Chapter 168 - 153: Altar
At the bottom of the rift valley.
The group chased after the fleeing Single Claw Dragons. Up ahead, one of them seemed to have either an injured leg or some sort of illness.
It ran with a strange gait and was a fair bit slower than the others.
Just as Du Yu was about to catch up and kill it with a spear thrust...
Qin Ziwen stopped Du Yu. "Let it go."
The sounds of the other Single Claw Dragons up ahead were already fading into the distance; their burst of speed was faster than they had imagined.
After rounding a corner, the lone Single Claw Dragon suddenly veered left and vanished from sight.
Qin Ziwen stopped and looked in the direction the creature had vanished.
He saw that it had ducked into a branching path.
The path wasn’t very wide, only enough for one or two people to walk abreast. Any beast slightly larger would be unable to pass through.
"Leader, should we go in?"
"Let’s go." Qin Ziwen thought for a moment before deciding to give chase. ’This path probably isn’t very long. When we scouted from the air, we didn’t see any major branches. A long side path like this would have been obvious.’
They followed the Single Claw Dragon’s path. The terrain sloped steadily upward, and years of wind had filled the bottom of the narrow passage with a thick layer of sand.
After climbing the sandy slope and rounding two corners, the path ahead suddenly opened up.
They had reached the surface. Looking back, they saw they were now on the opposite side of the rift valley.
The limping Single Claw Dragon was running toward the far slope of a rocky hill nearby.
"That must be it," Qin Ziwen said, leading the others forward. "Be careful. If that’s their nest, they might not run this time."
At Qin Ziwen’s words, everyone—except for Du Yu and a few others who were already on alert—tightened their grip on their weapons and adjusted their packs, readying themselves for battle.
"SKREEE!" At the crest of the slope, a Single Claw Dragon appeared and shrieked a warning at the approaching humans.
At its cry, a dense swarm of nearly thirty or forty Single Claw Dragons immediately rushed out from behind the slope.
The pack was a mix of sizes, with the larger ones over a meter long and the smaller ones not yet a meter.
The limping Single Claw Dragon, which had been hobbling back to the nest, looked dumbfounded as its pack mates charged out.
The largest one, a full head taller than the others, strode forward and, with a flick of its tail, swatted the limping creature to the ground.
It shrieked angrily at the downed creature.
Then, it led the rest of the pack to surround the humans.
"KAW!" "KAW!"
The horde of Single Claw Dragons let out a cacophony of cries as they closed in.
"Let’s see what happens," Qin Ziwen said, leading the group back. He planned to circle around and get a look at the Single Claw Dragons’ nest behind the hill.
Seeing the humans retreat, the Single Claw Dragons, which had been holding their ground, suddenly grew bold and charged forward in pursuit.
"Hm?"
𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Qin Ziwen halted.
He gave the pack of Single Claw Dragons a surprised look. ’So they’re like dogs, bullying the seemingly weak and fearing the strong.’
His eyes narrowed. "Alright, no more retreating. Let’s slaughter them."
The group raised their Long Spears and charged toward the encroaching Single Claw Dragons.
"SKREEE!"
The first few Single Claw Dragons were the fastest.
Qin Ziwen thrust his Three-pronged Fork downward. It took almost no effort to pierce the Single Claw Dragon’s abdomen and hoist it into the air.
Then he slammed it onto the ground, smoothly withdrawing the Three-pronged Fork.
Blood spurted from the chest of the Single Claw Dragon on the ground as its body convulsed.
To his front right, another Single Claw Dragon charged, its hard beak aiming for Qin Ziwen’s chest.
A Long Spear shot out from behind him. Qin Ziwu had intercepted it, lifting the Single Claw Dragon on his weapon. The impact jarred his arm; he felt like he’d just speared a charging goose. With a low grunt, he flung the creature to the ground.
"SKREEE!" A harsh cry came from the left as the Single Claw Dragon leader’s sharp claws slashed at Yuan Ming’s side.
His jacket was instantly torn to shreds.
Yuan Dajun swung his Wolf Fang Club, smashing it against the leader’s neck.
The blow sent the leader sprawling. Its neck was twisted at an unnatural angle; it was clearly dead.
After two or three charges, only five Single Claw Dragons were left standing. They shrieked fearfully from a distance, then turned and fled without a backward glance, not even daring to return to their nest.
Once the last of the Single Claw Dragons had fled, a pained cry came from Yuan Ming.
"Damn, that thing’s kick really hurts! Hiss—"
A quick check revealed that Yuan Ming was the most seriously injured. His side had taken a hit from the leader; not only was his jacket shredded, but his skin was a bloody mess, with three deep claw marks.
Yuan Dajun was taking alcohol out of his pack to disinfect the wound.
"Good thing your jacket absorbed some of the impact," Zhao Pu said after examining the wound. "It’s just a flesh wound, nothing damaged internally. You should take some antibiotics if you have any."
"Thanks, Dr. Zhao. How should I bandage this?" Yuan Dajun was fumbling, so Zhao Pu took over and properly dressed the wound.
Wang Yun teased, "What’s your deal? Getting injured again."
Yuan Ming scratched the back of his head. He had to admit he was pretty unlucky, seeming to be the most injury-prone member of the team.
Aside from Yuan Ming, a few others had also sustained some injuries.
However, they were mostly just bruises from pecking. Since everyone was using long-range weapons, it had been difficult for the Single Claw Dragons to get close.
Qin Ziwen grabbed a Single Claw Dragon’s corpse by the neck and lifted it. "So light. I’d guess it’s only a little over ten pounds."
’No wonder they were so easy to deal with. They’re not even in the same weight class as a human.’
Wang Yun examined it closely. "Long neck and tail, short torso. Its bones are probably hollow."
"Mine’s heavier! Probably close to twenty pounds!" Yuan Ming said, lifting the leader’s corpse. Compared to the others, this one’s claws were longer and its tail was thicker.
After finishing off the pack, the group advanced and crested the far slope of the rocky hill.
A foul smell wafted up from below.
It was the stench of feces mixed with the musk of a large avian colony, all baking in the heat.
"There’s an altar," Qin Ziwu said, his eyes lighting up.
In the center of the area behind the slope stood a square, grayish-white altar.
Many nests were built around the altar, like bird nests in a desert.
The nests were arranged in a neat, radial pattern, spreading out from the center.
Piles of dry branches, rubble, and some shrubs were gathered near the nests.
Shallow trenches had also been dug between the nests.
Inside the nests, seven or eight Female Single Claw Dragons were letting out sharp cries, shielding smaller ones behind them.
"Let’s go down."
The group descended the gentle slope. Under the wary watch of the Female Single Claw Dragons, Qin Ziwen mounted the altar and took the white Expansion Card.
The front of the Expansion Card depicted a lush, green grassland.
[Expansion Card] Grassland Expansion Card (Medium)
Li Yue sighed. "These Single Claw Dragons are way too weak. So much for ’dinosaurs.’ Aren’t there any tougher opponents?"
Just then, the pebbles under their feet began to tremble slightly.
The sound of heavy footsteps grew from a vague rumble into a clear thudding. From around a rock pillar a hundred meters away, a pack of enormous, brown dinosaurs emerged.
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