The Spiritual Energy Wave emanating from the intruder was no weaker than its own, and it was even a bit larger. This instantly calmed it down.
Of course, this didn’t mean the giant Crocodile Beast was afraid of the enemy invading its territory. Rather, when facing an enemy of the same level, it knew it couldn’t act recklessly and needed to respond with caution.
"ROAR... Leave my territory," the giant Crocodile Beast said after a few seconds of silence.
"ROAR... Perfect timing. I was just thinking I should fight one of this world’s ’Indigenous People’ before I head back, and look, here one is." The warlike Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast ignored the crocodile’s demand to leave, its voice filled with fighting spirit.
"ROAR... Bastard, you’re pushing it too far! If you want a fight, then bring it on! I’ll bite your head off!" The giant Crocodile Beast roared in anger, then charged toward the enemy invading its territory.
Seeing one of this world’s "Indigenous People" attack it, the naturally warlike Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast let out an excited roar and rushed forward to meet the charge.
And so, beneath the moonlit sky, two massive, heavy behemoths began a fierce battle in the perilous wilderness.
The immense sounds of battle spread in all directions, carried far away on the wind.
A spatial rift had appeared in this region, greatly increasing the concentration of Spiritual Energy and attracting many Mutant Beasts.
And when the giant Crocodile Beast and the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast began their fierce battle, the other Mutant Beasts that had been drawn to the region started to flee rapidly.
After all, compared to saving their own skins, cultivating in this region with its greatly increased Spiritual Energy concentration suddenly seemed far less important.
Several kilometers from where the two Mutant Beasts were fiercely battling, there was a range of rolling mountains.
On the slope of a small mountain was a cave, a campfire flickering within. When the sounds from the two fiercely battling Mutant Beasts reached it, several figures emerged from the cave and looked in the direction of the massive commotion.
The bright moon spilled silvery light over the land, but from so far away, it was impossible for the naked eye to make out what was happening, no matter how hard they stared.
However, even though they couldn’t see the details with the naked eye, the occasional bursts of fire and the sheer volume of the noise were enough to tell them that incredibly powerful Mutant Beasts were fighting a fierce battle in the distance.
The Exotic Beast Hunter Guild repeatedly warned against lingering in the wilderness after dark, as the wilds at night were far more dangerous than during the day.
While every Exotic Beast Hunter knew this, skill breeds boldness, and some experienced hunters were no exception.
These four Exotic Beast Hunters, who had chosen to spend the night in a wilderness cave instead of returning to a safe zone, were just such a group of experienced and powerful individuals.
Their leader was at the Second Order High Rank, and the other three were at the Second Order Middle Stage.
"Captain, should we go check it out?" a woman with long hair tied in a ponytail asked.
The moment she finished speaking, another member objected. "Judging by the commotion, the beasts fighting are not to be underestimated. I don’t think we should get involved."
"Exactly! Fighting at night already puts humans at a disadvantage. If we go to get a closer look and get caught up in it, we’ll be in serious danger."
The middle-aged man, a Second Order High Rank cultivator, had been an Exotic Beast Hunter for over twenty years. He had a wealth of experience spending the night in the perilous wilderness.
The main reason he had survived all these years without any irreversible disasters was not his immense power, but his extreme caution.
"We’ve had a great haul in the wilderness these last few days. There’s no need to risk our necks just to see what’s going on up there..."
As the squad’s captain, the middle-aged man’s word was final. With the matter settled, the Exotic Beast Hunter team returned to the cave.
Before long, the roaring campfire inside the cave was extinguished.
The squad captain had ordered the fire extinguished out of an abundance of caution.
He felt that their cave was not a safe enough distance from the battle raging in the distance. To be safe, they would go without a fire for the night.
The fierce battle raged for nearly half an hour. The clash between the giant Crocodile Beast and the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast had utterly destroyed all the vegetation in a large surrounding area.
The ground was pockmarked with craters. Burnt trees collapsed with a CRACKLE, and where the flames had died down, pillars of black smoke slowly rose into the air.
"ROAR... You wretched creature, just you wait! This isn’t over!"
The giant Crocodile Beast, now covered in wounds with several of its teeth shattered, knew it was no match for its opponent. After spitting out one last threat, it swiped its tail, turned, and fled.
The Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast, which had lost quite a few of its own scales, watched its enemy flee but chose not to pursue.
From the beginning, it had only intended to spar with one of this world’s "Indigenous People," not fight to the death.
After the exchange, the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast was quite surprised. "ROAR... I never expected a world with such a low concentration of ambient Spiritual Energy to have such a powerful creature."