Book 4, Chapter 22
The Wild Hunt (Part 2)
Hawk is going to find a buyersoon so I need to make it fast. Companions eggs are expensive as of now but notto the extent where you can buy a Nation Treasure with just one egg. And thislion I caught is not really a high end monster, it won"t be enough.
Iguess quant.i.ty works better than quality in this situation. I just need tocapture more eggs.
Ourteam found the second target soon. It"s a bulky creature covered in armoredskin. I thought it was a rhino first but...it got no legs? It just, stays there,like a giant black rock. Anyone would have missed it if not for that vibratingpart on its side.
Itook out a random bow from my bracelet and shot at the target. It won"t do muchdamage but I can see its status with the attack.
The arrow didn"t hit where Iaimed at but it"s still a hit. A red "-1" floated up. That shot didn"tbreak its defense. I"m not an Archer, and the bow is a common junk but...Istill have a high general damage. I should be able to do more than that.
Theattack succeeded so my Star Gaze showed its status.
"[Iron Beetle], level 650,Physical Attack 900-1800, Physical Defense 3000, Speed (ground) 72, Speed (airborne)132. Skill: Flamethrower, Acid Spit, Tackle. All attacks carry strong poisoneffect."
Iread that out aloud. Someone gasped.
Violet gave me an uncertain look. "Weshould find something else. I don"t think we can take it down. Your PhantomKnights may kill it eventually but it"s pretty much impossible to capture it."
BigPot joined us. "That sh.e.l.l looks too smooth. The rope"s not gonna work."
"Difficulttarget means more money. I"m not going to let up the chance." The sittingblack object is made of gold in my eyes! "Let me try it out."
"Wait, I"lldo it!"
Our female Warrior charged with her sword raised. It doesn"t seemthe black creature can avoid the attack at all, or, it isn"t planning to dodgein the first place.
Goong!
That sounded like a hammer rather than a sword strike. The Warrior is bouncedflying, and her sword stuck into Big Pot"s left foot. Now he"s hopping single-leggedwhile yelling in pain. We got Priest here so his foot is not a problem, but...
"That"shard like s.h.i.t." I looked at the unmoving creature in worry. "Howmuch damage?"
TheWarrior spoke with a thick tongue. I think she bit her tongue back there.
"Didn" b-break the-defense. 1 point."
"Nokidding? So even a Warrior can"t hurt it?"
Big Pot proposed himself whenhis foot is healed. "I"ll try it!"
He took out his weapon...A nine-toothspike rake!
s.h.i.te. That looks bada.s.s!
He roared and charged at the monster. Ametal clash, then he flew back just like the Warrior.
"Sohow did it go?" The female Warrior asked in a challenging att.i.tude.
"Just...just,a little, better!"
I pinched his head to help him stop vibrating.
"Thanksfor that. At least I broke through its defense. 43 damage."
"Notbad buddy!" I looked at the monster again.
It"s moving??
Phantomalerted: "Get away master! Rosa told me the monster"s body underground isway bigger!"
"Huh?!"
Italready looked like a mini van. So that"s not all of it? This will look ugly.
"Get back you all! It"s coming out big!"
Wedidn"t react in time. The ground collapsed below us, involving everyone exceptthe agile Violet.
Apan-shaped crater the size of half a football ground appeared. I managed to runup the edge, then me and Violet helped drag everyone up.
"Is everyone here?" I asked the team leaders.
"We"regood!" They answered.
ButViolet found something amiss. "Where is Big Pot?"
"Oops. Anyone saw him?"
No answer. They all shook their heads.
"Help!!Up here!!"
I looked towards the center of the pit. The beetle looks like asmall island, and Big Pot is standing on its back!
"Buthow did you get there?" I yelled to him.
"Theground is sinking and this is the only solid point! So I jumped!" Big Potanswered while trying to keep himself stable. It looks really hard because themonster"s back is slippery like a mirror!
Beforewe can figure out how to save him, the "island" moved. It stood up. Thebody slowly showed itself in full, maybe even bigger than Lucky. When itfinally lifted itself using its six insect legs, it reminded me of those tankerbugs in Starship Troopers, just a bit smaller.
However the smaller size doesn"tnecessarily mean it"s any less powerful!
"Eh?...Ahhhhhh!!"
Big Pot lost his footing due to the sudden movement. Luckily heslipped towards behind the bug"s head, and grabbed onto it"s giant horn.
"Whatin the name of the G.o.d is that?..."
The Priest stared at the giganticcreature while drawing cross in front of his chest. The dude took his gamerole for real!
"RUN,RUN d.a.m.n IT!!"
I noticed the beetle drawing breath. Of course I know whatthat means! That"s exactly the same move when Lucky tries to breathe fire. Step 1:a deep breath; 2: force up a pressure; 3: let it out! The monster is taking in airnow, which means bad stuff is coming!
Thebeetle opened its maw and released a purple flame beam at us. It looks likemilitary napalm bomb rather than regular flame throwers! Thanks to my warning, no one iscaught in the attack.
Thebeetle stared at us with its two pairs of green eyes. The four creepy lightbulbs are making our hair stand.
"Phantom Knights! Attack!"
Forget it.I do need eggs but obviously my life is more important. If I die here I"ll needmuch more time to get back. I should just kill it and find other targets.
Theknights took my order and turned towards the bug.
They first used theirsignature javelin attack. Perfect hit. Level 850 is no joke, every lancepinned into the bug"s body, causing green fluid to come out.
But the lances allbegan to smoke, then melted and disappeared under the liquid!
Theknights looked at each other, and me, in shock. Looks like they"re notexpecting to lose their weapons like that either.
So my Phantom Knights won"twork here.
"Lucky! Ready your fire!"
"Gotit!"
Luckytook aim at the bug and draw breath. The monster did the same. I think they"regoing to have a clash at it. But Big Pot is still on the beetle. I don"t knowif dragon fire can kill the bug but surely Big Pot"s not going to survive that!
"Rosa!Now! Get that guy off the beetle!"
Rosacaught Big Pot with a tentacle in the next second and dragged him underground. ThenLucky and the monster released their attacks at the same time. Lucky"s dragonfire is powerful because of nature talent and all kinds of species bonuses, whilethe beetle"s currently level is too high. The two fire beams don"t have anapparent winner.
They are both enclosed in intense fire. We already keptdistance but the heat still caused us to back away further.
Luckyis the first one to give up. His current level is too low. The beetle is nobetter. The ten holes on its sh.e.l.l were enlarged into ten big hollows, and itsshiny sh.e.l.l lost its l.u.s.ter. Now it looks like burnt plastic.
Lucky"s scalesstayed intact against the fire. The beetle"s attack must be corrosive becauseLucky"s body is smoking while giving out some irritating smell.
Itook the ropes and gave them to everyone. "Circle it around. Bind up itslegs!"
They moved. While the beetle is confused by so many targets, wesuccessfully got the ropes around its legs. When it discovered what"s going on,it lifted its back sh.e.l.l, revealing a pair of transparent insect wings.
Violetmumbled to herself. "It can fly?..."
Thenthe heavy creature left the ground for real!
Ishouted to the Phantom Knights when the beetle has already gained some alt.i.tude."Knights, another round of lance attack. And use something explosive ifyou can!"
"Yessir!" The leader ordered. "Ready up! Blaster lance array! Release!"
10lances were hurled away almost the same moment as he finished that order. Theyall hit again, and this time they hit the bug"s soft belly part.
The weaponsexploded on impact. Ten fireb.a.l.l.s erupted below the creature. Then the beetletumbled down like a plane hit by a missile, while leaking out fuel. I mean bugjuice.
It"s dying. I quickly began to use [Capture] when there"s still time. Isucceeded after thirty tries! A big, winter melon shaped egg fell into my hands.
Somehow I don"t want to sell it. The bug can be a really nice companion.
Toobad, the Nation Treasure is first priority now, so I still contacted Hawk.
"We gota new product. Watch this video!" I waited him to finish. "Howdoes it look? "
"Goodstuff! You really did it!"
"Gotany buyers?"
"Yesbut he"s still on his way. I"ll contact you once we settle the details. It"s 1 o"clockin the morning! Not much time left!"
"Iknow I know!"
Iput away the egg and asked them to continue. The next target showed up in oursights soon. I think we"re getting experienced.
"Get down! A Thunder Eagle!"
Someonealerted us so we all followed. Well, except for Big Pot. I don"t know whyhe decided to be the only one standing.
The eagle swept down past our heads. Aftera strong gust, Big Pot is gone. He"s carried away by the monster!
"Archers!Aim!" I ordered. "Watch where you shoot!"
"Igot it!" One of the Archers gave me a confident respond, then he releasedhis skill.
The arrow flew towards the bird with a beautiful star track trailingbehind it. That"s the effect of a Frost Arrow.
"OWAAHHHH---"
It hit something. But I don"t think the eagle can scream like that.
Under themoonlight, we noticed that the human figure hanging on the eagle now have a "tail"on its bottom.
TheArcher scratched his head. "Sorry. Heh heh heh... Accident. It"s toodark."
"Booo."Someone gave him a middle finger.
"Sigh.I"ll do it again I guess."
I raised my right hand and rolled up the wizardrobe sleeve.
"Dragon cord hook out!"
Pom! The hook was launched towards theeagle. The bird obviously saw my attack, and avoided it with a brief mid-air halt.
Iraised my left hand and shot again. I caught its leg this time.
ThenI found another problem. I"m not strong enough to pull it alone! The cord isgoing away fast like fishing wire, which means--
"AHhhhh---"
I"m flying too!
"Rosa! A little help!"
When I"m still within reach, atentacle came up and wrapped around my waist.
The strong stopping power almostsplit me in half!
TheThunder Eagle is in no better condition. It got dragged down by the suddenforce and crashed on the ground. Phantom Knights and my mercenaries immediatelyrushed to the bird and did their work. The knights pinned its wings on theground using their lances, while the players packed it up for good.
It"slevel 517. But a flightless eagle is just a meat chicken waiting to be slaughtered.
Big Pot crawled awayfrom below the eagle with stars in his eyes.
"Med..medic! Help..."
Thud.He walked several steps and fell face-first.
That"snot my job. I need to capture the monster fast.
It took less time. Only 13 tries.
"Ziricome here!" That"s Violet.
"What"swrong?"
"Justlook!"
Ilooked where she"s pointing to, and my mind stopped!
"Anest??"
A dirt pit about a meter in diameter is in front of us. From thosedry gra.s.ses and scattered eagle feather, it must be a bird nest!
"Wait, sothat means--"
I didn"t finish my sentence when Violet disappeared.
c.r.a.p. Wegot another one in the air!
"Archer--"
Big Pot shouted but I stuffed his mouth.
"Phiona!Take care of the eagle!"
Surely a phoenix is enough to get rid of a commonbeast.
"Lucky, catch Violet when she"s free."
Phiona"scurrently level is a lot lower than the eagle, but a legendary avian is stilllegendary.
The two flying creatures brawled in the air. The Thunder Eaglecannot keep it"s hold on Violet while fighting so it dropped her off withouthesitating. And Lucky is already there to catch her.
"Phiona!Retreat!"
I told Phiona to get away, then ordered towards my back. "Archers,do it!"
A round of arrows went up. They all used area skills, probablybecause no one is confident in hitting something that far away.
Now Ireally hope Elfy is here.
Thearrows. .h.i.t. In fact it will be a real joke if that kind of area attack misses. Butthe damage...is less impressive.
"Leaveit to me!!"
Big Pot grabbed a javelin somewhere, performed a short run-up andthrew it like an Olympic athlete. The javelin moved towards the eagle real fast.It won"t do much damage but I noticed something different.
There"s a thin, metalwire attached behind the javelin. So this guy is not all blockhead!
Theweapon pierced one of the eagle"s wings. There"s no significant damage but ourplan is to use the wire to drag it down.
TheThunder Eagle looks enraged. It turned to Big Pot, who"s holding the other endof the wire.
Violet muttered to herself: "Oh no..."
"Hm?What"s wrong?"
"It"scalled [Thunder Eagle], right?"
...Right.
"AHHH--wehwehwehwehwehweh--"
Big Pot is alreadytrembling. The eagle used its skill. A visible blue electric wave traveled downfrom the metal wire, and Big Pot is the last part of conductor on the ground. Nowwe"re looking at a shining blue skeleton figure holding onto the electric wirewhile performing an impressive break dance.
Violet face-palmed. While thePriest is drawing cross again. As for me...I sighed in relief for how my dragoncord isn"t conductive.
Theelectricity lasted for a dozen seconds. Then Big Pot opened his mouth and letout a smoke puff, before going down again. He"s all black, and some parts arestill giving out blue smoke.
The Priest and Priestesses finally got the chanceto go help him. Big Pot is a Warrior cla.s.s so he had enough HP to survive it.
Istill need to do something about the eagle. I turned to the Phantom Knights:
"Someone shoot it down. And mind how much power you use, it didn"t havemuch HP left."
Theleader stepped ahead and threw his lance at lightening speed. The heavy-lookingpolearm precisely pierced the eagle"s wing base.
The wing was broken apart asit was just hit by a mortar sh.e.l.l. From the scattering feathers and blood, Irealized that the lances they unleash are actually rotating, like drills. Sothat"s why they got so much piercing power!
Theeagle crashed on the ground. It was hurt even worse than the last one and Ionly used my skill six times to capture it.
"Overhere!!" Violet called me again from the nest.
"Don"ttell me there are more thunder eagles!"
"Wellno," She pushed some gra.s.s aside. "I was going to show you this."
She tookout an...eagle egg.
"The two birds must be a couple. This is their nest. Ithink there are more eggs down there."
"Really??"
I fished around the nest.
Prize!
I found five eggs, which means we just gotanother six eggs without fighting.
"Wah-hahaha! Rich I"m rich!!"
Theysay misfortunes never come single, I guess fortunes also love to pile uptogether!
Since I got enough outcome, I decidedto dismiss my team early. I paid them what I promised and they"re also happy to beable to rest early.
Me, Violet and Big Pot teleported back to the G.o.ddess City.Hawk and the others are already waiting.
"Thereyou are!! How did it go?"
Igave him my loot. "Level 517 Thunder Eagles, eight of them. A level 650 IronBeetle. A level 512 Lion King."
"Wowzah.How did you--brilliant!" He gave them back to me. Well he doesn"t haveenough inventory to keep all these eggs.
"The buyer is in the Moonpeakrestaurant. Just waiting for you!"
"Who"sthe buyer anyway?" I asked on the way. "I"m not selling the eggs toanyone suspicious. I"m protecting our nation treasure, it will cause anotherproblem if I sell powerful companions to enemies."
"Don"tworry. He"s called [Shadow Gale], the boss of Righteous League."
"RighteousLeague?" I looked at the sky. "I heard the name somewhere. "
"Ofcourse you heard it!" Elfy jumped out. "They"re the biggest guild inChina region, and Gale is Red Moon"s big brother!"
"Ohright!" Hawk explained, "Speaking of Red Moon, she helped me contactGale."
"What??"That"s a blow to my head. A terrible scene appeared inside my mind: I kneelbefore Red Moon, pinned down by all the companions I sold her, while an unknownman snickers at me: "So how do you feel, getting rekt by your owncompanions?"
"NO!!"I stopped in my track. "I can"t sell to them! Red Moon is trying to getback on me. How can you sell weapons to your enemy when there"s a war going on??"
"Comeon stop it." Hawk slapped my head. "I don"t know about his sister butI can a.s.sure you Gale is a good man. We talked. He"s kind enough, and wise. Somewhat mysterious though."
"...Let"sgo and see."
I trust Hawk. And besides I don"t have time to worry aboutsomething like that anymore. He"s the leader of the number one Chinese guild, sohe"s probably going to lead all players to fight with intruders. He can"t bebad.
Wereached the Moonpeak restaurant. The name didn"t lie, it looks like the moon isjust on top of the building when we looked from below.
Hawk led us into aprivate room on the 9th floor. It"s a big one designed for such large scalemeetings.
Aline of chairs sit across the front door, and a knight about the age of 20 issitting in the middle one. He wears full silver glimmering equipment, he canpretty much act as a light bulb in here. A row of beautiful girls are standingbehind him. Each one of them has the face of super star!
Hawkdragged me in front. "I"ll introduce. This is Ziri, he"s the one gettingthe eggs, so speak to him for prices and other details."
Theknight stood up to me and politely stretched a hand.
"Greeting. I"m ShadowGale, I came to buy your companions. Before we start, may I ask how you get them?I"m willing to pay a million crystal for your secret technique!"
Ismile. "A lot of people have seen it so it isn"t really a secret. But youprobably can"t copy it because it relies on my attributes. I"m the only one whocan do it now. Shall we begin?"
"Ofcourse, take a seat."
We walked the long conferencetable. Gale walked to the window side while we took the other.
Ilined up all the eggs on the table. "Eight Thunder Eagles, level 517. AnIron Beetle, level 650. A Lion King, level 512. Do you need to review thevideos for their abilities?"
"There"sno need," he kept calm but I can still see the excitement in his eyes."I know these monsters, all good ones. Especially the beetle, ithas always been a terrifying target." He carefully checked each egg."Thunder Eagles...They"re not strong but can be really fast. however didyou capture them? No one succeeded before!"
"That"s...asecret." I just smile. As Hawk said, this man feels comfortable to talkwith.
Unlike Red Moon.
"How much can you offer?" That"s my mainconcern now.
"100thousand crystals for the lion, is that alright?"
"Deal!"I put the number in my mind. The Nation Treasure should worth at least 500 thousand. AndI"m expecting it to raise to 550 or even 600 in the auction. The lion is thelowest leveled one. If I can get 100 thousand out of it I"ll definitely earnover 1.2 million out of all the eggs. More than enough!
"Howabout the others? Do you need them?"
"Ofcourse I need them!"
I was worrying he won"t buy them all but it seems he"s even worrying more. Companions eggs are still extremely rare on the market, hewaited here since the early morning!
"110 thousand for each of the eagles."
Elfywrote a "120" behind my back before I can respond. I immediatelychanged my tongue.
"120."
Galenodded without hesitation. "Deal. 120 thousand that is. The beetle is toorare for an offer. You can give me a price!"
Ilooked towards Elfy for help. I know nothing about market prices!
Elfy wrote a "200"this time. But isn"t that a little...?
I still spoke. "200 thousandCrystals."
Galehesitated this time. Only for several seconds.
"Alright. I"ll take it!"
He opened up the trade window and put 1.26 million in it. I quickly stuffed allthe eggs in.
Confirm.
My actual income is 1.159 million, since the system wouldtake away 8% as tax.
"I"llbe off then. Until next time." I stood up.
ButGale stopped me.
"One moment. Are you interested in joining the number oneguild in China?"
Sigh. Brother and sister.
I pointed at the emblem on my chest."I"ll have to decline, for I"m already in a guild."
Hedidn"t persist like his sister though. He just chuckled.
"Too bad then! RedMoon told me about it. And she was right. But! Please kindly contact me firstthe next time you sell eggs!"
"That"s noproblem."
I shook hands with him and left the restaurant. Then I handedthe money to Hawk.
"I need to rest. I"m not sure I can come to the auction,so don"t wait for me. I"ll message you if I come."
"Okay."He nodded. "I"m off too. But you"d better come, just in case. Don"t push yourself though."
"I"lltry!"
I said goodbye and logged off. It"s 4 in the morning! I"m havingtrouble keeping my eyelids open. I can only hope I wake up before the auctiontomorrow. I mean, today.
Ileft my Iron Unit and looked around the dorm room. Empty. So Wayne didn"t comeback the whole night. Where did he run off to?
Nevermind. Sleeping time.
Iwas woken up by a series of hysterical cries. I opened my eyes to see Waynedancing around beside my bed.
"Whythe h.e.l.l are you losing your mind in the morning??"
"The-I mean, the??"
"Thewhat? Slowly!"
"Whatwhat what"s that robot? Gundam??"
TheIron Unit.
"It"s just my new toy! Now keep it down I"m trying to have somerest!"
"Toy?That thing"s a toy??"
He won"t let go. I can only spend some time toexplain.
"Iwant a father like that!!"
Ikicked him away. "You"re already richer than most people here!"
Notas good as my family but he also have several billions in his pocket.
"What"sthe time?"
"Four.Why are you still sleeping?"
"FOUR PM??"I jumped."I"m late!! Get into the game NOW!"
"Latefor what?" Wayne has no idea what"s happening.
I don"t have time to talkanymore so I just pressed his helmet onto his head.
"Get in there and I"llexplain! Go to the G.o.ddess City!"
I jumped into my Iron Unit and activatedthe system.