Thugs and Warriors

Luo Yun was once again roused by that faint, indistinct noise while actively absorbing Earth Vein Energy. He rose angrily, his claws gouging a deep gash into the vines beneath his feet.

Anyone could tell that Luo Yun was in an extremely foul mood.

Ever since the Ancient Forest had fallen into chaos, every time he absorbed Earth Vein Energy, he could sense the disturbance within the earth veins. Waves of noise were mixed in as well, making his absorption efficiency inconsistent.

It felt like finally finding an exceptionally quiet place to meditate, only for construction to start nearby just as you relaxed enough to fall asleep. The constant rumble of machinery kept dragging you back and forth between sleep and wakefulness.

Then, once you finally could not stand it and woke up completely, the sound vanished altogether.

Luo Yun could endure it once or twice, but this had gone on for several days. The fact that he had managed not to lash out everywhere already proved that his self-control was strong enough.

Take Ya Ji, for example. She had been dealing with the same thing, yet her temper had become unusually violent two days ago. Every day, she went out to find some lone Jinouga, blasted them with several mouthfuls of fire, or rammed them a few times with a Dragon Charge before returning satisfied.

After so many days, the chaos in the Ancient Forest had not only failed to stop—it had grown increasingly outrageous.

As all kinds of creatures migrated from the depths of the Ancient Forest, not only was meat becoming scarce, but even various plants were in short supply.

If this continued, the ecosystem here would collapse before the chaos could be brought under control.

When the Jinouga pack first arrived, they relied on their overwhelming strength and the advantage of moving in groups to drive away a large portion of the Great Jagras from the lower levels of the Ancient Tree. Then, with their powerful territorial instincts, they set their sights on the middle and upper levels of the Ancient Tree.

The battles between the Rathalos and the Jinouga were no longer limited to the major hunting grounds. Both sides had begun fighting over the middle levels of the Ancient Tree as their battlefield.

Relying on their lightning affinity and exceptionally hard shells, the Jinouga had held an absolute advantage on the lower levels. But once they reached the upper levels of the Ancient Tree, the narrow passages and platforms greatly compressed their room to dodge.

With their flight advantage, the Male Fire Dragons continuously weaved through the upper canopy of the Ancient Tree to launch attacks, leaving the Jinouga side passively taking blows.

Thus, the Rathalos would not go down to the lower levels, and the Jinouga would not come up to the upper levels. The two sides remained locked in a stalemate.

Luo Yun and Ya Ji had participated in several battles during this war as well. The fighting styles of those Veteran Male and Female Fire Dragon couples, along with the Azure Dragons living in the middle and upper levels, had opened Luo Yun's eyes.

Azure Dragons were even more agile in the air than ordinary Rathalos, even stronger than those Veteran Male Fire Dragons in that regard. They also almost never landed during battle, constantly attacking with Flame Breath and the poison in their claws through their own agility.

It could be said that Azure Dragons had completely abandoned the straightforward, kill-in-one-blow brute-force fighting style of Male Fire Dragons. They were extremely patient, resolving their opponents at the smallest possible cost.

As for those Veteran Male Fire Dragons, their combat power was equally terrifying. They had forcibly seized nineteen-meter Jinouga, ignored their desperate struggles, flown high into the air, and dropped them to their deaths. That was simply a gap in raw strength.

Those Veteran Female Fire Dragons, on the other hand, were somewhat underwhelming in Luo Yun's eyes. Aside from better stamina, stronger poison, and slightly hotter flames, they had no particular highlights.

After seeing the comparison, Ya Ji's ability to maintain a strength advantage even against creatures much larger than herself had once made Luo Yun wonder whether his Huge Power trait had somehow ended up on her instead.

Despite being only sixteen meters long—a size that was neither remarkable nor even large among giant beasts—she had never encountered an opponent capable of overpowering her through brute force in several battles.

Her powerful strength, well-proportioned physique, and dazzling appearance had even attracted several Male Fire Dragons with improper intentions.

Those Male Fire Dragons had then faced Luo Yun and Ya Ji's brutal combined beating. Only after one reckless fool was forcibly burned into charcoal by Luo Yun did the other Male Fire Dragons finally give up their ideas.

To burn a Male Fire Dragon, with its extremely high Fire Resistance, alive into charcoal—Luo Yun had already become an absolute anomaly among Male Fire Dragons.

Weak monster groups might drive out anomalies, but powerful groups would instead revere them.

Moreover, the Rathalos living in the Ancient Forest could not strictly be considered one group. They were merely neighbors of the same species.

Under such circumstances, Luo Yun and Ya Ji were classified as beings not to be provoked.

At the hunting ground farthest from the Ancient Tree's range of influence, a massive Great Jagras walked heavily to a stream and gulped down water.

Looking at this familiar hunting ground, it had finally returned after five years!

Its luck did not seem very good, though. In such a large hunting ground, it had not seen a single Herbivore Dragon. It did not know whether the Rathalos had just finished hunting here.

"Awoo!!"

A clear, resounding howl came from the distance. The Great Jagras raised its head warily and saw a Jinouga charging toward it in a trail of sparks and lightning.

The Great Jagras's eyes widened. The heat-dissipating membranes on its back instantly spread open, and tiny sparks scattered from the corners of its mouth.

Closer, closer!

The Jinouga was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it had arrived before the Great Jagras. Its right claw rose high, wrapped in dazzling electricity, and slammed straight toward the Great Jagras's head.

Based on its experience fighting other Great Jagras during this period, these brainless thugs would usually choose to charge forward and meet it head-on.

Thus, the Jinouga had already prepared its evasive maneuver for after the strike landed.

But something unexpected happened!

This Great Jagras actually turned sideways and took a step back.

That was right—you saw it correctly. This brainless brute had actually retreated!

The Jinouga's claw struck empty air. Before it could react, the Great Jagras turned with the motion and swung its tail. Accompanied by the heavy crack of a tail whip, spikes that had somehow risen from its tail tore across the Jinouga's cheek and knocked it stumbling.

It was not over yet. Before it could steady itself, the Great Jagras followed up with a hind kick. The force was not great, but it was just enough to knock it down.

Its head was still buzzing when a blast of scorching fire suddenly exploded against its chest. The powerful impact and high temperature sent pain through its entire body.

Yet the power brought by its fully activated electrical organs and the Lightning Bugs surrounding its body still allowed it to regain consciousness quickly.

Enduring the pain, it swiftly retreated and opened the distance, its bloodthirsty gaze fixed on the Great Jagras that had not pursued it.

With a long howl, the yellow charged shell released electricity, stimulating the vast number of Supercharged Lightning Bugs in its back fur to begin generating power. It absorbed the Lightning Bugs' electricity and entered the Supercharged State. The charging shell on its back opened completely and emitted a blue glow, while Lightning Bugs discharging at full strength circled around it. Its entire body looked as though it were wrapped in lightning.

This was the Jinouga's peak condition. Most of the electricity on its body was insulated by its blue-green scales, while a smaller portion stimulated its muscles, greatly increasing its strength and sharpening its reflexes. Every attack carried immensely powerful lightning.

After completing its enhancement, the Jinouga did not attack first. Instead, like a battle-hardened warrior, it began searching for a flaw in the Great Jagras, waiting for its opponent to make the first move before launching a deadly counterattack.

The air around the Great Jagras's heat-dissipating membranes distorted slightly. This was a sign that its body temperature had risen to the extreme. Normally, a Great Jagras in this state should have entered a state of ultimate fury, abandoning reason like a berserker in exchange for relentless attacks and terrifying lethality.

Yet this Great Jagras remained extremely calm. It stared coldly at the Jinouga, with not the slightest intention of charging first.

Why wasn't it charging over yet?

Why wasn't it charging over yet?

With the same thought in mind, the Great Jagras was also encountering a Jinouga for the first time in its life. After all, Jinouga were pack creatures and generally did not migrate casually. Their pack lived deep within the Ancient Forest, near the Great Canyon, while the Great Jagras lived near the Ancient Tree. The forest was so vast that it was perfectly normal for them not to have encountered each other.

Gradually, the Jinouga was the first to lose its patience.

The main reason was that its earlier carelessness had allowed the Great Jagras to land a short combo. Its injuries prevented it from maintaining the Supercharged State for long, so after realizing that the Great Jagras truly had no intention of attacking first, it could only helplessly launch the first attack.

Lightning descended from the sky alongside a long howl. The Jinouga commanded the Lightning Bugs to fly toward the Great Jagras, guiding the electricity around its body to strike down.

As expected, the Great Jagras, which had never seen such an attack before, was caught off guard. It was struck directly, electric threads wrapping around its body and leaving it feeling numb all over.

The Jinouga would not waste this opportunity after landing a hit. It charged forward at a run.

Seeing this, the Great Jagras was not afraid in the slightest. Enduring the discomfort, it charged forward as well.

Just as the two sides drew close, the Great Jagras lowered its flaming jaws. Its hard, horned, toothed lower jaw scraped against the ground as it continued charging forward without slowing.

This was the Great Jagras's killing move in a state of extreme rage.

Fierce Jaw Rush!!

If it were struck head-on by this attack, even a Jinouga would have its bones bitten through and be forced into a disadvantage.

Having fought many Great Jagras during this period, the Jinouga also understood exactly how devastating this attack was. Many of its kin had been defeated this way.

Therefore, the instant it recognized the Great Jagras's attack pattern, the Jinouga leaped directly upward. With its powerful jumping ability, it sprang toward the heat-dissipating membranes on the Great Jagras's back.

That was the Great Jagras's absolute weak point!

But something unexpected happened. The Fierce Jaw Rush, which should have been impossible to stop, came to an abrupt halt. A very unnatural mocking look appeared in the Great Jagras's eyes.

A mouthful of scorching fire burst from the Great Jagras's jaws.

The Jinouga in midair had nowhere to evade. It was struck directly, and the Lightning Bugs on its back died in the intense heat while the rest fled in all directions.

Without the Lightning Bugs' charge, the Jinouga dropped out of the Supercharged State almost instantly. It crashed heavily onto the ground and fell into a half-conscious state, unable to rise no matter how hard it tried.

Launch Dash Flame Bite!!

This was the ultimate killing move of this unusual Great Jagras!

The Jinouga's final sight was that enormous maw filled with flames. After a brief instant of agony, the adult Jinouga died with resentment.

After dealing with the Jinouga, the Great Jagras unceremoniously ripped open its belly and began devouring it in huge mouthfuls.

The Great Jagras had not expected such a generous gift to arrive so easily. It had originally planned to search elsewhere for Herbivore Dragons despite its hunger, yet this foolish Jinouga had rushed over to deliver itself.

With the combat techniques it had honed through five years of torment, it had effortlessly dealt with the Jinouga using only two little tricks.

Thinking of this made the Great Jagras think of that disgusting Male Fire Dragon. If it had been him, these little tricks would have been completely useless. He would not fall for them.

Unlike this stupid Jinouga, which had not even bothered to test it and had opened with such crude fighting. It deserved to die.

While the Great Jagras ate, the remaining Lightning Bugs, now without a host, somehow flew onto its back one after another. They burrowed into its mane and replenished their electricity using the static generated by the mane rubbing during movement.

At the same time, electricity leaking from the Lightning Bugs silently entered the Great Jagras's body. It eventually traveled with the blood flowing through its body and reached its fire gland.

From that moment on, the Great Jagras's fire gland began undergoing an unknown mutation. The conflicting energies were soothed by the Life Energy the Great Jagras had unconsciously absorbed, and its fire gland gradually mutated in another direction.

At the Ancient Tree, Luo Yun had no idea that a familiar dragon had also returned nearby. He felt uneasy, as though something dangerous were slowly approaching the Ancient Tree.

But today was his turn to hunt, so after greeting Ya Ji, he flew out of the nest.

The Detter had already determined the migration direction of a Herbivore Dragon herd. Luo Yun did not need to exhaust himself searching everywhere. He only needed to fly in that direction.

Very quickly, Luo Yun located a herd of Herbivore Dragons enjoying fresh grass. Circling in the air and using the white clouds to conceal his body, Luo Yun selected his target and dove straight down.

Almost in sync with Luo Yun, from the other side of the Herbivore Dragon herd, a strange bird-like wyvern with a body length of fourteen meters flew low at tremendous speed, flapping its wings and letting out a sharp, ringing roar.

It had an enormous, powerful beak on its head, a pair of triangular ear-like horns, and a body covered not in feathers but in hard black-purple armor. White mane grew along its neck. It had one wing claw and four Wing Bones, while its tail resembled that of a Rathalos.

It was flying toward the same prey Luo Yun had chosen.

Because Luo Yun was diving from high in the sky while it was flying low, it did not notice Luo Yun above.

Luo Yun, however, noticed this uninvited guest.

Black Wolf Bird! A Bird Wyvern Species with the ferocious temperament of a vicious wolf. Because its moves and frame resembled those of a Female Fire Dragon, it had been jokingly called the product of a Female Fire Dragon's affair in his previous life—a savage giant beast!

But! There was a problem!

Why was a Black Wolf Bird here?

The ending of the chapter was revised. Those who have already read it can exit and refresh.