Chapter 260: Battle Against a High-Level Magical Beast! |
In the wilderness, particularly in a place like the Dark Mountains where powerful magical beasts roam, there is only one possibility—this area has become the territory of a high-level magical beast. This would have caused the weaker creatures in the vicinity to be wiped out, and any newcomers wouldn’t survive long. Over time, such a place could become deathly silent.
Rhett narrowed his eyes, sensing something was amiss. Reflecting on their journey deeper into this area, it had been half a day since they encountered a single magical beast, whether low or mid-level. It was as if they had vanished from the world. Could this be the stronghold of a high-level magical beast?
At that moment, Taylors furrowed his brow slightly, his tone heavy as he said, "Father, it's been quiet for so long without any sight of magical beasts. This might be the lair of a powerful creature."
"That's possible," Tuck agreed, nodding. "Let's hope we don’t run into a high-level magical beast. Even Father might not be able to handle it. Should we retreat now?"
Rhett shot Tuck a sidelong glance without saying anything and instead quickened his pace forward.
"Father, slow down!" Taylors called out, hastening to catch up as he saw his father suddenly accelerate.
Tuck, following closely, suddenly noticed something and squinted into the distance, exclaiming, "Father, something’s up ahead!"
"Yes, I see it," Rhett replied, continuing forward. He ran along the brown dirt path, feeling the morning dampness in the forest air. Soon, he stopped abruptly. On the ground appeared a series of large footprints, deep at the front and shallow at the back, with four diamond-shaped claws, the tips of which had sunk into the ground, creating four small pits. The prints were about half the size of a human. However, the trail ended abruptly at the corner of a small mountain, as if the creature had vanished into thin air.
"Huh? The footprints disappeared?" Tuck stared at the uneven mountain surface, puzzled. "Where's the cave? Where did it go?"
"Maybe it flew away?" Taylors mused, rubbing his chin. "Unless it tunneled underground or merged into the mountain, the only possibility is that it took to the skies."
Rhett looked up, peering through the gaps in the leaves at the wide sky, but saw no creatures flying overhead.
He then spoke softly, "It’s likely a Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast..."
"A Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast?" Taylors echoed, the name unfamiliar to him. "I’ve never heard of such a beast."
Rhett didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he pulled Tuck and Taylors back until they were about a kilometer from the mountain before explaining, "That’s because this type of beast is extremely rare, possessing the potential for Sacred Domain bloodlines. There aren’t many of them in the entire world. I thought they only existed in legends, but it seems we’ve stumbled upon one."
"A Sacred Domain bloodline? Does that mean it reaches Sacred Domain level upon maturity?" Tuck exclaimed, his tone full of surprise.
"Indeed, this beast possesses the strength of the Sacred Domain once it matures. Unfortunately, they are so rare that finding one, even not as a cub, means its blood alone would fetch a high price!" Rhett's eyes burned with excitement as he quickly scanned the surroundings.
Tuck and Taylors were equally thrilled, but Taylors soon questioned, "So where is it now? The name suggests it can burrow, but did it go underground?"
"That’s possible, but burrowing is just one of its abilities; it doesn’t necessarily mean it prefers to stay underground. In fact, it has a huge appetite and often comes to the surface to hunt."
After saying this, Rhett decisively opened the simulation.
[Would you like to initiate a Real Simulation? Each day of simulation costs 1 Destiny Point.]
"Yes, simulate one day."
A ripple spread out before his eyes.
Feeling reassured, Rhett boldly stepped forward and cast a spell toward the small mountain about a hundred meters ahead.
Earthquake Technique!
This was a fifth-level spell, but when Rhett cast it, it produced unparalleled destructive power.
The ground began to tremble violently, a force amplified by Rhett's mastery of the Vibration Arcana, which intertwined seamlessly with the spell. To the untrained eye, it seemed like pure Earthquake magic, though the scale of the destruction was unprecedented.
However... the commotion was greater than anticipated...
The small mountain, which spanned several dozen meters in width and stood over a hundred meters tall, shook with increasing intensity until it finally began to crack open.
At this moment, Rhett's previously confident expression turned to one of surprise as the mountain gradually crumbled, seemingly breaking a camouflage. A powerful and unfamiliar aura emanated from within.
"So it was hiding here all along..." Rhett thought, delighted. The footprints had been left about ten days ago, leading to the assumption that the Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast had long since moved on to other hunting grounds. He had only intended to search the area in the simulation, never expecting to uncover such a surprise.
"Roar!"
A deep roar emerged from the increasingly dense cracks, reverberating like an echoing cry in a canyon, tearing through the silence with a resonating effect.
"Tuck, Taylors, take Dick and retreat to sit on Fireg’s back!" Rhett’s tone suddenly grew serious as he urged them.
He could feel the beast’s aura was even stronger than he had anticipated. It seemed more like a high-level magical beast rather than a mid-level one.
Crack, crack, crack
The Earthquake Technique continued to ravage the mountain, and within seconds, it collapsed entirely, shattering into countless yellowish-brown rocks that scattered like a rain of debris.
Seeing this, Taylors and Tuck exchanged glances, each reflecting the shock in the other's eyes.
"Is this Father's current strength?"
"A single spell destroyed a mountain, and it looked so effortless."
Their astonishment only deepened when they saw the enormous creature revealed from within the shattered mountain, causing their faces to pale.
"What kind of monster is that?"
"Is it the Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast Father mentioned?"
"It’s enormous, and its aura is so powerful. Just standing there, it’s almost suffocating!" Taylors stared at the giant beast, over twenty meters tall and nearly eight meters wide, swallowing nervously.
"What will Father do? This beast has Sacred Domain potential, and its level doesn’t seem to be lower than Father’s. Could he be outmatched?" Tuck’s expression grew grim, his eyes filled with concern.
"No, it can’t be. Father is invincible, undefeatable," Taylors said, trying to reassure himself. But deep down, he knew that their father didn’t have a guaranteed victory; in fact, he might not even have the advantage.
To them, Father was just an ordinary magician, albeit one with extraordinary combat experience and a strong lead among his peers. But against absolute power, these advantages might not be enough!
The Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast was so massive, the air around it trembling with its presence. Its scales looked incredibly thick; defeating it might require multiple extraordinary beings of the same level. The boys clenched their fists, their hearts filled with anxiety!
At that moment, the Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast moved.
Its body was covered in deep yellow scales, appearing incredibly sturdy. Its chest bore a natural cross-shaped pattern, and its back was as uneven as a meteor crater, with several irregular columns protruding. The beast looked as ugly as it was massive.
It swung its powerful forelimbs, striking the ground with tremendous force. Instantly, dozens of earth spikes erupted from the ground, breaking through the rocks and forming a spike formation that blocked all of Rhett’s escape routes.
"Father!" Tuck shouted instinctively, his heart leaping into his throat.
Taylors trembled, his shoulder pressing against Tuck’s, while Fireg neighed anxiously, calling out in alarm.
Unexpectedly, Rhett stood his ground, unmoving. His entire body was suddenly enveloped in a yellowish light shield, which tightly encased him.
Unlike before, the shield wasn’t bright or dazzling. Instead, it emitted a hazy, space-distorting effect, making it look like a blurry spherical void rather than a conventional shield.
This was an illusion created by the Vibration Arcana. The overwhelming vibration force generated by it shattered anything that came near. Rhett didn’t even bother to dodge the spikes rising from the ground; he let them strike his Rocklight Shield.
He trusted the Vibration Arcana to withstand even a powerful magical attack!
Buzz!
A dull buzzing sound filled the air as the spikes barely emerged from the ground before disintegrating, like snow under the sun, into scattered particles of earth.
This miraculous scene erased the fear from Tuck and Taylors' faces, replacing it with renewed hope.
"Father blocked it! Was that the Rocklight Shield? Can a defensive spell have such power?" Tuck was dumbfounded.
"No, I’ve seen the Rocklight Shield many times. It’s never been like this. Father must have used something else!" Taylors said, though disbelief tinged his voice as he tried to reason through what he had witnessed.
"Go, Grandpa!" Dick cheered, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, bouncing up and down to encourage Rhett.
Tuck pulled Dick into his arms, frowning as he wondered aloud, "Could Father have optimized the Rocklight Shield?"
"That’s impossible. Existing spells have been optimized countless times by those before us. They’re nearly perfect, and improving them even slightly is almost impossible, let alone to this extent!" Taylors shook his head decisively.
As the brothers struggled to understand, Rhett began his counterattack. He wasn’t one to take a hit without returning it. The beast had struck first, but now it was his turn to exploit the opening!
Rumble
In an instant, a massive boulder, tens of meters wide, materialized in the sky, casting a large shadow over the ground below. The Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast’s aura dimmed slightly as it sensed the looming threat. Rather than confront it head-on, the beast’s feet emitted a yellow glow, causing the ground to soften. It sank into the earth as if diving into a pool.
Against such an ability, any non-earth mage would be terrified. The risk of being close-quartered by a creature with such power, especially without strong defensive spells, would usually spell certain death.
But as a master of earth magic, Rhett had a deeper connection to earth elements, barely sensing the creature’s swift movements underground. His experience guided him, and he didn’t dodge; instead, he developed a battle strategy in his mind. A high-level magical beast? He was confident his mastery of the Three Arcana would deal with it!
"What? The beast disappeared!" Tuck exclaimed.
"It must have burrowed underground," Taylors said, growing tense. "I hope Father can find a way to counter this!"
The brothers’ anxiety returned, the battle taking a sudden and dangerous turn. Now, once again, they were on edge.
From their perspective, the Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast had vanished, leaving Rhett scanning the ground, turning slowly with a cautious expression and a hint of panic.
This scene only deepened their fears. If their father was visibly nervous, it must mean he was struggling against the current situation!
"Damn it, I’m going to help Father!" Tuck, driven by an adrenaline rush, leaped from the tree, intending to shield his father. He was ready to sacrifice himself to give Rhett a chance to strike back.
"Tuck, you fool, get back here! Even if you’ve reached the third-level knight, you can’t help in this fight!" Taylors called after him.
But Tuck didn’t listen, tossing Dick to Taylors and gritting his teeth. "If Father loses, we’re all dead!"
Taylors hesitated, then took a deep breath, "You’re right. Let’s go together..."
Just as the brothers reached an agreement and prepared to assist, the ground began to tremble slightly—a subtle but rapid vibration.
Rhett, outwardly appearing anxious, remained internally calm.
Rumble
The earth shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck the forest. Rhett stood at the epicenter, the ground beneath him cracking, jagged fissures spreading outward.
Suddenly, the ground erupted as several spikes shot up, not from the surface but from within the earth itself, revealing the half-buried form of the Sacred Scale Earth-Burrowing Beast!
Its impenetrable scales weren’t just for defense; they controlled the spikes, making the beast as prickly as a porcupine and as tough as a turtle—a formidable opponent.
"Father!" Tuck landed on the ground, his eyes wide with fear. From his perspective, his father couldn’t possibly withstand such an attack.
He was ready to unleash his Phantom Rewind, speeding toward Rhett.
But Tuck was too weak; before he could even activate his technique, the battlefield had already shifted again. The figure of his father, impaled by the beast’s spikes, suddenly crumbled into sand. The spikes had passed through nothing but grains of earth, without the expected bloodshed.