“Whoosh… Whoosh…”
At this moment, Chimera Volcano was as bright as daylight.
Nearly white flames continuously erupted from the volcano before being absorbed into the Three Headed Chimera’s body.
The Mirror Demon King had once said that, in the Barbaric World, a heaven defying beast like the Three Headed Chimera was one in a million. Its birth within the Chimera Tribe had been nothing more than an accident, a rare bloodline mutation that occurred only once in a thousand years.
Khan Xieli had once mentioned that, several hundred years ago, a very powerful centaur tribe had produced a white unicorn with a pair of wings.
That unicorn was extraordinarily powerful. It led the centaur tribe in conquering thousands of miles of territory.
But one day, the Demon King of the Heavenly Fiend Clan subdued it and made it his mount.
From that day onward, the tribe produced only ordinary horses instead of centaurs, and the centaur tribe gradually became extinct.
So the appearance of such a heaven defying bloodline beast was not necessarily a blessing.
More often than not, it signified the destruction of the entire tribe, because it exhausted all of the race’s bloodline potential.
The Three Headed Chimera before them was exactly the same.
It was unbelievably powerful.
Its flying speed was astonishing.
Its body was enormous.
Weapons could not harm it.
It could breathe fire, poisonous mist, and unleash ultrasonic attacks.
Yet its birth had driven the entire Chimera population in this region to extinction.
As the Chimera Tribe put it, it truly was an ill omen.
A beast this rare had nearly destroyed Lanling’s entire Flame Demon Tribe by itself.
If the Barbaric World contained many more creatures like it, no tribe would have any place to survive.
At that moment, its enormous body rested upon the crater of the volcano.
Its three heads were raised high, frantically absorbing the volcano’s fiery energy.
Its energy reserves were limited.
After absorbing energy for several hours, it could rampage for nearly two hours.
It devoured.
Continually.
Greedily.
Meanwhile, Lanling sat quietly some distance away, patiently waiting for the moon to rise.
“Where are Nai Shu and the others?” Lanling asked.
Although the Three Headed Chimera was only a short distance away, he did not need to be overly cautious.
It was not an especially vigilant beast.
Since birth, it had encountered almost no danger.
It had always lived believing itself invincible.
“He has already gone back to gather his army,” Sisi replied.
“There are more than one hundred and fifty tribes.”
“Each tribe will send seven thousand warriors.”
“Black Demon City will contribute another one hundred thousand.”
“In total, there will be one million two hundred thousand troops.”
“There will also be two thousand griffon riders.”
“It also seems he possesses a highly powerful secret force, one he regards as the decisive weapon for breaking the city.”
“What is it?” Lanling asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I need to investigate further.”
She gently leaned against Lanling’s shoulder.
“My husband, may I borrow a little of your blood in the future?”
“Why?” Lanling asked.
“I want to shed this snake like skin and regain smooth skin,” Sisi replied.
“The changes caused by the snake venom are almost irreversible.”
“Normally, it would take me more than ten years to completely shed it.”
“But your blood can make it disappear instantly.”
“I only need a tiny amount.”
“Not even as much blood as you lost the first time.”
Whatever Sisi said always carried a hint of flirtation.
Yet she no longer behaved as boldly as before.
Instead, she now seemed like an affectionate young woman.
“I like this feeling.”
“You’re stronger than I am.”
“And I can rely on you.”
Gou Li sat quietly nearby, carefully sensing every possible danger around them.
Hearing Sisi speak like that, and seeing the way she behaved, Gou Li, despite already being a Death Warrior, suddenly had the urge to grab Sisi by the neck and throw her straight into the volcano.
Do you have no backbone at all?
Do you really have to cling to a man?
Suddenly, Lanling opened his eyes.
With a wave of his hand, the Golden Griffon immediately took flight.
Lanling lightly leapt onto its back.
The time had come.
Only after they had flown dozens of metres into the air did the Three Headed Chimera notice them.
It immediately flew into a furious rage.
Someone actually dared to disturb it?
And it was only a weak griffon?
“Roar!”
With an earth shaking roar, the Three Headed Chimera spread its wings and charged straight towards Lanling.
Lanling took out the completed Star Magic Meteorite Arrow, drew his bow, and aimed.
The moment the meteorite fragment left the crystal box, it released terrifying dark energy.
An energy that devoured all life.
The Golden Griffon cried out in agony and nearly fell from the sky.
Lanling fared better, but he could clearly feel his own life force draining away.
Darkness clouded his vision.
Coldness spread through his body.
At that moment, Lanling became even more certain.
The object beneath the Desert Dead City in the Human Kingdom had only been a contaminated fragment of Star Magic.
It had not been the true meteorite.
The genuine Star Magic Meteorite’s radiation was unimaginably terrifying.
The Three Headed Chimera was incredibly fast.
In the blink of an eye, it had reached Lanling and was preparing to breathe fire.
At that very instant,
The moon rose.
Lanling aimed.
Released.
The arrow shot forward like a meteor.
Like lightning.
Whoosh!
Boom!
The speed startled even Lanling.
It had clearly exceeded the speed of sound.
He distinctly heard the sonic boom.
It was not just slightly faster than sound.
It was even faster than bullets on Earth.
Far faster than any arrow Lanling had ever fired before.
An expert archer possessed enormous battlefield power.
But even an archer had limits.
Those limits were the bow, the string, and the arrow.
No matter how powerful the archer became, there was only so much force a bow could withstand.
Yet the arrow Lanling had just fired was more than two or three times faster than before.
It truly travelled like lightning.
Then he remembered Sisi’s words.
These crystal arrow shafts would surprise him.
She had been absolutely right.
In an instant,
The arrow pierced the Three Headed Chimera’s neck with ease.
An ordinary arrow would have burned to ashes.
But this was a Star Magic Meteorite Arrow.
It effortlessly tore through the Chimera’s energy body and struck directly into its fatal weak point,
Its energy heart.
Lanling’s archery had already surpassed every legendary marksman.
Even calling it perfect accuracy was an understatement.
Splash!
The sharp meteorite fragment buried itself deep within the beast’s enormous energy heart.
“Roar… Roar… Roar…”
The heaven defying beast immediately let out a miserable scream before crashing to the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Its colossal body struck the earth with the force of a crashing fighter aircraft.
The ground shook violently.
Flames shot into the sky.
The Three Headed Chimera desperately struggled to stand.
Its three heads tried to attack Lanling.
But its energy heart had been severely damaged.
Energy could no longer circulate through its body.
Forget attacking.
It could not even stand.
“Roar… Roar… Roar…”
Every attempted attack became nothing more than agonised cries.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Its gigantic body writhed across the ground in unbearable pain.
Lanling slowly walked towards it until he stood less than a metre before its central head.
Its head alone stood several metres tall, almost the height of a two storey building.
Its enormous fangs measured over three metres long.
Its crystal like eyes were even larger than Lanling’s head.
It truly was a terrifying beast.
Looking closely, its body had almost completely transformed into pure energy.
Lanling reached out and touched its enormous head.
The Three Headed Chimera regarded this as the greatest humiliation.
It struggled desperately, wanting to crush the insignificant human before it.
Yet it no longer possessed even the strength to open its jaws.
“Beast.”
“You’re dying.”
Lanling sent the message directly into its mind.
“Impossible.”
“I am a mighty demonic beast.”
“The blood of ancient monsters flows through me.”
Its spiritual voice burned with fury.
A beast of this level already possessed remarkable intelligence.
“Then let’s wait and see,” Lanling replied.
Time slowly passed.
The Chimera’s heartbeat became weaker and weaker.
The light surrounding its body steadily faded.
Its four eyes gradually lost their brilliance.
It could clearly feel its life slipping away.
The Star Magic Meteorite fragment’s devouring power alone was not particularly frightening to it.
The real problem was that it had lodged inside its energy heart,
Where it consumed its very life.
The human was right.
It really was dying.
Unless the meteorite fragment was removed,
Death was only a matter of time.
“I can save you.”
“But there’s one condition,” Lanling said.
“You want me to sign a master servant contract?”
“I’ll serve you forever.”
“I’ll become your mount.”
“Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right,” Lanling answered.
“Impossible.”
“I am descended from the great ancient demonic beasts.”
“I will never become the mount of a lowly human.”
“I would rather die than stain my bloodline.”
Lanling looked directly into its eyes.
“Do you know what death truly is?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve already died once.”
Its voice was filled with sorrow.
Lanling could clearly sense that this was a life both young and ancient.
It truly had died before.
When it had been very young, it had been thrown into molten lava to be executed.
The two remained staring at one another.
Time continued passing.
Half an hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
The Three Headed Chimera’s breathing grew increasingly faint.
Its eyes became dimmer.
Its body gradually changed from an energy form into something resembling metal.
Originally it had burned with temperatures of thousands, even tens of thousands of degrees.
Now,
It steadily became cold.
Lanling knew it was truly approaching death.
“You’re dying.”
“I’m the only one who can save you.”
“If you acknowledge me as your master, I’ll save you.”
“Impossible.”
“I would rather die than lose my freedom.”
“I refuse to become anyone’s mount.”
“Then why did you obey Nai Shu?” Lanling asked.
“Obey?”
“I was merely amusing myself.”
“A contract of that level could never bind me.”
“I simply carried hatred within me.”
“I wanted slaughter.”
“He offered me thousands of living sacrifices.”
“So I repaid him by attacking your Flame Demon Tribe.”
“Nothing more.”
Lanling gazed into its eyes.
It was not lying.
Even at death’s door,
Its pride remained absolute.
“Human.”
“Leave.”
“I don’t want anyone watching me die.”
“I owe you a favour.”
“You may keep my body.”
“It should be valuable to you.”
Like lion kings and tiger kings,
It wished to die alone.
That was its dignity.
Its pride.
“Human.”
“Leave.”
“Even if I died a thousand times, ten thousand times, I would never become another’s mount.”
“Especially not through the threat of death.”
“I’m about to die.”
“I ask you to leave.”
Its eyes could barely remain open.
Death was only moments away.
The Reaper already stood above it.
Lanling nodded.
Then he turned and left.
“Thank you.”
“My body will repay the favour.”
Its spiritual voice had become incredibly faint.
Lanling descended from the volcano and returned to Sisi and Gou Li.
They had remained behind because, during the acknowledgement of a master, no other person could be present within a magical beast’s sight.
“My husband?” Sisi asked.
Lanling shook his head.
“It would rather die than become anyone’s servant.”
“It’s about to die.”
Sisi trembled.
“Let’s go.”
Lanling led everyone down the mountain.
Even the Golden Griffon walked quietly across the ground.
The atmosphere was heavy.
The entire Chimera Volcano seemed filled with tragic sorrow.
Lanling himself felt deeply oppressed.
By all rights,
The Three Headed Chimera deserved its fate.
It had slaughtered countless members of the Flame Demon Tribe.
Yet…
His heart still felt heavy.
After walking several hundred metres,
He suddenly turned around and rushed back.
The Chimera now lay completely cold and motionless.
A huge wound remained in its neck.
Its energy heart, once a mass of brilliant light, now resembled solid crystal.
Lanling reached inside and pulled the Star Magic Meteorite fragment free.
Immediately,
The damage to its energy heart slowly began healing.
Yet the Chimera remained motionless.
Looking closer,
Lanling discovered that its energy heart had not gone completely dark.
A tiny spark still remained,
Like a lone firefly.
Its life had not entirely vanished.
Lanling stayed beside it.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
After three days and three nights,
The Three Headed Chimera slowly opened its eyes.
It was alive.
Its four eyes stared at Lanling in confusion.
“From now on, don’t attack my Flame Demon Tribe again.”
“Can you do that?”
“Remain free.”
“Perhaps one day, your true master will appear.”
“It’s a promise.”
The Three Headed Chimera answered quietly.
Then its enormous body rolled into the volcanic lava.
It needed energy.
It needed to recover.
…
When Lanling returned to the Flame Demon Tribe,
He received the greatest welcome ever.
Because during the past several days,
The Three Headed Chimera had never attacked again.
Their great Chief Lanling had kept his promise.
He had defeated the heaven defying beast.
Once again,
He had created a miracle.
“Long live the Chief!”
“Long live the Chief!”
Lanling nodded,
Yet he seemed strangely absent minded.
Afterwards,
He returned to his room and slept soundly beside Dina.
He had not slept once during the past several days.
The next morning,
Before he had even awakened,
He heard frightened cries outside, followed by the shrill ringing of alarm bells.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“The Three Headed Chimera is back!”
“The monster has returned!”
“Run!”
“Hide!”
“Save yourselves!”
Lanling immediately jumped up and rushed to the top of the castle.
The gigantic Three Headed Chimera hovered only a few metres away above the castle.
“What brings you here?” Lanling asked.
The Three Headed Chimera replied,
“I don’t wish to become your servant.”
“But I’m willing to become your comrade.”
“I’ll fight alongside you for a time.”