Griffins, Royal Griffins

Drawn along by the wind, Flender and the others hurried through the trees, weaving swiftly between them until they reached a silent stretch of forest.

It was utterly quiet. There were no insect calls, not even the sound of birds flapping their wings in flight. It was as if every sound had been erased.

Flender reached out, grabbed a handful of wind before him, and sniffed it. A powerful scent of bird feathers filled the air. There were two kinds.

"Mm, there are two scents. One is larger, and the other..." Flender pondered for a moment. "A child or a sibling? Neither feels quite right."

"So there are two of them?" Zhao Wuji grinned indifferently. "Should we lure them over now, or rest first?"

"Find somewhere suitable for fighting. Otherwise, if that big fellow flies away, are you going to chase it?"

Flender adjusted the glasses on his face, and his voice abruptly lowered. "The thing we're dealing with is a Griffin, known as the ruler of the skies."

After twisting and turning through the forest, the view before them suddenly darkened. A grove reeking heavily of wild beasts came into sight.

Zhao Wuji pinched his nose, looking utterly disgusted. "This is the hunting ground you found, you old miser?"

"What, is it unsuitable?"

Ignoring Zhao's muffled voice, Flender narrowed his eyes and looked upward. At the top of the dense woods, countless branches stretched out, nearly blotting out the sky.

With the path upward blocked, Flender approached a random tree and knocked on it.

Knock, knock, knock...

The sound was like striking steel. Flender nodded in satisfaction.

"Zhao, I keep telling you to read more. Can't you tell what this forest is made of?"

"What?" Zhao Wuji examined it closely and found only that the surrounding trees were covered in claw marks of all sizes, as though they had been violently torn apart.

Yet even so, those scarred trees had not fallen. On the contrary, they stood straight and firm. The more claw marks a tree bore, the glossier its bark became.

"They look like iron trees?"

"They are a variant of iron trees: Fearless Iron Trees. They are peculiar plants with incredibly strong defenses. The more damage they suffer, the better they grow."

"Oh? Then why are there dead trees?"

Zhao Wuji pointed at several withered trees that had clearly lost all life and casually asked.

"No matter how much they grow through injury, there is a limit. Look at that iron tree. Isn't it thriving despite being covered in scars?"

Flender motioned toward the largest iron tree in the best-lit area, the one with the most branches extending outward. There was scarcely an intact patch of bark on it, yet its sheen was nearly as dazzling as gold.

"That iron tree should be the king of this grove. I'd say it is several thousand years old. Even without any offensive power, an ordinary Soul Ancestor would not find it easy to destroy."

Zhao Wuji looked again at the nearly airtight Iron Tree Forest, which had only several entrances of varying sizes, and nodded in sudden understanding.

"You want to trap that Griffin to death in here?"

"This seems to be where the Griffin sharpens its claws. The claw marks are everywhere, and its scent is thick. Ordinary Soul Beasts would never dare approach."

"It is also full of iron trees with excellent defenses. Once it enters, we only need to block those few exits, and it won't be able to leave easily. It couldn't be more suitable."

After saying that, the five old companions exchanged glances and each gave a wicked chuckle.

"Lu, start setting up the formation. Shao, get the candy beans ready. Zhao and Li, prepare for battle."

Lu Qibin summoned his Martial Soul, Star Luo Chess. Five Spirit Rings rose around him, and with their glow, several chess pieces began taking root throughout the Iron Tree Forest.

Shao Xin waved his hand as well, and five candy beans of different colors sprang out.

A control-type, a food-type, two assault-types, and Franky, an agility-type. That was the lineup of their five-man team.

Flender took a candy bean and popped it into his mouth. A wonderful flavor no less exquisite than the candy Dumbledore had given him spread across his tongue.

Immediately afterward, his speed, strength, Soul Power, and various other abilities were each enhanced, and a sense of satisfaction flowed through his body.

"More."

Zhao Wuji rolled his neck and held out his hand toward Shao Xin again.

More and more candy beans went into their stomachs, and the auras of the three men grew ever stronger until they reached their peak. After that, the candy beans they consumed no longer had any effect.

Shao Xin waved a pale hand, indicating that he could not squeeze out another single candy bean.

They spread out into formation. Flender and Zhao Wuji each formed a unit alone, while Li Yusong teamed up with Lu Qibin and Shao Xin.

Once everyone was ready, Flender's voice rang out.

"Get ready. I'm going to release our aura."

With a thought, the cyclone that had been lingering outside the Iron Tree Forest, concealing their presence, slowly dissipated.

The auras of the five men immediately spread outward, causing an unusual disturbance in the Iron Tree Forest, which was already steeped in the Griffin's scent.

Deep in the woods, a slumbering beast jolted awake almost instantly. Bright, profound Mihawk eyes opened, fury spreading within them.

Humans had trespassed into its territory!

Kill...

Wait!

Another unusual gust of wind arrived, carrying an intoxicating fragrance. It was pure and clean, a wind that even made it submit from the bottom of its heart.

Ultimate Wind!

Boom!

Its broad wings spread open in an instant, with a wingspan nearly ten meters wide. Its mere appearance gave rise to rings of terrifying hurricanes that shredded a swath of trees.

The Griffin, master of this territory and a powerful Soul Beast renowned as the ruler of the skies within the Heaven Dou Empire, now erupted with instinctive greed.

This wind... belonged to it!

"Screech!!!"

A horrifying cry burst forth as the Griffin charged at high speed toward the wind.

Beneath the sunlight, its vigorous form was revealed in full: the head of an eagle, the body of a lion, and a pair of wings on its back.

"Screech!"

Another cry sounded. After that Griffin departed, another pair of wings likewise soared into the sky.

"It's here!"

Flender's expression sharpened. The wind told him that a colossal creature was rapidly approaching.

A shadow fell, followed by another cry that rang through the heavens. With a sharp cracking sound, two massive lion claws forcibly tore apart the outer edge of the Iron Tree Forest.

The Griffin thrust its head inside. Its eyes, more magnificent than those of any hawk or falcon, locked tightly onto Flender, humanlike greed blooming within them.

A ninety-two-thousand-nine-hundred-year Soul Beast—the Griffin.

"It's fucking huge..."

Zhao Wuji's voice trembled slightly. Before the overwhelming strength of the Griffin, the instinctive fear of a living creature erupted within him.

Flender also looked up at the Griffin before him and could not help sighing inwardly.

Its body was as massive as a valley, while its sharp eyes rivaled famed swords tempered a thousand times over.

Its broad wings draped behind its back, every feather seeming to have been cast from molten iron, carrying a texture comparable to alloy.

Fur cascaded over its body, yet it resembled hanging soft needles, all the way down to its enormous claws, each capable of covering an entire grown adult.

Had they not undergone an essential improvement, Flender and the others would have needed to consider how to spell death the moment they stood before it.

Suppressing his thoughts, Flender spread the wings behind his back as well. A hurricane followed in his wake as he prepared to step forward and confront the Griffin.

But then...

Whoosh!

Another gale came crashing in, accompanied by an equally terrifying aura.

Within Flender's field of vision appeared a Griffin one size smaller than the first, but its entire body radiated a golden glow like the sun.

A fourteen-thousand-year Soul Beast—the Griffin Variant, Royal Griffin.