Chapter 366

Chapter 366

Even after being hooked by Fa Meng, it continued to struggle vigorously. Its thick tail slapped against the boat, emitting a dull thud.

Jacqueline and Fa Meng took no chances and quickly ended the beast's life in a bloodless manner, allowing it to float quietly beside the boat, ready for Jacqueline's subsequent dissection.

To discern the abilities of a beast, there are generally only two options.

The first is to engage it in direct combat, by observing the abilities it exhibits during combat to make a rough estimate based on personal experience and observation.

Of course, this is the only option for the reckless.

However, for research-oriented individuals like Jacqueline, there is another more refined and accurate method.

Provided she obtains a complete corpse, she can extract sufficient information from the subtle physical structures of the beast, instantly revealing all the abilities the beast possesses, whether they have been displayed or not.

This is one of the abilities the Beast Tower prides itself on.

According to the theory of the Beast Tower, all abilities exhibited by beasts stem from their physical structures; no ability can emerge from nothing.

Even humans, who can become mages or priests, do so because a crystalline energy core, absent in ordinary people, has mutated in their brains.

Knights and warriors possess skeletal structures significantly superior to those of ordinary people.

This research even led to significant issues at the time, with numerous low-level practitioners hunted to extract those energy cores from their bodies to see if there was anything special.

Transplanting practitioners' energy cores became a widespread practice.

Only after a hundred years, during a period dubbed the 'Dark Ages,' did this chapter finally close.

Thoughtfully, Fa Meng conjured a platform beside the small boat, spacious enough to accommodate the beast's corpse and Jacqueline. Jacqueline jumped onto it, holding a small, sharp dagger. With a mere light stroke, the beast's chest was effortlessly sliced open, akin to softened butter.

It seemed as though the beast was more delicate than the softest loaf of bread.

Curious, Lorant reached out to feel the beast's body. The tough hide felt indistinguishable from steel to his touch. Intrigued, he also took a small, sharp knife provided by Fa Meng and attempted to prod the beast's body. Yet, it felt as though he was prodding something both slick and unyielding, reminiscent of metal. Despite exerting all his strength, he failed to leave even a single mark on the beast's body.

Jacqueline paid no heed to Lorant's minor actions. She diligently completed her task, wholly absorbed in a frenzy of experimentation, spending two days without rest to thoroughly dissect the entire beast.

"The situation is more complicated than we thought," Jacqueline said, rubbing her eyes with a clean arm after almost mincing the beast into tiny pieces, to Lorant, who had just woken up and crawled out of the tent, still yawning. "This beast is a multi-habitat creature that can live and move normally in three environments: water, land, and air."

"According to their physical structure, these beasts are incredibly fast both in the air and in the water, and they also have good endurance. If they pursue us at full speed, we wouldn't be able to shake them off for at least two days."

"And during that time, it would be enough for us to leave the territory of these beasts. By then, other beasts would surely appear, and if we get entangled with them, it wouldn't be so easy for us to return."

Lorant nodded upon hearing this. They had taken two and a half months to reach their current location.

That is to say, even if they ignored the time spent capturing Shadow Worms on the way back and sped up, it would take at least two months to return to the vicinity of the mountain pass.

Being pursued for such a long time, especially in the deep mountains where dangers are everywhere, is definitely not a good thing.

Even with Fa Meng, it would be hard to withstand. Even if five more legendary practitioners were added, it would still be overwhelming.

"So, we either take the reef without alerting these beasts, but that's unlikely because the brains of these beasts contain a very rare substance. This substance can only be extracted in small doses from high-concentration 'Xianming Stone' solutions. It's a universal reagent that can reveal anything hidden by magic."

Jacqueline showed Lorant a tube of shiny solution in her hand. This milky white solution emitted a very attractive pearlescent glow in the sunlight.

It was as if a beam of sunlight had been captured.

Lorant knew about this solution. It was extremely expensive and almost impossible to obtain except by extracting it oneself.

This is currently the only weakness in Fa Meng's abilities. When a large amount of "Revealing Stone" solution is used, there is a certain chance to see through Fa Meng's disguise.

However, this requirement is too stringent, so until now, these are just speculations.

Who would have guessed that in such a remote place, such a beast would exist?

It is the natural counter to Fa Meng's concealment abilities!

"In addition to strong perception abilities, these beasts also possess significant combat skills. Their natural physical talents are outstanding, and I also saw two energy sacs in their throats and abdomens," Jacqueline explained to Lorant.

"This means these beasts also have considerable long-range attack capabilities. Judging by the size of the sacs on their bodies, the amount of magical energy they can harness is definitely enough to directly attack our small boat on the water."

Jacqueline grew increasingly frustrated as she spoke. These beasts are the most troublesome for the two of them now, even more so than encountering legendary beasts in some ways.

Facing a legendary beast would simply mean a battle, and with Jacqueline and Fa Meng present, fighting a single legendary beast would definitely be advantageous.

While there's no guarantee of defeating the opponent outright, at least they could safely escape.

Moreover, legendary beasts usually do not have other beasts in their territory, so there is no need to worry about interference from other beasts.

But now, the situation is a large group of high-level beasts, and even Jacqueline and Fa Meng cannot clear them all in a short time.

The longer they remain in such a beast-infested area, the more likely accidents are to happen.

"The second option is to eliminate all the beasts and leisurely collect as many rocks as we desire," Jacqueline said, extending a second finger to Lorant. "As long as your spatial ring has enough capacity, you could even consider moving this entire hill back."

"But eliminating all the beasts would take a considerable amount of time, and we can't be sure if any accidents will happen during the process, so I don't think this is a good idea," Jacqueline quickly expressed her attitude.

"So, what's our best course of action now?" Lorant looked at Jacqueline with anticipation.

Jacqueline shrugged, looking completely resigned: "That's something you should think about carefully."

"If it were up to me, I would recommend the second option. We could stay here for a few months or even years, until we clear all the beasts and capture a few alive to take back!" Jacqueline's face showed a hint of fanaticism again.

"These are completely new beasts! I could even clear out my own spatial ring for them. Who knows, the interesting materials on these creatures might produce special effects in experiments!"

Lorant's mouth twitched. "No, let me figure out a better plan."

A five-month round trip! He already thinks that's way too long! If it drags on any longer, Lorant feels he might go crazy here!

...

The snake-tailed, winged dragons, these beasts that have just earned their name among humans, are mostly lounging leisurely on the seaside rocks, basking in the sun.

Their lives are very simple, almost to the point of being dull.

Every morning, the snake-tailed, winged dragons head to the deep sea or underwater forests for a good hunt. They do not bring their prey back to their territory but eat it outside, only keeping the finest parts to feed the young or offer to their leader.

After their meal, the snake-tailed, winged dragons spend most of their time basking in the sun.

As a triphibious creature, their wings need a long time in the sun to dry after being in the water, ensuring they can fly into the sky whenever needed.

So, it seems these beasts live quite leisurely, almost to the point of making people envious.

However, at this usually very leisurely and comfortable time, something different has appeared.

In the distance, on the sea, on a warm afternoon, some anomalies appeared.

When massive waves surged into the sky, filled with boundless fury, attempting to knock down the sun, all the snake-tailed, winged dragons involuntarily looked in that direction.

They are the rulers of these coastal waters, usually needing to venture to the distant seas to hunt for prey.

No other beasts would dare to intrude into their territory so casually.

And now, the location where the huge waves are appearing and moving is precisely within their territory!

This is a total slap in the face to these powerful beasts!

No creature is allowed to invade their territory!

All the serpent-tailed, winged beasts were enraged by this sudden turn of events.

Instantly, many large adult beasts leaped into the water, heading straight for the source of the commotion.

Perched on the easternmost reef, the alpha of the serpent-tailed, winged beasts watched the distant sea with cold, vertical pupils. It remained as steady as a rock, not moving an inch.

However, the person watching from afar was not in a hurry; he was dead sure the bait he'd thrown out would work, not worried that these ugly creatures would take the bait!