204 Moon Receives A Devastating Blow

(Hydra Star System)

(Zrudread University- Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

Birds sang joyfully and the various animals resting in their enclosures were now beginning to stir as the first sun rays of dawn could be seen.

A beautiful hybrid girl with four blade-like appendages jutting out of her back was strolling merrily through a forested path with a frostwing bat on her shoulder.

Squeak! Squeak!

Moon puffed up his chest proudly and flapped his wings happily as he cooed softly in Sophie's ears.

"No, you still have to do some more training so don't flatter me," Sophie smiled and rubbed his furry little head.

The two red suns were now beginning to peak over the horizon, but the cold chill of dawn could still be felt. 

It was early in the morning and Sophie had taken Moon to the park to do some light training exercises before the combat pet midterm.

Unlike the other midterm exams, Professor Ward had informed the students that only their beast pets would be participating.

Students had to stay on the sidelines and communicate with their pets via the blood bond that they should have already developed.

When Sophie concentrated, she could feel the subtle connection between herself and Moon so there shouldn't be any problems in that regard.

There was just one tiny issue….

Moon was so damn lazy!

Sophie didn't understand how a legendary rank beast pet could spend the entire day lounging around and only getting up when it was feeding time.

There was no motivation to improve! 

No drive to conqueror the universe and slay all the enemies in his path!

Moon would just lay down in his bed like a salted fish and watch children cartoons on the television that came with the room.

Pets were supposed to resemble their masters, but Moon was nothing more than a lazy glutton!

What kind of person would Sophie's fellow classmates see her as?!

"Alright Moon when we reach the training field, I want you to complete the basic obstacle course two times," Sophie ordered with a firm tone.

Although she wanted to get some training in before the exam, it was important not to overdo things.

Leaving Moon exhausted for the rest of the day would defeat the entire purpose of preparing for the midterm.

Squeak! Squeak!

[Mommy I don't want to do it!]

"Are you talking back to me young man?" Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and Moon could feel an enormous pressure fall on his tiny body.

"Maybe I should tell Astrid to let her siblings know not to give you any snacks when we visit them."

"And I might also have to take back those sugary treats that you stole from my backpack last week."

Squeak! Squeak!

[Wait! Mommy I made a mistake!]

"Oh?" Sophie casually raised an eyebrow and waited.

Squeak! Squeak!

[I was just kidding before!]

[How could I question the most powerful, prettiest, and greatest mommy in the whole wide world!]

Sophie kept a cold expression on her face but inwardly she was roaring with laughter at the dejected look on Moon's face.

Her silly little glutton would not even bat an eye if you threatened him but mention taking his snacks away and he would immediately behave himself.

Well, it wasn't good to tease him too much…. 

Sophie gave Moon a small rub on the head and the duo continued their trek through the forest until they arrived at an open field divided into different sections.

This was one of the many training areas located around the Forest Lord Kingdom Park, but Sophie had chosen this particular one as the obstacle courses here were adjusted for aerial pets.

She was not the only student with the idea of having some early morning training as several of the sections were already occupied by bizarre looking combat pets.

It was pretty clear which students were first years and which ones were upper years from a single glance.

The first-year students were shouting out commands and orders to their combat pets while the older students appeared to be just staring quietly.

But even without saying a word, their pets moved instantly in whatever direction they desired. 

This clearly meant that the blood bond between master and combat beast was quite strong. 

Sophie saw a floating eyeball with wings desperately floating through hoops while shedding tears of blood.

Another was a pet that resembled an octopus with multiple arms and long slender appendages, but the two purplish wings attached to its blob-like exterior gave it the ability to fly.

The universe truly was a vibrant place just teeming with unseen mysteries still yet to be explored.

Even after thousands of years of conquest and settlement, the Earth Federation had only visited a tiny piece of the observable universe.

Most scholars had agreed that it would be impossible for the Federation to explore even one percent of the entire universe.

Sophie continued to observe the various combat beast pets with a look of fascination at their strange appendages and oddly shaped bodies.

Most flew with the aid of wings or at least some equivalent appendage but some seemed to be moving with the help of psychic forces. 

Squeak! Squeak!

[Mommy stop looking at those ugly creatures!]

Moon was not happy to see his precious mom gazing at those other animals. 

It was bad enough that his mommy was being taken advantage of by that nasty princess girl!

He didn't want any more competition for Sophie's attention.

The look in his eyes gradually became more unfriendly and he fiercely rubbed his wings on Sophie's head to claim ownership.

Sophie felt a surge of jealousy flowing across the blood bond and cheerfully stroked Moon's furry back.

"Don't worry baby…. you will always be my favourite," Sophie affectionately spoke with a gentle tone.

Squeak! Squeak!

[Mommy do you love me more than Cleo?]

"No. I love Cleo the most," Sophie replied instantly before her brain could process the words coming out of her mouth. 

There was a brief silence and then Sophie coughed awkwardly before heading for an empty section of the training field.

"Um… let's…. err…. start the training," she stuttered.

Squeak! Squeak!

Moon turned his head and refused to even spare Sophie a single look.

After that heavy blow, he felt like his heart had been shattered into tiny pieces.

.

.

.

.

.

(Five minutes later….)

Chew! Chew!

Sophie sighed in resignation as she fed Moon another sugary treat to try to get back in his good books.

It seemed that she would need to coax her baby before any sort of training occurred today.