Raptor (Part 1)

The enormous creature causing the ground to shake revealed itself.

The instant Linley and the other children saw it, they froze in terror. Hillman, Rory, and Roger reacted quickly, stepping in front of the children and watching the beast warily.

“A Seventh-rank Magical Beast—a Raptor!” Hillman's expression changed. Rory and Roger's legs went weak.

“So big... Is this the Magical Beast from the legends?” Linley was utterly stunned.

The largest animal he had ever seen was probably a warhorse passing through town. Such a horse stood nearly six feet tall, yet beside this monster it was like an infant before a giant.

The creature stood as tall as a two-story building and was twenty to thirty meters long.

A Magical Beast: a Raptor!

Its body was covered in huge, hard, fiery-red scales, each one gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. Its four long, scaled legs were so thick that it would take two people with outstretched arms to encircle one. The Raptor was entirely fiery red, except for its cold, deep-black claws.

Its red-scaled tail, nearly half its body length, swept like a whip. Each casual sweep gouged a deep furrow into the ground.

“Hmph.”

Two streams of white vapor smelling of sulfur poured from the Raptor's nostrils. Its two huge, diamond-clear eyes, each the size of a lantern, glowed an eerie red. When its enormous head turned toward Linley and the others, the cold red light in its eyes left every youth frozen in place.

The Raptor chewed twice, exposing two staggered rows of sawlike teeth. Every tooth gleamed white, and no one doubted their sharpness.

Linley felt as though his heart had stopped. For that moment, all outside sound seemed to disappear.

Could anyone stop such a monster? Linley was terrified. Just one sweep of that whip-like tail could turn Wushan Town's sturdy stone houses into rubble.

“Is this Wushan Town?” A cold voice suddenly came from above the Raptor.

The frightened youths looked up. A mysterious person in a purple robe sat cross-legged on the Raptor's broad back. It was so wide that someone could lie down or even roll around on it.

“My lord Magus, this is Wushan Town. Is there anything I may do for you?” Hillman called.

At Hillman’s voice, everyone recovered some composure. Yet none of them—including Rory and Roger—dared speak as they stared at the enormous Raptor and the mysterious purple-robed Magus.

“Wushan Town. Then I have not taken the wrong road,” the mysterious figure said softly.

The figure said nothing more. The Raptor swept its cold, enormous red eyes over Linley and the others, snorted two streams of vapor, then started walking toward town. Hillman's face changed.

“Everyone, stay here.” With that, Hillman followed the Raptor.

“Uncle Rory, what was that? A Magical Beast?” Linley was the first to ask.

Rory swallowed. “Yes. A very formidable Magical Beast—a Seventh-rank Raptor.”

Raptor. Linley memorized the name deeply.

Its immense body, hard scales, sharp claws, and powerful tail were all terrifying. Linley believed a single Raptor could destroy all of Wushan Town.

“A Raptor's scales have astonishing defense, its attacks are terrifying, and it is skilled in extremely powerful fire-element magic,” Rory said, still frightened. “Against a Raptor like this, even a thousand-man unit would be slaughtered. Only sixth- or seventh-rank Warriors and Magi working together could truly harm it through its scales.”

Linley shuddered. A thousand-man unit, slaughtered?

“But the Raptor is not the most frightening thing. It is that mysterious man in purple.” Rory took two deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

Roger nodded. “To subdue a Raptor, he must make it willingly become his servant. That means he is considerably stronger than the Raptor. Judging from his clothing, he is a Magus.”

“At least a seventh-rank Magus, perhaps even an eighth-rank Magus!” Roger clenched his fists. “I never expected someone so important to come here.”

Linley could feel the fear in both Rory and Roger.

A Seventh-rank Raptor, and a mysterious Magus stronger than a Seventh-rank Raptor—no wonder they frightened Rory and Roger so badly.

“A Magus, stronger than that Raptor?” Linley still found it hard to believe.

The Raptor had such a huge, frightening body, hard scales, sharp claws, and a sturdy tail, while the mysterious Magus was so small.

Roar!

An angry roar suddenly came from the center of Wushan Town.

“Not good.” Rory and Roger were alarmed. Linley and the other youths grew worried too. Was the Raptor angry because of Wushan Town? Because of Uncle Hillman? No one knew.

“You all stay here.” Though Rory and Roger were afraid, they raced toward the town center.

“Uncle Hillman!” Linley bit his lip. He worried about Hillman and the other townspeople, so he ran after them. Rory and Roger were too focused on the Raptor to notice him following.

Before long, Rory and Roger reached the town center, where Hillman was watching from a distance.

“Why are you here?” Hillman snapped.

But when he saw Linley running behind them, he frowned. “Linley, it is too dangerous here. Go back at once.” Only then did Rory and Roger realize Linley had followed them.

“Linley, why did you...” Neither Rory nor Roger knew what to say.

“Uncle Hillman, I will not go back.” Linley refused.

Hillman shook his head helplessly. He knew Linley was stubborn and would not easily change his mind. “Fine. Stay by my side and do not run off. If you stay close, I am confident I can keep you safe.”

“Thank you, Uncle Hillman. I will not run around,” Linley said happily.

Hillman and the others stood about one hundred meters from the Raptor, peering toward the scene of the conflict. Before the immense Raptor stood a group of young people: four men and three women.