King of Titans and Dragons
Chapter 164 - 164 159 Descending

Chapter 164: Chapter 159: Descending Chapter 164: Chapter 159: Descending “Uncle Raymond, are we done for?” A young man with a pale face muttered despairingly under his breath as he gazed at the azure sky, seemingly addressing his question to the person next to him.

He was a young man, or perhaps still a boy, with a high nose bridge and light blue eyes. A modest fluff of hair covered his lips, which in a few years would have turned into sharp bristles. But, he didn’t think he would have that much time.

Blood had stained his light wood armor, turning it a grim shade of red. His limbs were broken, and a group of hunched gnolls, smiles spread across their faces, were currently carrying him through a forest where the trees were far from dense.

His name was Burton. A few days ago, he had been an average commoner. But today, he embarked on his first adventure as a low-level adventurer with his Uncle Raymond. They left the city to gather herbs on the edge of the forest.

Now, he had been captured by the lowest-level monsters, the gnolls. He pitied his luck in running into these low-grade monsters on his first outing and had been captured nonetheless.

“Burton, don’t lose hope; we still have a chance,” said a middle-aged man who was also in the same predicament as the fresh-faced youth. Despite his own disheveled appearance, he remained cool-headed as he comforted his nephew with a sense of calm.

“Uncle Raymond, don’t lie to me.” The young man who was fresh out of the nest slowly turned his head, looking blankly at his uncle’s scruffy face. “I should have never agreed to become an adventurer when you persuaded me.”

“Burton, you have to trust me; we really do have a chance; they’re just a group of lowly gnolls.” The somewhat plump middle-aged man who wore a set of worn-out leather armor, explained to his nephew.

“The fact they haven’t killed us means we still have a chance to survive. And as long as we are alive, we have a chance to escape. Trust me, Burton, we will definitely return to the city.”

“When we do, I’ll take you to the Blackbeard Tavern, find you a few of the hottest girls, and make you a real man.”

“The hottest women,” Burton repeated, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes. At that moment, a breeze blew through the forest, carrying with it the stagnant smell of the gnolls into the young man’s nostrils.

The disgusting scent brought him back to reality from his fantasies about women. He surveyed the gnolls who were speedily carrying him through the forest and questioned the hope of returning to the city alive.

He understood from the sudden attack that even these low-level gnolls weren’t something an ordinary person without cultivated Fighting Qi could confront.

Even though gnolls were short, they had scale-like skin acting as natural armor. On top of that, they were much stronger than he was.

The middle-aged man next to him noticed the glimmer of hope returning to the young man’s face. Content, he began recounting his own “legendary” stories of how he had been captured by gnolls numerous times but had always survived.

The first time, he was saved by a passing adventuring group.

The second time, the gnoll tribe that had captured him clashed with a rival goblin tribe, ultimately both sides suffered heavy losses, and he survived.

The third time, a ferocious tiger ravaged the gnolls’ gathering place where he had been captured, devouring all the gnolls. Miraculously, it spared him, who was already in the cooking pot.

The fourth time, a green dragon soared overhead where he was being held captive. The gnolls threw him aside in their madness to follow the departing dragon.

“Burton, my strength may be pathetic, but at least I can say that I’ve seen a giant dragon,” the middle-aged man boasted proudly, “The green dragon, I’ve only seen it from afar, but its majestic figure is unforgettable.”

“This is my fifth time being captured by gnolls,” the middle-aged man looked at his wide-eyed nephew with a sigh, with confidence spread across his face, “Trust me, we’ll definitely survive and get back.”

Burton, still a virgin, was first amazed by his uncle’s “legendary” stories, then incredulously said:

“Uncle Raymond, even if you’re making up stories to comfort me, you don’t need to exaggerate so much. Being captured by gnolls four times, surviving each time and seeing the legendary giant dragon on the last occasion,”

“Even a minstrel wouldn’t make up such a tale. Not even a child would believe this story, stop lying to me.”

“I know it’s hard for you to believe, but this really happened to me, I swear it. You’ll see soon. I promise I can take you back to the city and then we can enjoy the good life.”

Seeing his uncle’s solemn promise, young Burton couldn’t help but to have some doubts, what if his uncle’s tale was actually true?

Even if it was true, the first four times must’ve been because of his uncle’s good luck. But now, would Uncle Raymond still be this lucky? And if he wasn’t… the Gnolls loved human meat too.

… A group of Gnolls carried Raymond and Burton off into the depths of the jungle, joyfully eyeing them up and then struggling to swallow their drool. They were restraining their appetite.

“Uncle, these ugly creatures… they want to eat us don’t they?” The young man glanced at the Gnoll beside him who was salivating and he forced himself to swallow, clearly scared.

“Of course. For many monsters, humans are a delicacy.” Raymond explained calmly, “Just look at them wanting to eat us but struggling to control themselves.

I would guess they are under a more powerful Gnoll’s control. Maybe these Gnolls belong to a large tribe, and perhaps their leader is a Gnoll Shaman who has awakened the Dragon Vein.”

“Grumble,” the young man managed to swallow with great difficulty, his voice trembling, “Uncle, I think you’re probably right.”

“What?” The middle-aged man turned his head and was taken aback. In front of him was a vast valley, in which countless shabby wooden huts built by the Gnolls could be seen. It appeared terribly disorganized, filthy, and chaotic.

At the entrance of the valley, a three-meter-high fence and a dilapidated wooden gate had been erected. More than ten squads of Gnolls carrying various types of prey and inferior weapons were going in and out of the gate, making the place extraordinarily noisy.

“This is a named Gnoll tribe. There must be more than one Gnoll Shaman!” The middle-aged man exclaimed angrily, “What are those people in the city doing? There is a gathering place of a thousand Gnolls around the city, yet they didn’t even notice!”

“Uncle, this is not the right time for this.” Young Burton looked pale, “I wonder if there are any Goblin tribes of the same scale nearby. Or, would any starving ferocious beasts dare to come here to find food?”

The logic of more bugs eating an elephant holds true worldwide. If there are enough Gnolls, then even higher-level monsters wouldn’t fancy having a fight.

“Perhaps… a green dragon will fly by in a moment?” The middle-aged man said, rather uncertainly.

“Uncle! There hasn’t been any reported dragon sightings here for hundreds of years.”

The young man looked desperate. He somewhat regretted heeding the whims of his boastful uncle and becoming an adventurer. It would have been better to live honestly as an ordinary person.

“Boom!” As young Burton started to feel desperate, the blue sky cracked open to reveal a black fissure. From this, a light pillar intertwined with thunder shot out, striking directly at the valley where the Gnoll tribe was located.

In an instant, the terrifying energy vaporized everything it touched, be it soil, rocks, trees, Gnolls, wooden huts…everything. The earth shook, and the Gnolls carrying the uncle and nephew were instantly toppled by the shock wave of the explosion.

Because they were far away, the Gnolls and the young men were not hurt. But when the Gnolls got over the shock of the explosion and got to their feet, they didn’t pay any attention to Raymond and Burton who had fallen to the ground.

Instead, they knelt on the ground in terror, their bodies trembling. They did not dare to stand up because these low-level monsters who allegedly carried the Dragon Vein felt the overbearing pressure of the bloodline that emerged along with the light pillar.

They dared not stand up! They could only cower!