Lord of the Magical Beasts

Druid?

Yang Ling frowned at the howls and screams coming from the bar. He hid into a dark corner when no one was looking and put on a large cloak. Upon making sure that his face was covered, he strode towards the commotion.

When he was in the Elf Tribe, Sofia once told him about Druids. Aside from Mountain Giants, they are one of the fiercest and toughest short-range elven fighters.

Once a regular elf becomes a Druid through training, they gain the ability to morph. Known as the deadliest killers in the forest, they can transform into low-level magical Beasts such as a Twin-headed Deer or a spider. They may also turn into an innocuous tree, stealthily approaching their unsuspecting prey and then secure a kill.

Once they level up to become Clawed Druids, they can walk the lands as higher-level magical beasts such as Violent Earth Bears or Wind Wolves; advance again, and they shall become Ferocious Beast Druids. At this stage, they can morph into Storm Crows that roam the skies or Nine-headed Snakes that cruise the seas. According to legends, the strongest Druid can even transform into a Golden Giant Dragon!

After they transform, they would possess high attack and defense. They could also use some abilities that belonged to the Magical Beasts they had turned into. If they morphed into a Violent Earth Bear, on top of a staggering amount of defense, they could also instantly conjure Earth Spikes at a large scale; if they became a Storm Crow, apart from jaw-dropping speed, they could also immediately release many wind daggers at once… …

Sofia once said that when the Tree of Life evolves to a particular stage, the elves could train powerful soldiers such as huntresses on black panthers, elven archers, tree demons, druids and mountain giants.

It’s a pity that ever since the Ancient times began to falter, the elves lost many resources and the environment to survive. And so, a lot of spells were lost. Aside from the Royal Elves, most elven tribes do not have a high-level Tree of Life. The Elf tribe of which Sofia hailed from was of no exception.

Except for elven archers, Sofia’s tribe had no mighty warriors like druids or mountain giants. They did not even have huntresses. That was also partly why Ymir almost annihilated them.

Yang Ling found a corner and sat down. He quickly noticed that this pub must be new in town; tables made from ordinary spruce were evenly coated with black paint and looked surprisingly detailed. While it was not something high end, it looked elegant and pleasing to the eye. He could tell that the owner was someone smart and meticulous.

As the pub was new, be it the tables or benches, all of them emitted a faint smell of paint. However, that did not kill the customers’ mood for wine. It may be a small pub of merely 200 square meters, but dang was filled to the brim with boisterous customers. Hunters who had nothing to do, mercenaries who just escaped the Valenia Volcanic Valley, the townspeople who spent the day hard at work… …

“Tsk tsk, I can’t believe he could transform into a Violent Earth Bear that huge! It was so scary!”

“You’ve seen nothing! I heard that the man with golden locks behind him was even more powerful! I think he’s called Antalya. I saw him transform into a Violent Earth Bear yesterday with my own two eyes, and within seconds, he has shredded a dozen pirates!”

“Sigh, he shouldn’t bully others no matter how strong he is. Poor Barty!”

“Yeah, Barty is in deep trouble!”

… …

A small platform stood in the middle of the pub. It was initially reserved for the traveling poets, but now, it was unfortunately occupied by a clawed druid who has taken the form of a Violent Earth Bear. Under his feet laid a young man bleeding all over. Judging from his attire, he is likely to be a Two-star Hunter.

Yang Ling quickly understood what happened through a middle-aged mercenary, who kept sighing and shaking his head.

Barty is a Two-star Hunter who too joined the fight to fend off pirates. When night fell, he came to the pub for a few rounds with a city defense soldier who also luckily survived. They had wanted to celebrate of the pirates’ defeat, but who would’ve known that trouble would fall from the sky. Shortly after they sat down, the Druid sitting opposite them suddenly flew into a rage, saying that they had taken his seat.

Caught unprepared, the two were not a match for the Clawed Druid, now transformed into a Violent Earth Bear. Within moments, the creature had mauled them gravely.

“Hehe… If you are willing to crawl through my crotch, I promise to spare your life!” The morphed Clawed Druid sniggered, pointing to the space between its legs. Then, it stomped heavily with its large foot, crushing the hunters’ fingers with a loud “crack.”

AH—

The hunter named Barty let out a piercing scream. His face was ghastly pale, yet he glowered at the sadistic bear, his spirit unyielding. “Kill me! My brothers will surely look to avenge me once they return from the Volcano Valley!”

Being assaulted out of the blue by the Clawed Druid, who turned into a Violent Earth Bear and then trampled beneath his feet… Barty felt fear, but it was the bitterness and a deep sense of shame that overcame him.

He couldn’t understand the situation. He only had a few drinks with his brothers in the vicinity to celebrate their victory. Why did the other party suddenly bring out the big guns? Nevertheless, he was still a noble, no matter how far his family had fallen. He’d rather die than to suffer the humiliation of crawling between someone’s legs!

Moreover, despite having no idea why the Druid attacked him, he firmly believed that his opponent wouldn’t dare to kill him. While private brawls are not banned in the Magical Beast Realm, they must not result in unwarranted deaths. Stepping over this boundary would be to challenge His Lordship’s authority!

Some time ago, a group of mercenaries or nobles believed themselves powerful enough to defy this particular law. As it turned out, anyone who did try eventually suffered for it. None proved a match for the mighty army of the Magical Beast Realm’s Leader!

“Haa, look to avenge you?” Glancing at the unrelenting Barty, the bear-like Druid chuckled cruelly. “You couldn’t even deal with a band of pirates, and nearly let your women be ravished. How could your fellow soldiers and hunters avenge you? Back then, I heard about how tough the warriors of the Magical Beast Realm are. Who knew that you’d be weaker than pirates?”

The heroes of the Magical Beast Realm are weaker than pirates?

The crowd erupted into indignant chatter as the defiant Druid dissed Magical Beast Realm warriors altogether. No one was a fool. Judging by that stupid bear’s words, it was evident that the Druids looked down on not just Barty and his fellow city defenders, but all of the warriors of Wissen Town.

“Heheh, your so-called elite is can’t even compare to a ragtag group of pirates. I bet your Leader who claims to control an army of thousands is no better!” As no one dared to stand against him, the Druid became even more hostile. “A wretch like him is only good enough for a lowly beastwoman. He is not a worthy match for our kind and beautiful Miss Sofia!”

“Exactly, only our Lord Antalya is worthy of Miss Sofia. Hmph, what bullshit of a Leader. No wonder he ended up with a meager beastwoman.”

“Hahaha… I am curious, though. If a human and a beast got together, what kind of freaky baby would they have?”

… …

After a few drinks, the Druids became more and more presumptuous and stared contemptuously at the soldiers, hunters, and townspeople around them. One of them even smashed a wine cup on the floor, grabbed a waitress passing by, and pinned her down.

“Let her go! Get lost!”

“Get your butts off our land! Scram!”

… …

Although the Druid was strong, the warriors on-scene could no longer stand the harassment. They stood up and drew out their sharp weapons. In particular, the Minotaurs became red-eyed and filled with murderous rage!

Not only is Yuna the Heavenly Fox, but she was also the future Lady of the Magical Beasts Realm. She had fought for many rights of beastmen and was revered by many. To humiliate Yuna in public is akin to humiliating every single beastman and beastwoman!

‘Heheh, you’re asking for death!”

The Violent Bear Druid became more excited as he saw the people flashing their weapons. He licked his lips and lunged at the crowd, clawing, kicking, slamming, impaling them with earth spikes… …within seconds, he had sent warriors flying out of the door. Based on strength alone, even the minotaurs are no match for him in close combat.

“Hmph, die!”

As the fight continued, Yang Ling was the only one who remained seated at the corner. The Violent Bear Druid howled as he pounced at him in rage. His muscles bulged powerfully as his blood-thirsty eyes saw red. He wanted no more than to twist Yang Ling’s neck!

“Rule 100 of the Law of Magical Beasts. Those who commit murder shall be executed!”

Upon sensing that the arrogant Druid had attacked, Yang Ling spared not even a single glance; a thought flashed in his mind, and out darted an entirely red Horned Soul Snake. The snake was so fast that the Druid could not even react.

Ah…

The aggressive Druid let out an agonizing scream. Staring unbelievably at that wound on his chest, the world spun as his consciousness faded into nothingness. A puff of cold wind and he disintegrated into dust, disappearing without a trace.

“This…what kind of magic is that?”

“His…His Lordship!”

…

Everyone felt their the top of their skulls go eerily numb. A Violent Earth Bear several meters tall reduced to dust in the blink of an eye; it was a terrifying scene to witness. They had not seen magic like that, and could not guess where this top-level powerhouse was originally from.

Until the man in black slowly removed his cloak and revealed his face…it was His Lordship! To call them astounded beyond belief was an understatement. Although they had long heard that His Lordship was unimaginably strong, no one knew that he was this powerful!