Chapter 175: The Ascent of Eagle Beak Cliff

Ethan and Kate chased the Eagle King all the way to the foot of Eagle Beak Cliff.

The hundred-meter-high cliff stood near the entrance to Sunset Ridge, its steep rock face rising sharply above the surrounding forest. From a distance, it looked like an enormous stone wall cutting straight through the mountains.

The scene at its base was even more striking.

The ground had been torn apart by their earlier battle. Dark gray scales were embedded in fractured rocks, while patches of dried black blood stained the earth. Golden feathers lay scattered everywhere, some caught between broken branches, others buried beneath piles of rubble.

Several pine trees had been snapped in half. Their thick trunks lay across the ground, their broken ends blackened by the lingering effects of high-voltage lightning.

This was where the Eagle King and the King-Rank Pangolin had fought their brutal battle.

Kate landed on a large boulder, carefully folding her golden wings to avoid the sharp rocks scattered around her.

"What an intense fight," she remarked, studying the destruction. "That pangolin’s defense was incredible. Even the Eagle King’s lightning couldn’t completely penetrate its scales."

Ethan crouched beside a bloodstained rock. He brushed his fingertips against the dried black blood, then examined the deep gouges nearby.

"But its abdomen was its weakness. If it hadn’t suffered that injury, the Eagle King might not have been able to defeat it."

He straightened and looked up at the towering cliff.

Halfway up the rock face was a massive, pitch-black cave entrance.

"The nest is up there. It went inside."

His expression turned serious.

"Let’s be careful. It’s wounded, but that doesn’t mean it’s harmless."

Kate nodded.

The two made their way toward the cave, Ethan taking the lead while Kate remained slightly behind him.

The entrance was much larger than it had appeared from a distance, standing nearly four meters high. Heaps of white bones were scattered around it, some partially buried beneath loose stones. A foul, fishy smell drifted from the darkness.

Kate frowned and raised her hand.

Golden energy gathered around her fingertips, forming several sharp bone blades.

"This must be where it stores its food."

She glanced into the cave.

"Watch out for an ambush."

Ethan nodded and stepped inside.

He had barely crossed the entrance when a sudden gust of wind swept down from above.

His instincts screamed.

Something was coming!

Before he could react, a massive shadow burst from the darkness.

The Eagle King!

Its enormous wings spread across the cave entrance, blocking out what little light reached inside. Most of the feathers on its left wing had been torn away, exposing bloody flesh beneath. Its chest and neck were covered in wounds, and black blood dripped from its body.

Yet its eyes still burned with murderous fury.

It had been driven into a corner, and it was clearly prepared to fight to the death.

KRAAAAA!

Its screech shook the cave.

A bolt of blue-white lightning erupted from its beak and shot straight toward Ethan’s face.

"Dodge!"

Kate moved before the warning had even left her mouth.

Her golden wings snapped open, carrying her toward Ethan. With a powerful flap, dozens of golden feathers tore free and transformed into sharp arrows.

They shot toward the Eagle King in a glittering barrage.

The sudden attack forced the creature to interrupt its lightning strike.

Ethan seized the opportunity.

He teleported out of the bolt’s path just as the lightning slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

The cave entrance shook. Rocks exploded, and fragments scattered through the air.

Ethan reappeared several meters away, his eyes fixed on the Eagle King.

"Your opponent is me!"

He raised his hand.

A Space Fissure formed at his fingertips before slicing toward the creature’s right wing.

The Eagle King twisted, but it wasn’t fast enough.

The spatial blade grazed its wing, tearing through the feathers and opening a fresh wound.

Blood sprayed into the air.

KRAAA!

The Eagle King let out a shrill cry and climbed higher, circling above the cave entrance.

Its bloodshot eyes moved between Ethan and Kate before finally settling on the woman hovering closer to the ground.

It suddenly folded its wings.

Then it plunged toward her.

Its enormous claws extended, each talon curved like a hook. The Eagle King moved with terrifying speed, aiming directly for Kate’s throat.

Kate’s eyes sharpened.

At the last possible moment, her body flashed with golden light.

The Eagle King’s claws swept past her face, missing by barely an inch.

She twisted in midair and struck back.

Three golden bone blades shot toward its eyes.

The Eagle King jerked its head aside, narrowly avoiding the attack.

But that brief distraction was all Ethan needed.

He pushed off the ground and raised his arm.

"Lightning Whip!"

Blue-white electricity gathered around his hand.

A crackling whip formed in an instant, its brilliant light illuminating the cave entrance. Ethan swung with all his strength.

The Lightning Whip lashed through the air and wrapped tightly around the Eagle King’s neck.

ZIIII!

Electricity surged through its body.

The Eagle King convulsed violently. Its wings beat wildly, but the current disrupted its movements, causing it to lose control of its flight.

It dropped.

BOOM!

Its enormous body crashed onto the rocky ground, sending dust and broken stones flying in every direction.

Ethan immediately followed up.

A Space Cut flashed across the ground.

The Eagle King barely managed to roll aside before the attack sliced through the stone where its body had been.

It struggled to rise, but Ethan gave it no breathing room.

Another spatial blade swept toward its chest.

The creature staggered backward, its damaged wings dragging against the ground.

Above it, Kate continued her assault.

Golden feathers rained down from the air, each one aimed at a vulnerable part of its body. Some struck its back, while others pierced the wounds already covering its wings.

The Eagle King roared and tried to retaliate, but it was being forced to defend itself from two directions.

It was slowly running out of options.

Ethan kept his distance, watching its every movement.

’Lightning Whip has a five-minute cooldown. Time Stop has a one-minute cooldown...’

His consciousness briefly checked the system panel.

’It can’t hold on much longer.’

But the Eagle King wasn’t stupid.

It had survived this long because of its strength and instincts. It quickly realized that continuing to fight Ethan on the ground would only lead to its death.

Its gaze suddenly shifted toward Kate.

A strange determination flashed in its bloodshot eyes.

Then, without warning, it abandoned Ethan and shot upward.

"What’s it doing?"

Ethan’s expression changed.

The Eagle King ignored the spatial attacks closing in on it. Its damaged wings spread as far as they could, and the remaining golden feathers along its body began to stand upright.

One after another, they hardened into sharp golden spikes.

It was gathering everything it had left for one final attack.

And its target was Kate.

"Not good!"

Ethan’s heart tightened.

He immediately tried to activate Time Stop.

But the system panel showed that the ability still had ten seconds left on its cooldown.

’Damn it!’

Kate sensed the danger too.

She beat her wings furiously, trying to put more distance between herself and the approaching monster.

But the Eagle King’s speed suddenly increased.

Despite its injuries, it was moving faster than it had at any point during the battle.

The distance between them disappeared in an instant.

Golden spikes filled Kate’s vision.

She had no time to escape.

Gritting her teeth, she gathered all her remaining energy and formed a golden shield around her body.

The Eagle King struck.

CRACK!

The shield shattered almost instantly.

The force of the impact sent Kate tumbling through the air. Several golden feathers scattered around her as blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Her wings faltered.

For a terrifying moment, she seemed unable to control her descent.

"Kate!"

Ethan’s expression changed completely.

He wanted to rush toward her, but the Eagle King’s attack had spread across the entire cave entrance. Golden spikes continued flying in every direction, cutting off his approach.

Worse still, Kate was falling through open air.

There was nothing beneath her that he could use as a reliable teleportation anchor.

He couldn’t reach her in time.

His fists tightened.

Then a familiar notification rang in his mind.

[Ding! Time Stop cooldown finished.]

A cold light flashed through Ethan’s eyes.

"Eagle King!"

His voice cut through the chaos.

"You’re dead!"

He activated Time Stop.

In an instant, the world fell silent.

The Eagle King froze in midair, its wings spread and its eyes still filled with murderous intent. The golden spikes it had launched hung motionless around it.

Even the dust and shattered feathers seemed suspended in place.

Ethan didn’t waste a second.

He teleported to the cave entrance and caught Kate as she fell.

Her body was limp, and blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

He looked at her pale face, his expression tightening.

"Hang on."

Without another word, he sent her into the Survival Space.

"Debbie! Tessa! Treat her immediately!"

The two women had barely registered his arrival when Kate appeared before them.

They rushed to her side.

Ethan didn’t wait to see what happened next.

Time Stop was almost over.

He returned to the cave entrance just as the world resumed moving.

The Eagle King blinked.

Its target had vanished.

For a brief moment, it seemed confused. Then its gaze found Ethan, and its fury returned.

KRAAAAA!

It lunged toward him again.