Chapter 444 - Giant Apes

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After catching the scent of the pit vipers, more and more Lightning Birds descended the mountain, their numbers increasing from the original dozen to over a hundred, all of them circling around the many pit vipers that were at their dying breaths. The Lightning Birds varied in size, some were bigger than even Gryphons, with their wings spanning nearly ten meters. While others had wingspans of not even a meter, flapping their little wings with effort. It was clear that those were just born not long ago. It seemed that they had managed to lure out almost all of the Lightning Birds within the nest. The only regret was that they still did not manage to catch a glimpse of the level nine Lightning Bird King.

Roar…

After letting out a shrill roar, a Lightning Bird could no longer curb its whetted appetite and was the first to descend onto the area where the pit vipers were. It burnt a dying pit viper to death using a bolt of lightning, then carefully tore off a piece of meat before swallowing it, looking around nervously as it ate. With it setting the example, seeing that there were no dangers around, the rest of the Lightning Birds pounced toward the ground and enjoyed their prey, losing themselves as they ate, completely oblivious to the drugs the group had scattered on the body of the pit vipers.

“One… Two… Three! Fall, fall, I say!” Seeing the Lightning Birds fall for their traps, Florence was extremely excited. As she shouted, the Lightning Birds fell onto the ground one by one.

Roar…

After sensing that something was off, the Lightning Birds who were still mentally alert let out long cries, effortfully flapping their wings. Unfortunately for them, their entire body was limp and powerless, and they could not fly no matter how hard they tried. A lucky few managed to take to the skies, but their speeds were not much faster than that of a snail. They did not have the power to return to the peak of the mountain and were shot down by the sharp crossbows of the hunters.

“That worked?” Yang Ling shook his head as he saw the hunters charge out excitedly, capturing the Lightning Birds with fishing nets. At that moment, he did not know whether to attribute this to the hunters’ luck or the stupidity of the Lightning Birds that took the bait!

“Of course, this is the precious Soul Dazing Drug. It is colorless and odorless, and can even topple a giant dragon. A bottle of this costs tens of thousands of Purple Crystal Coins!” Florence smiled nonchalantly, then continued, “We poured over ten bottles of the Soul Dazing Drug onto the bait. It would instead be strange if the Lightning Birds did not fall! If the drug did not work, then all we can do after that is to crush them to death with scrolls!”

Tens of thousands of crystal coins per bottle, and they poured over ten bottles of that?

Looking at the excited beautiful young lady Florence, then seeing her take out a large bunch of magical scrolls from within her Space Ring, Yang Ling was a little speechless. After completing the mission, one Lightning Bird could be sold for a thousand Purple Crystal Coins at the very most. To think that Florence would invest several hundred thousand Purple Crystal Coins into the mission. The magical scrolls in her hand were even more expensive, each of them costing several hundred thousand Purple Crystal Coins! It was definitely an unprofitable deal for her even if she captured all of the Lightning Birds there.

She was rich, and not just an average rich person!

Even though he had long expected Florence not to be an average person, Yang Ling did not expect her to burn through money at that rate just for her excitement!

“Hahaha, we’re rich, this many Lightning Birds, we made a windfall this time!”

“Hmph, I’m definitely going to spend a night at the most expensive room of the Shangri-La in the Magical Beast Territory after I get the money. I’ll even relieve myself with the most beautiful Natalie!”

“Hehe, just with your weak constitution, how comfortable can you get even if Natalie were to lie in front of you with her legs spread open?”

The hunters spoke as they excitedly captured the hundreds of Lightning Birds with their fishing nets. They were all smiles, all of them thinking about how they were going to make themselves feel good after they got their share of the crystal coins. One of the Lightning Birds could already be sold for several hundred or even a thousand Purple Crystal Coins. One hundred of them sold together would definitely net them a large sum of crystal coins. Even if the leader to the team Florence was to take the bulk of it, the rest of the reward would be enough to leave them with several hundred Purple Crystal Coins. They would be able to live well for the next few months, even if they did not go on missions.

Roar…

Just as the group was in high spirits, an alarming scene ensued!

The injured level nine Lightning Bird King disregarded the injuries that it had suffered, leading the last of the Lightning Birds as they charged down from the peak of the mountain, shooting out a thick arc of lightning from far away, scorching a few hunters that had been caught off guard to a crisp. It then pounced downward, its sharp claws instantly tearing a few pitiful lads into pieces.

“Ah… save me!”

“Level nine Lightning Bird King, my God, help me…”

Personally witnessing a few of their comrades die pitifully under the claws of the Lightning Bird King, the rest of the hunters were scared out of their wits, fearfully running away. Having not seen the Lightning Bird King show itself for the longest time, they had thought that it was immobile due to its severe injuries. They did not expect the other party to have such terrifying battle capabilities still. The heavy armor they wore was akin to a thin piece of paper, offering little protection before the Lightning Bird King!

“Bastard, who said that the level nine Lightning Bird King no longer had any strength to attack?” Florence was both shocked and furious when she saw the Lightning Bird King brutally massacring her teammates. She opened up a magical scroll and muttered for a second, then summoned an icicle and froze a Lightning Bird into an ice sculpture. She then used another scroll to release a field of purple flames, burning a Lightning Bird that had been caught off guard into ashes… She used the precious high-level magical scrolls one after the other as if they did not cost money!

Roar…

After a few Lightning Birds were killed, the Lightning Bird King quickly noticed the detestable Florence, the Spellcaster using the scrolls. It let out a loud cry before pouncing over without care, consumed in bloodlust. The wound on its chest was bloody, with blood still dripping out of the cavity. There was a deep gash on its right wing, as if a piece of flesh had been gouged out… However, even though it had already been severely injured, it was still as merciless as it was before, its battle capabilities still something to marvel at.

A level nine Magical Beast truly lived up to its title, its abilities far superior to an ordinary Lightning Bird. Even an injured Lightning Bird still had offensive capabilities enough to instill fear!

“Miss, please step back!” Seeing the level nine Lightning Bird King pouncing toward her, fast as lightning, the black-robed man behind Florence did not dare be tardy, shouting as he pulled out a sharp sword, decisively charging forward to intercept the attacking Lightning Bird King. The black-robed man launched fierce attacks all aimed at the vital points of the Lightning Bird King, his sharp sword aura leaving deep gashes on the ground.

A disciple of the God of Swords?

Witnessing the sharp attacks of the black-robed man, Yang Ling could not help but remember the gold-cloaked warrior Casia. However, after close observation, he noticed that their stances were rather different. Casia’s swordsmanship was filled with energy, and he released a never-ending barrage of attacks when he was on the offensive. However, the black-robed man was different. He had precise attacks and a strong defense. His defense was exceptional, allowing him to fight back against the powerful retaliation of the Lightning Bird King time and time again.

“That’s weird, the black-robed man seems to only have abilities equivalent to that of an average Domain Expert, how could he defend against the detection of my Divine Knowledge? Could it be that he is wearing a treasure that is masking his true ability?” After being unable to see the situation within the black-robed man’s body despite trying multiple times, Yang Ling shook his head, confused.

The level nine Lightning Bird King was strong, but it at best only had abilities of a beginner Domain Expert. Its abilities had already been weakened considerably after being heavily injured, and Yang Ling could deal with it easily if he just sent the Corpse Wizard King or the Dark Dragon King. If that was the case, then the abilities of the black-robed man who could not gain the upper hand even after battling the Lightning Bird King for some time must not be too powerful either. There was only one explanation as to why he could escape Yang Ling’s Divine Knowledge, and that was that he was equipped with a treasure that could ward off the detection of his Divine Knowledge. It was not impossible for some great families to have one or two treasures like that.

“Brother Yuri, with me and Master Andrese around, the level nine Lightning Bird King would definitely not be able to escape, don’t worry!” After clapping the dust off her hands, Florence put down the magical scrolls she was holding. She was extremely confident in her powerful guard Andrese, “That’s right, how is your deliberation coming along? It is still not too late for you to join our hunting team. You can get several hundred Purple Crystal Coins after we head back to Wissen Town and complete our mission. You need not do anything after joining our hunting team, all you have to do is cook for us!”

“Oh, this… Let me consider it further!” Looking at Florence, who was still trying to pull him into her team in such a situation, Yang Ling was speechless. He did not expect her to regard him as an army chef after he let her taste his roast meat. An army chef, in the words of his friend in college, was the most pitiful man in the world. They had to wear a helmet and lug along a wok every day, yet look at the others play with cannons and guns. A person cannot get more depressing than that.

“Hmph, go and die, fatal blow!” After accidentally getting clawed by the Lightning Bird King and becoming covered in blood, the black-robed man burst out in anger, clenching his teeth as he used his most powerful attack. He grabbed onto the claw the Lightning Bird King had launched toward him and pierced his sword fiercely toward the other party’s chest, landing right at the center of the Lightning Bird King’s already bloody wound.

“Not good, protect the leader, quick!” Seeing the Lightning Bird King and Andrese both suffer heavy injuries, Yang Ling quickly charged outward, taking advantage of the chaos as he knocked out the severely injured Lighting Bird King with a fist and tamed it with his blood. However, just as he was prepared to tame the rest of the Lightning Birds, a deafening roar suddenly came from far away. What followed was a wave of heavy footsteps. The sounds were getting closer and closer as if a large group of high-level Magical Beasts was manically charging toward them.

“Stop caring about the Lightning Birds on the ground, leave, leave quickly!” In her shock, Florence ordered the group to leave as fast as possible, nervously clutching on a few magical scrolls. Even the powerful guard Andrese had been injured. She now finally realized that hunting was not just something fun and exciting. She deeply experienced the terrors of the Terras Forest.

Faced with the danger that was about to approach them, the newbie hunters reacted far faster than anyone could have imagined. They began running the way they came even without Florence having to say anything, hoping that they could leave before the terrifying high-level Magical Beasts arrived. No one noticed that the Lightning Birds on the ground were vanishing one after the other, being kept into the Wizard Pagoda’s Space by the speedy Yang Ling taking advantage of the chaos.

The group acted fast, but they were still one step too late!

Soon, five-meter-tall giant apes appeared in the surroundings. They had strong canines and giant teeth, protruding mouths as well as towering muscles that seemed to be filled with explosive strength. They moved fast and had surprising leaping ability, arriving before the group in the blink of an eye, consumed in bloodlust.

King Kong?

Looking at the five-meter-tall giant apes releasing a terrifying aura, Yang Ling did not dare be tardy, quickly summoning the Corpse Wizard King, Dark Dragon King and the rest of the group. According to the memories of the Lightning Bird King, it had been injured by one of these giant apes. Even the weakest of these apes had abilities at the peak of level nine. The six-meter-tall Giant Ape King was a Level Surpassing Magical Beast that could scare off any of the Magical Beasts nearby. It had immense strength and impenetrable skin, as well as terrifying battle capabilities. Countless high-level Magical Beasts had died by their hands!