Chapter 609: Thunder Beasts of Thunder Dragon Ravine

Southwest of the Elven Kingdom of Forest City lay a vast valley known as Thunder Dragon Ravine. According to legend, the Thunder Whip Dragon, an Arcane-Beast, had made its home there two thousand years ago. After several great wars, however, the creature disappeared, and no trace of it had ever been found again.

Blackie carried Marcus and Emily through the sky. Emily sat in front of him with her back against his chest, his arm resting securely around her waist as they traveled. She was close enough for him to catch her familiar scent, and the intimacy of having her in his arms made it difficult for him to focus on anything else.

Emily was equally comfortable in his embrace. She leaned against him and held onto his arm, her cheeks slightly flushed as she looked out over the landscape below. She had always been openly affectionate with Marcus, and the trust between them came naturally after everything they had been through together.

Marcus lowered his head slightly, tempted to steal a kiss. Unfortunately, Tyler was right behind them on the Royal Pegasus and had been talking almost nonstop.

"Marcus, I told Mark and Ray to join Dominion, but they wouldn’t listen. They’re going to regret it when they realize what they’ve missed."

Marcus sighed inwardly. With Tyler around, he couldn’t even enjoy a quiet moment with Emily. For a brief moment, he regretted giving the Royal Pegasus to Tyler. If he had kept it for himself, Tyler would have had no choice but to follow on foot.

The guy was far too excited today and seemed completely unaware that Marcus and Emily might want some peace.

After more than five hours of flight, they finally reached Thunder Dragon Ravine. They flew around the Level 80 Thunder Crows and the occasional Level 90 Blue-Tailed Thunder Bird before descending into the enormous valley.

Thunder Dragon Ravine was vast. Flowers covered the meadows, streams ran between the forests and grasslands, and hills rose throughout the valley. Monsters could be found everywhere, but among the creatures in the area, the Level 70 Thunder Beasts were considered some of the weaker ones.

On a flat meadow covered with Moon Lightning Flowers, Marcus spotted a group of Thunder Beasts hopping through the grass. They stood upright and moved much like oversized squirrels.

Marcus immediately used Insight.

—

Thunder Beast: Level 70

HP: 75,000

A lightning monster born when Thunder Dragon Ravine was formed. Although it is not particularly powerful, it has strong potential and can evolve into various powerful Level 90 lightning-type monsters.

Passive: Lightning Evasion

Thunder Beasts have a high dodge rate while hopping. Players with low accuracy will find them extremely troublesome to fight.

Skills: Various lightning magic skills below Intermediate level.

Lightning Ward: 50% chance to create a lightning barrier that reflects approximately 5% of incoming damage.

Lightning Net: Three or more Thunder Beasts can combine their power to form a lightning net with strong area-of-effect attack power.

Weakness: Earth and Wind magic.

—

Marcus looked at the Blackflame Ice Flower Sword in his hand. ’Easy enough.’

After obtaining the Divine Artifact, he had been looking for a chance to test its power. Its attack strength should be close to that of his Twin-Winged Ice Owl Bow when using Blazing Explosive Arrows, so these Thunder Beasts would make a good test.

"Emily, take Goldie and stay in the air. Tyler, you stay on the Royal Pegasus."

Emily nodded and mounted the Shadow-Stained Gryphon King with Tyler following on the Royal Pegasus. The two of them circled above the battlefield while Marcus descended alone.

He unfurled his Black Eagle Great Wings, and two enormous black wings spread behind him, their feathers shifting as they beat against the air. Combined with his Knight armor and the Blackflame Ice Flower Sword in his hand, Marcus looked far more imposing than he had in his casual clothes.

He activated his buffs and summoned his other pets.

"Attack!"

The two Sea Demon Souls immediately charged ahead to draw the Thunder Beasts’ attention, and Marcus and Pebble followed close behind. The Thunder Beasts took the bait. Lightning crackled across the meadow as the monsters surrounded the two Sea Demon Souls and attacked with repeated bolts.

"Nameless Fear!"

Marcus had barely entered their attack range when the passive effect of the Face of Nameless Fear activated.

The Thunder Beasts’ attributes immediately dropped by 15%, and red damage numbers appeared above their heads, each one showing roughly 11,000 damage. And that was only the beginning.

Behind Marcus, the five Royal Sorcerers, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, and Vixen Queen Camillo began their assault. Spells flew across the battlefield in rapid succession, each pet dealing more than 6,000 damage per hit. One round of attacks tore away roughly 45,000 HP from the Thunder Beasts.

By the time Marcus and Pebble reached the front line, the Level 70 monsters had only around 20,000 HP remaining. The passive Frost Aura from the Knight’s Frost Ring had also taken effect, reducing their attack and movement speed by 20%.

"Hundred Phantom Light Strike!"

Marcus swung his sword at the same moment Pebble attacked.

A storm of blade-shaped light erupted across the battlefield. Critical hits appeared one after another as the attack swept through every Thunder Beast within six meters.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The remaining monsters collapsed almost simultaneously.

Tyler stared from above. "That damage..."

After his expedition to Twin Wing Island, Marcus had replaced or upgraded several pieces of equipment. He now possessed the Mythic Artifact Face of Nameless Fear, the Red Artifact Knight’s Frost Ring, the Lightning Violet Pearl Ring, the Black Eagle Great Wings, and the Divine Artifact Blackflame Ice Flower Sword. The difference in his combat power was enormous.

Emily watched from Goldie’s back, her eyes fixed on Marcus as he stood among the fallen monsters. She had already known that he was powerful, but seeing his current strength firsthand was still shocking.

"Marcus... you really are the strongest."

There was no envy or surprise in her voice, only genuine admiration. She had watched him grow stronger step by step, and seeing how far he had come filled her with pride.

Tyler, meanwhile, was staring at the experience gains appearing in front of him. "Marcus, you’re absolutely insane!" He looked at the battlefield again, then at Marcus. His jaw dropped. Again.

"Kill!"

Marcus gave the command and charged toward the next group.

"Hundred Phantom Light Strike!"

Another wave of attacks swept through the Thunder Beasts, and more bodies fell across the meadow.

Once the Sea Demon Souls had gathered the attention of more than thirty Thunder Beasts, Marcus cleared the entire group and then called the two souls back. He moved among the corpses and began using Advanced Gathering.

Ding!

[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. You have gathered a Thunder Beast Horn. Gathering skill increased.]

Ding!

[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. You have gathered a Thunder Beast Pearl. Gathering skill increased.]

Ding!

[Congratulations, player Stonehaven...]

The notifications continued to appear. With Advanced Gathering, Marcus collected a large number of Intermediate materials, and Thunder Beast Horns, Thunder Beast Pearls, and other useful items quickly filled his inventory.

But the material he actually needed was nowhere to be found: Millennium Thunder Beast Horn. Not one. ’Damn.’ Marcus frowned.

Princess Celeste had warned him that obtaining Millennium Thunder Beast Horns from Thunder Beast corpses would be difficult, and now he understood exactly what she meant. Even after clearing more than fifty monsters, he hadn’t managed to gather a single one.

There was nothing he could do except keep trying. Marcus put away the materials he had gathered and looked toward the next group of Thunder Beasts.

"Let’s keep going." He spread his wings and moved forward.