Blind Spot
Chapter 656: Research 602 B

Chapter 656: Research 602 B

After the salon, Li Chengyi did not return to his territory but accepted Mina’s invitation and headed to her family’s domain to search for the griffon.

What he didn’t expect was that his party wasn’t the only one looking for the griffon—there were two other teams.

One was led by Babit, who had just triumphed in combat, accompanied by a small squad of crossbowmen.

The other was a youth team formed by Jane and Mina themselves, who also brought along more than a dozen people with thick nets and anesthetizing spray devices, all aimed at capturing the griffon.

The three teams went to a village on the forest’s edge to gather supplies before entering the woods.

Li Chengyi ignored them, taking two soldiers with him to handle the supplies as he entered the forest directly.

He heard the secretive whispers of Mina and Jane’s team and the strange, serious atmosphere emanating from Babit’s side.

But none of that concerned him.

He instructed his two soldiers to set up camp on the outskirts of the forest, then wait.

Alone, with his sword and shield in hand, he strode deep into the woods.

Once he was certain there was nobody around, Li Chengyi picked up speed.

His steps were so swift that he seemed to sprint through the forest, covering over ten kilometers in just a few bounds.

The powerful perception granted by his Consciousness Power sharpened all five senses.

With such abilities, he quickly detected an unusual scent in the snowy forest.

Below a snow-covered cedar,

Li Chengyi suddenly halted, squatting down, brushing away the snow to reveal eagle talon marks that had been covered not long ago.

He measured with his hand, discovering the talon marks were larger than his two hands combined.

’Such a large eagle doesn’t exist nearby... It must be the roaming griffon...’ he thought.

He stood up, scanning the surroundings and quickly spotted fresh talon marks on the branch of an ancient tree nearby.

Clearly, the griffon had also perched there.

With a light leap, he landed softly on the branch and after a quick check, set off at high speed in the new direction.

His keen sense of smell, combined with the tracks in the environment, helped him swiftly hone in on the general direction of his target.

Amidst the whoosh of snow, Li Chengyi moved like a bird, leaping and landing, rushing towards the heart of the forest.

Soon, a huge beast, standing taller than two men and completely black, appeared before him.

It was a strange creature with the head of a lion and the body of a massive eagle.

Its pale amber eyes gazed sharply around, its long lion tail dragging, and its wings unfolded, flapping vigorously.

"It’s the one!" Li Chengyi thought with elation, raising his shield and accelerating his charge.

He had more than six times the strength of a Milton Knight.

The distance of over a hundred meters, under his burst of strength and skill, took only two seconds.

The griffon had just taken off, barely two meters above the ground.

Ao!

It let out an angry roar like a lion, trying to intimidate and scare away its foe.

But alas...

In the white snow, a figure dashed forward, leaping high, and brought the heavy sword crashing down on the side of the griffon.

Crack.

Lightning sprang from the griffon’s mouth, striking the figure.

Bang!

The figure’s heavy sword hit the griffon hard.

Immense strength and the searing heat of the electricity exploded on both the man and the beast.

The griffon let out a pained cry, smashed downward by the tremendous force, crashing into the snow, struggling to get up.

Li Chengyi’s chest was charred, but the leather armor underneath had blocked most of the current.

The damage was trivial to him, merely superficial wounds.

’The specific intensity is about three to four hundred volts of common electricity, and the current isn’t strong,’ he thought, looking at his slightly charred arm.

’The main issue is the numbness, which is a bit troublesome.’

With a thought, Li Chengyi activated the Flower Language Technique: Luminescence Force Field, healing the high-temperature burns from within and quickly alleviating the numbness.

His gaze fell on the griffon, whose side now bore a gaping wound.

That was the result of his sword strike.

"All things considered, it’s similar to a giant lion that can release electricity. Its strength is quite decent, about that of a rhinoceros," he appraised.

After his evaluation, he swung his blade, lifting the heavy shield which was not made of metal but an ironwood shield covered in thick cowhide, incredibly hard and heavy, and crucially, non-conductive.

Thrust!

With a surge, he charged once more toward the griffon, which had one wing damaged.

Crack!

Electricity shot from the griffon’s mouth again, the blue arc striking Li Chengyi, hitting the wooden shield and leaving a burnt pit.

And the heavy sword swung down once more.

Hiss!

Suddenly, a crossbow bolt shot out from the side, aiming precisely for the snow where Li Chengyi was about to step in the next second.

The sharp arrow, glowing faintly with poisonous blue light, plunged into the snow and vanished.

To avoid the arrow, Li Chengyi abruptly veered off course, bypassing the griffon and coming to a stop.

"Who’s there? Show yourself!"

He glared in the direction the bolt had come from.

From the snowy woods there, a familiar group of cloaked figures was approaching quickly.

Babit walked at the forefront, flanked by two shrouded figures in gray and white cloaks.

"A wounded griffon? And still in its youth? I’ve been in need of a mount!" one of the gray-white cloak figures exclaimed with delight.

"What about the warrior over there? It seems he’s the one who wounded the griffon," Babit asked.

He clearly didn’t recognize Li Chengyi.

"Give him some money and make him scram. This is ours," another gray-white cloak coldly said.

They had been attracted by the griffon’s angry roar, but such roars could attract even more teams, so the priority was to take the griffon quickly.

Babit stepped forward and faced Li Chengyi. Suddenly, his gaze intensified as he recognized the family crest on the weapons and shield Li Chengyi carried.

"He is a noble knight!" he exclaimed in a low voice.

Nobles were mostly not short of money, and since the other party also possessed the power to injure a griffon, it meant that money alone would not easily resolve this situation.

"I’ll handle this." A figure in a grey and white cloak stepped forward, looking at Li Chengyi.

"I am Mage Tyga from the Royal Capital. Transfer the griffon to me, and you will gain the goodwill of two mages."

He removed his cloak, revealing an aged face with wrinkles.

"Are there other griffons nearby?" Li Chengyi asked.

"No, one would have to travel thousands of miles to the Dawn Domain to find a small number of griffons," replied Mage Tyga.

"Then, can your goodwill allow me to purchase books related to mages?" Li Chengyi asked again.

"...That is not permitted, but you can obtain the privilege of being recommended by a junior for a talent assessment," Tyga said with a frown.

"Then it’s meaningless," Li Chengyi said, stepping forward as he lifted his sword. "Two seconds."

"What?" Tyga was taken aback.

Immediately thereafter, he heard a piercing screech as Li Chengyi swung his hand, flinging his wooden shield forward.

The shield spun rapidly in mid-air, creating a loud noise as it hurtled towards him.

Ah!!

Babit behind him charged forward, roaring, drawing his sword to block.

Boom!!

Babit was knocked back, flying into a tree trunk, spewing out blood.

It was only then that Tyga reacted, raising his hand as a jet of crimson flame burst forth.

The fan-shaped flame surged towards Li Chengyi, but before it could scorch him, it was pierced through.

Whoosh!

The Ironwood Sword, with its terrifying Giant Strength, smashed hard into Tyga’s shoulder.

His entire body was slammed to the ground, and he couldn’t release any more magic in time.

A sword shadow swiftly flashed across his face.

Everything plunged into darkness.

Li Chengyi flicked his sword, and the Ironwood Sword spun with a howl, striking another figure in a grey and white cloak behind him.

A burst of electric light also flew out from that person’s hands, striking Li Chengyi’s body.

Boom, boom!

Two muffled sounds were exchanged.

Li Chengyi swayed slightly, his robust body only briefly numbed before recovering.

A burnt little pit appeared on his chest armor.

But the person opposite was worse off.

That grey and white cloak fell backward onto the ground, his chest split open with a large gash from which blood gushed out, staining the snow red.

Only then did Li Chengyi glance at the Evil Thoughts notification from Evil Flower.

’Killing Intention +3.’

’Killing Intention +2.’

"Good. Two mages?"

He had been worrying about where to collect information on mages, and now he raised his gaze to look at the remaining four bowmen soldiers in the party.

The four of them had a dull gaze, utterly failing to realize the fight had ended so quickly.

Before their eyes, this robust and handsome young warrior seemed like a humanoid monster even more terrifying than a griffon.

Both mages’ magic could hardly inflict much damage on him; the current struck his body as if nothing had happened.

And Babit... his strength was already close to that of a regular knight, yet unexpectedly he couldn’t withstand even a single hit from the other party.

"Someone’s coming." Li Chengyi suddenly frowned and his figure abruptly accelerated, charging towards the bowmen.

Anyway, as long as he killed everyone, no one would know it was his doing, and the possessions of the two mages should suffice for his research for some time.

After several screams in quick succession, only Babit was left lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.

His dim eyes were fixed on Li Chengyi, and at that moment, something seemed to come back to him.

"It’s you...!" That young noble who always stood in the corner at the salon, silently drinking!

No matter how much he provoked him at the time, the other party remained silent, as if watching a play.

At that moment, he thought the other party was cowardly, but now it seemed...

Pfft.

The blade flashed by, and darkness enveloped everything before Babit’s eyes.

Li Chengyi pulled out the sword and quickly plundered the two mages, then rushed into the snowy forest, vanishing from sight, in pursuit of the griffon that had fled amid the chaos.

Meanwhile, the griffon was limping through the snow, running desperately while looking back in terror.

Thump!

Suddenly, a figure leaped from behind, hurling an object with great force and hitting the griffon on the head.

The griffon instantly blacked out, losing consciousness.

Li Chengyi landed, grabbed the claws of the unconscious juvenile griffon, and started dragging it towards the direction of the guards.

He abruptly paused, turning to look towards a spot in the forest.

"Who’s there?"

All was quiet around him.

No sound, and no living thing stirred.

After sensing around and being sure no one was there, Li Chengyi frowned, feeling the inconvenience of not having the Consciousness Power scan.

Such matters required thorough silencing, but with time pressing, he nonetheless quickly departed, dragging the griffon with him.

The griffon, weighing over a ton, seemed like a small box in his hands, easily dragged away.

After he had gone, a good ten seconds passed.

Only then did a cautious figure with pointed ears and yellow skin emerge from a dense canopy of trees.

She looked terrified at the traces of blood the griffon had left on the snow and quickly turned to leap away, disappearing into the dense forest on the tree branches.