Raptor (Part 2)

“Captain, what’s happening up ahead?” Rory asked Hillman quietly.

A faint smile touched Hillman’s lips. “That mysterious magus has come into conflict with the mercenary party. We only need to watch and keep out of it.” Hillman himself was only a sixth-rank warrior. In truth, he did not dare interfere.

The Raptor alone was more than he could handle, let alone that mysterious magus.

The seven-person mercenary party was no weak outfit either. Five were warriors, and two were magi. Their leader was a burly man with a wild mane of red hair, mounted on a pitch-black iron bull. The bull’s two sharp, black curved horns gleamed with a metallic luster.

Its blood-red eyes revealed its identity: a fifth-rank Magical Beast, a Bloodthirsty Iron Bull.

With a snort, the Bloodthirsty Iron Bull expelled two jets of white mist from its nostrils.

The party consisted of four men and three women. The two magi were women, as was one of the archers. Besides the Bloodthirsty Iron Bull, the party had another Magical Beast: a huge griffin soaring overhead.

A fourth-rank Magical Beast!

It had the head of a lion and immense, powerful wings. With two Magical Beasts and two magi, this clearly was no ordinary mercenary party.

“Young people, you should hand over the Depello Shadow Diamond.” The cold voice of the mysterious magus seated cross-legged on the Raptor’s back rang out again.

“My lord Magus, we do not wish to make an enemy of you. But we obtained this Depello Shadow Diamond only after pouring in countless efforts. It is worth one hundred thousand Gold Coins, yet you want to trade just seven hundred Gold Coins for it. That is impossible.” The red-haired leader spoke gravely.

Only then did Linley, standing beside Hillman at a distance, fully understand.

This mysterious magus meant to forcefully buy a Depello Shadow Diamond worth one hundred thousand Gold Coins with only seven hundred Gold Coins.

“The Depello Shadow Diamond is worth that much?” Linley was secretly shocked. “If it is so valuable, it must have some important use. Otherwise, that mysterious magus would not disregard his status and force the purchase.”

Seven hundred Gold Coins for a Depello Shadow Diamond worth one hundred thousand. No wonder the mercenaries could not agree.

“Hmph.” The mysterious magus snorted.

“I have only seven hundred Gold Coins on me. I am still offering to buy it from you. If you continue to refuse to recognize what is good for you, then... not only will you receive no coins at all, you will lose your lives as well.” The mysterious magus’s voice grew even colder.

“Roar!”

The Raptor, taller than the buildings in the town, let out a low roar. The sound made the houses lining the street tremble.

“Captain, we risked our lives to obtain that Depello Shadow Diamond. How can we hand it over so easily to this coward hiding his face?” a woman in black said coldly. As veteran mercenaries, the seven had seen their share of battles and would not yield easily.

The red-haired captain said in a low voice, “Honored Magus, I am from the Kale Clan of the Kingdom of Fenlai...”

He wanted to use his background to pressure the magus.

Unfortunately, powerful magi were often eccentric and did not care about nobles in the slightest.

“You are courting death.” The mysterious magus gave a cold snort.

“Be careful.” The seven mercenaries instantly went on guard. The four male warriors took the front, while the female archer drew a powerful composite bow from her back. The two female magi began preparing magic.

“Roar!”

The enormous Raptor opened its jaws and spewed out a massive torrent of flame straight at the mercenary party.

Where the blazing fire passed, the stone pavement in the middle of the street swelled, buckled, and shattered under the fierce heat. Cracks spread through many slabs, and the entire road was scorched black.

“Watch out.”

The red-haired captain spoke in a low voice as a red Battle Qi barrier suddenly rose over his body. The other three warriors likewise formed Battle Qi barriers around themselves.

The red-haired man swung the greatsword in his hands with savage speed at the wall of a stone house beside the street. With an ear-splitting boom, the wall collapsed completely. Hundreds of large stones tumbled to the ground, and dust billowed up.

At the same time, the Raptor’s sea of flames engulfed the four warriors, making their Battle Qi barriers hiss.

“Ha!”

The red-haired man snapped his right leg out and kicked viciously at a boulder more than half a meter across.

The other three warriors did the same. Each kicked a boulder like a catapult shot. The four stones tore through the air with sharp whistles and hurtled toward the mysterious magus atop the Raptor.

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

Boulder after boulder flew at the mysterious magus. Before long, nearly half the stones from the collapsed house had been kicked away.

Linley watched from afar, exhilarated, his fists clenched tight.

“Amazing! They can casually kick stones that large with their feet.” Watching the four human catapults launch stone after stone, Linley admired warriors even more. “But that Raptor is even more terrifying!”

He looked at the towering Raptor and saw its whip-like tail lash out like lightning.

“Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!”

The tail shattered each boulder with a single strike. None could harm the magus on the Raptor’s back.

“Screech—” The Raptor’s tail swung without restraint, its arc far too wide. When it swept across the nearby stone houses, their hard walls crumbled like mud. House after house collapsed with a crash, stones rolling everywhere as dust filled the air.

“Roar! Roar!” From within the dust came the Raptor’s occasional furious roars, along with the huge flames it spat from its mouth.

From the beginning, the two female magi had been softly chanting ancient spells. Their pronunciation was utterly unlike the Yulan Continent’s common tongue, far more awkward and complex. The two did not chant for long before they finally completed their spells.

“Armor of Ice Protection!”

The two female magi shouted in low voices. Two beams of white light flew out from each of them, four in total. Each beam covered one of the four men with a crystalline, translucent suit of armor.

The red-haired leader was delighted. With both the Armor of Ice Protection and his Battle Qi barrier protecting him, he felt far more confident.

“Attack!” the red-haired man ordered.

The four warriors almost simultaneously kicked out another boulder. The four stones flew toward the magus on the Raptor’s back, and then the warriors sprang from the ground. They leapt more than ten meters into the air, shooting toward the Raptor like arrows released from a bow.