The fawn, caught between the red deer couple, snapped out of its daze and stared blankly back at the herd, a mixture of exhaustion and fear surrounding them.
But what shocked the little deer the most was the size of the deer herd... less than half of the deer had escaped with them!
Most of the common deer species have disappeared, and even three mythical deer have vanished.
While the fawn was lost in thought, the red deer couple also turned to look at the herd.
Seeing the deer herd reduced to less than half its original size, the red deer couple sadly lowered their heads. They had long known that ordinary deer could hardly survive in this world, but such a large-scale loss still terrified them.
The female deer silently closed her eyes, then activated her supernatural power. A faint light emanated from her antlers. When the light spread to the herd behind her, both the spirit deer and the ordinary deer felt their bodies relax, their fatigue was greatly relieved, and their injuries were somewhat healed.
The moment the faint light dissipated, the female deer weakened considerably. This was not due to her own spiritual power, but rather the support of the collar around her neck, which she had obtained together with Lin Qian in the Great Snow Mountain.
The collar has auxiliary power, which can enhance the effect of the female deer's supernatural abilities when she uses them, and can also store a portion of spiritual energy in it.
If it weren't for the spiritual power in the collar, the female deer wouldn't be able to use her special abilities at all.
Without its special abilities, the number of ordinary deer would probably have been significantly reduced.
Although the spirit beasts were exhausted, their bodies were not damaged. As long as they rested for a while, their spiritual energy would recover and they would be back to normal.
But the ordinary deer were all injured, some by attacks from sea monsters, others by scratches from tree branches on the road. They were lucky, though, because their injuries weren't too deep, otherwise they wouldn't have survived until now.
Almost all ordinary deer have worn-out hooves, and some hooves are even broken.
If such injuries are not treated in time, these ordinary deer will all die within a day.
On the other side, the first herd of blue oxen to break through the sea beasts and escape were resting in a secluded area. Compared to the red deer herd, the blue ox herd suffered much less damage, but still lost nearly half of their ordinary cattle. Fortunately, there were no losses of spirit beast cattle, which relieved the blue ox leader.
Although no damage was caused, many of the spirit beast oxen were injured. Unfortunately, none of the oxen in the herd had awakened healing abilities, so the herd hid.
The leader of the blue oxen looked at the severely wounded ordinary cattle with a sorrowful expression. Although these cattle had escaped with them, they probably wouldn't survive given their current condition...
The spirit beasts were alright. Cow-type spirit beasts are generally quite strong in defense and physique. Although they were injured, once they rested and had their spiritual energy replenished, they were basically out of danger.
The ordinary cattle seemed to know that their lives were about to end. They lay silently on the ground, leaning on their companions, their eyes closed, their breathing becoming heavier and heavier.
The blood gradually stained the ground beneath them, and the parched earth and withered weeds were finally nourished.
————
The sun quickly set, and the scorching, agonizing day ended amidst the smell of blood, as night replaced the restless, clear sky.
Suddenly, the blue ox leader's ears twitched, and its massive body abruptly stood up, its dark eyes warily glancing at the withered trees to its side.
"Da da..."
"Da da da—"
The sound of horses' hooves approached from afar. The clear sound of hooves made the leader of the blue oxen breathe a slight sigh of relief, and the herd of oxen behind him who had stood up also relaxed a little.
If it's the sound of hooves, then it's not one of those hoofless sea beasts.
Although it was their first encounter with the sea beasts, these spirit beasts had already clearly recognized the difference between the sea beasts and themselves.
The bodies of land and sea creatures are different, and this difference still exists in the mutated sea monsters.
It's not just mutated sea beasts; spirit beasts are the same. Just like the dolphins Lin Qian saw on the rocky mountain, although they have evolved the ability to walk on land, they still do not have the limbs of land creatures, let alone hooves, which are convenient for running on land.
As the sound of hooves drew closer, the red deer couple came into the sight of the cattle herd.
Upon seeing the red deer, the leader of the blue oxen completely relaxed, and the herd of cattle behind him also lay down again, returning to a state of rest.
Although the deer herd and the cattle herd did not have much contact, they were both groups with mythical beasts in a migrating caravan, so they were still familiar with each other.
When the red deer couple saw the cattle lying down, they turned around and gave a soft bellow, signaling the deer behind them to rest on the spot and not to get too close to the cattle.
Although they are not enemies, there is no connection between the two groups, so it's best to keep some distance for the sake of everyone.
It was no surprise that the red deer couple brought their herd here, as the female red deer's healing abilities quickly restored the herd's mobility.
After resting, they quickly left to find a safer area.
The male elk had spotted the direction the cattle had left in, and he and the female elk followed the scent of the cattle to find them.
The deer always blindly followed their two leaders, so they had no idea they would encounter the cattle again before they met them, but this encounter was a delightful one for the deer.
The herd led by the blue ox is undoubtedly the most powerful group in the migrating procession, and as herbivores, they naturally feel safe around the herd.
When they were following behind Lin Qian and the others, the deer herd was actually quite uneasy, fearing that the tiger in front would turn around and hunt them down.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
