The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 0568 The Hunter's Grand Entrance (First Update)

Dying in the prime of youth might also be a form of beauty.

Paris thought so, but Liszt didn't care much for the sentiment. Sooner or later, he would investigate Paris's Black Dragon Childe identity, which could provide good insights and guidance for the application of Dragon Magic Power. A Black Dragon Childe or a White Dragon Wraith seemed somewhat evil to humans, but apparently beneficial to dragons.

According to Paris, without changes, she would be consumed by the Magic Power of the Light Dragon and eventually return to it—the Dragon Wraith seemed to be a form of cultivation method. If Little Fire Dragon Leo could learn it, shedding Three Thousand Drops of Blood... creating three thousand Black Dragon Childe, wouldn't his growth be rapid?

Of course.

For the time being, Liszt hadn't even completed Dragon Riding, and unlocking the mystery of the Black Dragon Childe was still a long way off. There was no need to rush.

After resting for a night in the port town, he rode the Rainbow Whale Rose early the next morning to the southwest beach of Coral Island, which was the territory of the Purple Sand Crocodile.

"I wonder if the Magical Beast has finished off the Purple Sand Crocodile. If it has finished feeding, then this trip would be for naught."

The beach where the Purple Sand Crocodile resided was vast, but for Liszt, having the Eye of Magic was like being equipped with radar—it was very easy to spot the Purple Sand Crocodile's traces.

It was lurking at the edge of the beach in the sea, not yet preyed upon.

Liszt didn't disturb it, opting instead to wait nearby. "Where is that Advanced Magical Beast?" His gaze searched the area, but he saw no sign of the shadow of the Advanced Magical Beast mentioned in the Smoke Mission.

Thankfully, he had plenty of patience.

He waited for two long hours.

As the day grew brighter, the Purple Sand Crocodile finally grew restless in the ocean and began to crawl up onshore. This part of the beach, with many unnamed mixed trees, offered the Purple Sand Crocodile a large range of activity, and it continued along the beach into the depth of the woods. Liszt signaled Rose to stay by the shore while he hastily followed the Purple Sand Crocodile.

A moment later.

The Purple Sand Crocodile crossed the beach and the marshland, sliding into a swampy lake. Its massive body quickly blended with the mud, leaving only its head above water, waiting for prey to arrive.

Liszt climbed up a nearby tree, playing the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, the oriole behind, quietly waiting for the Advanced Magical Beast to appear.

In a blink.

Noon arrived; the Purple Sand Crocodile had not caught its prey and was still waiting, while the shadow of the Advanced Magical Beast had yet to appear. Liszt was still not anxious. He took out the lunch he had prepared and started eating it in the tree—though he usually dined finely, enjoying his meals, this didn't mean he couldn't endure hardships.

He was just somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Dining in the castle was clean and hygienic. After finishing a dish, he would wipe his hands, sip some wine, maintaining his demeanor neat and tidy, while not letting the taste of one dish interfere with the next. Outdoors, he could only rely on himself; his hands became greasy, and it wasn't convenient to savor wine.

All in all, the flavor of the food and dining atmosphere were greatly compromised.

Gradually.

The sun began to tilt.

Liszt, leaning against the tree trunk, almost dozed off in a daze. At that moment, he activated the Eye of Magic out of habit, scanning the surroundings and was startled. At some point, a colossal creature outlined in red Magic Power had appeared on the edge of the swamp.

It was a bird-like creature, hidden among the shrubs by the swamp.

Dispelling the Eye of Magic and invigorating his spirit, Liszt observed this Fire-Attribute High-Level Magical Beast with his naked eye—compared to the surrounding trees, its height reached just to the neck of a ten-meter-tall tree, meaning it stood over ten meters tall. Its grey-brown feathers, when not considering its head and neck, resembled that of a large crane or stork.

However, looking at its thick neck and the massive head upon it, it differed greatly from any crane or stork.

Especially the large bird's bill, flaxen and covered in brown spots; it looked like an enormous boot.

This reminded Liszt of the dopey large birds he had once seen in online videos—the Whalehead Stork. When the Whalehead Stork in the videos was fed fish, it repeatedly dropped them from its mouth, which was truly clumsy, no wonder it was said to be near extinction.

The Advanced Magical Beast before him was not one to be compared with a Whalehead Stork. Although it had a similar appearance, its posture and presence were majestic and intimidating, and its rich red Magic Power evidenced its strength.

It stood motionless in the bushes.

Its sharp eyes intently focused on the Purple Sand Crocodile in the swamp, not even blinking.

Hours passed, one after the other…

"Might as well call you the Boot Beak Giant Stork, your beak really does resemble a boot, and your body is like that of a heron or a stork, plus your massive size. This name is quite pictorial and summarises all about you." Liszt got bored and started naming the bird. By the time he finished naming it, the sky was almost dark.

In those afternoon hours, the Purple Sand Crocodile still hadn't waited for any prey, and the Boot Beak Giant Stork was still standing in the bushes, patiently waiting.

It has to be said.

The patience of animals when hunting is indeed very strong.

It made him think about driving a prey to the Purple Sand Crocodile for feeding, then luring the Boot Beak Giant Stork to hunt the Purple Sand Crocodile. Or perhaps, he thought more impetuously about charging straight forward and battling the Boot Beak Giant Stork directly, disregard its status as an Advanced Magical Beast, just hunt it down straight away.

"Forget it, let's wait some more, there's plenty of time, no need to take risks."

The thought had just settled.

The scene turned unexpectedly, suddenly a few grunting sounds of pigs could be heard. Two large Thunderfang Boars leading several smaller ones ran towards the marshland. Thunderfang Boars are Thunder Attribute Low-Level Magical Beasts that can release Magic-Thunder Strike Flash.

Back at Thorn Ridge, Liszt, in cooperation with the knights, had once hunted Thunderfang Boars—tough-skinned and somewhat difficult to deal with.

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As these Thunderfang Boars entered the swamp, they began to roll in the marshy mud, grunting playfully and oblivious to the fact that they were inching closer to the Grim Reaper. Finally, one of the larger Thunderfang Boars rolled near the Purple Sand Crocodile. The next second, the Purple Sand Crocodile suddenly pounced.

Its huge mouth clamped on the Thunderfang Boar, violently twisting its body and submerging the boar into the swamp.

"Grunt!"

"Roar!"

The remaining Thunderfang Boars frantically scattered. However, the Purple Sand Crocodile did not care about them. The single ton-heavy Thunderfang Boar it captured was enough for it to luxuriously indulge in a big meal. Yet, like the Thunderfang Boars, the Purple Sand Crocodile was unaware that it was not at the top of the food chain.

As it was numbed by the struggling Thunderfang Boar continuously releasing Lightning Flash and had to surface from the marsh, the Boot Beak Giant Stork that had been hiding in the shrubs all afternoon swiftly struck.

Its wings spread wide and its long legs stepped forward, as its enormous boot-shaped beak, alongside its body, shot out like lightning, savagely pecking at the Purple Sand Crocodile's head.

Within its beak, a Super Fireball was brewing, an Advanced Magic that with each powerful peck on the Purple Sand Crocodile's head, smashed the crocodile, almost charring its skull. Flapping its wings, it also cast another sort of Advanced Magic, Flame Slash, severely slicing at the Purple Sand Crocodile's body.

The Purple Sand Crocodile hastily shook off the half-dead Thunderfang Boar, opened its mouth and spat out its own Advanced Magic, Water Wave Shield, conjuring armor for itself. Then, it fiercely unleashed another Advanced Magic, Water Arrow Barrage, striking back at the Boot Beak Giant Stork. As an Intermediate Magical Beast, it was bigger than the Boot Beak Giant Stork.

Its counterattack was also extremely fierce.

But it couldn't change its fate.

The Boot Beak Giant Stork was agile, with dodging and swift movements, continually releasing various kinds of magic—fireballs in rapid succession, Fire Resistance Rings, Flame Slash, Super Fireball, Flame Tornado, Dancing Fire Snakes… It was like a moving arsenal of spells, relentlessly bombarding the Purple Sand Crocodile, ultimately breaking through the Water Wave Shield and brutally charring the crocodile's body.

The giant beak didn't forget to keep hammering down on the Purple Sand Crocodile's head, its objective clear—to crack open the Purple Sand Crocodile's skull, as the crocodile's skin was too thick and its magic baking apparently hadn't fully cooked its opponent.

"Gurgling…"

In agony, the Purple Sand Crocodile wailed, but no matter how it rolled, it couldn't stop the Boot Beak Giant Stork from drilling a hole in its head. Soon, with a crack, the skull broke and even its brain splattered out.

The wailing gradually ceased, and the body was left with only simple twitching.

The Boot Beak Giant Stork flapped its wings, uttering a strange call of satisfaction, ready to enjoy today's feast in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Phew!"

Having watched the exciting hunting scene from the tree, Liszt jumped down. Suddenly drawing the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword, he circulated the Dragon Dou Qi within his body. His legs kicked off, as if shot like an arrow soaring into the sky. Then, wrapped in the vast Dragon Dou Qi, he executed the move "Setting Sun Drop" from "Rising Sun Blaze".

Together with the already hidden sunset in the sky, he shone mutually, diving down towards the Boot Beak Giant Stork.

Now!

The praying mantis had caught the cicada, the oriole behind did the mantis in. It was time for the hunter to make a grand entrance!