Clyde wasn't provoked at all by Peter's words.
Don't ask, if you ask, it's just really satisfying right now.
Because he was the one who initiated the provocation, Peter could only be helplessly furious, unable to do anything else.
Peter: '...One day I'm definitely going to stab that sword guy to death.'
Clyde refused to communicate with Peter.
Clyde started thinking alone about Asher's pet beast.
'Hmm...'
Asher had only recently become a Beast Tamer, and his ability in pet beast research was too strong, which led to not much information being available about Asher's pet beast?
But Clyde believed, since Asher dared to propose this method, Asher's pet beast must possess a very special ability.
Asher: "Ah-choo—"
Asher: "?"
"Seems like it's a bit noisy behind me?", Asher vaguely seemed to hear some sound, and he glanced back slightly, not seeing clearly.
Maybe he got a mouthful of cold wind, Asher let out a big sneeze.
His whole head instantly felt clear and refreshed.
The Flame Dragon and the Jargon Dragon King maintained a certain distance.
Asher stroked his chin, "As expected of a Dragon King."
Hearing Asher's words, Old Rothschild laughed heartily, "That also requires thanks to you, Professor Asher."
"If it weren't for your help, Dragontooth wouldn't have evolved into a Dragon King."
Asher smiled but didn't say anything.
That's probably true.
Just that... Old Rothschild might not live to see that day?
Unaware that Asher was making some hellish jokes in his mind, Old Rothschild was still cheerfully chatting, "Right, Professor Asher, your pet beast…"
"What should I do next?"
As he spoke, Old Rothschild looked back at Asher, wanting to clearly see the expression on his face.
Asher had no expression.
Asher's expression was very calm.
"Fly a bit lower, at least enough to clearly see the situation below, and then I'll figure out how to have Little Raven take action," Asher said calmly.
Since he was preparing to do this, Asher must have been mentally prepared already.
Old Rothschild had no objections.
As the Jargon Dragon King lowered its altitude, passing through the thick clouds and mist, Asher could finally see the situation in the Forbidden Land below.
Immediately after, Asher's face revealed a strong look of disgust.
Disgusted.
Very disgusted.
Extremely disgusted.
Densely packed.
Whether it was what should have been lush, towering trees, or exposed land, or clear rivers, at this moment, they were all one color, densely packed gold-white.
Eggs.
Everywhere he could see were insect eggs and insects.
Even though Asher didn't have trypophobia, at this moment, he felt like it was about to kick in.
It was just too disgusting.
The kind of disgusting that was beyond imagination.
Asher forcefully took a deep breath, only then avoiding vomiting mid-air.
"...Didn't they say the Golden Silkworms require specific environments to lay eggs?", Asher reopened his eyes, trying to calmly look at the densely packed insect eggs attached to trees, covering the ground, piling in riverbeds, with a tone of deep disgust even he didn't notice.
At this moment, Asher's feelings overlapped with those who fear bugs.
'In this world, the bug category of creatures simply shouldn't exist.'
Be it ordinary or beasts.
What? Would the ecosystem be affected? What's it got to do with him?
Asher: *indifferent_face*
Old Rothschild had long known about the situation outside the Forbidden Land of Branlow City, but seeing it with his own eyes still brought a mental shock.
Eye-burning.
"The situation you described was before the Golden Silkworms had a Tier 9 worm, that is, a King Worm."
Tier 9, also a King Worm.
Asher wasn't surprised.
No matter what beast it is, once it reaches the Tier 9, it has the chance to challenge for king of the species.
From insect-type beasts to dragon-type beasts, this is a bone-deep, genetically embedded instinct.
With a Dragon King already present, having a King Worm too isn't that strange, right?
"Golden Silkworms originally had to rely on capturing other warm-blooded beasts, or weak humans passing by, to lay eggs and grow their species."
"But whether beasts or humans, they have the instinct to survive. As long as they have the chance to escape, they won't obediently become the Golden Silkworms' breeding tools."
Listening to Old Rothschild's words, Asher nodded.
No problem.
Even felt it was very normal.
Isn't that just common sense?
As long as there's a choice, what intelligent life group would voluntarily become breeding tools?
In all senses.
"Therefore, the number of new Golden Silkworms born each year wasn't large."
Capturing one man, one warm-blooded beast, and being able to hatch ten Golden Silkworms without being wiped out, was already lucky.
More often, it was mutual torment with humans, tormenting humans while also being tormented by them, and even if they hatched, they'd be killed.
Same with other warm-blooded beasts.
"The appearance of the King Worm slightly removed this limitation."
"They originally needed flesh and blood to nurture and hatch, but now, as long as they're provided with flesh and blood during incubation, they can be nourished," As Old Rothschild spoke, he sighed.
This wasn't just a simple switch in order.
Precisely because of that, Peter and Clyde, both Ace Beast Tamers, still hadn't acted.
It was just too troublesome.
Without a complete countermeasure, who the hell would dare make a move?
A single misstep, and you might get targeted by the King Worm, and then whether it's your flesh or other parts of your body, once captured, you might be torn apart and end up as blood food to nourish the eggs.
Asher: "..."
Asher fell silent.
Old Rothschild glanced at Asher again and saw his face looking a bit ugly. He sighed understandingly.
"That's how damn messed up the situation is."
"Ahem!", Asher couldn't help but cough twice heavily.
Old Rothschild laughed heartily and waved his hand, "Cursing a bit helps mental health."
Asher: "..."
'Alright, that actually makes sense.'
"It really is messed up," Asher imitated Old Rothschild and said solemnly.
Now it was Old Rothschild's turn to cough wildly.
A smile returned to Asher's face.
Asher smiled.
The smile doesn't disappear, it only transfers.
Now, it had transferred from Old Rothschild's face to Asher's face.
Old Rothschild decided to skip this topic.
When in doubt, use the topic-changing technique, always effective, never failed.
"So, do you still have the confidence to destroy those insect eggs now?", Old Rothschild asked seriously.
"If you feel it's beyond your capability, it's fine."
"This responsibility wasn't something someone your age should have had to bear anyway, your willingness to try is already enough," Old Rothschild wanted to say more to comfort Asher, whose heart might have been affected.
After all, reality and imagination often have a huge gap.
If Asher was discouraged by the cruel reality, Old Rothschild would completely understand and accept that.
If it were him at Asher's age, seeing this scene, he'd probably be mentally disturbed for a long time every night before bed.
"Although I didn't imagine such an exaggerated scene, still…", Asher's smiling voice sounded faintly behind Old Rothschild.
"I'm not incapable of accepting it."
As he spoke, Asher looked down at Little Raven, whom he had been holding the whole time, who also looked down at the densely packed eggs with him.
Asher reached out and gently stroked Little Raven's head a few times.
"Little Raven can do it, right?"
"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"
Though his throat had healed, Little Raven, who rarely made noise, chirped several times in a row.
Those golden-red eyes looking at Asher were filled with serious emotion.
'I don't know why the Beastmaster is angry.'
'But the bird will protect the Beastmaster!'
'If the Beastmaster hates it, the bird will help destroy it!'
'Destroy them all!'
'When it comes to catching bugs, birds are experts!'
Thinking of this, Little Raven puffed out his chest, looking especially proud and spirited.
'That's right!'
'No matter the problem, leave it to the bird!'
Asher laughed.
"Then let's go!"
When it's time to act, act, Asher didn't hesitate at all.
With a wave of his hand.
"True Solar Fire!"
This was Asher's first time using True Solar Fire in an actual battle.
Not counting the time it was used to mine ore.
Targeting a specific enemy, unending until destruction, Asher normally wouldn't use this in combat.
Too vicious.
Far too vicious.
One misstep could cause disastrous consequences.
But facing these Golden Silkworms and their eggs, Asher didn't hold back.
'Destroy!'
'Destroy them all!'
Asher's target wasn't a single egg, but all Golden Silkworm eggs.
In addition, because the Golden Silkworms, protected by the King Worm, laid eggs everywhere in sight, Little Raven's golden-red flame breath didn't even need precise aiming.
'Burn!'
'Burn it all!'
'Let it all burn!'
Instantly, the Forbidden Land below transformed from an insect nest into a sea of fire.
The special golden-red flames, matching Little Raven's colors, were especially eye-catching.
Just one glance and it couldn't be ignored.
Let alone Old Rothschild being shocked, Peter and Clyde behind were also deeply shaken.
"That… that's…", Clyde's eyes suddenly widened. His previously calm and gentle expression completely broke apart.
The speed at which the sea of fire spread was beyond imagination.
That wasn't the speed of normal flames.
It was as if what was burning below wasn't insect eggs, but petroleum, or fuel accelerant.
"No, that's not it, even if it were accelerant or oil, fire wouldn't spread this fast," Thinking this, Clyde's expression grew heavy, and he fixed his gaze on the flame itself.
"What's special is the flame, and the pet beast."
Clyde now believed what Asher had said before.
It wasn't an overestimation of his pet beast's power or bragging.
Asher's pet beast really was this powerful.
Possessing power completely beyond ordinary imagination.
"Well done!", Peter cheered behind, pumping his fists in excitement.
If not for the inappropriate setting, Peter might have performed a military boxing set right on the spot.
Clyde's face turned strange, "...Tone it down, okay?"
"All your excited punches are hitting me."
Peter snorted at that.
Tone it down… he didn't tone it down at all, and even wished he could go harder.
Unfortunately, after Clyde's reminder, Peter remembered.
'Oh, I am in the sky right now.'
Peter, who had just been bursting with energy, reverted to his cold and aloof demeanor.
Clyde: "..."
The two quieted down and continued looking down.
In just a moment, that small flame had grown into a massive sea of fire covering a third of the Forbidden Land's outer area.
Burning from the ground to the trees, from the trees to the river.
"Eh?", Clyde blinked and noticed a magical scene.
Except for the golden silkworms and golden silkworm eggs, the ground, trees, and river seemed to have not suffered from the fire's attack.
Clyde: "?"
'This flame is this intelligent?'
Asher gave Little Raven a thumbs-up.
"Nicely controlled."
Flame intelligence? No, flames have no thoughts, they are rigid and mechanical.
What is called intelligence is all endowed by the user, here referring to Little Raven.
During many instances of mining, Asher had repeatedly tried to experiment with and control the True Solar Fire.
No choice, the flame ability is too overbearing.
If he didn't try to master the flame ability, Asher himself wouldn't feel at ease.
Afraid that if he accidentally closed his eyes while sleeping, when he opened them, he'd become a pauper.
Little Raven did indeed accumulate quite a bit of experience.
Among which was, the process of setting a target, refining a large goal into smaller goals.
Asher had thought about this before.
Setting a target for the True Solar Fire, bould it be done to burn a single leaf on a big tree? Without damaging the tree itself in the process.
The result of the attempt was...
In the Golden Crow Secret Realm, there were a lot more charcoals refined by the True Solar Fire.
Because the tree wasn't the main target of the True Solar Fire, it wasn't directly turned to ashes, and there was still some residue left.
Asher stored all those charcoals, planning to take them out during winter for heating, to see if there were any performance differences from ordinary charcoal.
The result of the attempt couldn't be said to have ended in total failure.
But compared to Asher's imagination, there was still a bit of a gap.
What Asher hoped to achieve was, during a battle, specify a certain part on the opponent's pet beast to attack, without harming other parts or its life.
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