Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Other than a V-shaped white pattern on its chest, the small bear was jet black. It paced along the wide branches of the tree at the edge of the wall, sometimes standing and swaying slightly on two legs like a little hairy human. It hesitated to approach the cellar again for a long time, as if it was suspicious.

“Sir, that’s is a Peaga Bear…” whispered the Dogman Orlando. They could hear the bear’s soft whimpers on the wind. Orlando prepared to explain further, but Yang Ling shot him a look that said he’d already determined the creature’s identity. Orlando clamped his mouth shut to prevent the bear from hearing him.

As the sky began to lighten, the bear sniffed the wafting wine smell rising from the cellar. It hadn’t seen any movement or threat for some time, and it finally took action. Its appearance made it look sort of dopey, but it moved like a rabbit – furtive and incredibly fast. It quickly approached the underground cellar entrance. After a moment’s hesitation, it cracked the door open and slipped inside. Soon, the sound of wine barrels being destroyed could be heard.

Using the Horned Bee Beasts as his eyes, Yang Ling was able to confirm that it was indeed this small bear that was their culprit. One small bear that caused all these troubles!

Could someone have trained this small bear and intentionally sent it to cause trouble here?

Yang Ling began to ponder. Even though Shangri-La was close to the forest, there were still people moving around the area. Under normal circumstances, not many wild beasts would venture there to cause trouble. Furthermore, the small bear had agile movements and an extremely sensitive sense of smell. It did not fall for the traps set for a long time, which meant that it possessed some intelligence, almost as if it had received some training.

“Sir, why don’t we capture the little guy?” Orlando swept the snow from his forehead and drew a harpoon from the quiver on his back.

“That’s right, capture it alive!” said Yang Ling. He knew that this was the perfect opportunity to strike, as they watched the bear stumble out of the cellar, looking tipsy. Without hesitation, Yang Ling summoned the Horned Bee Beasts and instructed them to charge.

The instant the Horned Bee Beasts came out of hiding, the little lad realized he had fallen into a trap, and that he was in a bad situation. It whimpered, dodging from side to side, avoiding the Bees’ poisonous stingers and dashing for the outer wall.

“I’ll see where you can run off to.” grunted Yang Ling coldly. He summoned a few hundred Horned Bee Beasts, charging them to follow the bear closely. Behind him, Orlando watched tensely. Behind them, Alice, Yuna and the rest quickly caught up.

The bear was fast, but it was not as fast as the Horned Bee Beasts!

A few hundred Horned Bee Beasts could tear the bear apart in seconds if they swarmed. But in order to expose the culprit behind the wine thefts, Yang Ling instructed the army of Horned Bee Beasts to follow closely behind and not attack immediately.

The bear whimpered, looking over its shoulder at the black mass of Horned Bee Beasts. Seeing their speed, the small bear ran with all its might, incredibly frightened. Even though it wasn’t as fast the Horned Bee Beasts, it was much faster than an average warrior. It was no wonder that the old butler Murbaqi and the rest failed repeatedly to catch the creature.

After having advanced to the level of Earth Wizard, Yang Ling’s speed had also increased a notch. At full speed, not even the most powerful Horned Bee Beast could catch up to him, much less the small bear. With the sharp dagger in hand, he ran freely, and he instructed the Horned Bee Beasts to act.

Orlando was an exceptional Dogman warrior, and he followed behind relying on his willpower alone. Alice and the Heavenly Fox Yuna, who knew full well they couldn’t keep up, had found a couple of warhorses to continue their pursuit. They followed behind as best they could.

The slowest of them all was the Twin-headed Ogre. Even though he was not slow, he could not catch up to them even if he sprinted. He was too large to ride a horse. Even though on foot he was much faster than Alice and Yuna, he still found himself taking up the rear, much to his frustration.

The little bear soon reached the Terras Forest and entered the treeline still at top speed. Yang Ling took a moment to summon the Unicorn, so he could ride steadily but give himself a little break and conserve his strength.

The bear veered this way and that, trying to shake Yang Ling and the Horned Bee Beasts. But they kept tight on his trail, and the bear was forced to continue running forward.

The Horned Bee Beasts were fast, but their stamina wasn’t built for long distance sieges. Yang Ling recalled the tired Horned Bee Beasts, and sent out another group. In this way, there were always Bees well rested enough to continue the pursuit, and they could keep the pace. They slowly wore the bear’s willpower down as they tired it out.

Eventually the bear began to slow. Yang Ling noticed that some of the bear’s paw prints began to leave traces of blood on the ground. The bear dragged itself forward, whimpering.

Could this actually be a wild small bear and that there’s no one instructing it from behind the curtain?

Yang Ling began to feel some doubt. They were a long way from Wissen Town. But rounding a small hill, he discovered that his guess had not been wrong after all.

Set into the far side of the hill was a cave, its entrance blocked by shrubs. One would miss it if they weren’t looking closely. A massive bear rested within, its eyes closed and motionless. It had a wound on its chest, deep enough to expose its bones. The ground was covered in dried blood. It looked like it has been dead for a long time.

The exhausted little lad hid behind the larger bear, peering out at Yang Ling, who had stopped at the cave’s entrance. The little bear instinctively sucked on the ice cold, withered nipple of the large bear, perhaps trying to replenish its stamina. It looked like this lad had been born recently, and didn’t understand that its mother had died long ago.

Looking around, Yang Ling discovered there were a few other bears in the cave, but they had all frozen to death. They were identical to the little bear.

Outside the cave, besides the obvious blood, there were also many deep claw marks. Combining these signs with the deep wound on the larger bear’s chest, Yang Ling did not have to think for too long to gain an understanding of what had transpired.

After birthing a den full of small bears, the large bear had gone outside to hunt. But it had encountered a strong foe and was dealt a fatal blow. Even though it had persevered and crawled back to its den, it had been unable to stop its bleeding and died soon after, leaving behind a den full of hungry and defenseless cubs.

Perhaps because it was born a little stronger than the rest, the little bear had not waited for its own death like its siblings. Instead, it followed the fragrance of wine and made its way to the underground cellar at Shangri-La. As it was still so young, it lacked offensive capabilities and could not hunt for itself. Even though alcohol could not stave off hunger, it was enough to keep the little bear alive for a time.

Soon after, Alice, Yuna and the rest caught up to Yang Ling and the little bear cub. They quickly understood the situation as they took in the dead mother bear and the rest of the cubs.

The Twin-Headed Ogre Braska panted, catching his breath. Then he started forward, bellowing gleefully, “Oh Yiblis, I can finally feast on barbecued bear tonight. Our long pursuit has not been wasted!” He was prepared to strangle the exhausted little bear.

Suddenly, Alice blocked his path.

“Brother Yang, this small bear is too pitiful, let’s bring it back!” Alice’s eyes reddened. She looked at the pitiful little bear, and began to approach it slowly. Then she gently lifted it into her arms, stroking its shiny black fur reassuringly.

“Sir, this is a Peaga Bear. It will have boundless strength, surprising speed and an incredible sense of smell when it grows to maturity!” Yang Ling creased his brows, and Orlando continued. “I have heard of some aboriginal tribes training these Peaga Bears to hunt for them. As long as we train it well, it would be more useful to us than any average hunting dogs!”

Alice nodded in agreement. “That’s right, the little bear is cute and can help us hunt. Brother Yang, shall we bring it home?” Alice produced a large biscuit from the baggage on her warhorse. She tore the biscuit into little pieces and fed the bear bit by bit.

Perhaps the bear couldn’t stand its hunger. Perhaps it could tell that Alice had no ill intentions. Either way, the bear fed with excitement. It shook its head and whimpered, which was adorable. Yuna watched for a little while, then approached and hugged the little bear, and stroked its soft fur.

If it could run this fast so soon after birth, just how powerful would it get when it grew older?

Looking at the little creature, Yang Ling nodded, satisfied. Just as Orlando had said, as long as he trained it well, this little bear would be a natural hunter when it grew older. Even if it could not capture any Magical Beasts, it could at least protect Alice, who did not have Battle Energy and did not know any spells.

Sofia was physically weak, but she was an Elf Priest. She could cast natural magic. Yang Ling believed that after she became a Moon Priestess at the Forest Elves’ main base, she would obtain more powerful offensive and defensive capabilities.

But Alice was different. She could not use Battle Energy, nor did she know spells.

Taming a powerful Magical Beast to protect her was a pretty good idea. Even though the little bear had just been born and did not have many offensive capabilities, it had incredible potential.

After confirming that the little bear would not hurt anyone, Yang Ling did not say anything more, allowing Alice to hold the cub. He instructed Orlando to bury the mother bear and the rest of the little bears, then led the group back to Wissen Town.

Along the way, the group joked with each other, sometimes playing with the silly little bear. Only the Twin-headed Ogre grumbled from time to time, still disappointed that he could not have any bear’s paws for dinner. He nearly drooled at thought of the fragrant bear’s paws.