【Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant (Silver)】
【Type】Variant Species
【Level】Tier 9 (Undergoing Transformation)
【Physique】11.1
【Soul】4.2
【Traits】Black-and-White Feathers, Hermaphroditic, Unique Race
【Description】A variant species naturally born in the Land of Eternity, possessing immense potential. It has a fierce temperament and cannot be tamed unless raised from infancy.
Good heavens, with a name like that, did a flood dragon cheat, or did a chicken spirit betray its mate?
Of course, it’s highly probable that this has nothing to do with flood dragons or chickens. Since the "Land of Eternity" was formed by the fusion of myriad realms, the species it nurtures can naturally possess common characteristics of various creatures.
Moreover, after consuming fortune to discern the detailed information of this “black-and-white chicken,” Xia Tian’s expression inevitably became a little more solemn.
Because this was the first time he had seen a “silver” name on any creature other than Wu Song.
Although he had seen this creature, which he thought was a “chicken,” sweep past the outskirts of his territory on the first day of his arrival.
At the time, he had simply regarded it as a formidable beast!
He even thought that after practicing the “Five Animal Play,” he would kill it, and its meat would last him a month.
However, now that he truly understood its attributes...
He realized that not only was his former Tier 5 self “powerless,” but even his current Tier 7 self was equally “powerless”!
In terms of physique alone, this creature, whose true name was “Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant,” was even significantly higher than the previous Silver Jade Demonic Bear, which also had the “transformation” attribute, and stronger than Wu Song’s current physique value of “10.2.”
Of course, a simple physique value does not represent absolute combat power, especially for some large creatures whose bodies are naturally larger than humans, so their basic physique values will naturally be higher.
But this “Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant” is a “variant species.” As a native creature of the Land of Eternity, they are born with some magical abilities.
It seemed to have discovered that its nest had become a “quarry” bustling with people. After a noticeable moment of stunned, this Tier 9 variant species immediately fell into a state of rage.
“Howl!”
It let out a beast-like roar, and its talons, shaped like a flood dragon's with barbs, began to exert force, speeding towards the quarry.
Wherever it passed, even the stones were deeply gouged.
Fortunately, the area where Xia Tian and the others were located was relatively high, as quarrying would not be situated in too low a position. Therefore, when they discovered this “transforming” creature, there was still some distance between them.
“All non-combat personnel, evacuate the quarry and return to the territory.”
Xia Tian quickly gave the order, and with a flash of light in his hand, he retrieved the Repeating Crossbow from his Lord’s Space. After quickly stringing it, he aimed at the running “Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant.”
From the information he had gathered, this “Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant” had a volatile temperament, and there was no possibility of taming it unless it was raised from a young age.
In that case, there was no need to consider the rewards for taming a variant species; he would just kill it and be done with it.
After all, the quarry had already been built here, and there were no resources to relocate, so they could only eliminate its original owner!
Bang!
The Repeating Crossbow let out a fierce twang. A crossbow bolt, crafted from a bear’s tooth, flew from the string, which was also made from the bear’s sinew. Like a meteor chasing the moon, it streaked over a hundred meters towards the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant.
Then, by a hair’s breadth, it grazed the edge of its chest, covered in black-and-white feathers, and plunged into the trunk of a large tree, burying itself up to the fletching!
“It missed!?”
Xia Tian’s expression changed.
Although he was indeed not very proficient in using this Repeating Crossbow, the comprehensive enhancements brought about by practicing the “Five Animal Play” made his vision, arm strength, eyesight, and even judgment extremely precise.
Given the large size of the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant, even when it was moving, this arrow should have hit. But for some unknown reason, the speed of this Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant suddenly increased significantly, leading to a misjudgment and a miss!
Bang!
It wasn’t just him; another soldier he had assigned to guard the quarry also fired an arrow from his Repeating Crossbow, but it similarly failed to hit its target.
At this moment, the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant had already closed the distance to within a hundred meters.
After all, it was a native creature of this jungle, and its familiarity with the paths allowed it to move incredibly swiftly even within the dense foliage!
“My lord, please retreat to the territory. This beast is probably not easy to deal with!”
Wu Song had already raised his po dao and stood in front of Xia Tian.
Watching the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant rush over, kicking up dust and stones, his expression was extremely serious.
“Captain Wu. Put on this ‘Silver Silk Soft Armor.’ Be careful, this is a variant species that has entered ‘transformation.’”
Xia Tian did not insist and decisively chose to retreat a certain distance with the two soldiers.
Having witnessed the terrifying power of the “Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant’s” talons, he handed his golden-quality soft hedgehog armor to Wu Song, who needed to engage in close combat with it!
As for the “Silver Silk Soft Armor,” that was the name he gave to the soft hedgehog armor. After all, it was woven from silver bear fur, so this name was more evocative and fitting.
“Thank you, my lord!”
Wu Song did not act presumptuously either.
After all, the previous Silver Jade Demonic Bear had already demonstrated the combat power of creatures bearing the words “transformation”!
As Wu Song quickly donned the golden-quality soft armor, the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant’s figure had also reached the quarry area. It let out a “howl” similar to a cow’s bellow and pounced towards Wu Song, who stood his ground!
“Good beast, let me test your capabilities!”
Wu Song likewise drew his blade and stepped forward.
The two immediately engaged in a fierce battle in the quarry.
Boom, boom, boom... Compared to Wu Song’s previous battle with the Silver Jade Demonic Bear, this current battle was undoubtedly more perilous.
This was simply because the Silver Jade Demonic Bear liked to stand on its hind legs and attack with its two paws. This singular attack method was child’s play for Wu Song; he could easily handle it with just his Grandmaster-level “Jade Ring Steps,” never once getting hit.
However, this “Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant,” as a variant species, was different. Its mouth, full of sharp teeth, was like a pair of sharp scissors, not only capable of pecking people but also strong enough to cut a bitten target in two.
Moreover, its talons, capable of gouging trenches even in hard ground, were also a huge threat. Even with the “Silver Silk Soft Armor” on Wu Song, if he were caught head-on, he would not escape the fate of having his body pierced through.
Furthermore, not only were its mouth and claws extremely dangerous, but even the feathers on the wings and tail of this Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant were extremely hard, and their edges were exceptionally sharp.
The former was like a blade; once it struck, even a twenty-centimeter thick tree trunk would snap cleanly. The latter was like a sword; a moment of inattention could result in a through-and-through hole in the body. The crucial point was that there were hundreds of such “blades and swords”!
This made it seem as if Wu Song was dancing amidst a flurry of blades and swords!
However, these were not the greatest threats. What truly made Wu Song solemn were not these visible dangers that the eyes could perceive.
Instead, it was another invisible force.
During the battle, he noticed that the two-colored feathers on the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant’s body would constantly glow.
Once the white feathers lit up, the Flood Dragon Pheasant’s movement speed would become exceptionally fast, catching people off guard.
And once the black feathers lit up, Wu Song felt as if he was stuck in a quagmire, his movements becoming sluggish!
Two colors, one fast and one slow, sometimes alternating, sometimes continuous.
If it weren’t for Wu Song’s extremely seasoned combat experience, and the “Jade Ring Steps and Mandarin Duck Kicks” enhanced by his traits being able to further improve upon his Grandmaster-level foundation in foot combat, any other silver-ranked hero might have had their head bitten off by the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant’s serrated mouth or had their heart ripped out of their chest by its flood dragon-like talons, which could pierce through gold and stone, right after engaging in battle.
But Wu Song was also unable to gain the upper hand.
Strictly speaking, he was constantly in a defensive position, with fewer attacks, because the Black-and-White Flood Dragon Pheasant was much taller than him, and its attack range was even wider than his blade.
As a result, Wu Song had no choice but to frequently use his “Thousand-Forged Treasure Blade (Gold)” to block attacks, and the clashes between them reached dozens of times in a short period.
Clang, clang, clang, clang... The sounds, like a blacksmith at work, made the hearts of Xia Tian and the two soldiers, who had stopped at a distance to observe the battle, all tense up!