Chapter 2: The Giant Eagle (Part 2)

Li Ran paid no attention to Ming Liang. In his eyes, that man was nothing but a clown who wasn’t worth mentioning. He had to make use of this excellent opportunity no matter what. The Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon was already injured, while the Giant Eagles, aside from one that died, were all unharmed. Most importantly, the flock of Giant Eagles had been enraged.

In Li Ran’s view, although the Giant Eagles were numerous, their strength still lagged far behind that of the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon. So he planned to secretly assist them.

The lead Giant Eagle was one rank lower than the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon, being a Level 15 Abnormal Bird. Compared to Abnormal Talisman Beasts, even at the same rank, Abnormal Birds were weaker. However, birds could attack from the air and fly away if they couldn’t win, so their strength lay in lightning-fast attacks—strike once, fail, and immediately retreat.

The remaining twelve Giant Eagles took turns attacking. Soon, the sky above the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon was filled with flying eagles, blocking out the sun, with their cries mixing with the dragon’s roars.

Li Ran said, “Xiao Hai, wait here. I’ll go over there.”

Hai Miluo hurriedly said, “Elder, going now… this isn’t the right time.”

Li Ran smiled and said, “I’m not going to fight. I’m going to cause trouble. We can’t let the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon gain too much of an advantage, otherwise the Giant Eagles will flee…” Before he finished speaking, his figure disappeared. Hai Miluo felt a surge of anxiety—this elder was truly ruthless in his actions.

In a short time, the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon killed two Giant Eagles and burned one to death with its lightning venom. Its disdain grew even more evident. The lead Abnormal Giant Eagle already showed signs of retreating. It had hoped to take advantage, but the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon turned out to be so tough and powerful.

Li Ran quietly appeared in a huge ravine—left behind by Ming Liang. The Dragon Python Sword had slashed the ground, creating a deep trench hundreds of meters long. Looking up, the moving Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon resembled a giant hill.

A dark shadow flashed at the corner of his eye. Li Ran smiled slightly. He pointed and said softly, “Stabilize it for me!” An invisible restraint appeared, instantly binding the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon.

The Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon froze in place. The power of this restraint was so immense that it prevented it from moving an inch.

Choo!

The Abnormal Giant Eagle dove down just then, its two massive claws grabbing at the dragon’s back, while the other Giant Eagles also launched attacks.

In an instant, the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon’s back was covered in wounds, all caused by its claws tearing through its flesh, with blood flowing down like a stream. Li Ran silently chanted a few spells, sending countless ant-sized runes floating out and gathering near the dragon’s wounds. He then chanted more spells, causing the runes to quickly retreat. A rune vial appeared in his hand as the runes converged, and drops of blood flowed into it. Moments later, blood poured into the vial like a gushing tap. Li Ran muttered, “I can’t waste this. A Level 16 Abnormal Rune Beast… I’ve only seen one before. Not a single drop can be wasted. Such a valuable thing… Damn it, bastard!” The Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon struggled violently and broke free from its restraint. Fueled by rage, it stomped on the ground, one of its massive claws landing right on the edge of a ravine where Li Ran was happily collecting blood. Caught off guard, he was buried under collapsing soil. Though unharmed, he was in a mess. Just a few dozen seconds of confinement had dealt severe damage to the dragon. In a fit of fury, it soared into the air, spinning its huge body before using its tail like a soft pillar to slam down on a Level 15 Abnormal Golden Eagle, creating a deafening crash. Boom! Creak… The Golden Eagle let out a pitiful cry as its massive body was flung thousands of meters away, blood and flesh rising into a bloody mist in the air. That single strike had already severely injured it. The Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon then pounced on another Golden Eagle that couldn’t dodge, crushing it under its massive claw. Pop! The Golden Eagle’s head was smashed to pieces. The dragon roared loudly toward the sky. Li Ran struggled out of the mud, furious as well. He flew into the air and swung a punch without hesitation. Suddenly, a golden hand appeared—its enormous palm over 200 meters long—slamming down on the dragon’s head with a loud crash. The dragon felt an unimaginable force hit its head, its roar cut off abruptly, and its head shook violently like a bell. It could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground. Li Ran cursed, “You beast! If I don’t show my strength, you think you’re something special? Die!” He clenched his fist and smashed down hard, shouting, “I’ll kill you!”

The golden fist descended with a thunderous impact on the silver-patterned dragon’s head. With a crack, Li Ran’s single strike knocked the dragon into a coma. Then, ignoring it, he teleported swiftly to appear in front of the fleeing Abnormal Great-Winged Golden Eagle. A silver flash passed, and the eagle’s head was instantly severed.

Li Ran shouted, “Collect it!” He stored the dead eagle in his secret space mid-air. Even a level-15 Abnormal bird couldn’t withstand his strike. If Ming Liang saw this, he would surely flee in panic. This was truly an invincible master.

After killing the remaining Abnormal Great-Winged Golden Eagles, Li Ran hovered above the still-comatose silver-patterned dragon. He had planned to extract its soul alive from the start.

Hai Miluo, who was closest, had been staring wide-eyed since Li Ran started fighting, his heart in turmoil. Was this the power beyond the Ninth-Level Altar? It was utterly terrifying.

Li Ran didn’t collect the corpses of the Abnormal Great-Winged Golden Eagles—they were meant for the ancestors. No one could take all the benefits, so he left those corpses behind.

Hai Miluo sent a message token, and Guo Shier and the others rushed over immediately.

Looking at the silver-patterned dragon on the ground, Guo Shier said, “Is it dead? No, it’s still breathing…” Before he could finish, the dragon suddenly raised its head, its eyes blood-red. Just as it was about to lunge, Li Ran ordered, “Stay lying down!”

Boom!

Another punch sent the dragon’s four legs trembling. Its thick tail swung involuntarily, and its head, which had just been raised, was slammed back to the ground.

The ancestors watched in astonishment—this punch was truly powerful.

Li Ran said, “Clean up those Abnormal Great-Winged Golden Eagles.” Then he began extracting the dragon’s soul.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “We’ve reaped a great harvest this time.”

Even the dragon’s unconscious struggles caused chaos, but Li Ran’s strength was so immense that it couldn’t resist at all. Only after its soul was extracted did the dragon truly die.

According to Li Ran, they had been too cautious at first. Although level-16 Abnormal Talisman Beasts were powerful, there was no need to worry too much. With his strength, he could easily win.

Guo Shier joked, “Brother Li Ran is just showing off to make us jealous…”

Li Ran retorted with a laugh, “Jealous? I don’t even know if I can defeat a level-16 Abnormal Talisman Beast. I’ve never seen one before—how would I know it’s so weak?” Everyone was speechless after hearing this.

Guo Shier looked covetously at the corpse of the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon. This thing was definitely something valuable—unlucky professionals wouldn’t even get a chance to take a look. He sighed and said, “Sigh, what a great thing…” His words resonated, and the other elders nodded in agreement, saying, “Yes, truly a great thing…”

Li Ran didn’t say much. With a casual wave of his hand, he stored the entire Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon in his own space. He also had spirit offerings that could quickly decompose and organize everything, so he didn’t need to handle it himself.

No matter how covetous Guo Shier was, he couldn’t possibly steal Li Ran’s prey. He followed the others to collect the Great-Winged Golden Eagles that had died at the hands of the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon. Each golden eagle was hundreds of meters long, enough for all the elders to share. The only pity was that after their deaths, their souls had dissipated into the air over time and could no longer be obtained.

Guo Shier was quick. He first grabbed the heart of one golden eagle, then collected its blood, and finally gathered some of its feathers. These feathers were huge, each one thirty to forty meters long, and required spells to compress. But he just focused on collecting; how to deal with them was the Old Man Shuai’s concern.

Two elders were fighting over a pair of eagle claws, arguing fiercely until Hai Miluo couldn’t help but cover his face—this was truly embarrassing. Feng Miluo was furious. As the clan leader, he certainly couldn’t tolerate such childish quarrels. He shouted, “Shut the hell up! If you’re not ashamed, I am! Put down those eagle claws—no one is allowed to take them!”

Seeing the clan leader angry, the two elders reluctantly released the rune chains. Feng Miluo didn’t want to take them himself, nor was it appropriate to give them to other elders. He thought quickly and said, “Give them to Shier!”

Guo Shier wasn’t willing to take them, as that would offend too many people. He also thought quickly and said with a smile, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, who wants them?”

Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Give them to me. I just happen to want to refine a pair of claws as my second sacrificial treasure, hehe.” He shamelessly rolled the pair of eagle claws into his spell-storage space.

Luo Zhan couldn’t help but laugh. This distribution was fair—everyone first stated their needs, and after a brief discussion, they could collect what they wanted. Those two elders must have gone mad. They could have each had one eagle claw, but one of them was greedy and tried to take the other’s, resulting in neither of them getting anything.

Li Ran remained calm. He said indifferently, “Ming Liang… they’ll come back.”

Guo Shier hovered beside Li Ran and laughed upon hearing this: “Not necessarily. If I were them, I’d leave this continent immediately—go as far as possible. Staying here is a foolish decision. If they dare trouble us again, heh, they’ll regret it to the end of their lives.”
Hai Miluo said, “Let’s leave this place. The smell of blood is too strong.”
Li Ran replied, “There’s no need to rush. It’s better to attract some powerful mutated or aberrant beast symbols here.”
Only then did Hai Miluo realize they were here to hunt—common sense from before didn’t apply here. The smell of blood indeed would attract powerful mutated or aberrant beast symbols, so they didn’t need to avoid them at all. It would be perfect to hunt them instead of searching for prey elsewhere.
Guo Shier laughed and asked, “So we just rest right here?”
Li Ran said, “Anyway, I don’t want to leave right away. This place is a feng shui treasure land. I’ve reaped quite a lot.”
Hai Miluo said, “If that’s the case, let’s set up camp.”
The Ancestor quickly arranged the Hidden Symbol House, but moved it a bit further away, not placing it in the area with the strongest smell of blood, but rather in a nearby forest.
……
Ming Liang flew over a hundred kilometers before stopping. With lingering fear, he glanced back at his origin point and finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon hadn’t chased after him; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known what to do.
A message symbol was sent, and soon, Ming Wudeng arrived with the group of escaped Ancestors. He asked, “How did it go?”
Ming Liang’s skull-like face showed a fierce and sinister smile as he said, “They didn’t die!”
Ming Wudeng trembled inwardly. He knew Ming Liang’s laughter wasn’t a good sign—it meant he was extremely angry. He asked nervously, “What should we do?”
Ming Liang gritted his teeth and said, “First, heal our wounds… wait for an opportunity. Damn it… I’m going to make those bastards die!” The failure against the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon made him vent all his anger on the Ancestors of the Gu Miluo family.