Chapter 33: Level 99 Beast Tamer

And the young man responsible for his increasingly deteriorating mental condition was far too busy celebrating to notice.

Zishan had gained another twenty Levels since reaching Level 30 earlier, earning sixty additional distributable Stat Points. Since he still hadn’t allocated his previous eighty-seven points, his available total had become even more ridiculous.

[Distributable Stat Points: 147]

He couldn’t help grinning as he examined the number.

’HAHAHAHA! ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN FUCKING POINTS!’

He briefly considered distributing them, but movement among the approaching Magic Beasts caught his attention.

Several creatures had abruptly abandoned their previous formations, making Zishan frown as he examined their movements. ’That’s strange.’

For the past several minutes, he had noticed that the horde was behaving far more intelligently than an ordinary group of rampaging Magic Beasts should have been capable of behaving.

’Is someone controlling them?’

The larger creatures had gradually begun avoiding the most heavily burning portions of the battlefield. Several groups of Ridgefang Hounds had even started spreading apart whenever Zishan gathered substantial quantities of Fire Mana around his hand.

At first, he had assumed that the beasts were simply learning to recognize the danger, but there was something suspicious about their movements. Multiple groups occasionally changed direction at exactly the same time.

Whenever the western defenders concentrated too many soldiers in one location, another group of beasts would suddenly attempt to force its way through a different section.

Then, without any apparent warning, several creatures completely abandoned that coordination.

Two Ridgefang Hounds suddenly began attacking each other, while one of the larger beasts charged directly into another creature that had been moving beside it. A separate group of hounds abandoned the opening they had been approaching and scattered in different directions.

Zishan raised his eyebrows. ’What the fuck?’

He watched the creatures for several more seconds.

Then, almost as suddenly as their coordination had disappeared, the beasts began moving together again. Several changed direction simultaneously. Another group resumed its advance toward the western barricade.

Zishan narrowed his eyes. ’That’s really, really strange...’

He scanned the battlefield, searching for anything that might explain the unusual behavior.

At first, he couldn’t identify anything particularly suspicious beyond the obvious fact that an enormous number of Magic Beasts were currently attempting to annihilate all of them.

Then, he noticed a young man standing on the remains of a damaged defensive structure farther behind the horde.

His uniform was unfamiliar, but the insignia attached to his shoulder attracted Zishan’s attention. It was just like Corporal Tagum’s, but its design looked a little different.

’A Corporal?’

The young man appeared to be in his early twenties. His dark hair had been pulled away from his face, while a long military coat hung over the standard uniform of the Kingdom of Degenerates.

More importantly, thin strands of pale Mana extended from his hands before disappearing among the Magic Beasts surrounding him.

Zishan activated Appraisal.

[Name: Larper Forteza]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 99]

[Military Rank: Corporal]

[Mana Affinity: Taming]

[Magic Specialization: Taming Magic]

His eyes widened.

’LEVEL NINETY-NINE?! MOREOVER, WHAT’S WITH THE NAME? WHAT DO YOU MEAN LARPER?!’

Moreover, the young man was only one Level away from reaching his First Ascent!

He was apparently at the same Rank as Corporal Tagum, although Zishan had absolutely no intention of finding out what a Level 99 Beast Tamer could do if he let the bastard attack him without resistance.

Zishan examined the strange strands of Mana extending from Larper’s hands toward the surrounding creatures.

Then, he looked toward the horde.

His expression gradually changed.

’Oh. So that’s why these bastards have been moving together!’

[The Dumb Host just figured it out? It just proves that the System is right about the Host being Dumb.]

’Shut up! I had an idea about it, but it wasn’t confirmed.’

And judging by the considerable number of Mana connections surrounding the young Corporal, he seemed like he was extraordinarily talented.

Larper Forteza was regarded as one of the Kingdom of Degenerates’ most promising young Beast Tamers. Despite his age, he had developed sufficient control over his Taming Magic to direct multiple groups of Magic Beasts simultaneously, allowing him to coordinate large-scale attacks without personally joining every engagement.

Naturally, controlling so many creatures required considerable concentration.

Under ordinary circumstances, that wouldn’t have been particularly difficult for Larper. His beasts were significantly stronger than most of the soldiers defending Forward Medical Section Three, and he had expected the attack to overwhelm the western position before the enemy could organize an effective resistance.

Fortune did not favor him as a certain white-haired bastard had decided to turn the entire battlefield into a fucking huge bonfire.

Larper had already lost far more beasts than anticipated, and every time he attempted to reorganize the remaining creatures, another enormous wave of Fire Magic would suddenly destroy a portion of his formation. He had initially assumed that the Olmost forces possessed an experienced Fire Mage stationed near their western barricade, only to discover that the person responsible was apparently an ordinary young Soldier who repeatedly drank Mana Recovery Potions before unleashing another absurdly powerful spell.

Larper’s expression darkened.

He had spent considerable time subduing and organizing the beasts currently participating in the attack. Several of them had required extensive use of Taming Magic before they could be trusted to cooperate with other creatures, particularly the larger and more aggressive species.

Watching them die in such enormous numbers was becoming increasingly difficult to tolerate.

Then, he noticed that the white-haired Soldier had suddenly stopped casting and was staring directly toward his position.

Their eyes met.

Zishan grinned.

’HAHAHAHA! GET READY, MOTHERFUCKER! EVEN IF YOU’RE LEVEL 99, I AIN’T AFRAID OF YOU!’

He looked at the Sergeant, who was currently helping several soldiers prevent another Gravethorn Bull from destroying the central opening.

"SERGEANT! THAT BASTARD’S CONTROLLING THE BEASTS!" Zishan shouted, pointing toward the enemy standing behind the horde. The Sergeant followed the direction of his hand and noticed several creatures responding to the young man’s movements in perfect coordination.

A Beast Tamer. And judging by the number of creatures currently following his commands, an extraordinarily powerful one at that!

Zishan grabbed his potion satchel from behind the barricade and slung it over his shoulder.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, WALKER!" the Sergeant shouted, but Zishan had already begun moving away from the western barricade. He wanted to intercept the bastard before another wave of beasts could organize itself, and the thought that doing so might also earn him additional EXP made the decision considerably more attractive.

"WHAT?! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!" he shouted over his shoulder while continuing to run.

"SOLDIER WALKER! GET BACK HERE!"

A wounded beast suddenly charged toward the central opening, forcing the Sergeant to return his attention to the immediate danger. He swore loudly before ordering the soldiers nearest him to intercept it, although he couldn’t help noticing that several groups of Magic Beasts were already changing direction to pursue Zishan.

If the enemy Beast Tamer was redirecting his creatures toward one exceptionally annoying Soldier, there would be fewer of them available to attack the medical station. The Sergeant raised his sword and shouted for the defenders to take advantage of the opening.

"EVERYONE! CONCENTRATE ON THE BEASTS! DON’T LET THEM REACH THE SECOND DEFENSIVE LINE!"

The soldiers followed his orders while Zishan continued advancing toward the enemy Corporal.

Naturally, Larper had absolutely no intention of allowing the bastard responsible for destroying so many of his creatures to approach him without resistance.

Several Ridgefang Hounds intercepted Zishan.

One lunged toward his shoulder while another attempted to attack his legs. Zishan shifted sideways to avoid the first creature before driving his sword toward the second, forcing it to retreat as Fire Mana gathered around his free hand.

Their master had apparently neglected to inform the hounds that Zishan was carrying an unreasonable quantity of Mana Recovery Potions. Despite the weight of his satchel, his movements showed no sign of slowing down.

"WILDFIRE REQUIEM!"

Several magical flames erupted among the approaching creatures.

The resulting explosions forced the remaining beasts to scatter, allowing Zishan to continue advancing through the damaged battlefield.

Larper’s expression became increasingly unpleasant.

He strengthened several of his Taming connections, ordering another group of creatures to surround the approaching Soldier.