Lord of the Magical Beasts

Yang Ling closely examined the fabled lethal weapon, the Pear Blossom Catapult, under Master Aaron’s explanation.

The cylindrical Pear Blossom Catapult is about half the length of an arm, its radius not much larger than that of a water bottle. However, its surface was covered in a mass of holes, just like a beehive, the sharp arrows faintly visible. It looked fierce and bloodthirsty. One look at the weapon would cause a person’s scalp to crawl.

Under normal circumstances, an average person would not be able to carry the Pear Blossom Catapult for a long period of time, considering that it is made using a hundred Arrow Bamboos, coupled with the weight of the catapult itself. However, with the help of Master Aaron, the gnome tribe had successfully drawn a wind element magical spell formation on the body of the catapult. Even the forest elves who were not adept in close combat could lift the catapult with ease, much less the fierce Bullmen and barbarians.

The Pear Blossom Catapult was made using premium Purple Sandalwood, its surface smeared with a protective layer of tree sap. Perhaps it was due to the gnomes’ magical spell formation, there seemed to be a dull glow flowing around on the surface of the catapult, making it look extremely streamlined and sleek.

The Gnome Elder personally demonstrated how they could rapidly reload the arrows under Yang Ling’s close observation! He first placed a hundred arrows into a cartridge, then the entire cartridge into the catapult. He then placed another cartridge in after he released the arrows in the first cartridge. It was incredibly fast. Yang Ling could only nod as he looked at the Gnome Elder’s demonstration.

Being able to shoot a hundred arrows at once, as well as the speed in which it could be reloaded, meant that all he needed was a team of archers to fire the catapult in succession to create a concentrated rain of arrows!

Oh, weird, why is the ripple of energy this unstable?

Could there be a flaw in the gnomes’ magical spell formation, or was this a defective product?

Due to the gnomes’ magical spell formation, the Pear Blossom Catapult was slowly absorbing the wind element Magical Elements in the surroundings, in turn releasing a faint ripple of energy. An ordinary person might not have noticed it, but it could not escape Yang Ling who had extremely powerful senses. Strangely, the intensity of the ripples was unstable, sometimes strong, while at other times weak. It was as though the Pear Blossom Catapult had a defect, or was being interfered with by something.

Seeing Yang Ling closely examine the wind element magical spell formation on the surface of the Pear Blossom Catapult, the Gnome Elder let out a proud smile, “Sir, we drew a total of two magical spell formations on the Pear Blossom Catapult. The magical spell formation on the surface is used to reduce the weight of the Pear Blossom Catapult, while the wind element acceleration magical spell formation within the catapult is used to speed it up so it can rapidly fire the arrows!

Two wind element magical spell formations?

Yang Ling had an epiphany when he heard the words of the Gnome Elder, finally understanding the reason behind the fluctuating intensity of the ripple of energy. After his surprise, he ordered Orlando to fetch over a warhorse. He was going to personally test the power of the catapult.

Neigh…

Looking at Yang Ling’s ice-cold gaze, then looking at the black Pear Blossom Catapult in his hands, the warhorse instinctively felt threatened. It let out a cry before suddenly freeing itself from the reins in Orlando’s hands, charging outward. However, just as it was about to charge into the small forest within the castle, a deafening sound rang out from behind it.

Nrgh…

After Yang Ling pulled the trigger, the concentrated rain of arrows sprang out straight toward the escaping warhorse. The heart wrenching sound of arrows piercing into flesh could be heard. All of the arrows had pierced straight into the body of the warhorse, with only a small section of the arrows that was half an arm’s length exposed out of the body. The pitiful warhorse could not even cry, twitching on the ground for a moment before turning motionless.

It did not even take a second!

Is this the Katyusha rocket launcher of this world?

The group was dumbfounded as they looked at the warhorse that had fallen to the ground in the blink of an eye, all of them gasping. Yang Ling was no exception.

Originally, he had already known that the Pear Blossom Catapult in his hands was an extraordinary item, given that Master Aaron and the Gnome Elder were so excited, introducing the Pear Blossom Catapult last. However, even though he had mentally prepared himself, he did not expect the catapult to have such terrifying speed and power!

Yang Ling nodded with satisfaction as he walked over quickly, seeing the arrows that had fully pierced into the body of the warhorse, leaving only a tiny section exposed.

With the heavy plates that had alarming defensive capabilities, with the magical axes that possessed immense destructive power, with the sharp halberds, coupled with Alice’s terrifying poisons and the rocket launcher-like Pear Blossom Catapult… He was now even more confident about the current mission!

After making the necessary preparations, Yang Ling set off with two hundred elites toward the Valenia Volcano Valley. According to the intelligence of Parrot who had set off earlier, there was chaos all around the Volcano Valley, with various factions trying to seal off the valley and battling the Church who was trying to claim the relic of the giant dragon for themselves.

“Sir, should we increase our speed!” The Fox Elder spoke as he rushed his horse to Yang Ling’s side.

After travelling some distance, he could not hold it in any longer, seeing how relaxed Yang Ling was on his Unicorn, joking along with Yuna and the rest as they travelled. The other factions had set off long ago. He had waited a long time for Yang Ling to take action, but did not expect him to dawdle along the way. Perhaps, the relic of the giant dragon would have been wiped clean by the time they reached the Volcano Valley.

Yang Ling smiled as he looked at the anxious Fox Elder, “Elder, no need to be anxious. Our mission this time is to hunt, and not fight for the Divine Weapons!”

Yang Ling was not in a hurry, not in a hurry at all!

According to the intelligence brought back by the scouts, the various factions were in a deadlock with the Church that was attempting to seal off the valley, the battles intense. The factions were rushing to be first for the legendary Divine Weapons, all of them wanting to be the first to set foot into the cave. However, his target was not the Divine Weapons, but the many Magical Beasts in the cave. There was naturally no need to hurry.

There were many people swarming toward the Valenia Volcano Valley, and amongst them were troops that saw wealth as more important than their lives. They would naturally not pass up on injured or dead Magical Beasts if they came across one. However, Yang Ling was not worried that they would snatch the spoils of war from him.

According to the memories of the Gargoyles he tamed, the mysterious cave was like a massive maze. It had complicated terrain, with more forked paths the deeper into the cave one went, spreading outward like a spider’s web.

No one knew exactly how large the entire cave was, nor did anyone know just how many Magical Beasts there were in the cave. Even if every troop were to snatch away a few of the Magical Beast Essence Crystals, it would still be a small proportion of the massive amount of Magical Beasts in the cave!

There is a greater amount of danger surrounding something that had a high level of allure, and the relic of the giant dragon was no exception!

Even if the troops were to swarm into the cave and obtain several Essence Crystals with their luck, even the heavens would not be able to guarantee if they would be able to make it out alive or not. After meeting with misfortune in the cave, the Essence Crystal that they were carrying on them would not disappear. Yang Ling believed that most of the Essence Crystals would end up in his hands as long as he sent someone to search them carefully.

Furthermore, even if the troops were lucky enough to avoid the attacks of the Magical Beasts and obtain a large number of Essence Crystals, Yang Ling had other ways to deal with them.

The members of Parrot that had mixed themselves into the crowd before the trip had a purpose. They were going to find ways to incite conflict or fan the flames at the crucial moment, and the troops that had only banded together for the benefits would not be able to put up a united front. In fact, they might start killing each other. After they suffered heavy casualties, he would be able to sneakily snoop in for the rewards. He believed that he would gain even more from this strategy than if he were to personally charge to the front of the battle leading an army.

They’re coming out to hunt?

Seeing Yang Ling turn to continue joking with Yuna after saying his piece, the Fox Elder became so depressed that he had nothing else to say.

As a leader, the greater abilities Yang Ling had meant more of a future for the people following or belonging to the Magical Beast Territory. Originally, he had been anticipating this mission after seeing the exquisite magical weapons of the territory. He had hoped that Yang Ling would rush to the relic of the giant dragon with an army and seize the opportunity to snatch a few Divine Weapons for himself.

The other people would kill to obtain the Divine Weapons. To think that the leader Yang Ling was completely uninterested, merely coming out to hunt!

The Fox Elder guided his horse back into the formation, silent, after shaking his head. It was clear that Yang Ling had not gathered these many elites just for a mere hunt, but at the present time, he could not understand just what Yang Ling’s aim was.

Along the way, perhaps it was due to the fact that a massive number of people had suddenly swarmed into the forest, the group did not encounter any Magical Beasts that posed any threat. Yang Ling, who had wanted to seize the opportunity to test out the power of the new magical weapons as well as kill a few Magical Beasts for a barbeque, was a little surprised. They took slightly over a day to reach the Valenia Volcano Valley.

According to the messages sent back by the members of Parrot who had set off first, he had caught wind of the news that the Church had had no choice but to modify their plans at the last minute to deal with the alliance of the various factions, sending a team of knights to buy for time while moving into the cave as a unit. Even though Yang Ling was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by the pathetic scene at the Volcano Valley.

Dismembered limbs and pools of blood covered the area from the entrance of the valley to the small plain deep within the valley. Some people were missing arms and legs, convulsing in a pool of blood; Some were pinned onto a tree by long spears, their eyes bulging, as if they had died in unjust; Some were even trampled to a mush, their eyeballs, hair and brain matter mixed together…

These people had died for their greed!

Looking at the hellish Volcano Valley, Yang Ling shook his head. He sent out many scouts and Horned Bee Beasts to scout the path, in case of any accidents. For some reason, he felt a sense of unease as he saw the corpses littered on the ground and the pools of blood. He could instinctively sense an unprecedented danger.

Since some time ago, dark clouds had gathered above the valley. The surroundings were silent, with a deathly aura lingering around. Yang Ling could sense ripples of obscure energy from time to time, as if they had come from the horizon, or from the cave that was deep beyond comprehension!