Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 378 - 252: Infiltration and Predatory Stares

Chapter 378: Chapter 252: Infiltration and Predatory Stares

A towering, dilapidated city stood upon the plains, abruptly entering An Jin’s field of vision. A flicker of surprise flashed through her dark pupils.

"Is this... the Beast Slave King City?" She reached up, pushed back the hood obscuring her view, and glanced around.

Behind the desolate Royal City stretched a bleak grassland that gave way to a Gobi desert of yellow sand and rubble in the distance. The mountain ranges hemming it in on three sides were like the bars of a cage, exuding an invisible, oppressive air.

According to the system’s data, the Beast Slave King City was one of the four great Royal Cities. Although it ranked last among them, its population of several hundred thousand and its territory spanning dozens of miles far surpassed that of ordinary cities and some obscure, lesser Royal Cities.

But this city before her, despite stretching for dozens of miles with its vast territory and high walls that made it seem majestic and grand, had crumbling gaps in its ramparts and an air of decay that made it look like an abandoned ruin.

If she hadn’t been told this was a seat of power, she would have thought she’d taken a wrong turn and ended up in some post-war ruin.

"This Royal City has changed masters. It lost its former glory long ago," the Beastman accompanying them lamented. "Before, our city was ruled by a King Beast from the Lion Clan. But then he was slain by that monster, the Plague Slave. The Royal City’s splendor dimmed along with him, and it has utterly degenerated into a city of the damned."

Plague Slave. An Jin nodded. ’So this is the monster Ze Sheng told me about during our call.’

’Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated,’ she thought. Of course, she had specifically looked up his profile.

This creep had originally been just an ordinary Spider Beastman, a Wandering Beast even more loathsome than a Snake Beast. But he had unexpectedly obtained an incredibly precious Mutated Crystal Stone and successfully evolved into a Mutant Spider King Beast with a human control ability.

But he wasn’t as lucky as Ling Hong—

While the Mutated Crystal Stone strengthened his bloodline, his ordinary mortal body couldn’t withstand its power. His body mutated into a terrifying monster, and his mind became just as twisted and depraved.

After killing the former City Lord and seizing his throne, the very first thing he did was round up the city’s females and keep them like livestock. He ignored the partnership rules laid down by the Beast God and became obsessed with mating with countless females to sire offspring.

Those black slave-brood were all his descendants.

For the females forced into pregnancy, their due date was their death date. Countless black grubs would burst from their wombs, devouring the mother’s body as their first meal.

So, from the Plague Slave’s perspective, these ordinary females were too fragile; they either died during the pregnancy or immediately after giving birth.

He wanted a permanent breeding machine.

And she was the only female with a beast form, her body far stronger than an ordinary female’s.

She was the Plague Slave’s ideal breeding machine, one that could work day and night to birth vast numbers of his descendants. Better still, there was a high probability they would mutate into a stronger slave-brood.

The more numerous and powerful the slave-brood, the stronger his own abilities would become.

An Jin’s face went black as she finished reviewing the profile. "..."

After they had dealt with the spies, the original plan was for Ling Hong to stay behind and protect her while Mi Yin went to slay the monster.

But, of course, that was the exact moment the system issued a new directive.

[Dear Host, please personally retake the Beast Slave King City!]

’Meaning, not only do I have to kill that pervert and conquer the Royal City, but I also have to at least land an assist?!’

An Jin, who just wanted to farm, build, and live a low-key life, was speechless. ’...Is the system worried my life is too peaceful? Is it trying to spice things up for me on purpose?’

At first, Mi Yin and the others had flatly rejected her request to go with them. Walking willingly into the lion’s den was simply too dangerous, too reckless!

But they couldn’t stand up to her silver tongue. After she argued everything from "we’ve dealt with the spies, but there’s still that mysterious man in black" to "the most dangerous place is the safest place," she finally wore them down. They agreed to let her come along, though of course, the secret excursion was completely concealed from the other Beastmen.

Now, she wore a dark, bluish-green cloak that concealed her figure and face. She had also doused herself in a potion to mask her scent. From a distance, she looked like nothing more than a thin, frail young male.

"AHEM—" A moment later, a rather deep, adolescent male voice emerged from her throat.

The surrounding Beastmen were astonished.

Mi Yin and Ling Hong also looked as if they’d been struck by lightning. They had to lean in and sniff past the potion to catch her natural scent before they could confirm it was her.

"It’s voice acting," she said with a mischievous smile, her voice reverting to its clear, girlish tone. Then she cleared her throat, and it instantly dropped again. "This level of disguise should be enough to avoid being recognized, right?"

One of the Beastmen rubbed his wide eyes, his jaw hanging open. "That’s incredible. If I were just a passerby, I would never imagine the person speaking under that hood is a female..."

Their guides were the spies who had been turned. They led An Jin’s group to the dilapidated city gate, where a few dejected guards bothered to lift their eyelids and glance over. Most, however, were just leaning against the wall, yawning.

"Hey, brother. Open up." The Beastman clapped a yawning guard on the shoulder and handed him a wooden token bearing a black sigil.

"Well now, it’s Chi Lai." The guard straightened up and eyed their large party. There were a few unfamiliar faces who looked particularly menacing. Fortunately, they had no beast markings, appearing to be just low-Rank beasts, so he relaxed. "Mission complete? It’s been a few months. You’re back a little late."

"We still couldn’t catch the female. And her mates..." Chi Lai sighed and shook his head. "They’re on a level we can’t even approach."

"You dare come back without completing your mission? Well, may the gods have mercy on you." The guard patted his shoulder, then casually waved to the other guards. "Open the gate. Let them in."

The group passed through the gate without issue, but the sight within the city walls made An Jin’s jaw drop.

Dilapidated dirt roads, refugees huddled in every corner, the air thick with the stench of filth and decay... She felt as if she’d walked into a massive refugee camp.

Mi Yin had originally planned to settle An Jin in a safe location before he and Ling Hong went to fight that Plague Slave creature. However, the complete breakdown of order in the city meant there was no safe place for them to stop.

"We’ll go straight to the royal palace and deal with that nuisance," Mi Yin said coldly.

’If I’m going to get the assist, I have to land a blow before that monster dies,’ she reasoned. An Jin hesitated for a moment before looking up. "I’ll go with you."

"Alright," Mi Yin agreed with a nod.

"Huh?" An Jin gave him a surprised look. She had expected to have to argue a bit more and was surprised he agreed so readily.

"Leaving you here alone would be too dangerous. It’s better if you’re with us. At least if we can see you, we won’t have to worry," Ling Hong said, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic crowd.

Those Beastmen were ravenous, their bloodshot eyes fixed on the group, secretly staring like predators. Their gazes were especially focused on An Jin, who looked the frailest and easiest to bully.