Chapter 37: Catching the Squirrel

In the misty snow forest sea, snowflakes hung suspended in the forest. Nuobai lay on a tree branch, locking onto a flying squirrel.

Once it entered her attack range, Nuobai deliberately scraped her claws against the branch, making a sound.

Hearing the noise, the flying squirrel immediately spread its arms and leaped from the branch, using the wing membranes on its sides to glide away.

Nuobai stepped on the branches, chasing after it, running along eaves and scaling walls.

A palm-sized shadow shot through the low-hanging snow mist, flowing like water as it dodged layer upon layer of obstacles, vanishing from sight in an instant.

‘This is absurd,’ she thought. [Aerial Dive], a skill theoretically meant for offense, had become an escape skill for this flying squirrel.

Just as she was about to lose sight of her prey, Nuobai used [Instant Kill Step] to dart through the obstacles, instantly closing the distance.

The flying squirrel, realizing Nuobai was still in pursuit, retracted its wing membranes and shot forward like a bullet, creating a sonic boom.

Having lived here for so many years, this was the first time it had encountered a creature that could keep up with it.

But that was the end of it. Once their kind, the flying squirrels, took to the air, no creature could catch them. Especially here in the Misty Snow Forest Sea.

The tall, dense trees and the ever-present misty snow were their best allies.

Just as the squirrel was about to land, it instantly spread its wing membranes. The impact force stirred up the snow mist, exploding on the ground with [Catapult Flight].

The recoil helped it take flight again, this time even faster.

Nuobai had anticipated this. She didn’t chase directly downward but instead predicted its parallel position to track it.

These flying squirrels loved to toy with pursuers, making a sudden turn and escaping just when you were about to catch them.

Nuobai had suffered quite a bit because of this, smashing headfirst into the snow several times, a great loss of face for a cat.

The flying squirrel was still puzzled about why this enemy was so persistent when Nuobai caught up from behind.

It wasn’t one to be bullied either. Brushing against a tree trunk, it activated a skill, adjusted its flight angle, and darted through the forest like lightning.

By this point, Nuobai wasn’t relying on instinct to track it anymore. The ever-present snowflakes would guide her.

No matter how this squirrel tried to fly to the heavens or burrow into the earth, it couldn’t escape Nuobai’s pursuit.

Cat catching mouse, as natural as can be.

With one final [Instant Kill Step], Nuobai intercepted the squirrel ahead of time. She didn’t attack it, merely pouncing on it and pinning it in the snow.

In its fright, the flying squirrel went completely rigid. ‘I think I’ve set a record,’ it thought. ‘I can’t be the first flying squirrel to be caught while in the air, can I?’

Nuobai was only at the early stage of the second-tier, while it was already at the late stage of the third-tier.

Realizing this, its heart sank into despair, and it stopped caring whether it would be eaten or not.

It had become a disgrace to its race. The thousand-year-old undefeated myth of their kind since arriving in the Misty Snow Forest Sea had been tainted by it.

“Wuu wuu wuu…”

In the hazy misty snow, Nuobai’s outline slowly became clear as she walked over to Bai Luxin, the squirrel in her mouth, giving the squirrel a close-up.

When she first arrived here, this little squirrel had made her lose face so many times.

It took Nuobai several days just to catch a squirrel of the same level, which didn’t match her invincible image.

After resolving herself, today she had finally caught this last flying squirrel. She had caught every single one of their entire race!

“Why is it crying?”

Nuobai transformed into her cat-girl form, her black dress scattering on the snowy ground as she held the squirrel.

“Don’t know. Maybe it hit its head just now and got stupid.”

Hearing Nuobai’s icy sarcasm, the squirrel cried even harder, gesturing while it sobbed.

“Wuu wuu.”

Nuobai could barely maintain her aloof expression. This little thing was quite cute.

“What’s it saying?”

Nuobai tossed the squirrel into Bai Luxin’s arms, then picked Bai Luxin up and held her in her own embrace. The warming stone actually wore out; it wasn’t as effective as before.

She held her Beast Master, using her own body heat to protect her.

“You ask it yourself.”

This squirrel had lived long enough to understand human speech. Nuobai was feeling peckish and didn’t want to play translator.

Bai Luxin leaned against Nuobai’s chest and began a stormy exchange with the squirrel in her hands.

“Chii chii chii.”

“Wuu wuu wuu.”

…

After a good while of communication, the flying squirrel finally understood: it wasn’t the first one caught. It was the last one.

‘That’s even more terrifying!’

The creature with ears behind this human had actually wiped out their entire race!

It was the last flying squirrel!

“Wuu wuu wuu.”

Seeing it cry nonstop, Nuobai, who was holding her, ate while laughing, offering no explanation.

“Little squirrel, aren’t you going to ransom yourself?”

“?”

Reacting, the flying squirrel scampered away in a flash.

Leaning against Nuobai was really warm. Bai Luxin rested her head on Nuobai’s shoulder, letting out a slight yawn.

“Nuobai, what was it just now? Tell me~”

Her lazy, drawn-out breath turned into mist, filling the space before Nuobai’s vertical pupils.

“It thought it was the last living squirrel.”

Nuobai gave a simple explanation. Bai Luxin understood instantly and let out a silvery laugh.

“Are we leaving the Misty Snow Forest Sea today?”

Nuobai rested her head against Bai Luxin’s. “Mhm, it’s time to go see other places.”

Time had passed so quickly. They had already been in the Mirror Hidden Sky Secret Realm for two months.

Having trained [Instant Kill Step] to Divine Mastery, Nuobai could now unleash a group attack on her surroundings after teleporting with the skill.

Using multiple Instant Kill Steps in a short time could create a terrifying storm of attacks.

She had also gained another passive, [Spatial Adaptation], which drastically reduced the skill’s consumption.

What was originally a skill she could only use two or three times could now be used easily, starting from ten times.

Her other skill, [Bloodthirsty Berserker], had already reached Divine Mastery before coming to the Misty Snow Forest Sea, providing a passive called [Crimson Blood Aura].

In a bloody environment, it further enhanced her attack and recovery abilities.

Thus, Nuobai had completed her special training for skills. Next, she would focus on accumulating energy to prepare for rapid advancement.

Whoosh! A phantom shadow flew past the forest. Before Bai Luxin could see it clearly, the shadow vanished.

A pinecone brimming with spiritual energy slowly fell from the air.

The flying squirrel flew off, looking back repeatedly. Only when it could fly no further did it dare believe it had finally escaped.

After surviving this calamity, it grew furious again. Its clan members definitely knew about this devil that had appeared in the deep forest, yet none of them had told it.

Each one had kept the news tightly under wraps, all waiting to see it make a fool of itself. ‘It’s too much,’ it thought. ‘I’ll get my revenge!’

After Nuobai and the others left the Misty Snow Forest Sea, the place became even livelier.

“So fast.”

Bai Luxin caught the falling pinecone, peeled it, and fed it to Nuobai.

This scene had repeated countless times; Nuobai was used to it by now.

The pine nuts were too small. Her Beast Master only took one at a time.

To prevent the pine nut from falling, Nuobai would hold Bai Luxin’s finger in her mouth, then use her tongue to roll up the food.

Bai Luxin looked at the glistening on her fingertip and smiled even more happily.

After finishing the food, Nuobai loosened her hair, letting it drape over Bai Luxin.

“Beast Master, rest for a while.”

“When you wake up, I’ll take you out of here.”

“Mmm…”

After Bai Luxin fell asleep, Nuobai silently calculated the energy she needed.

‘The gap is too large. Even destructively collecting spiritual items won’t help much.’

Over these two months, the energy she had absorbed would have been enough to push two early second-tier beings to the third-tier.

Yet she hadn’t even reached the mid-stage of the second-tier.

‘The road ahead is long and the task arduous.’