Chapter 9: Magical Beast – Velociraptor (Part 2)
“Captain, what’s going on up ahead?” Lori whispered to Hillman.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Hillman’s mouth. “That mysterious magician has gotten into a conflict with that mercenary squad. We just need to stay here and watch—don’t get involved.” Hillman himself was only a level-six warrior, so he didn’t dare interfere either.
Just the velociraptor alone was something he couldn’t withstand, let alone that mysterious magician.
This seven-person mercenary squad was no pushover either. Five were warriors, and there were two magicians. At the head of the squad was a burly man with disheveled red hair, riding a pitch-black iron ox. The iron ox’s two sharp, dark curved horns gleamed with a metallic luster.
Its blood-red eyes revealed the beast’s identity: a level-five magical beast, the ‘Bloodthirsty Iron Ox.’
With a snort, white mist shot from the iron ox’s nostrils.
The squad consisted of seven people: four men and three women. Both magicians were women, and another woman was an archer. Aside from the Bloodthirsty Iron Ox, the squad also had another magical beast soaring in the sky—a massive griffin.
A griffin, a level-four magical beast!
It had a lion-like head, and its enormous wings were powerful and robust. A mercenary squad with two magical beasts and two magicians—clearly, this was no ordinary team.
“Young man, you’d better hand over the Depero Shadow Diamond,” the mysterious magician’s cold voice rang out again from atop the velociraptor, where he sat cross-legged.
“Magician sir, we don’t want to be your enemy, but this Depero Shadow Diamond cost us endless effort to obtain. It’s worth a hundred thousand gold coins, yet you want to trade it for just seven hundred gold coins—that’s impossible,” the red-haired burly man with the explosive hairstyle said sternly.
From afar, Linley, standing beside Hillman, finally understood after hearing this.
So, this mysterious magician wanted to forcibly buy the ‘Depero Shadow Diamond,’ worth a hundred thousand gold coins, for just seven hundred.
“The Depero Shadow Diamond is that valuable?” Linley was inwardly shocked. “It must have some important use to make that mysterious magician disregard his status and try to force a purchase.”
Seven hundred gold coins for something worth a hundred thousand—no wonder the mercenary squad couldn’t agree.
“Hmph,” the mysterious magician snorted coldly.
“I only have seven hundred gold coins on me, and I’m still spending them to buy it from you. If you keep being so clueless about when to back down, then… not only will you get no gold coins, but you’ll also lose your lives,” the mysterious magician’s voice grew even colder.
“Roar~~~”
The velociraptor, towering higher than the town’s ordinary buildings, let out a low roar that shook the walls of the houses along the street.
“Captain, we risked our lives to get this Depero Shadow Diamond. How can we just hand it over to that coward who hides his face?” a black-robed woman said coldly. As seasoned mercenaries, the seven of them had been through many battles and wouldn’t easily give in.
The red-haired squad leader said in a low voice, “Respected magician sir, I am from the Kaela family of the Finlay Kingdom…”
He tried to use his background to pressure the magician.
Unfortunately, powerful magicians often had eccentricities and cared little for nobles.
“You’re asking for death,” the mysterious magician muttered softly.
“Watch out!” The seven mercenaries instantly went on high alert. The four male warriors took the front, the female archer pulled out a powerful composite longbow from her back, and the two female magicians began preparing their spells.
“Roar——”
The massive velociraptor opened its mouth, and a huge jet of flame burst forth, shooting straight at the mercenary squad.
As the enormous flame passed, the stone pavement of the town’s central street was scorched by the intense heat, swelling, cracking, and even shattering. Many stones split with fissures, and the entire road surface turned black and charred.
“Careful!”
The red-haired leader said in a low voice, and a red battle-qi shield rose around his body. The other three warriors also activated their own battle-qi shields.
The red-haired leader swung his massive two-handed sword with all his might, slashing at the wall of a stone house beside the street. With a deafening “Boom!”, the entire wall collapsed, sending hundreds of large stones tumbling to the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
At the same time, the velociraptor’s sweeping flames engulfed the four warriors, their battle-qi shields sizzling and crackling.
“Hah!”
The red-haired leader suddenly swung his right foot, kicking a stone half a meter in diameter with tremendous force.
The other three male warriors did the same, each kicking a large stone. The stones flew through the air like projectiles from a catapult, cutting through the air with sharp whistling sounds, hurtling straight toward the mysterious magician on the velociraptor’s back.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”…
Stone after stone was kicked toward the mysterious magician in rapid succession. The rubble from the collapsed stone house was almost entirely used up in no time.
From a distance, Linley watched with rapt attention, his fists clenched tightly.
“Amazing! They can kick such huge stones with their feet so easily!” Linley marveled as he watched the four human ‘catapults’ continuously launching stones. His admiration for the warrior profession grew even stronger. “But that velociraptor is even more terrifying!”
He turned his gaze to the towering velociraptor, whose whip-like tail lashed out like lightning.
“Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!”…
One by one, the large stones were shattered by the tail, unable to harm the magician on its back.
“Swoosh—” The velociraptor’s tail swung wildly without restraint, its range enormous. It smashed into the stone houses nearby, and the hard walls crumbled like mud, offering no resistance. Houses collapsed one after another, sending stones rolling and dust billowing everywhere.
“Roar, roar~~~” Amid the swirling dust, the velociraptor’s furious cries and the massive flames from its mouth could still be heard.
From the very beginning, the two female magicians had been softly chanting ancient magical incantations. The pronunciation of these spells was completely different from the common language of the Yulan Continent—far more complex and difficult. Their chanting didn’t last long, and soon they finished!
“Ice Guardian Armor!”
The two female magicians shouted softly, and four beams of white light flew from around them—two from each magician. These four beams covered the four male warriors with a layer of crystalline, transparent armor.
The red-haired leader felt a surge of joy. With both the Ice Guardian Armor and his battle-qi shield protecting him, he felt much more confident.
“Attack!” the red-haired leader commanded.
The four warriors simultaneously kicked another massive stone into the air. Four stones flew toward the magician on the velociraptor’s back. Then, with a powerful spring from their feet, the four warriors leaped over ten meters into the air, shooting toward the velociraptor like arrows from a bowstring.