Chapter 73: Chapter 73 The Wonderful Adventure of the Orange Cat
Chapter 73 -73 The Wonderful Adventure of the Orange Cat
HumanityâŠ
Truly a nostalgic word.
The orange cat gracefully strolled through the forest, paying no heed to the fearful eyes hiding in the shadows.
Unlike the other three Beast Kings, it had no tribe, no family.
It was always a lone cat, unrestrained and carefree, wandering through the mountains all day.
Its fame was also accumulated in this manner.
*Was it lonely? Indeed, a bit.*
*Otherwise, it wouldnât have a friend like the monkey.*
*Even after all these years, it occasionally still thought of its former owner.*
*A surge of regret rose in its heart.*
*If it hadnât left home in a fit of pique back thenâŠ*
*If it hadnât taken that nap and returned earlierâŠ*
*She might not have died, wouldnât have been taken by those peopleâŠ*
*She was already struggling with mobility, even her parents abandoned her, leaving her with nothing but itâŠ*
*In the past, when it first opened its eyes, it was abandoned and wandered the streets.*
It was her who protected it.
It still remembered that it was a rainy day when a clumsy dog wanted to make it its lunch.
A little girl chased away that clumsy dog, picked it up, and begged her parents to adopt it.
Her parents agreed.
And so, it became part of her family, and for the first time, it had a home.
For the first time, it had a nameâJu.
She took care of it every day at home, played with it, and even other cats envied that it had an owner who was always home.
Every night when it went for a walk with its owner, its head held high.
That was its happiest time.
Untilâ
The mutation beganâŠ
One day after it woke up, everything was different.
It found itself suddenly much smarter and had gained a magical ability.
Full of excitement, it was about to tell its owner, but when it returned home.
Her parents were gone, leaving only the crying owner.
It learned everything from the ownerâs mouth.
She was ill from the first day she met it; it was incurable. Thatâs why she could always stay at home and play with it.
So her parents agreed to adopt it, to give her a companion, to make up for her emotional lack.
But after the mutation, everything outside became chaotic.
Even they couldnât protect themselves, let alone take a burden.
So she was abandoned.
In the large house, there was only one man and one cat left.
She had protected it when it needed help the most, and now, at the time when the owner needed help the most, it was time for it to protect the owner.
It thought so and told her about its changes.
It still remembered, when it first spoke, the owner was both surprised and delighted, holding it in her arms.
Relying on its ability, it and the owner continued to live well and happily.
Every day it found food and returned to see the ownerâs surprised expression and hear her praise, which was truly satisfying.
Until the owner was targeted.
It killed the intruders who tried to break into their small home.
But when it returned to the owner, it did not receive her praise.
That was the first time it had a conflict with the owner, but it didnât expect it to be the last timeâŠ
The owner thought it shouldnât have killed them, that killing was wrong.
But it was protecting her!
*Why couldnât she understand?*
That was its first departure from home, and it didnât expect it.
This departure meant it would never have a home again.
In one night, it figured out, with its ability, it could withstand any enemy it encountered.
If not, it could still flee with the owner; wherever they were together was home.
Indeed, the ownerâs smile was the most important.
It vowed, it decided to stop the killing.
But when it returned home the next day, all it found was devastation, and the owner, filthy and unable to stand upâŠ
Her body was still warm, and the blood on the ground hadnât yet dried.
If only it had returned a little earlier, a little earlierâŠ
The vow lasted less than a day.
It traced the scent to a human settlement, where those who left the scent at home were standing with two people it knew.
It turned the place into a sea of blood, but there were also human strongmen at the settlement.
After a fight, it fled into the mountains and became the Beast King here.
If only it had been a little earlier back thenâŠ
*Perhaps now its owner would still be by its sideâŠ*
*Still gently rubbing its head, playing with itâŠ*
*MaybeâŠ*
*How did it suddenly become so sentimentalâŠ*
*So much time has passed; the dead cannot return to life,*
Huh? Was there a figure over there just now?
The orange cat suddenly vanished, appearing behind a tree, tilting its head curiously.
âMeow?â (Could it be that the cat was wrong?)
*Feeling doubtful inside, the orange cat indeed found no trace of anyone, as if the figure it saw was just a figment of its imagination.*
*Strange, after a fruitless search, the orange cat could only temporarily give up.*
It was approaching dusk; if it didnât hurry, it wouldnât reach the Tree King before sunset.
Thinking of this, the orange catâs figure disappeared again, appearing on the same rock where it had once stood when it discovered the giant banyan.
âMeow?â (How did it grow a little bigger again? Is it an illusion?)
The orange cat licked its paw, leaping down from the rock, leisurely heading towards the giant tree.
After a few steps, the orange cat encountered a patrolling needle erosion insect.
When the orange cat arrived here today, the needle erosion insects were gathered together, preparing for the daily challenge.
Thus, it hadnât encountered these strange-looking insects that should have been hovering around the giant banyan; it was the first time it had seen such peculiar bugs.
They looked a bit like enlarged bees, but their bodies were covered in a dark shell rather than fur.
Although it wasnât afraid, the urgent matter was to quickly approach the Tree King.
Killing wildly near the Tree King would not be good if it offended the Tree King.
âMeow?â (Whatâs that?)
The orange cat dodged the needle erosion insectâs sight, its attention caught by a clearing in the distance.
A group of skeletons was holding watering pots, walking back and forth in a neat yet slightly yellowish tall grass, watering the grass.
Nearby, more of the strange insects it had encountered earlier were patrolling, seemingly protecting this place.
*What is this?*
*Skeletons that move?*
*Moreover, they donât look like human skeletons. Humans arenât that short, barely visible in the grass.*
*No, I was supposed to look for the Tree King; why did I stop here?*
*Cats arenât like those stinky dogs; why would I be interested in bones?*
Looking back once more, the orange cat reluctantly continued towards the giant tree.
*Those bone structures looked so funâŠ*
*No!*
*The cat needs to find the Tree King!*
*Ah, what a pityâŠ*
Going forward, the surrounding fog gradually thickened, and its vision began to be limited.
The orange catâs steps suddenly halted; it felt an abnormality inside its body as if something was wriggling and growing within it.
Suddenly, the orange catâs silhouette flickered like it was distorted.
The writhing white hyphae within lost their support and fell to the ground.
Even without a growth environment, the hyphae still writhed, trying to find Blood Flesh.
But ultimately, they could only cling together, struggling on the ground for a moment before twisting into a small mushroom.
Just like a smaller version of the surrounding white Fungus Umbrellas.
âGuluâŠâ (How eerie, is this another of the Tree Kingâs tricksâŠ)
If guessed correctly, these white mists were released by these large mushrooms, and on the mountain, the mist covered such a vast range.
*How many creatures must have been killed for this?*
Upon seeing this little mushroom, the orange cat understood the reproductive method of these Fungus Umbrellas.
Its former owner once spoke of a parasitic mushroom, but clearly, these gigantic mushrooms here were not something a parasitic fungus could grow into.
It seemed that the fog might also be problematicâŠ
But why were these bugs unaffected?
The orange cat stared at the needle erosion insect flying in the distance, teleporting away from its spot.
An invisible barrier naturally formed around the orange cat, shielding out the white mist.
Continuing forward, the number of patrolling insects increased, fortunately, a lot more low-growing plants appeared here, without which it would have been difficult to not be discovered.
The orange cat pressed on, and finally, the white mist began to fade rapidly.
After passing through a grove, the space opened up ahead.
At last, the orange cat saw the roots of the Tree King, saw the humans not far away, andâŠ
âMeow?â (What smells so good?)
âŠâŠ
Cat King: Form of a slightly chubby orange cat, Tier Five, Space Series superpower, caused significant damage to the Sanctuary during its initial establishment, extremely dangerous, known battles: engaged and escaped from three Broken Army Level (Tier Five) Superpower Users, and with Beast KingâŠ
ââWhite Poplar Sanctuary High-Risk Archive