Chapter 570: Beast Tamer Showdown

The cold wind howled by, blowing up the powder on the snow and forming flying snowflakes. These snowflakes rolled in the air and seemed to be ashes falling in the night sky.

Huhuhu~

The biting cold in the air was accompanied by a depressing silence. Only the occasional sound of wind broke the dull silence, bringing a rustling sound, as if it was the whisper of some unknown creature in the distance.

Xia Xiu was wearing a blue winter coat, with a fishing rod bag slung on his back, and the snow under his feet made a "creep" sound. Each footprint was deeply imprinted in the thick snow, seeming to have carved their tracks in this boundless white world.

The sky was gloomy, with thick dark clouds like an opaque curtain, blocking all potential light.

These dark clouds moved slowly across the low skyline, occasionally revealing a glimmer of light, only to be quickly swallowed up by denser clouds.

Against this background, the whole world seems to be dyed with a faint layer of gray. No matter the distant mountains or nearby trees, they have lost their vitality, leaving only indifference and loneliness.

Little Hope's nose was red due to the cold, and her moist purple pupils looked around curiously, chatting with Xia Xiu from time to time to dispel the overwhelming chill around her.

"Where are we going next?" Little Hope's voice sounded particularly clear in the cold air.

Xia Xiu adjusted the fishing rod on his back, looked at the blurry outline in the snow ahead, and replied:

"We're going to the east shore of Mille Lacs, Minnesota, where there's a place called Island City. We need to do some fieldwork there, scout for Wendigo tracks, and investigate recent unusual missing persons cases, if possible If so, check out several nearby abnormal community hubs.”

Hope listened, putting her index finger on her chin with a vaguely understanding expression on her face.

Her curiosity was aroused and she continued to ask: "So what exactly is a Wendigo?"

Xia Xiu smiled slightly. This question seemed simple, but it touched upon a deep unknown.

"The Wendigo is a mythical creature originating from Aboriginal legends. It is described as a greedy, insatiable being, symbolizing greed and extreme hunger. Its story has a profound impact on local culture , associated with many mysterious incidents and disappearances, the Wendigo is also often seen as a kind of warning, appearing before big changes."

Xia Xiu explained while continuing to move forward on the snow.

Every step he took imprinted an "8"-shaped Möbius strip on the thick snow. It seemed that with every step he took, the space was distorted under his feet, making his movement appear extremely fast, almost like It is moving forward as fast as shrinking to an inch.

The hope on the shoulders continues to ask curiously: "What do they look like?"

Xia Xiu rubbed his chin and stared into the distance, as if searching for descriptions of Wendigo in his mind.

He recalled the papers on the study of regional mythology that he had read in the archives of heaven open to high-ranking angels, and said slowly:

"There are two different versions of the image of the Wendigo. In one description, the Wendigo is seen as a transparent troll with a skeleton and heart made of ice. It is 20 to 30 feet tall. It has a huge, fanged mouth, and when it breathes, the air makes a harsh hissing sound through the uneven teeth. Its eyes are bloodshot, and there is only one toe on each foot, and the tips on its palms are sharp. Its claws can easily leave deep scratches on the bark of trees, and it is extremely powerful and can easily knock down trees that block its path."

Xia Xiu paused and continued to add the second description: "Another description describes the Wendigo as a thin, haggard huge skeleton, with dead gray dry skin tightly wrapped around it. Its eye sockets It was deeply sunken, with tattered lips, and its whole body exuded a stench of blood and corruption, like a living corpse that had just crawled out of a tomb."

Xia Xiu's narration continued, his voice carrying a hint of calmness and contemplation in the cold wind: "In addition to the above two signs, there is also a group memevirus caused by cultural combination syndrome - Wen Diego disease.”

As he spoke, he walked through the snowy ground blown by the cold wind. The outline of the city in front gradually became clear, showing a trace of human fireworks.

The snow creaked under his weight, and it spread out into a vast expanse of white. From time to time, snow powder picked up by the wind flew into the air, as if winter elves were dancing in the air.

As they went deeper, the outline of the city ahead began to become clear.

The light in the distance shines with a warm yellow light through the cold air, like a warm invitation in the cold.

The existence of the city makes this snow-covered land seem less lonely, and the smell of human fireworks is in sharp contrast to the severe cold of nature.

The forest around Xia Xiu itself has a gloomy atmosphere, and the dense trees present a naked and lonely beauty in winter.

But as they approached the edge of civilization, the trees, which had seemed a bit bleak, seemed to be warmed by the light and energy of the city.

The silence in the woods is broken by the occasional sounds of vehicles and people in the distance, bringing a sense of rhythm to life.

"arrive."

Xia Xiu stood in front of the entrance to the island city, the cold air condensing into mist in the air with his breathing.

The hope on the shoulders also looks forward curiously. The buildings on both sides of the street emit a warm yellow light. The wooden facades and stone paths set off the fusion of the town's simplicity and modernity.

Snowflakes gently covered the roofs and treetops, contrasting with the lights dotted on the street.

In such an environment, Xia Xiu applied [Presence Weakening Memu] to Hope on his shoulder as usual, and reduced his own presence to a quarter of the normal human threshold perception, similar to the level of a passerby with extremely low presence. In this case, if he wanted to steal something, it would be as easy as taking his own things.

In this almost invisible state, Xia Xiu quietly blended into the bustling crowd in the island city with Hope.

11:45 AM.

Island City.

Xia Xiu was sitting in a local restaurant with a warm style, enjoying lunch.

In front of him was a plate of steaming Wald Lake fish pancakes, a traditional delicacy in Minnesota, made from freshly caught Wald Lake fish with local herbs and spices, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a unique flavor.

In addition, he also ordered a small mousse cake for Hope, which was placed on a beautiful small plate.

Hope looked at the dessert made of multiple layers of light cream and delicate chocolate, her eyes sparkling with joy, her little hands constantly putting the sweet mousse into her mouth, eating it with relish.

At this time, the weather outside the restaurant had cleared up and the snow had stopped.

Xia Xiu's golden eyes curiously observed the outside world through the window.

As one of the abnormal states, the Thousand Lakes State embraces the abnormal and the extraordinary at an extraordinary speed. As part of the Thousand Lakes State, the special geographical and cultural background of the Island City makes it a hotbed of the extraordinary and the vision.

Under the promotion of the Mayflower Foundation, the novel beast control system continues to spread locally, and various [capsule beasts] brought by the triangular trade are rapidly popular among the people.

The contemporary historian of the Wandman Newspaper commented on the newly emerging beast control system:

‘The Edici regime among the Terran humans used the blood of the borderland and the beasts of the various realms to water the so-called “beast control system”. They started the old tricks of the past - occupying land, expelling permanent residents to create new proletarians (regardless of whether they belong to the extraordinary side), and then putting the land into the privatization torrent of capital accumulation.

The current Ivy War has entered the “enclosure” stage. In fact, the ownership of each plane is actually concentrated in the hands of the King [Golden Tree] or the Golden Royal Court recognized by Him, as well as related institutions such as the Royal Court Church, and a small amount is privately owned by the Lord of the Plane.

According to the current Golden Law, the actual ownership of the plane controlled by Him and the property on it are enfeoffed to the Lords of each plane on the condition of paying taxes and providing military service, and then distributed to the Lord of the General Plane (Lord of the God System) according to the [Boundary Wedge] of each level. There are multiple regimes of multi-dimensional ruling forces.

The plane system under the Golden Law usually uses the indigenous contract system, which stipulates the personal dependence relationship between the lord and the indigenous people. The Golden Tree legislates that neither party shall breach the contract. At the same time, a piece of "public land" will be arranged on the land of each manor. According to the contracts at all levels, the public land is not arranged for cultivation, and the civilians have the right to engage in limited grazing, firewood collection, wild fruit picking and other activities on it.

The Terra forces are even more cruel than the Golden Court. They rarely fulfill their responsibilities as the lord of the plane, even in the plane dominated by humans. They began to develop the "enclosure movement".

The way of enclosure - including the relatively peaceful way of buying out the use rights of the indigenous people, or the lord of the plane forcibly terminates the use rights of the indigenous people by amending the law. Among them, the coercive means often cause conflicts or even rebellion.

The emerging Terra financial bourgeoisie and the new benefit groups use violent means to force the indigenous people of the small planes to separate from their means of production and accumulate capital. On the one hand, it concentrates the means of social production in the hands of a few people, and on the other hand, it transforms a large number of producers into [financial slaves], most of whom are beast creatures. Many beast creatures are forced to sign a lifelong "terms of service" with Terra financial institutions because they have lost the protection of the plane.

Of course, they prefer to conquer colonies by force, rob gold and silver, sell beast slaves and other means to quickly accumulate wealth, and a sinful triangular trade has been formed in the New World, the border, and the various worlds.

Eddiesi gets rich by colonizing the various worlds, and uses the blood and tears of the creatures of the various worlds to water the extraordinary flowers, and the flowers are evil. 』

As the [Magic Wand Man Newspaper] said, the terrifying alienation ability of [Financial Street] makes all beings have to look at it sideways.

Moreover, the beast control system it brings, even the Kingdom of Heaven has to marvel at it, because there has never been an extraordinary system that can be popularized as quickly as beast control.

The scene that Xia Xiu is seeing now is a manifestation of this feature.

He sat in the restaurant and witnessed a strange and charming scene through the window, a scene that was enough to attract the attention of any passerby.

In Island City, a small town on the east shore of Lake Miller, Minnesota, an ordinary basketball court has now become a battle stage for extraordinary creatures.

On the field, the originally flat basketball court has been repainted into a bright red and blue area, which is particularly eye-catching.

Of course, this is not an ordinary basketball game, but a competitive duel between two children controlling their [Capsule Beasts].

The protagonists on the field are a snowman made of snow blocks and a creature that looks like a jellyfish.

Both creatures were released from the metal capsules in the children's hands.

Although these two creatures are the main body of the battle, they have an extremely cute appearance.

The snowman's body is made up of multiple irregular snowballs. Its two big eyes and wide smile make it look more friendly than threatening.

Compared to the snowman's bulkiness and roundness, the jellyfish is more agile. Its transparent body reflects subtle light in the sun, and its long tentacles swing lightly, as if dancing in the air.

"Cheese, show your frost shock! Rush forward and then use snowball roll."

The snowman responded to the first child's command and rushed forward with its huge body. The surrounding snow was kicked up, forming a flying white mist.

Although its movements are clumsy, it is powerful. Every step it takes is accompanied by vibrations, as if the entire venue is shaking under its weight.

When receiving the "snowball roll" command, the snowman begins to spin rapidly, forming a huge snowball and rolling towards the opponent, trying to overwhelm everything with its weight and speed.

"Hagrid, use your tentacles to whip! Surround and attack, don't give him a chance to breathe!"

"Water vortex, trap him! Make him unable to move, watch my trick!"

"Transparent invisibility, dodge quickly! Then counterattack, confuse him with your speed!"

The jellyfish showed its flexibility and cunning under the command of another child.

After receiving the command of "Tentacle Whip", its long tentacles waved like whips, whipping the snowman quickly and accurately, and each blow left deep marks on the snowman's snow body. Under the command of "Water vortex", the jellyfish released a powerful stream of water, forming a rotating vortex around itself, temporarily pushing the approaching snowman away, while creating opportunities for a more powerful counterattack.

Xia Xiu watched this scene quietly, and the children's faces were filled with excitement and nervous expressions. They jumped and cheered from time to time, and sometimes nervously issued instructions.

On the field, although the battle between the two creatures had rules and rhythms, it obviously lacked mature combat strategies.

In the cold wind of Minnesota, this battle was more like a performance than a real duel.

The children chose to control the beasts by shouting out commands. This method not only increased the drama of the battle, but also made the whole process full of randomness and uncertainty.

Although the capsule is equipped with a chip that can be directly controlled by thoughts to achieve quick and precise operations, the children seem to prefer this direct communication method of sound, which makes them feel more real and more involved.

Xia Xiu, a strength party, expressed his incomprehension.

The scene of the two beasts fighting on the field lacked violent aesthetics in the eyes of the "Apostle of the World", and this round-based fighting method could not stand up to scrutiny in actual combat.

The most important point is...