Chapter 1259 - Angler
Chapter 1259: Angler
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Tiger King gave the Wolf King a fierce glare.
“Put your totem armor away and do not release any totem power. If you encounter any danger, resist with your own flesh and blood!”
The Tiger King turned around and gave the fierce tiger warriors an order. “Also, be careful of the bones and weapons scattered in the swamp. This is the resting place of our ancestral spirits. With the totem power’s protection, many things may not be as rotten here as they are in the outside world. Perhaps, there might be many broken bones and sharp thorns. Do not let them cut your skin and make your blood ooze out, not even a drop. Do you understand?”
The tiger and wolf warriors agreed in unison.
Those who were qualified to follow the Tiger King and the Wolf King into the Holy Mountain were all experienced warriors and the main forces of the upcoming Battle of Glory.
They had learned from the ancient war epic how to deal with the Holy Light faction’s night watchers, mages, priests, dwarven cannons, and poisonous elven blades.
They also had a deep understanding of the evil energy puppet, the Angel of Slaughter’s characteristics.
They knew that the dormant evil energy puppet would be awakened by the Turan orcs’ totem power or blood, turning from a scrap of metal into an incomparably violent war machine that would fight to the death.
“Lead the way!”
The Tiger King nodded in satisfaction and stared at the Wolf King again.
“Jackal” Kanus opened his mouth but did not dare to argue further. He gestured to his jackal warriors and withdrew his totem battle armor. They checked each other’s bodies to see if there were any small wounds created by the mountain rocks and thorns. They wanted to prevent blood from seeping out in the swamp and attracting a sudden attack from the evil energy puppets.
After the jackal warriors made sure they were unharmed, they took a deep breath and carefully stepped into the mud.
Due to his previous exploration, “Jackal” Kanus knew that the mud between the swamp and the valley was relatively shallow, and the path underground was relatively firm.
In addition, the jackal warriors and fierce tiger warriors were all tall and strong existences. Not to mention, their heights were generally more than four arms.
The mud was more or less above their knees, and at most it would reach their waists. In that sense, they did not have to worry about encountering a disaster.
However, the deeper they went into the valley, the more demonic puppet remains and Turan orc corpses were found stuck in the mud.
The limbs and weapons that were trying their best to reach out of the mud, were covered in rust and blankets of moss. Despite that, they were still as sharp as a bristle after being soaked in spirit energy for three thousand years.
The wolf warriors and tiger warriors had to pay full attention and observe every detail with their eyes wide open. They had to sense the danger that was hidden in the mud with their feet as well. Only then could they avoid being cut by the remains and bones.
In a short while, the twenty to thirty hunters were all trapped in the mud. They advanced with deep and shallow steps, gradually being surrounded by the remains of the evil energy puppets.
The rock walls on both sides of the valley seemed to become even steeper. Not only were they perpendicular to the ground, but they also closed in above their heads, looking as if they were about to devour the sky.
Even the ferocious wolves and leopards from the outside world were unable to howl in such a creepy and terrifying place due to the strange atmosphere.
In the narrow and long valley, one could only hear the sound of their heartbeats.
Suddenly, “Jackal” Kanus stopped in his tracks. His nose twitched, and he made sniffing sounds.
Then, he slowly extended his hands and pointed at the rock walls on both sides nervously.
The view of the sky above his head was already very narrow, leaving only a thread of light that was thinner than a strand of hair.
As such, the fierce tiger warriors initially did not realize what caught his attention.
It was not until a few hundred scarlet lights appeared on both sides of the rock walls and there was a hair-raising creak that the fierce tiger warriors realized they were not the only living things in the long, narrow valley.
The rock walls on either side of the valley crisscrossed, and they were covered in countless wet vines as well as growing moss.
There was also a large number of monsters hanging down from the vines. They were shaped like bats but were several times larger in size. They each had two pairs of wings and a long tail, which was twice the length of their bodies.
Their curled and flexible bodies were reminiscent of an elephant’s trunk and a frog’s tongue.
There was also a triangular barb at the end of their tail. Even in such a dark environment, it shone with a sharp glint.
“Angler!”
The fierce tiger warriors had unsightly expressions.
The giant bats that they called Anglers were low-level totem beasts.
That was because the triangular bone structure at the end of their tail contained a trace of liquid metal, similar to the mysterious material that condensed into totem armor.
When they swung their tails quickly, they could unleash power that was as destructive as swords.
Therefore, these giant bats liked to hide in the dark and hang their long tails down, like anglers lowering their hooks, waiting for their prey to fall into their trap.
That was how they got their name.
In the outside world, the Anglers were not that difficult to deal with.
After all, the liquid metal content in their bodies was too low. Other than the end of their tails, they had pretty fragile body structures. Even if the Anglers caught the orc warriors by the neck, the warriors could still blow up their internal organs with one punch.
Furthermore, as long as an orc warrior’s totem armor was sturdy and tight enough, it would not even matter if he stood still and let an Angler poke at him with its tail. It would be impossible for the Angler to pierce his armor that was also made of liquid metal.
The Anglers in the outside world were also clear about their own capabilities.
Whenever they encountered an ultimate powerhouse like Violent Blade, who showed off his dominance, it would almost be impossible for them to attack first since he would be leading a large group of wolves, tigers, and leopards.
However, they had arrived in the depths of the Holy Mountain, where the demonic puppets surrounded the battlefield of slaughter.
Not only could they not wear totem armor and unleash their totem power, but they could not even bleed one drop.
For the careless orc warriors, the last one was particularly difficult to achieve.
The Anglers above their heads that had been born and bred in the depths of the Holy Mountain were larger and more ferocious than those in the outside world. Additionally, they had rarely suffered any attacks from the Turan orcs over the past three thousand years. Hence, they had long forgotten the terror of the orc warriors.
“Hu—”
By the time “Jackal” Kanus warned them, the hundreds of Anglers on both sides of the rock wall had already flapped their wings and emitted humming sounds that were similar to flying wild bees. However, they were a hundred times noisier. They turned into two black hurricanes and pounced on the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards below.
“Be careful, don’t let their tails graze you!”
At that critical moment, the Tiger King Roared. He did not even need to circulate his totem power. He simply relied on his unparalleled physical power to pull up a rock that was even bigger than his head from the mud below his feet.
The Tiger King’s eyes were wide open and filled with anger. His arms suddenly swelled up, and the veins on the back of his hands rose and fell like an angry flood dragon. With a few crisp “kacha kacha” sounds, the rock between his palms instantly shattered into over a hundred pieces.
The Tiger King threw the crushed rocks in his hands into the air with great ferocity.
The crushed rocks seemed to release a shrill screech and hit the huge bat swarm that was charging at them.
Immediately, dozens of the most violent charging Anglers were beaten into a bloody mist and meat paste.
The sharp and bloody crushed rocks did not slow down at all. They continuously pierced the Anglers’ eye sockets and mouths, as well as tore their internal organs. Carrying a large amount of flesh and blood while shooting out of the Anglers’ excretion holes, the rocks continued to search for their next target.
An Angler looked down from above, and the fierce flame of its sudden attack was instantly cut in half by the Tiger King.
The wolf warriors and fierce tiger warriors reacted by rolling on the ground. They covered their bodies with mud to reduce the possibility of their skin being exposed to the air and being bitten by the Angler.
With their agility, as long as they could dodge the Angler’s first strange tail jab, it would be almost impossible for them to be torn open by such a low-level totem beast.
Ultimately, they grasped the end of the Angler’s strange tail as fast as they could instead. They were two to three fingers away from the triangular barb, which was rich in liquid metal.
From that position, no matter how violently the Angler’s barb shook, it was impossible for it to touch the orc warriors’ fur.
After that, the orc warriors swung their arms and grabbed the Anglers’ tails. Then they threw the beasts against the rocks on both sides of the valley. Usually, they only needed to throw them once or twice before the Anglers’ internal organs would all shoot out of their mouths.
Following a series of crackling sounds, the hundreds of Anglers quickly turned into pieces of shriveled and cracked skin. Just like that, the orc warriors stomped on them until they sank into the depths of the swamp.
The remaining Anglers finally realized how terrifying the wolves, tigers, and leopards were. After letting out panicked cries, they turned around and flew toward the narrow sky with all their might.
The Tiger King was not interested in killing them all. Instead, he ordered his subordinates to immediately check each other’s bodies to see if there were any hidden wounds on their skin.
Fortunately, “Jackal” Kanus had sensed the Anglers’ presence ahead of time.
The wolves, tigers, and leopards, who had enough time to react, fought a clean battle. No one was ripped apart, and they did not even receive a wound that was no thicker than a strand of hair.
Meanwhile, the remains of the evil energy puppets around them were still in hibernation.
Aside from the orc warriors’ breathing and heartbeats, as well as the flapping wings of the Anglers that were flying farther away, the valley was dead silent.
Even though the Anglers’ blood was spreading in the swamp and attaching to the surface of the evil energy puppet remains, the weak low-level totem beasts were not the puppets’ targets.
Those beasts were not worth the Holy Light that they had spent three thousand years to accumulate.
The Tiger King breathed a sigh of relief.
If they had been outside, they would have cut off one of the Anglers’ tails and sent it back to the clan for the witch doctors to refine the liquid metal substance inside.
Once the witch doctors cast spells and received the ancestral spirits’ blessings, the substance could be turned into raw materials to repair and strengthen their totem armors.
Currently, the Tiger King obviously did not have such an interest.
“Continue moving forward,” he looked at the bottomless valley and ordered “Jackal” Kanus.