More than ten Stormdrakes larger than Griffons were in hot pursuit of Renji. Immediately, Renji used the Magic force through the Celestial Dragon Ring to make himself rise even faster, while at the same time beginning to say the words of incantation for the Terraguard spell.
"Whoosh! " Only the roaring wind could be heard. He had long since left the Ivy-etched Python behind him, but these Stormdrakes were flying at incredible velocity and closing in on him by the second. Even after Renji flew out of the canyon, those ten Stormdrakes continued in hot pursuit, following him outside.
His legs running as fast as they could carry him, Renji crossed the forest as soon as possible, but no matter how fast his legs ran, he couldn't compare with the speed of the winged Stormdrakes. "Screeeech! " The Stormdrakes let out piercing cries. Their wingspan was over twenty meters long if at maximum extension. These more-than-ten Stormdrakes blotted out the sky as they flew directly at Renji. He felt as though the whole world was growing dark.
As the Stormdrakes descended upon him, they all opened their beaks and belched forth plumes of flame, immediately turning the surrounding trees into blazing pyres. Fortunately, the Terraguard armor Renji summoned continued to protect him, covering his entire body. "Crackle, crackle." The fires roared and blazed against the Terraguard armor. Earth-colored elemental essence swirled all about him. Of the dragon-type creatures, Stormdrakes and Landwyrms were the weakest of their kin, but even they, the weakest of dragon-type creatures, were magical beasts of the sixth rank.
What's more, Landwyrms and Stormdrakes were pack-type beasts. Faced with an aerial assault from over ten magical beasts of the sixth rank, even a warrior of the seventh rank would flee. The Stormdrakes charged forward, descending upon Renji…. "Smash! " A Stormdrake's sharp talons smote Renji's Terraguard armor with a mighty blow. The armor visibly shook, and specks of golden light began to softly flicker on top of it. "I can't take those hits head on!
" That clawed attack terrified Renji.
He scurried deeper into the forest at the highest speed he could manage, charging into the densest and hardest-to-traverse area. Jumping, leaping, crawling… Renji went all out in his attempt to flee. But the Stormdrakes continued to strike viciously at his head with their claws. "Hissss!" Echo let out a fierce screech, then rose on his hind legs, suddenly transforming in size from twenty centimeters to half a meter tall. But compared with the Stormdrakes, which had 20-meter-long wingspans, Echo was still just a small speck. "Swish! "Echo launched himself from Renji's shoulders, his body turning into a black streak as he shot directly at the nearest attacking Stormdrake. There was suddenly the terrifying sound of bones splintering, along with agonized cries from the Stormdrakes. That Stormdrake fell from the air, but before it did, Echo used it as a launchpad to leap at the next nearest Stormdrake. With two ruthless bites, this one was also bitten to death. Stormdrakes were just beasts of the sixth rank; however, Echo could compel a magical beast of the seventh rank-a Dragon King-run away defeated. What's more… From the sixth rank to the seventh rank, there was a huge gap in difficulty to advance as well as in power.
Echo was not able to fly, but the moment he got into physical contact with a Stormdrake, that thing was as good as dead.
In a few short moments, three of the ten-plus Stormdrakes were dead.
The other Stormdrakes all flew higher in terror. Seeing them fly higher, there was nothing Echo could do either, as he himself could not fly. Those Stormdrakes fluttered around Renji for some time before they finally let out a few sorrowful cries as they flew back in the direction of the canyon. "What a fearsome ravine." It wasn't until now that Renji finally exhaled. As he gathered the three dead Stormdrakes' magicite cores, Renji reflected upon the question that was Foggy Gorge. "Grandfather Kaiya." Renji suddenly called out, and Kaiya Tanaka flew out of the Celestial Dragon Ring. Still seeming to wear a flawless, snow-white robe, Kaiya Tanaka smiled as he spoke to Renji. "Renji, is there something you need?" Renji had not yet cooled down. "Grandfather Kaiya, just now, I entered a foggy gorge. I didn't expect the place to be filled to the brim with magical beasts.
There was an Ivy-etched Python there, and huge crawling creatures.
I didn't get a good look at them, but in terms of size, they definitely were not any smaller than a Dragon King.
There were Stormdrakes there as well…and I could tell that this was in just a small portion of the gorge. I have no idea how large the entirety of the Foggy Gorge was." Thinking back, Renji felt a surge of fear again. He had actually stumbled into such a gathering spot for magical beasts in that gorge. "Oh?" Kaiya Tanaka sounded rather surprised. "This Foggy Gorge really had so many magical beasts? Interesting. Generally speaking, only magical beasts of the same type will gather together, but the magical beasts you just said were all different types. But they all actually gathered together in this Foggy Gorge? Interesting. How interesting. I, if still alive, most likely would go inside and take a look myself." Renji helplessly shook his head and laughed. "That gorge even contained Azure Soulgrass. There was one patch that I didn't have time to gather. I was only able to gather one." "Azure Soulgrass?
For a moment, Kaiya Tanaka's eyes lit up.
"Any place where Azure Soulgrass can grow definitely is no ordinary place. There has to be something like a treasured treasure in that Foggy Gorge, or maybe some very powerful magical beast therein, for example a magical beast of the ninth rank, or even a Saint-level magical beast. However…\" Kaiya Tanaka began to frown. "Generally speaking, powerful magical beasts are very territorial. If there were some strong magical creature there, they probably wouldn't allow creatures like Stormdrakes and Ivy-etched Pythons to live there. "But Stormdrakes, Ivy-etched Pythons, and those great crawling beasts you spoke of manage to live there together? Strange. Strange." Kaiya Tanaka couldn't fathom it either. It seemed this Misty Gorge was full of contradictions. Renji laughed.
"Grandpa Kaiya, don't think about it too much.
I'll be able to use the 'Soaring Technique' when I become a magus of the seventh rank. At that time, we'll come for another investigation.
Upon becoming a magus of the seventh rank, my Terraguard would have reached the level of generating jadestone armor.
The extra speed granted by the Rapidstream spell would also increase significantly.
By then, I would have full confidence in being able to handle the Stormdrakes. And, by being able to fly with the use of the Soaring Technique in and out of the gorge, it would be relatively quite easy to enter and leave. "Seventh rank magus? You're only a fifth rank at the moment. It's a long way ahead." Kaiya Tanaka doused the keenness from Renji with her words. He knew this in his heart as well. Maybe becoming a sixth rank magus would not be too difficult, but from the sixth to the seventh rank, it was a huge gap. "All roads are humped one step at a time." Renji smiled. "It's roughly two months since I entered the Mountain of Magical Monsters. It is about time for me to go back. It'll take several days to get back anyhow. I'll use that time to do some more training."With Echo on his shoulders, Renji began his return trip back home.