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墨書 Inktalez
The creatures that had slipped into Xiao Qiang's clothes were slick and bloodthirsty, yet he bore no wounds. After wriggling around in his garments, they returned to the crevices of the rocks.
Having been startled, he noticed that the Giant Hyena lurking by the Spring Pit had vanished, as if it had gracefully surfaced like a fish to support itself against the wall of the Spring Pit. He sat down on the edge, wiped the water off his face, and finally took a good look at his surroundings in the morning light.
Vapsin had mentioned that this place was Taiyin Mountain, but it felt more like a desolate wasteland. There were no trees or greenery, only towering mountains that resembled monstrous shapes.
As he pondered why this place was barren—lacking even a blade of grass—he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him. Startled, Xiao Qiang swiftly drew his dagger and turned around.
There stood a cunning Giant Hyena, which had not left but instead waited patiently for him to emerge from the water. Run! The thought crossed his mind, and like a whirlwind, Xiao Qiang dashed away from his spot.
The Giant Hyena unleashed its powerful claws and pursued him with incredible speed. Xiao Qiang reached a Mud Pit formed by water cascading down from the cliffs and halted. He slowly turned to face the Giant Hyena, which was now mere feet away, readying himself for battle.
The Giant Hyena huffed and puffed, its fierce eyes fixed intently on Xiao Qiang. With a terrifying roar, it lunged at him…
Xiao Qiang nimbly dodged and thrust his dagger forward. The blade sliced through the air with ease, severing one of the Giant Hyena's front paws.
Now reduced to a three-pawed creature, blood gushed from its wound. Despite the pain, it hung onto its severed paw and leaped about, howling in rage.
Xiao Qiang realized it was calling for reinforcements and knew he had to finish it off quickly.
With its back turned to the Mud Pit, Xiao Qiang gripped his dagger tightly, preparing to strike. Just then, an odd object emerged from the mud—a curved hook with two scythe-like defensive weapons attached.
What on earth is that? He paused for a moment, stepping back to observe. Xiao Qiang sensed that whatever was rising from the Mud Pit was definitely not good news. As he contemplated retreating further, he heard heavy breathing behind him; there must be those two ferocious Giant Hyenas.
The situation seemed dire: one injured Giant Hyena in front of him and two more behind him, while that creature with a hook-like tail in the Mud Pit posed an unknown threat.
In this era, revealing one's abilities or shapeshifting could complicate matters significantly. It was always better to act discreetly. With this thought in mind, Xiao Qiang steadied himself cautiously…
The injured Giant Hyena, seeing its companions arrive, whimpered as if it were whining for attention, more like it was lamenting its plight. Suddenly, from the muddy swamp, a seemingly harmless hook moved. In an instant, it leaped out of the mire. To everyone's surprise, what emerged was just its tail; the real danger lay hidden in the water, where a long, pointed head lurked. With sharp teeth and a cruel predatory instinct, it bit down on the neck of the injured Giant Hyena, which continued to whimper. Under Xiao Qiang's astonished gaze, the elongated, deformed body dragged the much heavier Giant Hyena into the water.
Seeing their companion in peril, the other two Giant Hyenas let out a mournful howl and quickly retreated with their tails between their legs.
The murky swamp bubbled as a series of air bubbles rose to the surface, and everything returned to silence. The massive Giant Hyena was swiftly consumed by the creature lurking in the mud.
This scene was terrifying, sending chills down one's spine. Xiao Qiang silently thanked his luck for not carelessly jumping into the swamp; otherwise, he would have been the one devoured instead of the Giant Hyena.
Daylight broke, revealing a desolate landscape. Countless black dots spun in the air before suddenly diving toward an unsuspecting Xiao Qiang.
Damn it! He tensed up and hurriedly ducked beneath a rock. Peering out to see what was attacking him, he realized it was a flying monster with a long neck and enormous wings with webbed toes.
Was this a bird? It resembled an ancestor of the Vulture. Hiding under the rock, Xiao Qiang analyzed… The monstrous bird glided down gracefully and approached him like a gentleman.
One brave bird stretched its long neck and beak to peck at Xiao Qiang hiding beneath the rock. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed hold of its neck.
The oblivious creature opened its beak wide, letting out a strange cry that sounded eerily similar to a baby's wail. Holding onto the bird's neck tightly, Xiao Qiang examined its appearance closely.
Its giant beak was sharp and bore some resemblance to the monstrous birds he had encountered when raiding the False God’s lair; they must belong to the same family. However, their forms differed. He didn’t release his grip on the bird; he needed to make an example of it in front of those other birds that were itching to pounce.
With swift movements, he drew his knife and severed the bird's head from its body, blood spraying everywhere. Overcome by thirst, he brought the bird's neck to his mouth and drank deeply of its blood.
Xiao Qiang was splattered with so much blood that he terrified those airborne creatures descending from above. With a flurry of wings, the grounded birds took flight and scattered elsewhere in search of food.
He needed to find a way to leave this place; it was no place for humans. Surely that Sun Tribe Sage wasn’t any good; sending him here must have been an attempt on his life or a way to delay him while plotting something sinister.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, a thick mist began to rise over the barren wasteland. Looking at the mist and recalling how nothing grew here, Xiao Qiang suddenly realized why this place was devoid of life.
To verify his thoughts, he did not leave the desolate beach immediately. Instead, he followed the path to the muddy swamp where murky sludge flowed. On the opposite bank of the swamp, there was a man-made staircase.
If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the dwelling place of the Primitive Tribe. Here, another element that could lead to the migration of the Primitive Tribe and hinder the growth of underground creatures was present: a rare miasma.
Was the miasma generated from within the swamp? There must be numerous animal bones in the swamp. Or perhaps many human bones; otherwise, how could the Sun Tribe be so terrified that they dared not venture deeper into this area?
As the temperature rose, a strange odor permeated the space about fifty meters from the swamp. This smell further confirmed Xiao Qiang's suspicions about this place, and he covered his mouth while looking around.
Strangely, after that Giant Hyena was devoured by the Mud Monster, the other two Giant Hyenas never appeared again. Xiao Qiang searched for Giant Hyena tracks and found a narrow crevice in the rocks. He squeezed into the crevice to take a look.
Inside the crevice were two dead Giant Hyenas, and on the other side lay a Young Hyena.
The Young Hyena was struggling... He forcefully pried open a natural stone barrier and picked up the Young Hyena, retreating back out.
This was an Evolved Hyena, slightly smaller than an older Giant Hyena. Its bulging eyes revealed a pitiful expression, likely starved. Its crimson tongue licked Xiao Qiang's thumb repeatedly.
To investigate the source of the miasma, Xiao Qiang decided to use his intellect to lure a creature from the swamp for examination. He thought of the Whiskered Creature in Spring Pit. Fishing was something he knew how to do; he used the intestines of the dead strange bird as bait and cast it near Spring Pit.
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