Seeing Bai Xiaodu start talking nonsense with a straight face, the Red Dragon Demon knew there was no point in asking further. After all, who would easily reveal the secrets behind their very livelihood?
Bai Xiaodu curled his lips.
See? I told you the truth, but you didn't want to believe it.
The Red Dragon Demon flew back up into the air and waved his massive hand. Suddenly, the scene around them began to rapidly collapse.
Feeling the tremors beneath their feet, and considering how the Red Dragon Demon had completely failed to warn them earlier, the others drew their weapons and braced themselves for a fight.
Seeing this, the Red Dragon Demon shook his head helplessly.
“Am I really worse than the guy standing right next to you?”
Within a few short breaths, the red sand and white lines of the running track completely vanished. Soft grass spread beneath their feet, tall trees rose up, and thick, tangled roots carpeted the ground. It was now a dense, untamed forest.
Bai Xiaodu quickly scanned his surroundings and soon noticed something unusual. Perched densely on the treetops from near to far was a species of eagle-like creatures. Their golden eyes gleamed sharply, their curved beaks were as razor-sharp as blades, and their robust bodies were covered in extremely long, fine feathers. A winding, crimson bloodline ran down the center of each feather, making them look exceptionally beautiful.
Just as he was about to take a closer look, the Red Dragon Demon vanished from where he stood, instantly reappearing right next to the eagle Bai Xiaodu was observing.
“Hahaha!”
He let out a laugh that sounded exactly like an evil villain.
Paying no mind to their expressions, the Red Dragon Demon pointed at the eagle and began his introduction.
“The Dragon-Blood Battle Eagle, a mortal-grade flying beast derived from the 【Fearless】 Pathway. It looks flashy, cool, powerful, and very WoW, doesn't it? The condition to pass this stage is incredibly simple: a flying race against it. Whoever reaches an altitude of thirty thousand meters first wins. Of course, I know you aren't official transcendents yet, so I've set up a jump point every few hundred meters for you. As for how you cross the distance between the jump points, that'll depend on your own abilities.”
Studying the eagle's appearance, the Winged human's expression turned strange.
“Wait, last time the rabbits' speed was modified, but this time you even changed the species of eagle? I remember from the recorded footage that there was no red line. Did you make a mistake? Our ranks haven't increased compared to the previous group. According to the Federation's guides for clearing this Secret Realm, if our ranks don't increase, the difficulty shouldn't go up. You've already violated the standard rules twice in a row!”
The Red Dragon Demon's brow furrowed deeply.
“I'm the referee, so of course I make the rules! Besides, haven't you heard that the bigger the wind and waves, the more valuable the fish? Furthermore...”
He suddenly whipped his arm out, pointing his index finger sharply in a certain direction.
Bai Xiaodu, who had just been singled out, shrugged.
The Red Dragon Demon continued.
“Do you all think I'm stupid? With his kind of spell power, if I brought out normal eagles, you probably expect me to stand here and watch the race get cut short before it even starts, with all the eagles swept up by a massive gale and instantly killed by a single Freezing Ray, don't you?”
Bai Xiaodu continued to silently observe the Dragon-Blood Battle Eagles, quietly memorizing their positions. But hearing those words, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.
“Heh, you're not as dumb as you look.”
The Red Dragon Demon crossed his arms and sneered twice.
“Don't think I don't know what's going on in that head of yours. The moment you saw these eagles, you couldn't wait to slaughter them all to boost your score, right?”
Bai Xiaodu rubbed his ears.
“Is it really that obvious?”
The Red Dragon Demon nodded aggressively.
“Yes! Extremely! Incredibly so! You're giving me a massive headache, kid. To tell you the truth, summoning these battle eagles cost me quite a bit. The main reason is that summoning Dragon-Blood Battle Eagles consumes the origin source of the 【Fearless】 Pathway. And since I'm just a remnant spirit of this Secret Realm, I lost my Pathway status long ago. I can't walk the path to condense more origin source, so whatever I use is gone forever.”
Bai Xiaodu quietly slipped his hand back inside his coat.
“Such an extravagance just to deal with a poor, helpless, and weak Rank 0.6 Warlock Apprentice like me? Is it really worth it?”
Amused and angered by his words, the Red Dragon Demon honestly didn't know how this guy could say something so shameless with a straight face. He gritted his teeth and replied,
“It's worth it. It's absolutely worth it. The Dragon-Blood Battle Eagles are infused with the origin source of the 【Fearless】 Pathway. They can ignite their feathers to fly at extreme speeds, which perfectly counters your damn freezing rays.”
Seeing Bai Xiaodu's expression finally change slightly, the Red Dragon Demon continued with a look of gratification.
“So, stop trying to use those underhanded methods to clear this stage. I carefully observed your 【Gust】 earlier. If you constantly burst forward, step on the jump points, and work closely with your teammates, you have a pretty decent chance of passing. But even so, the way you act so smug really rubs me the wrong way. After wasting so much of my 【Fearless】 origin source, I'd really love to see you push yourself to the absolute limit, only to fall short and collapse from exhaustion.”
Saying this, the Red Dragon Demon flexed his upper body again, pressing his arms together to show off his rather exaggerated chest muscles.
“One should fear no hardships or obstacles, fearlessly facing all suffering and challenges like a true hero! This is the very reason the 【Fearless】 Secret Realm exists!”
Once he finished speaking, he saw that the others were also more or less ready. A whistle materialized in the Red Dragon Demon's hand once again, and he brought it to his lips.
The Dragon-Blood Battle Eagles were clearly far more intelligent than the rabbits. They let out a brief, sharp screech. Shifting their steel-like talons back and forth, they spread their wings, ready to take flight.
Having overheard the Red Dragon Demon's words, a competitive fire flickered in their golden eyes. As fire-blades soaring through the skies and the vanguard of the 【Fearless】 Pathway, they refused to lose in their own domain to two-legged beasts who could only jump around on the ground.
“Get ready...”
The whistle suddenly blew!
Tweet!
As his cheeks puffed out, dozens of golden figures trailing red lines shot rapidly into the sky. The rushing airflow tore through the sky, and the leading eagles even triggered layers of white vapor rings as they flew—a literal sonic boom! Even a Rank 0.9 Ranger Apprentice stood absolutely no chance against them in terms of speed!
But the Red Dragon Demon's eyes suddenly widened.
For he noticed that the white figure below still hadn't made a move, just like in the previous round. Instead, he was stealthily forming a spell rune. And judging by how complete the spell rune was, he had likely been secretly chanting it since they first started talking!
“Holy shit, fox-kin, what the fuck are you doing?!”
Rate on N.U.
