Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 228

About 200 meters underground, Julius advanced with the fluid certainty of someone who commands the element surrounding him.

His earth wolverine maintained a constant flow of perception through the ground, allowing him to detect movements and vibrations across a considerable radius.

Something didn’t add up, though.

Since beginning his patrol after the worm incident, he had noticed strange patterns in the behavior of subterranean creatures. At times, they seemed to become agitated as if responding to an invisible threat, moving in waves of panic that spread across different levels.

But when he arrived at the location, inexplicably, everything calmed again.

"It’s as if something is frightening them," he murmured to himself, his wolverine’s essence merged with his skin in subtle ripples, enhancing his connection to the earth around him. "But when I approach to investigate..."

Nothing. That was the most disconcerting part.

Each time he tracked these disturbances to their apparent origin, he found only silence and emptiness, as if the source of agitation had vanished moments before his arrival.

What he had detected, however, were weak but unmistakable traces of abyssal energy. Small pockets of that characteristic purple radiation, concentrated in cracks and recesses where it normally shouldn’t exist.

His first instinct was to associate it with remnants of the Yino incursion four months ago, when enemy agents had attempted to infiltrate this Yano territory.

"Residue," he theorized while examining one of these concentrations.

Julius continued his methodical inspection, his wolverine’s senses stretched to their limits as he moved through the earth.

It was then that he felt it.

A vibration more intense than any before. His wolverine roared mentally, all its perceptions directing toward the origin of that disturbance. For the first time since beginning his patrol, Julius had a clear direction, an undeniable signal.

"This isn’t normal," he concluded, his voice hardening while he began moving at great speed through the earth. His body seemed to melt into the element, moving as if it were part of the ground itself.

♢♢♢♢

Han’s breathing accelerated while his fingers felt something through the threads. Something was entering the tunnel, something large and heavy that broke his fine but tough webs as if they didn’t exist.

The purple glow intensified, painting the walls of the narrow tunnel with distorted shadows. The predator approached, and the light emanating from it transformed their improvised refuge into a death trap.

A viscous, glowing tentacle appeared at the entrance, moving with unnatural precision as it explored the space. It slithered forward, testing the air, sensing their presence.

"No time to dig further," Ren whispered, his light claws manifesting as he prepared for combat.

"No!" Han grabbed his arm with desperation, his fingers digging into Ren’s flesh. "Don’t fight, dig! I can feel it through the threads... it’s too big, too strong."

Han’s spider fully manifested, not as the shy presence it usually was, but as a desperate creature fighting for survival. From it began flowing an impressive amount of silk, much more than Ren had ever seen Han produce before.

"Hurry!" Han insisted while his spider created layer after layer of resistant material, sealing the tunnel with a plug that grew thicker by the second. "Keep digging!"

Ren hesitated for an instant, torn between his instinct to fight and Han’s desperate plea. The certainty in Han’s eyes convinced him. With a grunt of effort, he buried his diamond claws into the earth, tearing through the ground with renewed force.

Discretion no longer mattered. The vibrations that might attract other beasts no longer mattered. Even the comfortable size of the tunnel didn’t matter, a small hole to crawl through would have to be enough.

All that mattered was speed.