Chapter 335 - 325: The Crimson Alliance 6

’What a pity I didn’t think of this sooner. I completely missed out on such a great bodyguard.’

Ellers sighed inwardly.

At that moment, Moira Lynch saw Ellers sighing and shaking his head and assumed he was having second thoughts, worried she wouldn’t be able to outrun the Echobeast.

Just as Moira was about to say she could handle it herself, she saw a pair of magnificent wings suddenly sprout from Ellers’s back as he flew up toward the sky.

Although Ellers’s wings were black, they gave off a sense of understated luxury.

Like the finest silk satin, they emanated a luxurious sheen, shining brilliantly even on this grim battlefield.

Seeing that Ellers was already on the move, Moira could only stick to the original plan. She found a place to hide, took a pair of earpieces out of her spatial storage, put them on, and waited for the right moment.

These earpieces were also a special item. Their function was to block out sound, but not completely; they only blocked out noise and static.

Ellers didn’t keep Moira waiting for long.

Not long after he flew off, a piercing cry suddenly rang out from the distance.

Because Moira was prepared, the sound didn’t affect her at all.

However, the sonic waves created by the cry still hit her with considerable force, and the rock she was hiding behind even developed several cracks.

A testament to the power of the attack.

After the sound faded, Ellers’s figure appeared first. Behind him followed a creature resembling a Plesiosaur, constantly stretching its long neck and opening its massive maw, trying to devour the man flying in the sky.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch wasted no time. Following the plan, a pair of white wings unfurled from her back, and she too flew into the sky.

According to Ellers, the Echobeast was covered in a layer of tough, scaled armor, making it impervious to weapons and giving it an astonishing defense.

However, the Echobeast’s armor didn’t cover its entire body. One weak spot was its eyes, which had no scales. The other was its rear end—the place where the Echobeast pooped.

Attacking the latter was obviously much easier than the former. After all, the Echobeast’s eyes were small, making it difficult to land a hit on the first try, plus they didn’t have any suitable weapons on hand.

Therefore, Ellers’s initial plan was to attack the Echobeast’s rear end. While it might have been a bit undignified, it boasted a high success rate.

The Echobeast was very adept at attacking with its tail, and when it swung its tail, it would expose its rear end—its weak spot.

However, things didn’t go according to plan.

This particular Echobeast seemed to have learned its lesson, as it only used its neck and teeth to attack while chasing Ellers.

On the rare occasion it did swing its tail, it kept its rear end tightly covered.

Seeing this, Moira decisively abandoned the plan. She took out the Thousand Feather Bow, drew the string, and took aim.

With the sound of something whistling through the air, the Echobeast, which had been relentlessly attacking Ellers, suddenly let out a wretched scream. Its massive body slowly collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then fell still.

Ellers descended from the sky, retracted his wings, and stared at Moira Lynch in disbelief.

This was the first time he had ever seen anyone other than a member of The Elven Race pierce an Echobeast’s eye with an arrow.

Although the eye was one of the Echobeast’s weak points, its incredibly flexible neck made hitting it no simple task.

In comparison, the rear end became the best option.

"I didn’t realize you were so skilled with a bow. Have you had special training?" Ellers asked.

"I suppose you could say that," Moira said modestly.

In truth, her success this time was due as much to luck as it was to skill.

The most important factor was that the Thousand Feather Bow had become an extension of her body; using it was as natural as using her own hands.

Another point was that her timing had been perfect.

Because it was focused on attacking Ellers, the Echobeast had kept its eyes wide open, staring intently ahead, which gave Moira the opening she needed.

Now that the Echobeast was dead, it was time to carve it up.

Suddenly, sharp claws grew from Ellers’s fingertips, and he easily sliced open the Echobeast’s skin.

’Wait, wasn’t the Echobeast’s skin supposed to be incredibly tough? Why did it slice open so easily?’

Seeing the shocked expression on Moira’s face, Ellers explained, "An Echobeast’s scaled armor rapidly softens after death, and the quality of its meat also begins to change the moment it dies."

"This process lasts for two to three hours. The meat must be processed within this time. Otherwise, after two or three hours, its scales will become hard again, and the meat inside will also become tough, unpalatable, and will have a faint, foul odor."

’A best-before date?’

"This Echobeast is surprisingly considerate," Moira said slowly.

It knew its scales were tough, so they softened after death to make it easier for its enemies to eat it.

To give its enemies the best possible dining experience, it even automatically activated an "optimal eating window" mode.

As long as the body was soft, it was delicious. Once it hardened again, it was awful.

Hearing Moira call the Echobeast considerate, Ellers suddenly burst out laughing. "You’re right, it is pretty considerate."

By this point, Ellers had completely opened up the Echobeast’s belly and was leaning inside, his hands fumbling around as if searching for something.

Finally, when his hands touched a certain spot, he said excitedly, "Found it! I didn’t expect this one to come through for us."

Moira recalled the previous introduction to Echobeasts and leaned in curiously.

She saw Ellers holding an irregular, white object in his hand.

The thing had been taken from inside the Echobeast. It should have been some kind of sinew, but its softness and luster didn’t quite match.

Most importantly, there wasn’t a single drop of blood on it.

"What is that?" Moira asked.

After spending this time together, she had discovered that Ellers was very good-natured. He answered every question she had and never got angry, even if she asked the same thing over and over.

Little did she know, Ellers was only acting this way to win her favor.

Sure enough, Ellers quickly provided an answer.

"This is the special part that grows inside an Echobeast."

"Not every Echobeast grows one of these. The probability is about one in ten thousand, and the location where it grows is different in each one. If it were meat, you could just eat it. But this thing... it’s inedible. However, if we tailor it a bit, it should be possible to make an item out of it. What would you like to make?"