Chapter 111: Armored Water Rhinoceros

"Exactly!" Du Long nodded. "I suspect the Fan family has also dispatched many agents to investigate what happened that day. They will never find the cause, but if Xiao Lie's true strength were to be revealed, they would immediately piece together what happened! Therefore, you must never reveal Xiao Lie's strength too early!"

"Hmph! Those rebels from the Fan family, knowing full well that this princess was traveling with nearly a hundred Imperial Guards, actually dared to try and wipe us all out! Do they intend to commit treason?" Princess Huo Feng snorted indignantly.

"The Fan family does indeed intend to rebel! That is precisely why they wanted to use the mouths of the demonic beasts to kill us both. If a princess were to die in an attack by beasts after being brought into the dangerous Beast Forest, the Emperor would certainly hold my Du clan accountable! It would be killing two birds with one stone. Why wouldn't they do it?" Du Long said with a bitter smile.

"Do they truly intend to rebel? Do you have any evidence?" Princess Huo Feng asked in disbelief.

"No evidence for now, but there will be soon! I have already reported this to my grandfather, and he will handle it properly. You can rest assured! Even if they want to rebel, it is not something that can be achieved overnight," Du Long said, shaking his head.

"Husband! Such a grave matter, why are you only telling me now?" Princess Huo Feng asked, looking slightly displeased.

"Sigh!" Du Long let out a long sigh. "I carry so many secrets; many things cannot be revealed, especially Xiao Lie's identity. It absolutely must not be leaked!"

"That is true! Oh, never mind! From now on, I will surely put my husband first. We are one family now, and we shall face all difficulties together!" Princess Huo Feng finally grasped the crux of the matter and nodded with a firm expression.

"Exactly! It is because I sense the hidden crisis in the Haotian Empire that I am in such a rush to build my own secret weapons factory and to develop and grow our strength as quickly as possible!" Du Long continued to explain.

"Then what is the goal of this trip? Is it also to develop and grow our strength?" Princess Huo Feng asked, filled with curiosity.

"Yes! Look, that is our destination," Du Long said, pointing toward a large group of animals in the distance.

Once Princess Huo Feng clearly identified the animals, she let out another low cry. "Ah... a herd of Iron-Clad Water Rhinos?!"

"Exactly! They are a herd of gregarious demonic beasts that love the Beast Swamp—the Iron-Clad Water Rhinos," Du Long confirmed with a nod.

"My goodness! There must be nearly a thousand of them in such a large herd! You don't intend for the few of us to fight them, do you?" Huo Feng asked, looking utterly incredulous.

"Heh heh! You'll see in a moment! Alright, so as not to affect the operation, let us three rest for a moment on that small hill," Du Long said with a mysterious smile.

The large lion leaped onto the small hill, and Du Long pulled the two women up after him. He then instructed Xiao Lie: "Xiao Lie, go! Remember to act according to the original plan!"

"Understood, Master!" Xiao Lie responded excitedly before leaping toward the herd of Iron-Clad Water Rhinos.

"Du Long! You don't intend to rely on one Spirit-tier beast to deal with that entire herd of Iron-Clad Water Rhinos, do you?" Huo Feng finally realized Du Long's plan and asked skeptically, "Are you planning to kill these Iron-Clad Water Rhinos one by one to obtain their beast cores?"

"Shh! Stay calm! We just need to watch a good show quietly. As for the rest, you will understand in a moment!" Du Long smiled, putting a finger to his lips.

In the sky far away, the large lion finally stopped concealing its strength and began to transform!

Roar!

With a world-shaking roar, a massive Flame-Horned Lion made its grand entrance. Its appearance, with flames faintly flickering all over its body, combined with the terrifying aura of a demonic beast king, immediately terrified the Iron-Clad Water Rhinos below, causing them to kneel on the ground and tremble!

The strongest among the herd was the third-tier peak Water Rhino King. In front of a fifth-tier beast king, two major tiers higher, it had no choice but to bow and submit!

"Listen up, you Iron-Clad Water Rhinos below! I have already killed the giant crocodile that held this territory in the Beast Swamp! From now on, this swamp is my territory! Are you willing to submit to me?" A voice, simulated by the Spirit Guide, echoed in Du Long's mind—it was Xiao Lie demanding the surrender of the herd below!

"Exalted Flame-Horned Lion King! We are willing to submit under your command!" Among the herd of black-armored rhinos, a massive one with dark blue armor replied respectfully.

Since it had not yet reached the Spirit tier, it could not speak human language, but it communicated through beast language, which the Spirit Guide translated into human speech for Du Long. Princess Huo Feng and Xia Qinglian could only hear the low grunts of the rhino.

"Hmph! You are sensible! Otherwise, I would have wiped out your entire clan today! Stay right here and be obedient; I will be right back!" Xiao Lie snorted coldly before flying back toward the small hill where Du Long and the others were hiding.

Du Long pulled the two women onto Xiao Lie's back, patted it, and praised, "Well done, Xiao Lie!"

"Heh heh! Master, these low-tier beasts must rely on a powerful beast to survive in this forest; otherwise, they have no choice but to be wiped out. Given my current strength, it is a favor for me to accept them! No need to be too polite," Xiao Lie replied happily.

"My god! A whole herd of Iron-Clad Water Rhinos, just like that, with one sentence?" Princess Huo Feng asked, still unable to believe it.

"If a fourth-tier beast had come forward, these Iron-Clad Water Rhinos would certainly not have yielded so easily; they might even have fought to the death! But facing a fifth-tier beast—and a king at that—they are actually overjoyed," Du Long explained with a smile.

"This... this is just too incredible! If it were that simple, wouldn't all the nations have already collected a vast number of demonic beasts?" Princess Huo Feng still couldn't grasp it.

"The three empires have only a handful of Spirit-tier experts, and I have never heard of anyone with strength exceeding the Spirit tier, so they cannot subdue Spirit-tier beasts. Relying on fourth-tier beasts to subdue an entire herd is impossible," Du Long patiently explained.

"That makes sense!" Princess Huo Feng nodded.

Within moments, the three of them rode the much larger lion to the sky above the herd. Xiao Lie descended without hesitation and landed before the Water Rhino King. The powerful aura of the beast king made all the rhinos tremble, and they dared not look up.

"Raise your heads! Look closely: this is my master! From now on, this swamp territory is his domain as well! If you want to survive here, you must obey his orders!" Xiao Lie announced loudly and majestically.

The rhinos raised their heads in astonishment. They clearly had not expected such a powerful beast king to recognize a human as its master. When they saw the strength of Du Long and the two women, they were all dumbfounded.

However, for the survival of their herd, the Rhino King bowed and announced to all, "We are willing to follow the orders of the Flame-Horned Lion King and obey this master's commands from now on!"

"Haha! Excellent!" Du Long, sitting on Xiao Lie's back, laughed excitedly. "Your choice is very wise! I am a person who treats his subordinates well. As long as you serve me diligently, I will certainly treat you well!"

"Master! We are willing to serve you, only asking that you spare our young and old, so that our lineage is not broken!" The Rhino King was quite clever; it not only understood human speech but also seemed to know why humans subdued beasts.

With the translation of the Spirit Guide, Du Long understood and answered loudly: "Rest assured! I, Du Long, will never do anything as foolish as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs! I promise to only conscript six or seven out of every ten able-bodied rhinos. Those conscripted will earn abundant food for the rest of you! Even in the depths of winter, I will ensure your entire clan has sufficient food and water!"

"That... that is wonderful! Thank you, Master Du!" The Rhino King responded, overjoyed. For these herbivores, their greatest enemies—aside from powerful beasts in the forest—were the hunger and thirst of winter, which killed many of their kin every year.

"You are welcome! From now on, we are one of our own. By the way, what is your name?" Du Long asked the Rhino King politely.

"This small one is called Ben Lei," the rhino replied, looking flattered.

"Ben Lei?" Du Long mused. "A fine name! Legend says the Iron-Clad Water Rhinos are naturally adept at lightning attacks. I wonder if you could show me?"

"No problem!" The Rhino King stood up excitedly, aimed its horn at a small tree, and fired a bolt of lightning. The tree was struck as if by a thunderbolt, instantly erupting in a blinding white flash before turning into a pile of charcoal.

"Truly impressive!" Du Long praised sincerely.

"Master Du! Would you like to see our group lightning-net attack?" The cunning Ben Lei clearly wanted to show off more of its strength, seemingly aware that the more it showed, the greater the rewards would be.

"Yes!" Du Long replied with an excited smile.

Moo!

With a loud roar, the rhinos finally stood up, trembling. Seeing this, Du Long instructed Xiao Lie to retract its intimidating aura, which made the rhinos feel much better.

Under another command from Ben Lei, all the Iron-Clad Water Rhinos aimed their horns at a patch of marshland ahead. Under the astonished gaze of Du Long and the others, a brilliant lightning net swept across the area!