability."
Xie Sen touched its hide and looked at Yan Qi: "You cut off its rhinoceros horn, and then show it your ability, and see if it can agree to form a contract with you."
"What?" Yan Qi's face changed suddenly, "No!"
"You're crazy!" The chestnut-haired boy who followed Yan Qi glared at Xie Sen, "Aqi's ancestor made this mistake, causing all the flying rhinoceroses to disappear overnight. After so many generations, they finally met one. Do you want his family and the flying rhinoceros to become enemies?" The chestnut-haired boy's chest heaved violently
and he took a step forward: "Their family is full of flying rhinoceros owners! Don't you know how important contracted beasts are to beast owners? If you make the same mistake again this time, you don't know when you can meet a flying rhinoceros again!"
Maine stared at him coldly and warned: "Back off."
The boy was about to say something when he was pulled back by Qi Shao and took a few steps back.
Xie Sen hadn't expected there to be more to the story, and couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"
The Flying Rhino sighed, "After the orcs became humans, society developed rapidly, and technology became increasingly advanced. For a period of time, life was peaceful, and the existence of contracted beasts lost its most important meaning for some people—combat." "This
is especially true for high-level contracted beasts. Lower-level contracted beasts can be pets, but high-level contracted beasts aren't even suitable pets. Later, powerful families came up with the idea of having high-level contracted beasts fight as a form of entertainment."
"My ancestor seriously injured a contracted beast in a fight. The beast master of that contracted beast was very powerful and demanded that the ancestor's beast master cut off its rhino horn."
Xie Sen's heart tightened. "Did he do it?"
"Yes," the Flying Rhino whispered, "The ancestors ended the pact by ending their lives. At the same time, all the tribes returned to the forest and no longer made pacts with humans. Humans became ordinary, and we enjoyed solitude." The Flying Rhino
said, "It was God's will that I met him in this situation. My mental state is not good, and making a pact is good for me. I will give him a chance. If he is capable enough, I will make a pact with him. Their family ended their relationship with our tribe in the same way, and now they will start again in the same way."
Xie Sen was shocked. He looked at Yan Qi with an ugly expression: "This is what it meant."
Yan Qi clenched his fists, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged: "How is it possible? What will it do after it has no rhino horn?"
Xie Sen said, "Its rhino horn has changed and must be cut. If you can't make a pact with it, I will take care of it."
"No, I will take care of it!" Yan Qi said decisively.
"That depends on your ability. First, you need to cut off its horn,"
Xie Sen said, mentally asking A Dan, "How much should I cut? Although it can regenerate, the less the better!"
A Dan said, "Just lower the tip a little. The energy is concentrated at the sharpest point."
Xie Sen breathed a sigh of relief and waited for Yan Qi's answer.
Yan Qi walked over to the flying rhino: "Do you really want me to do this?"
The flying rhino nodded. Yan Qi was silent for a moment, then took out a sharp knife from his backpack. The flying rhino rested its head on the ground to lower the horn.
Xie Sen hurried over and gestured according to A Dan's instructions. The length was about ten centimeters: "This much will be enough!"
Yan Qi's expression softened slightly. He gripped the knife handle tightly and stood still for a while. His eyes became firm. He raised his hand and cut off the rhino horn with a neat movement. When he took it in his hand, his expression changed and he looked at it in surprise.
Xie Sen held out his hand: "Give it to me."
Yan Qi hesitated, but the flying rhino raised its head and knocked him toward Xie Sen. He stumbled two steps, staring at Xie Sen in surprise before handing him the rhino horn.
A Dan exclaimed excitedly, "Excellent!"
Xie Sen felt the temperature of the peony on his right shoulder rise. Heat from the horn in his palm reached his shoulder, a surge of energy emanating from the horn.
Soon, the peony calmed down, and the red horn turned silver-gray.
He thought for a moment, then handed the horn to Yan Qi, "Keep it as a souvenir!"
Yan Qi's expression shifted slightly, but he took it cautiously and carefully placed it in his backpack.
The flying rhino stood up and called out to Yan Qi, a deep, bellicose cry.
Qi Shao and the others' expressions changed instantly, a mixture of joy and worry.
Maine, holding Xie Sen, retreated, leaving only the flying rhino and Yan Qi battling in the open space.
Soon, a layer of sweat broke out on Yan Qi's forehead, his cheeks tensed, and his face gradually flushed. After a moment, his face turned pale, his legs gave way, and he fell to his knees.
"Moo~" the flying rhinoceros called out to Xie Sen. Xie Sen didn't quite understand what it meant, so he walked closer and stroked its belly.
"He's pretty good." The voice of the flying rhinoceros came from his head. Xie Sen was surprised. Hadn't the energy been absorbed?
Adam explained: "It was affected by the energy. The energy is now in you. If you get close to it, you can communicate with it."
At this time, an eagle cry came from the sky. He looked up and saw the flying eagle hovering in the air, looking to the right.
After a while, the giant tiger and two giant elephants appeared from the right and ran directly towards the flying rhinoceros.
Xie Sen had a flash of inspiration and blinked: "According to you, these are also affected by the energy. If I get close to them, I can communicate with them?"
"Yes." Adam said affirmatively.
Xie Sen looked at the flying eagle, then at the giant tiger and the giant elephant. Why do you think it's a bit cool?