Chapter 199: Deserted Island Survival 23

Meanwhile, Black Wolf was brought to an abrupt halt by Moira Lynch when they reached a deserted beach.

Hopping off Black Wolf’s back, Moira Lynch asked, "Did you find any sign of Shirley Blackwood?"

Black Wolf nodded.

Not only had he found her, but he’d also discovered that someone else was after Shirley Blackwood too.

"Someone else is after Shirley Blackwood?"

Moira Lynch immediately thought of the group of six they had encountered earlier.

’After all, Shirley Blackwood passed through their territory, so it was only logical that they would have seen her.’

"Awoo."

They’re after Shirley Blackwood’s tail.

As he conveyed this, Black Wolf couldn’t hide a hint of schadenfreude in his tone.

"Awoo, awoo..."

That idiot must have provoked something it shouldn’t have out there. It came back covered in injuries, and even shedding its skin once didn’t help. The situation is even worse than I thought.

Moira listened as Black Wolf described how Shirley Blackwood’s body, for some unknown reason, had become overgrown with long, sharp crystals of various colors, with the highest concentration on its tail.

And those people Black Wolf mentioned before were after these very crystals.

Those people seemed to think the crystals were a natural part of Shirley Blackwood’s body.

Knowing they were no match for the behemoth, they planned to just take its tail, where the crystals were most abundant.

’The fact that Shirley Blackwood is heavily injured is undoubtedly good news for me.’

"Awoo..."

Shirley Blackwood is hiding in a cave. There’s almost nowhere else to hide around there. It seems to be looking for some kind of root... Soul Resurrection Grass to treat its wounds. You can use that as bait to lure it out of the cave, then set a trap to ambush it.

Black Wolf had a vivid memory of the trap that had injured him in the past.

Moira Lynch considered Black Wolf’s proposal carefully. ’The idea isn’t bad... but where to set the trap? That’s the question.’

’And then there are those people Black Wolf mentioned.’

’If those people could help wear it down a bit first, that would be even better.’

’The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Who wouldn’t want to be the oriole?’

As Moira Lynch was deep in thought, a bird with a snow-white body and a yellow beak appeared in the sky.

The bird’s eyes seemed to lock onto something on the beach, and it dove down swiftly.

The next moment, its large, yellow beak plunged deep into the sand.

Then, it pulled a small, green turtle, its limbs flailing, out of the sand.

Having caught its desired meal, the white bird was about to return to the sky and enjoy its lunch.

However, in Black Wolf’s eyes, this act was nothing short of a provocation.

A black shadow flashed past. The white bird had just spread its wings to take off, but in the next instant, it was in Black Wolf’s mouth, already dead.

Black Wolf tossed the white bird in front of Moira Lynch and let out a cool "Awoo."

A bonus meal for today.

Tossed over along with it was the little turtle that had almost become a meal.

[Isle Turtle Hatchling: The most vulnerable stage in an Isle Turtle’s life. Highly nutritious. When boiled into a turtle soup, its effects are comparable to Soul Resurrection Grass.]

Patience’s words made Moira Lynch, who had been about to release it, pull her hand back.

’Wait, what did you just say this thing was?’

"Patience, this can’t be Planet Aelmar, can it?"

[Yes.]

After receiving Patience’s affirmative answer, Moira Lynch tossed the Isle Turtle hatchling in her hand into her storage space, then excitedly ran toward the spot where the bird had caught the turtle.

’As everyone knows, turtles never lay just one egg.’

’This Isle Turtle hatchling is so small, just a little bigger than a red-eared slider from Caelus.’

After probing with her spiritual power, she indeed found more movement under the sand.

Afraid of accidentally harming the fragile little turtles, Moira Lynch chose to dig through the sand with her bare hands.

After digging about fifty centimeters deep, she uncovered a clutch of white eggs.

[Isle Turtle Egg: To prevent the shell from being broken, an Isle Turtle’s eggshell is extremely thick. Only exceptionally strong hatchlings can successfully break out.]

’In other words, if they don’t develop well enough to break the shell, the little Isle Turtles inside will just suffocate.’

"Patience, what’s the hatching rate for Isle Turtles?"

[Thirty percent.]

’There are ten eggs in front of me. This means that out of these ten, maybe only three will successfully hatch.’

’And successfully hatching doesn’t guarantee they’ll grow to adulthood, as that one just now proved.’

Among the ten eggs, one was already broken open—it must have been the one that was almost carried away.

The remaining eggs also looked like they were about to hatch. Moira Lynch could sense that the yolk inside the shells had been completely absorbed, and the little turtles within were very healthy, all trying to break out.

However, because they hadn’t developed as well as the first one, the process of breaking out was exceptionally difficult.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch decided to give them a little help.

A ball of white flame appeared in her hand, and she passed it back and forth over the remaining nine eggs.

After being warmed by the white flame, the little turtles inside reacted as if they had eaten Diligent Vajra Pills. Soon, cracks of varying sizes appeared on the remaining nine eggs.

Moira watched as the newly hatched Isle Turtles, not daring to delay for even a second, immediately scrambled toward the sea.

With a wave of her hand, Moira Lynch collected six of them, sending them into her storage space to reunite with their big brother. The remaining three were allowed to make their way safely into the ocean.

Having acquired seven small Isle Turtles for nothing, Moira Lynch couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

’I just wonder how fast these Isle Turtles grow.’

’Even if it’s slow, it doesn’t matter. Every part of them is a treasure, anyway.’

Before she had even taken two steps, Moira Lynch suddenly thought of a serious problem: what about finding mates for these little Isle Turtles when they grow up?

’Even for turtles, inbreeding probably isn’t a good idea, right? That’s an easy way to wipe themselves out.’

Looking at the surrounding beach, Moira Lynch decided to search some more.

’A beach this big has to have more than one nest.’

After a thorough search, she finally found another clutch of Isle Turtle eggs under a rock in an obscure corner just before dusk.

The last clutch had ten eggs; this one had a full twelve.

However, four of them were just empty shells, obviously having already hatched.

’I’m too late,’ Moira Lynch realized.

’The well-developed hatchlings have already left. This clutch is clearly the rejects.’

Moira Lynch quickly used her spiritual power to check the vital signs of the little turtles inside the eggs. Luckily, they weren’t dead yet; they were still breathing.

Moira Lynch breathed a sigh of relief and quickly warmed the eggs with her white flame, pulling the little turtles back from death’s door.

With a series of CRACKING sounds, eight little Isle Turtles successfully broke out of their shells.

The moment they hatched, they followed their instincts and began crawling toward the sea.

With a grand wave of her hand, Moira Lynch collected all of them into her storage space.