SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS-Chapter 866: Rare Beasts!?

The spirit core rolled gently onto the ground as the body slumped.

"Too easy," Kent muttered, retrieving it. "One down."

But then—something changed.

A ripple passed through the forest, not of beast or wind, but killing intent. Subtle. Cold.

Kent narrowed his eyes.

"Come out."

Nothing.

But from behind a thick birch, a figure emerged slowly, clapping with mock amusement.

"Well, well, the prodigy finally leaves his little cultivation shell," said the figure. A young man in deep blue robes with silver trims, long hair tied in a high knot, and a cold sneer plastered across his face.

Two others stepped out from behind trees, each wearing similar uniforms. All bore jade tokens on their belts—fellow disciples.

"Name?" Kent asked, not in curiosity but challenge.

The leader smirked. "You don't need to remember it. You'll just remember the beating."

Kent didn't reply, only adjusted his grip on the mace.

The leader raised a hand, signaling the others to spread.

"Too many people have been whispering your name. You show up with powerful beasts, rare gear, and sit on that throne like a royal brat. No background. No sect. No clan. What are you? A spy? A fraud? A beast in disguise?"

Kent's eyes didn't waver. "Are you done whining?"

That struck a nerve.

"Kill him," the leader snarled.

The two lackeys moved first, one drawing a pair of sickle-blades, the other forming a chain of spiritual energy between both hands. They came fast—but Kent moved faster.

The mace whirled with a force that cut wind itself. A single sideways sweep knocked one attacker into a tree with a loud thud. The other tried to bind Kent with his spirit chain, but the moment it tightened, Kent yanked it—and the disciple came flying toward him like bait.

One punch. A single strike to the gut crumpled him to the forest floor.

The leader stepped forward, slightly shaken.

"You… you're just brute strength! That's all you are!"

Kent replied in a calm tone, "No. I'm what your elders fear when they warn you not to provoke the unknown."

Then, with a roar, the leader unleashed his spirit weapon—a fan of steel feathers that expanded with sharp edges glowing blue.

Spells erupted. Lightning arcs flew toward Kent, who ducked under the first and then charged straight through the second, letting his robes burn slightly as he spun low and smashed the mace downward.

The fan shielded him partially—but the impact sent a shockwave through the forest, cracking several trees behind him.

Blood dripped from the leader's mouth.

"Y-you—who are you really?"

Kent stood over him, mace resting on one shoulder.

"You're not qualified to ask."

The leader coughed and fell unconscious.

Kent looked at the three bodies strewn across the forest floor, then at the beast core in his hand.

"First beast core, three annoying flies."

He turned and continued deeper into the forest.

In the next few hours the forest had grown unusually quiet.

Kent walked deeper into the western thickets of the Immortal Living Pool Forest, where even the wind seemed cautious. Beasts had stopped emerging in aggression.

But suddenly…

A soft rustle behind a bush.

Kent paused. He didn't draw his weapon.

Instead, from within the underbrush, three small figures stumbled out.

"…Huh?"

They were no taller than his waist—baby beasts, coated in soft fur shimmering with silver and streaks of gold, tiny horns poking from their foreheads. Their round, shimmering eyes stared at Kent with both fear and innocence.

Mystic Sky Antelopes.

Rare, intelligent spirit beasts that only appeared once every few years. According to old bestiary scrolls, they lived in hidden clans deep underground, protected by secret passageways and ancient enchantments.

Normally timid, these babies were alone.

Kent blinked. "Why are you out here…"

One of the smaller antelopes took a cautious step back. The others stayed still, sniffing the air, staring at Kent like they were expecting something—maybe food, or an attack.

But Kent, instead of taking a beast core from such vulnerable prey, crouched.

"You don't belong on the surface, do you?" he whispered, his voice unusually soft.

Then, without warning, the smallest antelope turned and darted back through the woods, the other two following in a quick dash.

Kent didn't hesitate—he followed them.

The chase led him through twisting roots, across a shallow stream, and finally to a large stone slab nestled between two bent trees, partially covered in moss. The baby beasts squeezed through a small crack along the side.

Kent, narrowing his eyes, slowly pressed on the stone surface. His hand passed through it—an illusion.

"Clever little things…"

He slipped inside.

What greeted him was a world underground.

A glowing lair of bioluminescent moss and crystalline pillars filled the wide cavern beneath the forest floor. The air shimmered with spiritual energy so pure it made Kent's pores open in hunger. At the far end of the lair, behind a curtain of hanging roots, he saw a small herd—at least thirty Mystic Sky Antelopes, including a few adults in weakened condition.

A natural spirit beast den.

"No wonder the academy gives high credit for beast cores," Kent murmured. "Finding this would be a jackpot for them."

But instead of charging in with his mace, Kent's expression remained thoughtful.

He didn't want to kill them.

A plan began forming.

He stepped back into the shadows and opened his spirit pouch. Inside were supplies—dried spirit herbs, tiny sleeping poison arrows he'd refined himself, and even a set of small noise-making stones that mimicked beast calls.

And so began his silent conquest.

For the next hour, he darted in and out of shadows like a phantom, playing with the herd. He tossed scent lures and activated mimic stones, making the beasts think a rival was approaching. Confusion erupted. The beasts began running in circles, some even butting heads with each other, attempting to assert dominance.

When chaos peaked, Kent crouched from an overhead ledge and began shooting poison-tipped sleep arrows one by one.

One fell. Then another.

Each arrow hit with pinpoint precision—none fatal, just strong enough to knock them out for several hours.

"Twenty-one… twenty-two… twenty-eight…"

Soon, only one beast remained.

The largest. A full-grown Mystic Sky Antelope, though visibly older and clearly sick. Its fur was faded at the edges, and a cracked horn drooped from its brow. It looked at Kent with burning, intelligent eyes.

It did not attack.

Instead, it stumbled forward.

Its legs trembled, breath shallow—and then it fell to its knees, directly before Kent.

"…You're surrendering?" Kent muttered, surprised.