Chapter 918: The Griffin King
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"What, what is that..."
The mages who were following him from behind flew in. At first they marveled at the vastness of this cave inside the mountain. After that, shifting their gaze upwards as they followed the noise, they immediately made expressions of mild disbelief.
All they could see was a narrow chasm above the valley. As the only vent in here, the sunlight that shone in through the chasm was not able to illuminate the entire cave in the mountain, only because... Above this valley was a humongous creature, blocking most of the sunlight.
It had wings as wide and big as clouds, full of feathers that alternated between gold and black; four gigantic claws moved in a running motion as it flew in the air, as though it was really running in the skies. Screeches rang out from its beak, becoming more and more frantic and wary. It was obvious that it had discovered Benjamin and the line of people who had suddenly appeared.
Without a doubt, this was a griffin.
The only question was, how could this thing be so enormous?
"Director, we..." The mages had been stunned by its prehistoric behemoth-like body. Subconsciously, they were rather terrified, and could not help but shrink back a little.
Benjamin suddenly turned his head, however. In the eyes of the mages, his expression had completely missed the mark of being one of shock or alarm. Instead, it could even be said to be excitement. "Quick! Who amongst you can run back to the camp and get the two siblings to come here? Remember to be fast!"
The mages were stunned. Nevertheless, Benjamin quickly pointed at one man. The mage had absolutely no idea what he was going to do, but he turned around anyway in his confusion, and ran back to get the siblings.
Benjamin’s eyes fell back onto the body of the gigantic creature.
"It looks like, after the Church cleaned up the Magical Beasts of all the mountains, this place seems to have become their refuge." The System suddenly emerged and spoke. "There’s miniature griffins right below you. As for the one you see before your eyes now, this should be their big boss."
Hearing that, Benjamin glanced down as well. True enough, he saw some ordinary griffins, as well as some other Magical Creatures. However, his attention did not linger at the region below them at all; immediately, he lifted his head to continue gazing at that unimaginably gigantic Griffin King.
A thing such as a griffin... Could it really be that huge?
They had really hit the jackpot this time!
"Director Benjamin, what should we do now..."
The mages were rather hesitant. They saw that Benjamin had yet to give his orders, and it was very obvious that the Magical Creature above them was already poised to make trouble. It was probably about to charge at them immediately. Because of that, all they could do was to speak in an uncertain manner. However, only half of their question had left their lips when they were suddenly interrupted again.
It was because Benjamin had dashed out instantly.
Like a shooting star, he flew straight at the Griffin King. He activated the domain; deep blue runes appeared and floated next to him, followed by water elements that moved like tidal waves. A blizzard was immediately formed. Before the Magical Creature attacked, he had hurried and unleashed the first blow instead.
The mages were shocked by Benjamin’s action once again.
The blizzard lashed out at the Griffin King, engulfing it in a flash. The temperature in the entire valley seemed to drop quite a few degrees as well. At that moment, the Griffin King immediately began to struggle; its gigantic wings flapped and moved continuously. It violently charged out from the area of the blizzard. Stretching its razor sharp front claws out, it turned and flew towards Benjamin.
Seeing that, Benjamin was not alarmed at all. Numerous beams appeared within his domain, and was immediately interwoven to form a gigantic net that blocked the way in front of him.
The Griffin King that had shot straight at him was forcefully blocked. The flowing streams of water suddenly seemed to turn into extremely elastic ropes, easily negating all forceful movements. In the end, it flailed its razor sharp claws, which were about only two meters away from Benjamin, around with all its might. Nevertheless, it was unable to advance even an inch further.
Right after that, the great net that had been formed by the threads of water suddenly tightened, wrapping itself up towards the inside. The Griffin King, which had been caught unprepared, was soon bundled up.
For a moment, the Griffin King emitted furious screeches; its enormous body struggled violently within the water web. Nevertheless, it was unable to struggle and force its way out, having been trapped by the water web.
"So powerful..." In the spur of the moment, the mages below him could not help but exclaim in astonishment.
As Water Mages, they were able to see the difficulty of this series of manipulation. Such control over the elements, the ability to adapt in the spur of the moment during battle... From being in a defensive position, to retaliation, everything had happened as naturally and smoothly as moving clouds and flowing water. Even the griffin, which was known for its speed, had not been able to react. They were so amazed that their lower jaws had almost dropped.
They knew that Benjamin were on a level different from theirs, but it was only at this time that they truly realized how the phrase "on a different level" had sheltered their self-esteem.
However, just as the mages were still relishing Benjamin’s operation just now, Benjamin had suddenly turned his head and given them a look.
The mages were stunned; right after that, they came back to their senses and look down.
Seeing their leader being trapped, the griffins below them had immediately become manic and violent. One after another, they flew into the sky, ready to rescue their leader. Seeing that, the mages knew it was their turn to act now. They instantly set off, flying over in groups and teams. Subsequently, frost that covered the earth and skies surged towards that flight of griffins.
There were not many griffins in this particular next. Moreover, the other Magical Creatures within this valley seemed to have been frightened by the magic oscillation emitted by Benjamin, and dared not show themselves. Because of that, the mages were still able to handle these twenty or so griffins.
They even had extra time. Obviously feeling a little as though they were unable to resist it, they continued looking up at the battlefield above them.
In the battlefield above them, the Griffin King... did not seem to have given up just like that.
As it struggled as hard as it could, its long beak and sharp claws had cut through a few hundred threads of water all at once. However, it was a pity that Benjamin had not stopped. He was like a spider that was spinning out silk continuously. More and more threads of water were formed by him through condensation, shooting out and merging into the water web. The Griffin King was restrained tightly inside. No matter how hard it struggled, it was unable to get out.
The water web was slowly turning into a water ’cocoon’ as well.
About ten minutes later, the humongous Griffin King had completely disappeared. All that was left in the airspace of the valley was a shockingly huge sky blue water cocoon, jerking about occasionally. The other mages had also completed their task; over twenty griffins had been frozen into ice sculptures by them during the intense fight, and had been piled up at the exit of the tunnel.
The life force of a griffin was extremely powerful, so they did not have to worry about them freezing to death. The mages even had to cast a round of Freezing Spells every five minutes, otherwise they would still break through the ice and escape.
"Director, sir, now... How are we supposed to move it?"
They did not have to worry about those ordinary griffins, of course. The mages furrowed their eyebrows as they looked at the gigantic water cocoon, and could not help but ask.
"Let’s wait for those who have psychic powers to arrive." Benjamin shrugged and said helplessly. "Whatever it is, we definitely can’t move this thing back to the camp. Where would we keep them? Besides, it’s way too big. Everyone in the Town of Crewe would be able to see it. It’d definitely cause an uproar."
Hearing that, the mages nodded, with lingering fear in their hearts.
Finally, after another half an hour, the mage who had gone back to summon the two siblings finally brought them back into this valley.
"I ask you. This thing in the sky, will you be able to direct and move it?" Seeing the two siblings, Benjamin reduced the thickness of the water cocoon slightly, pointing at the Griffin King that was exposed through the slits and asking them that question immediately.