Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 566

Chapter 566: Chapter 566 - Taming the Fourth Year: Journey - 4

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the forest sounds seemed to stop.

Liu was the first to speak, his voice carefully controlled.

"Are you telling me we have to... roll around in that giant beast’s s...?"

"Or you could say ’bathe ourselves,’ whichever option you prefer," Ren decided to clarify, though he knew the other option wouldn’t sound much better. "Just... apply it generously to our clothes."

Taro made a grimace of disgust that seemed physically painful.

"Please tell me there’s an alternative..."

"There isn’t," Ren shook his head. "Golden Noses can detect smells from kilometers away because they smell for their only prey underground, which are root sprouts and larvae. If we enter a cluster without the protection of the scent, they’ll attack us en masse. And believe me, we don’t want to face hundreds of furious Golden Noses when we’re trying to rest."

Min raised a trembling hand.

"Exactly how... ’aromatic’... is the smell of a Giant Cat Bear?"

"Imagine the strongest smell you’ve ever smelled in your lives," Ren responded honestly. "Multiply it by 2. That’s approximately half as intense as the smell of a Giant Cat Bear."

The three boys looked at each other, clearly searching for some way to escape this responsibility.

"Couldn’t we just... camp outside the clusters?" Taro asked with desperate hope.

"In Gold territory?" Ren looked at him incredulously. "Taro, here the other diurnal and nocturnal Gold Rank beasts could attack us outside the clusters while we sleep. The clusters are literally the only ’perfect’ protection available."

Liu sighed deeply, resigning himself to the inevitable.

"Fine. But after this, you’re going to owe huge favors to each of us."

"Enormous favors," Min added with a worried face. "The kind that involves expensive food and costly gifts."

"And we’re never, ever going to mention this," Taro concluded firmly. "To anyone. Ever."

♢♢♢♢

When they finally entered the Gold 1 ring completely, the landscape changed dramatically. The dense, continuous fire forest gave way to a flat, open zone, dotted with clusters of what Ren had described as "small forests" scattered here and there.

The Golden Noses rose like natural cathedrals, their multiple slender, golden trunks shining with an internal light that made the air itself seem precious. Each cluster created small sanctuaries for those who knew the secret.

"It’s beautiful," Liu murmured, momentarily forgetting his anticipated misery.

"And deadly," Ren added pragmatically. "Those ’trees’ can coordinate attacks that..."

His words were interrupted when he felt a small manaprint, a bit later two figures emerged literally from the earth in front of them.

Mako and Shizu materialized from the ground as if they had been waiting for them, their forms appearing so suddenly that Min stepped back several paces with a choked cry.

A small bird with ethereal blue plumage immediately flew from Mako’s shoulder, heading toward the sky with an evident purpose.

"What the hell?" Ren immediately got into guard position, feeling betrayed and furious. "This isn’t what we had agreed on!"

The two guards exchanged uncomfortable glances. Mako was the first to speak, her voice loaded with genuine apology.

"We’re sorry, Ren. We really are. But we have direct orders from above."

Shizu nodded, clearly feeling as uncomfortable as her companion.

The condescension in his voice, however well-intentioned, hit Ren like a slap.

"I don’t want to grow up in a cage!" he exploded, gesticulating toward the city. "That way I’ll only ’fatten up’ like the trapped pigs! Without doing anything real, without helping those who matter to me!"

Zhao saw the black lines on Ren’s skin growing. He was about to mention them, but shook his head, maintaining his patient expression. They seemed to grow more because he was getting agitated.

"Calm down a little, this is not like you, you’re exaggerating. I promise I’d love to make this trip with you... though I’m not thrilled about the idea of covering myself with that horrible smell again." A small smile appeared on his lips. "But it’s not your time yet. You need more development, more preparation. I really want what’s best for you."

The lines began to recede a little.

But then they stopped...

"Then who’s going to defend what’s best for her? What matters to Luna?" Ren asked, feeling like he was drowning without hope but searching for a small light in what could be Zhao’s response. "Who can take Sirius’s place?"

Zhao’s expression became genuinely sad.

"There will always be sacrifices, Ren. There’s no one else in the Starweaver line who can carry the artifact they’re looking for... Still, that’s part of an adult’s decision. I don’t know how you managed to find out but... It’s up to Sirius to decide whether to leave the seal’s territory or not."

The word ’sacrifices’ resonated in Ren’s mind like a funeral bell. Larissa. His fungus. And now Luna...

"If you don’t care what she wants," Ren replied, his voice becoming dangerously low, "I do care."

The black tattoos began growing on his skin again, radiating from his chest like ink spilling in water. Energy accumulated around him, visible like heat waves distorting the air.

The transformation was both cool and terrifying to witness to his friends. Min, Taro, and Liu sighed almost in unison.

They all got into fighting positions to face Zhao.