Chapter 45: The Third Order Iron Ridge Wolf, Observation Haki Breakthrough
Li Mufeng's breathing was as rough as broken bellows. Every flap of his wings felt like his bones were creaking.
"Hold on… almost at the tower…" Li Mufeng gritted his teeth, his vision going black in bursts due to physical exhaustion.
He actually didn't know where the tower was. The Pteranodon form consumed immense energy.
To shake off that Third Order beast, he had nearly drained every last bit of energy in his body.
The membrane on his wing had even been torn by the beast's claws.
Now, only this singular hope supported his forward movement.
Just as his consciousness was about to blur, a faint smell of roasted meat suddenly drifted to his nose.
It was exceptionally clear amidst the mist filled with blood and beast stench.
His eyes snapped open. Forcing his swaying body to stabilize, he looked toward the source of the aroma.
Not far away.
In a clearing outside a cave, a bonfire was crackling. The roasted Split-Earth Pig meat on the fire glistened with oil.
Chen Yu was holding a wooden stick, turning the meat skewers, while Ling Yue sat to the side, fine ice particles condensing on her fingertips as she carefully cooled a piece of beast hide.
The two looked relaxed, completely existing on a different layer from his own frantic situation.
Li Mufeng had been present at the military training assessment; he knew Chen Yu and Ling Yue's strength.
"Chen Yu! Miss Ling!"
Li Mufeng shouted hoarsely, like a drowning man clutching at a straw, and could hold on no longer.
His Pteranodon form instantly deactivated, and he plummeted from the sky holding Jiang Qingye.
Ling Yue sensed it immediately.
Raising her hand, she waved, forming a paw-shaped air cushion that buffered the impact of Li Mufeng and Jiang Qingye's fall.
Chen Yu's Observation Haki instantly spread out, and his expression changed drastically. "Careful! A high-order beast is approaching!"
His right hand abruptly gripped Ace beside him, and his Conqueror's Haki erupted without reservation.
But this time, the intimidation didn't achieve the expected effect.
From the thick mist came a deafening wolf howl, seeming to contend with Chen Yu.
Immediately after, a blue-black figure smashed through the mist, lunging over with a gust of bloody wind!
It was a wolf far larger than ordinary beasts, with a shoulder height of fully two meters. Its body was covered in bristles as hard as steel.
A pair of scarlet eyes stared dead at Li Mufeng and Jiang Qingye on the ground, saliva dripping from its mouth.
The bone spikes protruding from its spine glinted with a metallic luster. When its claws landed, they carved deep grooves into the rock.
"Third Order Low-rank… Iron Ridge Wolf!" Chen Yu's pupils shrank.
His Observation Haki clearly perceived that this beast's aura was leagues stronger than the Split-Earth Pig from before.
The Iron Ridge Wolf seemed to realize that Chen Yu was the one releasing that aura to provoke it.
It bared its teeth at Chen Yu, its ferocious aura suddenly erupting and charging straight at him.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Animal!"
He unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to clash with it again. Instantly, wind pressure spiraled out, and black lightning flickered.
Li Mufeng, whose consciousness was already blurry, thought he was seeing two beasts facing off.
Just then.
Ling Yue suddenly raised her hand. Several ice prisms instantly condensed, shooting precisely at the wolf's eyes.
The wolf roared, seemingly complaining that Ling Yue had no martial ethics. It tilted its head to dodge the ice prisms, but this brief obstruction disrupted its rhythm.
Chen Yu, of course, had no habit of talking ethics with beasts.
Seizing the opportunity, he exerted force under his feet, his body shooting out like an arrow. Armament Haki wrapped around Ace, coated with faint sword qi, slashing toward the wolf's neck!
Clang!
The sword tip struck the wolf's bristles, actually emitting the crisp sound of metal colliding. It left only a shallow mark on the bristles.
The wolf, in pain, turned and bit at Chen Yu, a foul stench hitting his face.
"Careful! Its fur defense is extremely high!" Chen Yu used Shave, widening the distance.
Seeing this, Ling Yue immediately controlled the ground to freeze, attempting to restrict the wolf's movement..
But the Iron Ridge Wolf's strength far exceeded expectations. It kicked its legs violently, instantly shattering the ice layer, its massive body slamming toward Chen Yu.
Chen Yu, with his Observation Haki active, seemed to see something. His eyes narrowed.
Simultaneously, he borrowed force to jump back, dodging the collision before turning to slash again.
Ace struck the Iron Ridge Wolf's fur, sending up a shower of sparks.
"Damn, it's really hard." Seeing that normal slashes couldn't break its defense, Chen Yu channeled wind elements to wrap around Ace.
"Ling Yue, freeze its limbs!"
Ling Yue understood immediately. Raising both hands, a massive amount of cold air surged from her palms. The ground instantly froze into a thick layer of ice, spreading toward the wolf's limbs.
The cold air concentrated on the ground, forming ice shackles that tightly wrapped around the wolf's claws.
Roar! The wolf struggled, trying to break free, but the ice layer only tightened.
At that moment, Chen Yu moved again. Tapping his feet on the ice, he soared into the air.
The clear wind on Ace condensed to the limit, the blade glowing with a faint green light.
"Tear: Bad Wind Slash!"
With a low shout, Chen Yu swung his sword, piercing precisely into the gap in the wolf's spine.
The wind blade exploded inside.
The Iron Ridge Wolf let out a miserable shriek. Its massive body trembled violently, the energy within it instantly turning chaotic.
Chen Yu didn't linger in the fight. He immediately withdrew his sword and retreated, shouting to Ling Yue, "Push their pain out!"
Ling Yue reacted extremely fast. Instantly appearing beside Li Mufeng and the other.
She extracted two red paw-shaped meat pads of pain.
Without hesitation, Ling Yue pushed these two meat pads directly into the Iron Ridge Wolf's body.
The next moment, it was as if countless bombs detonated inside it.
A few seconds later, the Iron Ridge Wolf wailed.
Its body gradually lost strength, crashing heavily to the ground. Its scarlet eyes slowly lost their luster.
Only then did Li Mufeng dare to gasp for air. Supporting Jiang Qingye, he said with a pale face,
"Thank… thank you guys… if not for you just now, we'd be done for."
Chen Yu didn't mind his thanks. Instead, he crouched down, carefully inspecting the Iron Ridge Wolf's corpse.
Ling Yue also walked over, frowning slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"Look here." Chen Yu pointed behind the wolf's ear. There should have been a specially made Alliance metal tag there.
Just like the Split-Earth Pig he killed earlier. But now, behind the wolf's ear was only smooth skin, with no trace of a tag.
Ling Yue's pupils shrank. She immediately checked other parts of the wolf, but the result was the same as Chen Yu's finding.
"No tag?"
"Didn't the Alliance say all beasts in the training area were tagged?"
Li Mufeng and Jiang Qingye, after having their pain extracted, felt refreshed despite their injuries still existing.
They gathered around, too. Seeing no tag behind the wolf's ear, their expressions turned even uglier.
"When I was running earlier, I didn't notice if it had a tag or not…"
"This Iron Ridge Wolf's aggression was stronger than any beast I've encountered before. It didn't act like a beast that belongs in a training zone."
"We were hunting a First Order water python. Maybe we intruded on its territory, and it started chasing us."
"Could the Alliance have missed one?" Ling Yue guessed.
"Unlikely. Training is an assessment; they wouldn't plant a Third Order beast in the outer forest."
Chen Yu stood up, his gaze sweeping toward the depths of the thick fog, his eyes becoming grave.
"And no Alliance tag… something isn't right."
His Observation Haki spread out again. He deliberately sensed deeper into the forest but found no anomalies.
"Ignore that for now, your injuries need treatment." Ling Yue crouched down, condensing a ball of soft, cold air on her fingertip.
She gently applied it to Jiang Qingye's arm wound. "My ice can stop the bleeding temporarily, but his wound is deep. He needs to go to a tower for professional medical staff."
Chen Yu nodded and looked at Li Mufeng. "Can you hold on until the tower?"
"About this…" Chen Yu pointed at the Iron Ridge Wolf on the ground. "Maybe we should report it."
Li Mufeng nodded. "I can! I don't know what Miss Ling used, but I feel much better."
Chen Yu strapped Ace to his back and picked up a few pieces of roasted Split-Earth Pig meat, handing them to Li Mufeng.
"Take this. Replenish your stamina on the way. We'll escort you near the tower."
Ling Yue also packed up, handing the glow stone to Li Mufeng. "Take this. The fog is too thick, watch your step."
Li Mufeng took the pork and glow stone, his eyes heating up. "Thank you… I…"
"Cut the crap, let's move."
Chen Yu furrowed his brows. First, a high-order beast shedding, now an untagged Third Order beast in the outer perimeter.
He had a bad feeling in his gut.
Chen Yu didn't think he was making a big deal out of nothing, because just during the battle just now, his Observation Haki had broken through.
After the breakthrough, this ominous premonition only became stronger.
( To be Continued)
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Author Note:
Sorry for a Misinformation that I have given in spoiler is that Shank could be the eye patch guy was wrong...the leaker has manipulate us ...the fact his Shank is cover his eyes with bandage...
It must be because of the scar that black bread has given him..
Manga chapter 1167 Official English Scan has uploaded.
Link: is in the comment section..