Chapter 257 - 175: Freebie Eagle Lizard
After learning about the Eagle Lizard, Li Miao rushed to the Great Withered Tree Nest and began his assault.
The Illusion Array throughout Gael’s Depression had vanished after he defeated the Altar Vine Lizard, so the path was now clear and unobstructed.
And unlike the complex and treacherous Divine Hall Ruins, the Eagle Lizard’s home in the Great Withered Tree Nest was a bit simpler.
Relatively speaking, of course.
The most absurd thing about the Great Withered Tree Nest was... it had no path.
The lizard-type monsters had no trouble scurrying up and down the Great Withered Tree, but for Li Miao, it was anything but easy.
Fortunately, there were plenty of sturdy vines on the Great Withered Tree, saving Li Miao from the embarrassment of being unable to climb up.
After a long and arduous climb, clearing out lizard monsters along the way, Li Miao finally reached a platform at the top and found the final boss.
The Eagle Lizard truly lived up to its name. It had a pair of enormous eagle wings, and its claws had transformed into extremely sharp hook claws. The hook claw on its right forelimb, in particular, glowed brilliantly, emanating a unique power.
[Eagle Lizard (Injured)]
It was another Scorching Charcoal Tier, Boss Level monster with a unique Warfire, and it was as high as Level 39. However, likely due to its injuries, the Warfire section read "Cannot Ignite."
At first, Li Miao didn’t pay it much mind and even prepared himself for a few more attempts.
But as soon as they clashed, he realized something was wrong.
The Eagle Lizard’s strength was off.
All of its Attributes were clearly high; it even seemed a little stronger than the King’s Guardian Shadow Wings from the Snake’s Nest.
But in its injured state, the Eagle Lizard’s Attributes were all severely weakened.
It all seemed to stem from the massive wound on its eagle-like wings.
It looked as if they had been violently torn by a bite.
This grievous injury not only caused the Eagle Lizard immense pain but also prevented it from flying, turning its wings into a heavy burden.
Li Miao saw it try to forcefully flap its wings several times, as if wanting to fly up and attack him.
But because of the massive wound, the feedback of pain only made it screech in agony.
After a couple of difficult flaps, it ended up staggering and losing its balance.
’A complete freebie! How pathetic!’
Li Miao, of course, wouldn’t miss such a perfect opportunity. He seized the opening, landing a critical blow and following up with a relentless assault.
This drastically lowered the difficulty of the Eagle Lizard fight.
Li Miao even had some Recovery Wax Blocks left over, clearing the boss in a single life.
[You have slain the Eagle Lizard]
[Obtained: Wax Oil x70]
[Obtained: Combat Skill·Heavy Tail]
[Obtained: Eagle Lizard Hook Claw (Excellence)]
[Obtained: Eagle Feather Cloak (Excellent)]
After defeating the Eagle Lizard, a Milestone Spirit Candle appeared. As Li Miao recovered, he couldn’t help but feel a little amused.
’To be honest, I was a little nervous at first,’ he thought, ’but now it seems this was just a bonus round!’
’Looks like the devs finally grew a conscience.’
"This guy was easier than one of the Lion Serpent’s commanders... The drops are worse, too."
Li Miao couldn’t help but mutter.
Relatively speaking, the King’s Guardian Shadow Wings was indeed harder to deal with, but of course, it was no match for Tasolomo.
The Group Damage Skills that had caused Forgotten Dao so much grief were nothing to Li Miao—he just lost a bit of health.
As a Knight, group damage was the last thing he was afraid of.
So naturally, he had cleared the King’s Guardian Shadow Wings as well.
Its drops, however, were rather mediocre aside from the Warfire.
...
After finishing off the Eagle Lizard, Li Miao took a moment to Teleport back and check what the others were saying in the chat.
Sure enough, the other Prison Players were also making fun of the Eagle Lizard, dubbing it the "Freebie Lizard" and the "Shame of All Bosses."
Of course, there were also a few players who were either overconfident or too low-leveled and ended up getting trounced by the "freebie" Eagle Lizard, which was hilarious.
Li Miao glanced at the time.
"Not bad. I can go give the Lion Serpent a try."
He had an 8 AM class today, but there was still some time left—enough to Teleport back and attempt the Lion Serpent.
Soon, Li Miao was back in the Divine Hall Ruins, standing before the Lion Serpent’s lair.
After igniting his Warfire to charge the Eagle Lizard Hook Claw, Li Miao unleashed its Effect on the Barrier.
CLANG!
A crisp sound echoed as the power of the Eagle Lizard Hook Claw slammed into the Barrier, causing layers of cracks to spread across its surface.
But it seemed that wasn’t quite enough.
Seeing this, Li Miao raised the Greatsword formed by his Applicable Curse Formula, let out a low shout, and swung.
BAM!
Under the combined assault of the Eagle Lizard Hook Claw and the Greatsword, the Barrier finally shattered.
After going back to restock his Wax Blocks, Li Miao took a deep breath and forcefully pushed open the heavy doors of the dome-shaped room.
Before him was pitch-black darkness.
SHING!
Within the darkness, a pair of golden Snake Eyes suddenly lit up. They rose higher, staring straight at Li Miao and radiating a terrifying, cold killing intent.
[Lion Serpent]
[Tier: Scorching Charcoal]
[Level: 40]
[Warfire: Lion Serpent]
[Talent: Golden Mane]
[Skills: Suppressing Roar, Mad Snake Lion Bite, Lost Illusion Array, Lion and Snake Dance, Chaotic Snake Tail]
[Explanation: The leader of the snake swarms in Gael’s Depression. Its birth was accompanied by a strange omen, and its encounter within the Divine Hall Ruins has allowed it to glimpse a greater power.]
"HSSSS—"
As the Lion Serpent’s hiss-like roar echoed, its lion-like Golden Mane began to glow brilliantly, illuminating the surrounding darkness. While raising his Shield to defend, Li Miao was able to see the creature in its entirety.
It arched its white-and-gold body. Its cold Snake Eyes and flared Golden Mane gave it an air of majestic yet sinister authority, like a cold-blooded king.
[You have been affected by the Lion Serpent’s Power. Your Attack Power has slightly decreased.]
The roar just now had no Attack Power, but it had slapped Li Miao with a debuff. His heart sank.
The Lion Serpent clearly wasn’t one for monologuing.
With a tremor of its body, its Golden Mane flared with light once more. Phantoms of golden lions and white pythons leaped out from it, lunging straight for Li Miao.
BAM!
Li Miao, burning with Warfire, raised his Shield to block. But the force of the Rebound that traveled up his arm quickly made him abandon the idea of tanking the hits. He switched to evasive maneuvers instead.
After a brief exchange, before Li Miao could make his next move, the creature’s Snake Eyes ignited with Warfire, and a Formless power spread out like ripples.
Then, the Lion Serpent just stared at him.
Before Li Miao could figure out what was happening, a massive force struck him from behind, sending him flying with a WHOOSH.
’Shit, it’s an Illusion Technique!’
’It must be the Lost Illusion Array!’
’I need to use the Illusion-Dispelling Needle to counter it!’
Li Miao suddenly realized.
But the ridiculous part was, whether the Lion Serpent did it on purpose or not, the direction it knocked him was right back toward the entrance.
He clearly couldn’t stop his momentum and could only watch helplessly as he flew out the door, and then beyond the outer railing.
"What the fuck!"
’I’m screwed!’
Li Miao’s body flew in an arc before plunging headfirst into the swamp below the Divine Hall Ruins with a SPLASH.
’A forced ring-out!’
"Ptooey! What the hell was that!"
Li Miao quickly climbed out of the swamp, his head covered in muck, cursing under his breath.
"At least I didn’t die..."
Perhaps the only thing Li Miao could be happy about was that he wasn’t dead yet.
After all, it was a swamp below. The fall had cost him a lot of health, but at least he still had some left.
But just as he was sulking and about to head back to challenge the Lion Serpent again, a piercing howl tore through the air by his ear.
A sense of dread washed over Li Miao.
THWUMP—
A Long Spear stabbed into the swamp, sending mud and muck flying everywhere.
Li Miao, who only had a sliver of health left, was tragically turned into a Wandering Soul.
He stared at the snake-man monster in the distance that had thrown the spear. After a long silence, he uttered a single word.
"Nice."