Chapter 365

Chapter 365

"A new beast?" Lorant was visibly surprised. The beast compendium in the Beast Tower was a precious accumulation of knowledge gathered by mages over thousands of years. Such a complete and comprehensive compendium had once led all intelligent races in the world to believe that they had seen every beast.

After all, the last time a new beast was discovered was a thousand years ago!

For over a millennium, no new beasts had appeared before the eyes of the people.

Lorant never imagined that his journey would result in such a find.

However, Lorant soon understood the key point.

This side of the Lopulo mountain range was simply too vast.

He and Jacqueline had emerged from Yixiantian, which is currently the closest known entrance to the Lopulo mountain range on the eastern side of the continent.

But after leaving Yixiantian, they had been heading due east for two months and eleven days!

It's important to note that they were not trudging through countless beasts on foot; they had been soaring unhindered above the forest from the very beginning!

Fa Meng's skiff was actually quite fast. If it weren't for the protective barrier around them, Lorant estimated he would have frozen solid on the skiff in less than three minutes.

If they were in their original world, two months and eleven days would have been enough for Fa Meng to orbit the equator thirty to forty times!

Yet, this only allowed Lorant to finally catch sight of the sea!

On such a vast land, it seems not impossible for there to be beasts disinterested in the Lopulo mountain range on the other side, and thus refrain from attacking the mountains, or are so far away that they don't even know of the existence of such a mountain range, and thus have remained unseen.

After all, human knowledge of beasts is largely confined to within the Lopulo mountain range. As for the other side of the mountains, even the nearby lands are inaccessible to humans, let alone a comprehensive exploration of what beasts exist here.

It wasn't long before Jacqueline's invisible mage's eye drifted silently to the opposite side of the mountain wall.

Jacqueline clasped her hands together, and when she opened them, a luminous screen materialized between her palms.

The projection was clearly the scene on the other side of the mountain wall.

There, indeed, was the end of the sea, with tall reefs standing amidst the waves, battered by frothy waves yet still firmly standing above the sea.

At the highest point of the reef, whether naturally formed or later carved, numerous caves had formed, where a group of beasts Lorant had never seen before had settled.

The hollows in the stone wall were their lairs. These beasts, with their sleek, elongated forms, long snake tails, and a pair of fleshy wings on their backs, some fully extended their wings, flapping their enlarged wings, hovering low outside the mountain wall, while others glided effortlessly along the mountain wall with their long snake tails.

It seemed there were at least hundreds of these beasts here!

If we count those that might be out of their lairs on the mountain wall, Lorant estimated there could be thousands of these beasts!

"These beasts have at least a level ten energy signature," Jacqueline said, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the scene before her: "And I don't sense any other beast signatures around."

"This means we might have met the true masters of this place!"

A powerful beast, or a group of powerful beasts, is enough to make other beasts in the vicinity steer clear.

If there is only one type of beast in a certain area, it most likely means that this beast is the most powerful existence in that area.

Jacqueline was excited about discovering this new beast, but Lorant found it somewhat troublesome.

The ingredient 'the easternmost reef' was obviously right in front of them. Logically, the entire mountain wall had now reached the easternmost edge of the ocean. If they went further, there would be nothing but the endless sea, meaning if 'the easternmost' did not refer to here, then Lorant would have a hard time finding any other path.

But he couldn't guarantee that taking a piece of reef from behind the mountain wall with Fa Meng would prove effective in the final breeding stage.

At least in Lorant's understanding, 'the easternmost' implied he needed to bring back a piece of the easternmost reef within the territory of these unfamiliar beasts.

Fa Meng quickly sketched the terrain map in front of Lorant.

From the mage's vision, it was clear that the beasts occupied a small peninsula jutting out towards the sea. At the easternmost tip, a beast significantly larger than the others was perched on the reef.

As the mage's eye remained active, its gaze turned towards them.

Those vertical, brownish-yellow pupils gazed coldly through the screen at Lorant, sending a shiver down his spine!

Just a single glance through the mage's eye was enough to impose a crushing presence. This beast was far more powerful than imagined!

However, the next steps were straightforward.

"Auntie Jacqueline, I think that reef is what I need. But it seems these unfamiliar beasts won't vacate willingly. We need to find a way to sneak in," Lorant said excitedly. He watched as Jacqueline dispersed the mage's eye that had been vaguely detected.

"Are you sure?" Jacqueline glanced at Lorant, she asked. "Whether it's that reef or the entire reef mountain, I didn't sense much energy signature. It's unclear if this can even be considered material."

Lorant nodded firmly. "Yes, I have a strong intuition that's what I need. Maybe other reefs could work too, but since we've come this far, we should ensure we get the best possible outcome."

Jacqueline nodded in agreement. Firstly, too many seemingly supernatural things had happened around Lorant, and deep down, she was certain he had some special qualities that allowed him to breed so many magical creatures.

Though even he might not fully understand what makes him different.

And Lorant was right—they had spent so much time getting here, so they should aim for the best. After all, if what they brought back turned out to be useless, the effort to return would be too high.

"Since you've made the decision, I'll naturally back you up," Jacqueline said, her gaze fixed on the distant reef mountain. "But from the looks of it, those beasts aren't going to give up without a fight!"

"So, let's just take what we need ourselves," Lorant said, a slightly menacing grin curling his lips.

Facing a completely new and unknown beast, the wisest course of action was to first understand their abilities before deciding how to deal with them.

Especially when these beasts were not weak and seemed to have a degree of immunity to Fa Meng's abilities.

Jacqueline pulled out a handful of unknown beast fur and tossed it into the air. With a wave of her hand, a realistic snow rabbit appeared beside her.

This low-level beast-shaped puppet, commonly used by mages, quietly settled at Jacqueline's feet, waiting for instructions.

At her command, the small snow rabbit leaped off the boat without hesitation, landing steadily on the tip of a barely visible branch sticking out of the water. It then bounded side to side towards the mountain wall.

Soon, the snow rabbit reappeared in Lorant and Jacqueline's sight.

Following closely behind was a strange creature identical to the one they had seen through the mage's eye. It leisurely trailed the prey, swaying its serpentine tail as it swam through the water.

In the water, the beast's fleshy wings clung tightly to its back, making it resemble a giant aquatic serpent with six forelimbs.

It moved swiftly and seemed relaxed, not exerting much effort. If it wanted, it could easily swallow the snow rabbit in front.

But whether out of curiosity or because it found chasing prey amusing, the beast maintained a steady distance, its vertical pupils excitedly tracking the fleeing rabbit.

It showed little alertness to its surroundings. Normally, these creatures were the dominant predators in this sea, with no threats in their territory, which made them somewhat oblivious to danger.

Otherwise, if this were a species accustomed to many natural enemies, it wouldn't have been so easily lured out by a simple puppet.

The snow rabbit slowed down, seemingly exhausted.

The beast behind it also began to lose interest in the game. It dove underwater, appearing to abandon the rabbit. However, just as the rabbit looked around, a terrifying beast leaped out from the front, opening its enormous, fearsome mouth and swallowing the small rabbit in one gulp.

The beast's vertical pupils showed a momentary satisfaction, but then its face twisted into a look of panic.

The next second, the beast struggled in agony, suddenly finding itself completely immobilized, unable to open its mouth, as if it had swallowed a barbed hook that gripped its throat and involuntarily pulled its body upwards.

Fa Meng gleefully reeled in her fishing line, lifting her prey entirely out of the water.

When the beast came closer, Lorant finally realized just how huge this creature was.

When fully extended, it was even longer than Fa Meng's small boat, which could fit two Windbreaking Horses, two people, and two small tents!

And this beast was even considered one of the smaller ones in its group!