Chapter 307 - Believe Even If It’s Just a Little

A black dragon appeared in the waters outside Mystic City, demanding resources from Xia. In just half a day, the news became a hot global topic. Xia responded quickly. On the same day, the Twelve Zodiacs approved two war-preparation measures.

For advanced resources, they allowed Manager Ying to select freely to awaken its true form. For basic resources, they supported Lu Ran in cultivating Transcendent crows to strengthen the Dark Crow Legion.

With Gu Qingyi and Lu Ran vouching for it, Manager Ying, a long-time intelligence dealer who had worked with the Xia Alliance for two years, was considered more trustworthy than the Guardian Panda and the Guardian Crane.

At the same time, the alliance reassured the public through the media. Information about the Guardian Panda, Guardian Crane, and Guardian Divine Deer was publicly released for the first time.

“Damn! With this lineup, what’s there to fear? If that black dragon dares to come, it won’t leave unscathed!”

A young man’s blood boiled with excitement.

If only he were strong enough, he would have loved to skin the dragon himself.

“I still think peaceful negotiations are better. Even if we win, the cost would be too high.”

Many ordinary citizens hoped for a peaceful resolution.

Their concerns were understandable. Since the Spiritual Energy Revival, whenever nations fought powerful vicious beasts, complete victories were rare. Cities often suffered damage, and civilians faced severe casualties. Because of this, while the Xia Alliance prepared for war, they hadn’t officially declared how they would handle the situation.

In the Lu Village.

Unlike the growing unease everywhere else, the fourth-generation beastmasters of Lu Village, led by Lu Bing, were thrilled. They stared at the news with astonishment.

“The Divine Deer! The official news just confirmed that the Divine Deer is Xia’s guardian beast that had been protecting the nation all along! Not only that, the report even mentioned Lu Village!”

To highlight Xia’s deep heritage, the news said, “In ancient times, the ancestors of Xia lived in tribal societies. Each tribe was protected by a powerful Totem Guardian Beast. Among them, the Lu Clan was renowned for its valor and was blessed by the Divine Deer. In ancient times, they earned great prestige.

“This lineage has continued to this day under the Divine Deer’s blessing. The greatest fourth-generation beastmaster, the only Dragon Chef, the pioneer of the Overlord Era, and the Father of the Undead, Lu Ran, comes from Lu Village.

With this official recognition from the Beastmaster Alliance, the name of Lu Village instantly echoed nationwide. If the government had simply announced the existence of the Divine Deer, people might have been skeptical. But linking it to Lu Ran made no one in the nation doubt it.

“Holy shit! Lu Ran is from an ancient totemic tribe?”

“Obviously! Did you really think a monster like Lu Ran just rose up from nowhere?”

“That explains it! That explains it! No wonder Lu Ran is so ridiculously strong. He even has this background! Damn it! Why wasn’t I born in Lu Village?”

“Being from a totemic tribe isn’t enough! Look at Youxiong Anlin from the Living Fossil Guild. He’s from a totemic tribe too, and they have a guardian beast. But can he beat Lu Ran, even though they’re both fourth-generation beastmasters?”

“Maybe the Guardian Panda isn’t as strong as the Guardian Divine Deer? I mean, pandas are adorable, but how much combat power do they really have? It’s probably just a living fossil mascot!”

“I’m Youxiong Anlin. Do you have any manners?”

“I’m the Guardian Panda. Do you have any manners?”

The online debate raged on. No one knew how strong the Guardian Divine Deer was, but everyone knew how terrifying Lu Ran was.

At this moment, many people across the nation began praying to the three guardian beasts, seeking their protection. Even if some prayers were neither sincere nor elaborate, the numbers made them overwhelming.

The people of Xia held onto whatever little faith they had. They hoped that if vicious beasts actually invaded, the three guardian beasts would protect them.

Meanwhile, Lu Village was facing an absurd situation. Lu Bing and the others sat in the village council hall, overwhelmed by the constant ringing of phones.

In just a few minutes, Lu Village’s phone lines exploded with calls. Many real estate companies and corporations wanted to donate money to renovate the village, hoping to get a share of the Divine Deer’s blessing.

As the world buzzed with change, the mastermind behind it all had already returned to Lu Village. As Lu Ran sat cross-legged on a cloud, he observed the increasingly solidified faith, eyes filled with surprise.

Not bad.

If he could find the Divine Deer, he would gladly name the black dragon the MVP. Before, the faith had relied on Lu Village’s belief to grow, progressing at an unstable pace. But after this uproar, massive waves of faith energy poured in from all over the country, accelerating their growth.

Upon returning to Lu Village, Lu Ran hadn’t gone to see Lu Bing and the others. Instead, he closely monitored the deer spirits. With an endless flow of faith energy, they strengthened continuously, evolving at every moment.

Then, a deer spirit suddenly broke free from Lu Village, stepping beyond its borders. Lu Ran’s eyes lit up in delight.

“Baby Cloud, follow it.”

At his call, the Weather Sprite under him transformed into a small cloud, cautiously tailing the deer spirit.

But to Lu Ran’s frustration, the deer spirit didn’t act as a guide to the Divine Deer as he had hoped.

Instead, after a short walk, it plopped down and began munching on grass. Lu Ran had no choice but to shift his attention elsewhere.

In the Tree Monarch’s ruin space, Sudden Death King struggled to defend itself. Captain Doofus held the swordgrass in its mouth, training Corpse Dog in Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent.

“

Woof!

”

This is Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent!

With a flash, Captain Doofus darted past Sudden Death King’s shield, leaving behind a deep sword mark. Its violent sword intent tore at Sudden Death King’s defenses.

After hearing that a black dragon had arrived, Captain Doofus had been eager for battle. Now, it was training Corpse Dog to ensure they could perform a combined Dragon-Slaying Sword Strike once possessed.

“

RAWR!

”

Beneath the Dragon King’s Shield, Sudden Death King gritted its teeth.

Curse that Black Dragon King. I will remember this grudge. Why did that dragon have to throw a tantrum in Xia, dragging this stupid dog into it as well? And in the end, I will suffer the most.

It had already reasoned with Captain Doofus. That black dragon was a level-70 Superior Overlord. Meanwhile, Captain Doofus wasn’t even level 40, and the sword spirit hadn’t even reached Level 30. There was no way they could defeat the black dragon.

Yet, every time Sudden Death King explained this, Captain Doofus would put on its wise face and pretend not to understand.

At this point, Sudden Death King had every reason to believe that Captain Doofus wasn’t actually planning to slay the black dragon. It just wanted to use Sudden Death King as the sword spirit’s test subject.

Unacceptable!

“

RAWR!

”

Sudden Death King howled inside the ruin space, expressing its desire for a kin of its own.

It wanted to forge a shield from its own dragon scales—something to bear the unjust suffering that its young self should not have to endure.

Lu Ran scratched his cheek.

That’s actually not a bad idea. Captain Doofus has a sword spirit and would eventually have the swordgrass. Dark Crow has an entire army of crows. Only Sudden Death King is still a lonely child.

He couldn’t possibly make Baby Cloud its companion. With Adaptive Transformation, Baby Cloud was destined to be everyone’s cloud and couldn’t be assigned as dedicated support to just one familiar.

After thinking carefully, replicating Corpse Dog’s creation process—using Sudden Death King’s dragon scales to forge a shield that could awaken into a shield spirit—was actually the perfect solution.

“Sudden Death King, I understand your feelings.”

Lu Ran’s voice echoed from the ruin’s sky.

“Captain Doofus, Corpse Dog, hit harder. Make sure to knock off more scales.”

Inside the ruin, Captain Doofus and Corpse Dog froze, looking up in disbelief. Sudden Death King also lifted its head, dumbfounded, staring at the ‘Heavenly’ Lu Ran.

“

RAWR?

”

***

After briefly considering Sudden Death King’s emotional well-being, Lu Ran turned his attention back to the deer spirits. One particular deer spirit flopped onto the ground and drifted into sleep after eating.

Lu Ran’s twitched as he had the urge to kick it awake. But still, while this deer spirit was useless, the strengthening faith energy had started breaking down barriers. More and more deer spirits broke free from their confinement within Lu Village, stepping beyond its borders.

It seemed that they had transitioned from being merely the deer spirits of Lu Village to the deer spirits of the entire nation.

Just as Lu Ran continued observing, his communication device rang.

He answered. “Dr. Gu? What’s up?”

“What are you doing?”

“Supervising the deer spirits. I’m the only one who can see them, so I have to keep an eye on them. If they run off and disappear, that’d be a problem. Why? Did something happen?”

Lu Ran was puzzled. According to their division of tasks, Dr. Gu should currently be patrolling the coastal waters, monitoring for any disturbances. Of course, she couldn’t unleash the Azure Sea Dragon fused with the Dragon Pearl. Otherwise, the black dragon might detect it.

“Yeah. The Merfolk Kingdom has sent their envoys to Xia. They want to negotiate an alliance,” Gu Qingyi said.

“Huh?” Lu Ran was surprised.

But it made sense. The Merfolk Kingdom had lost its Dragon Pearl fragment to the black dragon and suffered a crushing defeat. Right now, they probably hated Dragon Palace and the Black Dragon King even more than Xia did. Yet, they couldn’t win in a fight.

In this situation, the enemy of their enemy was a potential ally. It seemed the Merfolk Kingdom had caught wind that the Black Dragon King had set its sights on Xia, so they sent envoys to propose an alliance.

“According to intelligence, the Merfolk Kingdom has a Merfolk prince and a mermaid princess. I remember you and Manager Ying mentioned that the old turtle from Green Sea City was abducted by a Merfolk prince? Could it be the same one?”

Lu Ran was shocked.