Chapter 33: Su Xiao's Adventure
[Comparing both parties' intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Our intelligence is ?? times that of the enemy. Obtained 11% of the enemy's data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Bahamut (Overlord-level creature!)
Category: Wyvern species
Health: 100%
Mana: ???
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Stamina: ???
Intelligence: ???
Charm: 51
Skill 1: Red Earth Overlord (Passive): Health increased by 10,000 points, Strength +25, Agility +25, Stamina +30.
Skill 2: ???
Skill 3: ???
Skill 4: ???
Skill 5: ???
Skill 6: ???
Skill 7: ???
...
When Su Xiao flipped to [Skill 9: ???], his vision began to blur and darken.
He had previously thought he narrowly escaped the tiger's mouth, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Su Xiao didn't know what an Overlord-level creature was, but the effect of [Skill 1] alone was enough to send chills down his spine.
When Su Xiao probed other creatures, the worst-case scenario was seeing a bunch of question marks. The more question marks there were, the greater the disparity in strength between him and that creature.
...
After flying for a distance, the sky overlord Bahamut began to descend in altitude. Su Xiao let out a long sigh. If Bahamut had taken him toward the black forest, he might as well have jumped from a thousand meters high and taken his chances.
Bahamut landed on a steep mountain peak, several hundred meters above the ground. The mountain's sides were nearly vertical, making it difficult to ascend by climbing except through flight—at least, most beasts couldn't manage it.
At the top of the peak was an open area, beside which was a massive cave. Claw marks surrounded the cave entrance, clearly indicating that this cave was excavated by the wyvern Bahamut itself.
Bahamut tossed the corpse of the horned beast onto the open ground in front of the cave and let out a few low calls toward the cave's interior.
Two small creatures, about a meter in length, rushed out from the cave. These were juvenile Bahamuts, so young they couldn't yet fly.
Though they would grow into fearsome beings, for now, they couldn't even run steadily and often stumbled.
It was worth noting that the horned beast had tenacious vitality. Even now, it still had breath—at least its heart was faintly beating. If it weren't still alive, Bahamut wouldn't have chosen to feed it to its young.
In fact, the horned beast was still conscious. It was crying.
The two juvenile Bahamuts charged at the horned beast. Facing this massive giant, they showed no fear, rushing forward to tear at it with their gleaming teeth, leaving bloody gashes. Even in their infancy, they displayed the demeanor of overlord creatures.
The sound of gnawing came from outside. Inside the horned beast's body, Su Xiao's face was slick with cold sweat.
He was certain that if he were exposed, he would die. Against the wyvern Bahamut, he didn't have even a one percent chance of victory.
The horned beast's body was gradually eaten through. Fortunately, the two juvenile Bahamuts had small appetites and only ate the lean meat parts.
Su Xiao, still inside the horned beast, breathed a sigh of relief. The situation had been perilous; he had seen the teeth of the juvenile Bahamuts, but luckily, they hadn't noticed him.
After the two juvenile Bahamuts were full, they began to play-fight on the open ground. The adult Bahamut beside them glanced at the horned beast's corpse.
It had eaten a forest python on the way through the black forest earlier and had no appetite now.
The adult Bahamut easily grabbed the horned beast's corpse, gave it a light toss with its claws, and the multi-ton horned beast was thrown off the cliff.
After a moment, a dull splat came from below the cliff—the horned beast had been smashed into a pulp.
The adult Bahamut lay down on the open ground at the peak and soon fell asleep.
On the cliffside of the mountain, Su Xiao was hanging onto a rock, his fingers hooked like claws.
He had long anticipated that the horned beast's corpse would either be thrown off the cliff or eaten by the adult Bahamut.
If it were the latter, he would be doomed; the former offered a chance of survival.
After experiencing multiple misfortunes—nearly exposing his Hunter identity, encountering enemies, being schemed against, besieged by beasts, and being carried off by Bahamut—Su Xiao finally had a stroke of luck: the adult Bahamut didn't eat the horned beast.
Though the situation was still dangerous, hanging on a cliff several hundred meters high, Su Xiao had escaped the tiger's mouth and reached the tiger's paw.
He couldn't relax now. Bahamut was above him. As an Overlord-level creature, its perception must be strong. So from before until now, Su Xiao had only moved when jumping out of the horned beast's body. Otherwise, he remained still, even slowing his breathing and heartbeat.
It wasn't that Su Xiao was cowardly, but in this situation, carelessness meant death.
Silently extending the Realm Severing Thread, he hooked it onto the mountain body and then remained motionless.
Above him was a protruding rock, which meant even if Bahamut flew by, it wouldn't see him. This was an excellent hiding spot.
A long wait began. After six hours, Su Xiao started to feel hunger pangs.
After ten hours, Su Xiao was starving to the point of questioning life. He had expended too much energy in the earlier battle and urgently needed replenishment.
If he didn't fight, Su Xiao could go hungry for four or five days without issue, but that would steadily weaken his combat ability.
Despite his hunger, Su Xiao had to continue enduring.
An hour later, Su Xiao's endurance yielded no results. Another adult Bahamut flew back, and the mountain peak now housed a "family of four."
The returning Bahamut was larger, more vividly colored, with an orange-yellow body, protruding wing bones, and naturally formed black patterns.
Instead of the adult Bahamut at the peak leaving, another had returned, leaving Su Xiao feeling quite helpless.
How often did Bahamuts hunt? If it were once every ten days or half a month, Su Xiao would be starved to death here.
But hanging here might also allow him to survive the trial, as long as he wasn't dehydrated or starved. Su Xiao was certain that no other creature dared to approach this place.
The scenario of Bahamuts not going out for ten days or half a month didn't occur. Two hours later, the two adult Bahamuts screeched a few times and flew off the peak with a roar.
Su Xiao let out a long sigh. Just as he was about to start climbing down, an idea struck him.
Wyverns were also dragons. It was said that dragons had a habit of collecting treasures. Maybe there was something good in the cave at the peak?
Su Xiao looked at the two adult Bahamuts that had flown far away. At least they wouldn't be back for a short while.
Climbing to the peak, Su Xiao quickly walked toward the cave.
Splat, splat, splat...
Hurried footsteps came from inside the cave, and the two juvenile Bahamuts ran out.
The two little ones looked at Su Xiao with confusion, as if they had never seen a human before. But as descendants of an Overlord-level creature, they had innate courage beyond ordinary beasts.
The two juvenile Bahamuts charged at Su Xiao with bared claws and teeth. Su Xiao kicked them aside, one after another, sending them tumbling.
The two little ones rolled like gourds, and the larger one even ended up with a black eye.
They were clearly stunned by the beating and dared not approach Su Xiao again. Their four small, dark eyes seemed to say, "Just wait until our dad gets back."
Su Xiao chuckled lightly. He might not be a match for an adult Bahamut, but he could easily handle the juveniles.
This proved that no matter how powerful a creature was, it was fragile in its infancy.
Su Xiao could kill the two juvenile Bahamuts, but he didn't plan to. That would be suicide.
On a sea island, killing the young of a flying Overlord-level creature was the height of foolishness.
Su Xiao quickly entered the cave, but he came out in less than thirty seconds.
Wyverns and dragons might not be the same species. The cave contained nothing but a large pile of dry grass.
As Su Xiao exited the cave, he saw the two juvenile Bahamuts huddled in a rock crevice, fighting over something to eat.