Liliana suddenly transformed into a giant bear, cutting off Draven's unspoken warning before it even left his throat. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

  He had seen the monstrous defense of this bear with his own eyes. That day, the Black Serpent had slashed at her wildly, with all its might, yet hadn't even scratched her fur—there wasn't so much as a drop of blood. It was like hacking at a boulder.

  Now, this same bear walked up to the unconscious demon bull without a trace of fear and patted its head with her massive paw. Each strike sounded like a boulder slamming into the ground, shaking the earth with every hit.

  Are you trying to wake it up… or kill it? Draven watched the scene unfold, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

  He was getting nervous. If the bull wasn't fully conscious yet and got even more dazed from those slaps, the consequences would be more than just troublesome.

  But the disaster he feared didn't come to pass. After a few more strikes from that bear paw, the short-horned demon bull actually began to open its eyes—slowly.

  There was nothing unusual about its eyes at first—until they met the giant bear's. In an instant, its pupils dilated, and blood vessels burst through the whites. It was the instinctual reaction of a beast, a primal rage at the presence of a threat.

  But before it could rise and attack, Liliana moved. She twisted her massive body and lunged straight onto the demon bull, pinning it firmly to the ground.

  The scene looked utterly ridiculous. The bear stood nearly four meters tall, and the weight of her crashing down nearly flattened the entire cow. The bull's eyes bulged, and it let out a pained and panicked bellow.

  Even stranger, Liliana began to bellow as well.

  Draven's expression froze completely. He blinked, unsure if he had misheard. But no—she really was mooing like a cow. And surprisingly, it sounded quite convincing.

  He glanced at the others around him and saw the same dumbfounded look on every face. No one had seen this coming, but oddly enough… it was working.

  After a few more moos, the bloodshot red in the demon bull's eyes began to fade. It stopped struggling and showed no further signs of aggression.

  The bear didn't let her guard down. She kept mooing softly, patting the bull gently on the back with her paw, as though comforting it. Finally, she slowly rose and even helped the bull up with one thick paw.

  This time, the bull truly stood on its own. Its towering frame was like a mobile wall of muscle, rippling under its hide, radiating a raw, primal pressure. The air itself seemed to grow heavier with its presence.

  Draven instinctively took two steps back. Behind him, Viola retreated as well—she even grabbed his sleeve, her fingers trembling slightly.

  Titus was worse—he looked about ready to lie flat on the ground.

  Only Sylvia remained calm, watching the interaction between Liliana and the demon bull with great interest. She didn't look the least bit concerned about being trampled into a pancake.

  Liliana lowered her head and continued to moo, rubbing the bull's back as if conveying some sort of emotion. Her movements were both intimate and cautious, making people wonder if she really understood bovine language.

  The demon bull no longer resisted. It merely shook its head gently, its hooves pawing nervously at the ground, as if searching for something.

  While it exchanged subtle signals with the bear, it began to scan the surroundings, nostrils flaring, an anxious look in its eyes.

  That was when Liliana turned her head and said,"Quick, release the other demon bull."

  Draven blinked in surprise, but followed her instruction without hesitation. After all, the fact that this cow was standing calmly was proof enough that her method was working.

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  She didn't need to explain—he got the idea: the cow was looking for the bull.

  So the second demon bull—the one that had been swallowed by the serpent—was released as well. The Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent was clearly displeased, grumbling as it spat out the last demon bull.

  It slithered wordlessly up the wall, coiled itself into a ball, and stayed there sulking like a child denied its dinner.

  No one paid attention to its mood now. All eyes were on the newly released second demon bull.

  Liliana let out a few low, timely sounds, mimicking the call of a cow. The sorrowful atmosphere quickly gave way to a different emotion. The cow suddenly lifted its head, its eyes lighting up with joy, as if it had finally recognized the bull in front of it.

  Without any hesitation, it took heavy yet eager steps forward. Even though the bull was still covered in slime and looked rather disheveled, the cow didn't seem to mind at all.

  It lowered its head and stretched out its thick, warm pink tongue, gently licking the bull's face and neck bit by bit, as though trying to confirm it wasn't a dream.

  Draven stood nearby, his expression complicated. He had never imagined that one day he would witness such deep affection in the behavior of a magical cow.

  It licked with such care, such focus—slowly and tenderly—as if saying,"You've finally come back."

  And the bull seemed to understand her. Under the cow's affectionate licking, it gave a slight shiver, then slowly opened its eyes.

  In that moment, it didn't display any sign of alarm or defense—just calmly gazed at the familiar face before it. The confusion in its eyes faded into calm recognition.

  It gently shifted its body. Though still weak, it managed to stand on its own. Unlike the cow, it didn't need help—it was as if it was responding to its mate's call.

  The two magical cattle soon leaned into each other, heads touching, slowly and lovingly licking one another. They made no aggressive sounds, only letting out a soft lowing from time to time, like whispering in quiet conversation.

  Liliana stood to the side, mimicking their moos while gently swaying her body. Her pale golden eyes—only appearing when she was in bear form—shone with admiration, like a child witnessing a scene out of a fairytale.

  However, Draven quickly noticed something amiss. The cow seemed no longer hostile toward them, but the bull wasn't as easy to deal with. Liliana's interaction with it became more frequent, and her tone shifted from gentle to urgent.

  "She's arguing," Draven muttered. He could tell—the bull kept shaking its head, glancing at Liliana from time to time, and occasionally looking in Draven's direction. Its gaze wasn't hostile, but filled with caution.

  If the cow hadn't kept nudging the bull's neck with her face or licking behind its ears from time to time, the bull might've already charged at them.

  The conversation dragged on, tension mounting by the minute. Viola, standing in the back, had sweaty palms and was clinging tightly to Draven's coat.

  Titus had long since crouched on the ground, pretending to be dead, not even daring to lift his head. Even Draven himself began to doubt if this was going to work at all.

  Finally, after a long silence, the tall, majestic bull let out a deep, drawn-out moo and nodded its head. Draven immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

  Liliana suddenly shouted with excitement, as if she'd just won a great battle. Her body instantly shrank back into her human form. She patted her chest, stood tall, and proudly lifted her chin."All done!"

  "Aren't I amazing?"

  "Amazing, amazing!" Draven offered praise without hesitation, then quickly asked,"What did you talk about? Why are they willing to stay?"

  Liliana beamed and explained that, thanks to her patient persuasion, the two short-horned magical cattle had agreed not to leave and were even willing to settle down in Black Flag Territory.

  "But," she added with a playful wink,"they won't live here for free."

  "What are the conditions?" Draven frowned.

  "They need a stable food supply. Besides that, they also want a specific potion."

  Draven tensed up. He wasn't worried about food—but rare and tricky potions? That was another matter.

  "I'll go ask the details!" Liliana said and skipped back to the magical cattle like a little deer, resuming communication with them.

  Shortly after, the bull opened its mouth, as if trying to vomit something. Then it spat out a clump of earth-yellow matter, which landed on the ground with a faint dampness and the tangy smell of grass.

  Liliana didn't mind at all. She picked it up and even wiped it on her leather skirt.

  Viola frowned and stepped forward."Don't just touch unknown stuff…"

  "It's not dirty," Liliana grinned, handing the sticky lump to Viola.

  Viola took it, glanced at it, then turned to Sylvia."Is this the root of earth-dragon grass?"

  Sylvia took it, tore it open with a claw, examined the fibers and color carefully, then nodded."Yes, it's the rhizome of earth-dragon grass. With this, we can grow new earth-dragon plants and brew potions continuously."

  Draven relaxed instantly. If they could cultivate it, they wouldn't have to worry about resources. But then he remembered another key issue."What about the blood? Did you make that part clear to them?"

  At this question, Liliana paused. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she raised her hand and formed a rough circle."They said they can only provide this much blood each time."

  The size she indicated was roughly forty centimeters in diameter."And it can only be collected once after every full moon."

  Draven burst into laughter. He scooped Liliana up and planted a big kiss on her cheek."Fantastic! You did great! That's more than enough!"

  These were two chieftain-level magical bulls. One bucket of blood per month would be enough to brew plenty of bloodwine!

  Liliana was stunned by the kiss, but the next second, she gleefully wrapped her arms around Draven's head and refused to let go.