Meat-toothed Beasts' Trump Cards

Chapter 18: The Carnivore Beasts' Trump Card

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's explanation, Mordas paused. Though he had the face of a lion-like beast, Yuan Chen could clearly sense an ineffable conflict within him.

It was as if... as if he suddenly realized the words he almost blurted out were quite insulting.

Compared to Mordas, who was clearly educated, the other hunters of the Carnivore Beast Tribe were much more straightforward. Look, the first Carnivore Beast Yuan Chen had dealt with couldn't help but say:

"Is he an idiot? Maintaining harmony when things are like this? Is this what your human civilization is like? Feels worse than ours..."

"Watch your words!" Hearing the young hunter's words, Mordas couldn't help but reprimand him, "Yuan Chen is our guest!"

Although he said this, Mordas's expression was telling. He had actually thought the same thing subconsciously, but he didn't want to hurt Yuan Chen by saying it...

Even so, after hearing Yuan Chen's explanation, the suspicion in the eyes of the Carnivore Beasts lessened considerably—similar experiences always made people understand each other faster.

As for past events, Yuan Chen took them in stride, simply waving his hand and saying, "What Nakrol said is nothing wrong. I also think those old fossils in the Hall of Eternal Existence are a bunch of idiots."

"Ha, see~"

The Carnivore Beast hunter named Nakrol looked triumphantly at Mordas, exuding a unique beauty of ignorance, which made Mordas feel quite ashamed.

Shaking his head, as if remembering something, Mordas suddenly looked at Yuan Chen with a strange expression.

"What's wrong?" Yuan Chen glanced at Mordas, who had a look of surprise on his face.

Mordas replied, "Hmm... Nakrol was the first to attack you, and then he was knocked out by a water cannon."

"I know, what's wrong?"

"He just woke up not long ago. How did you know his name?" If Mordas remembered correctly, Nakrol hadn't communicated much with Yuan Chen, and hadn't even participated in the previous free-for-all...

"I'm a prophet, didn't I say that earlier?" Yuan Chen shrugged and said:

"Although the futures and pasts I can see are fragmented, when I saw you all, it was very easy to know your names, abilities, preferences, and specialties."

Even though the League of Legends universe had been neglected to the point where the game had been out for over a decade, its background story remained in its early stages, preventing Yuan Chen from truly utilizing his precognition. However, the system's Scout Skill was enough for Yuan Chen to pose as a half-baked prophet.

If nothing else, just being able to directly see a person's life force and abilities would have made Yuan Chen a fortune setting up a stall in the park in his previous life—

Even guessing surnames could fool people into giving money. With Yuan Chen being able to directly see others' specialties and traits, with a little manipulation, he could easily become a success coach, a modern-day Confucius, a great sage and supreme teacher of the 21st century.

But following the tropes of urban novels, someone was bound to not believe him. Like now—

"Then what about me? What's my name?"

The burly Carnivore Beast who had first engaged Yuan Chen in close combat said with a laugh, "If you can say it, then I, Naduo, will be the first to admit defeat!"

"..."

As soon as these words were spoken, both Yuan Chen and Mordas fell silent.

Yuan Chen was fine, but Mordas, feeling honored, covered his face and dug his toes into the ground. He felt like what he had just said to Yuan Chen about Meat-toothed Beasts having their own civilization was utter nonsense...

He couldn't articulate it at all.

Also, usually, in urban novels from 2023, you rarely encounter a passerby who would slap your face like this... No, this was clearly using their face to slap his hand.

After a while, Yuan Chen patted Mordas on the shoulder: "Let's start the reform with education... I know some good scholars in Ionia."

"Thank you..."

Mordas's lion face wore a human-like worry.

Although Naduo had directly revealed his name, it didn't matter. Yuan Chen threw a Scout Skill at him, and Naduo felt a jolt. The moment a chill ran down his spine, it felt like his innermost secrets had been exposed.

Then, Yuan Chen, Yuan Chen calmly said: "Skilled in desert hunting, likes to lurk, adept at using a hunting axe in combat. Oh, your skill level looks pretty good? Been practicing in secret a lot, haven't you?"

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Mordas smiled and shook his head: "Then it seems you're mistaken. Naduo's greatest skill is with the hunting knife, taught to him by his father..."

As he spoke, Mordas's voice paused slightly because he saw Naduo's face filled with surprise. After a moment of silence, Mordas raised an eyebrow: "You..."

Nodding, Naduo, without much guile, frankly said:

"I do prefer the hunting axe... but my dad said the hunting knife is the most suitable weapon for Meat-toothed Beasts, so he always made me learn how to use the knife.

You know, those old guys don't care what you want to learn. They'll only force you to learn what they want you to learn."

"Then why do you hunt with..."

"I use the hunting axe when I hunt alone." Naduo scratched his head and said, "How should I put it... it just feels more natural. I feel like the axe is easier to master than the knife, and its burst power is greater!"

As he spoke, Naduo swung the short knife in his hand a couple of times, saying somewhat helplessly: "But there's no choice... the family tradition is the hunting knife. My dad doesn't even know about the hunting axe."

Hearing Naduo's words, Mordas looked at Yuan Chen with even more surprise in his eyes.

In response, Yuan Chen relaxed and raised an eyebrow--

This was actually written in Naduo's attribute traits as "Axe Mastery."

While this trait wasn't as monstrous as Nedeli's Wild Blessing, nor as representative of an extremely special ability as Milio's Warm Flame, it still proved that Naduo possessed talent in a certain area that surpassed the average person.

Hearing Naduo's secret, the other Meat-toothed Beasts also became interested, and they all began to inquire about their own talents and information. Yuan Chen wasn't in a hurry and told them their abilities and some of their favored combat styles one by one.

However, there weren't many Meat-toothed Beasts like Naduo who possessed traits. Among this team of over thirty Meat-toothed Beasts, only three possessed traits.

One was Naduo's Axe Mastery, and another was a throwing mastery belonging to someone named Sarusa. Both were of low level, at most ordinary traits in a game. Mordas's trait, however, was of good quality, reaching the excellent level, named "Stealth Cloak."

Its effect was that stealth was harder to detect, and the first strike after ending stealth increased with extra damage.

So far, this was the first excellent-tier trait Yuan Chen had seen.

Before this, aside from scattered common traits, Yuan Chen had seen three epic-tier traits: his own Demon's Blessing, Nedeli's Wilderness Blessing, and Milio's Warm Flame.

Hmm, Ionia has a few more epic-tier and even legendary-tier traits, but my attention was focused on my own cultivation and getting stronger back then, so I didn't pay much attention to others...

I didn't pay much attention before, but now that I think about it, I should discover them if I can. After all, some traits will gradually disappear if they are never awakened, which is like a realistic version of Shang Zhongyong.

After eating and drinking for a while, when the other Meat-toothed Beasts had returned to their tents in twos and threes to rest, Yuan Chen and Mordas did not leave.

On the contrary, the two knew very well that the real show was just beginning.

Wiping his mouth with a handkerchief made of animal hide, Mordas looked at Yuan Chen beside him and said, "You want to hunt dragons too? Why? Do you have a purpose?"

"Yes, the identity of a Dragon Slayer will make my future actions more convenient." Yuan Chen did not deny it, but nodded and said directly:

"I see a future world filled with crises... In the past, when I was in Ionia, I thought that as long as I could survive, it would be enough, and the world would have nothing to do with me. But after some things happened, my thoughts changed..."

"What do you mean?"

"The era is changing," Yuan Chen said calmly.

"Runeterra has been peaceful for too long... The Shuriman empire is about to rise again, and the Noxian wars will change the fate of countless people. Piltover's technology is constantly innovating, and Zaun's alchemy factories have also welcomed new masters."

"In comparison, Ionia has maintained its unchanging state for thousands of years. Do you know about boiling a frog in warm water?"

"What do you mean?" Mordas asked doubtfully, as there was no similar idiom in this world.

Yuan Chen then explained:

"If you want to boil a frog, using hot water from the start will make the frog jump out immediately. But if it's warm water at a suitable temperature, the frog will lie obediently inside. By the time it realizes the water temperature is too high, it will be too late."

"Ionia is like this...

It's too comfortable, too peaceful, so comfortable that the people who grew up on that land have forgotten what war means. They have forgotten that when the giants descended from the sky, it was the ancestors of that land, along with your ancestors, the Vastaya Shuray, who fought and resisted them."

"Ionia is experiencing the same problem as your tribe, rigid traditions. But Ionia's problem is more serious than what you have experienced... because no one realizes that it's wrong."

Yuan Chen frowned, "I accidentally came to Ixialia because of a shipwreck... At first, I felt lost, bewildered, and afraid. I wanted to return to the familiar land and continue my old life immediately. But then I realized that this was the right thing to do."

Looking at Mordas, Yuan Chen said earnestly:

"I can't make any changes in Ionia. The people there reject all foreign civilizations. Their love for peace has degenerated into rigid cowardice.

No matter what, many people will die in Ionia, and they will keep dying until even the essence of that land changes. I won't stop it, because their peace makes me uneasy."

"..." Hearing this, Mordas was silent for a moment. He didn't know much about Ionia, so he could only tentatively say, "But at least the children can grow up safely, right?"

"Only more will die, and the price is hidden. Ionia is paying an unseen sacrifice for tradition and peace. Postponing hardship will not make it disappear, it will only make it grow stronger as it accumulates."

"It might be suppressible now, but what about when it can no longer be contained? When that calamity breaks free from the earth, what kind of monsters would be born in that land where the spiritual and material realms are already indistinct and blurred is hardly surprising."

"...So, you want to unite more forces? To fight against these futures you foresee?"

"Ionia's problems are just a part of the whole of Runeterra." Facing Mordas's confusion, Yuan Chen shook his head, his demeanor returning to a relaxed, or perhaps numb, indifference as he said, "The truly good times are yet to come."

Not to mention the distant future, but looking at the near future, Ixtal's neighbor, Icathia, has already birthed a new Void. In Freljord's Howling Abyss, the Frostguard sealing the Watchers is melting.

The Star Guardians' chains on the Dragon King are loosening, the Ruined Kings are roaring boundless hatred within their weapons, and the Shadow Isles' Miasma recently attacked Bilgewater...

Thinking this, Yuan Chen didn't elaborate, merely saying:

"Many crises are beyond the capacity of a single region or nation to resist... In the face of a calamity that threatens all of Runeterra, the barriers between nations and regions are utterly unnecessary.

The identity of Dragon Slayer is just a small, impromptu part of the plan. You wouldn't understand if I explained in detail... Let's just talk about how we can cooperate."

"...Very well."

Hearing this, Mordas nodded--

He didn't pay much mind to Yuan Chen's cryptic ramblings.

He had seen similar people before, like a prophet named Malzahar in a border town of Shurima, who was always muttering nonsensically. Not long ago, he was talking about welcoming a greater salvation before inexplicably charging into the desert and disappearing, leaving everyone utterly bewildered.

"What gives you the confidence to hunt dragons?"

Yuan Chen said:

"As hunters, you should know the power of Elemental Drakes. Especially in a region like Ixtal, which is rich in elements, the destructive power a single Elemental Drake can unleash is not comparable to ordinary beasts."

In response, Mordas looked at Yuan Chen, and after a moment of silence, he quietly returned to his room and took out a locked chest.

He opened the chest, revealing a glass jar wrapped in animal hide.

The instant Mordas unwrapped the hide, a faint blue, flame-like spectral light illuminated the entire night sky. Accompanying it was an indescribably heavy pressure.

After staring for a moment, Yuan Chen cast a Scout Skill. As he looked at the item information that appeared in his mind, even Yuan Chen couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Where did you get this thing?!"

"Mount Targon."

Seeking votes. Qidian has undergone reforms, and the new book has requirements for readership. If you have time, brothers, please take a look at the latest chapters and don't just save them for later. Otherwise, the author will have a very difficult time during the new book period. emmm