It was a huge rooster, about 1.5 meters tall, with fiery red feathers covering its entire body. Its bright red comb was dazzling in the sunlight. When it flapped its wings, golden red flames shot up from them and swirled around. Its small black eyes stared straight at Mai Ge, seemingly full of hostility.
When Mai Ge first saw it, he thought it was a hybrid of a rooster and an ostrich. This must be the legendary Flaming Chicken. A live magical beast and a chicken leg in the refrigerator are indeed quite different. The fiery aura was overwhelming.
He thought they would have to go somewhere else, but the chicken was hiding behind a rock and then jumped out on its own. Mai Ge stood up abruptly, shielding Amy behind him and taking five or six steps back.
"Wow, what a big rooster! Should we roast it or steam it?" Amy's eyes widened as she looked at the Flaming Chicken, swallowing hard, her eyes sparkling.
"Coo coo!" The Flaming Chicken seemed to sense a great threat and glanced at Amy with some horror. Although she was tiny, but she gave off a feeling that she was not to be trifled with.
"Braised chicken tastes better!" Mai Ge couldn't help but laugh. For a little foodie like her, magical beasts were just food, after all.
"Little Amy, step aside a little and let me handle it." Mai Ge handed the Ugly Duckling from the small bag to Amy and earnestly instructed her.
"Okay, Daddy, good luck! Is the braised chicken really that delicious? I really want to eat it!" Amy said, hugging the Ugly Duckling with anticipation.
The Ugly Duckling merely raised its eyelids to glance at the Flaming Chicken, then continued to snuggle in Amy's arms and sleep, seemingly without any energy whatsoever.
"Cock a doodle doo!" The Flaming Chicken craned its neck and crowed again, its voice extremely impactful. Its gaze then turned and stared intently at Mai Ge, with a hint of contempt and provocation. It flapped its wings a few times, and balls of flame rose and gathered on its wings, as if it was preparing some powerful move.
"Huh? That's the sound of a Flaming Chicken, isn't it? Could it be that someone found a Flaming Chicken on the west slope?" At the foot of the mountain, many people looked towards the west slope with some surprise. Generally speaking, there are very few magical beasts on the west slope anymore.
"I remember there was a man carrying a little girl up the mountain just now, right? Did they run into it?"
"That's terrible! The Flaming Chicken's combat power is considered above average among level one magical beasts, especially its flames. If an ordinary person were to be burned by them, they would probably be turned into charcoal!"
"That man is so unreliable! Does he want to take the little girl to a hot spring? This is dangerous!"
Many people were counting and sorting their spoils at the exit of Thorn Ridge. They had seen Mai Ge carrying Amy up the mountain earlier, and now there was a lot of discussion about it.
For seasoned mercenaries, a Flaming Chicken is nothing, but for novice mercenaries, it's enough to drive them crazy, even costing them their lives.
However, they're used to life and death, they might feel a pang of regret, but asking them to run up the mountain to check on the safety of two strangers is something they simply don't have the time for.
"You mean there was a man in gray clothes carrying a little girl in a mage's robe up the mountain?" Gai Yi happened to be riding by on horseback. He had taken on several other quests afterward. His level allowed him to take on several quests at the same time, and if he was lucky, he might be able to complete several quests in a day. Hearing their conversation, he couldn't help but stop and ask.
"Yes, they hadn't gone up there long before we heard the Flaming Chicken calling. I wonder if that guy can beat it." A middle-aged mercenary nodded.
"Flaming Chicken! Oh no!" Gai Yi's face immediately turned anxious. He dismounted, casually tied the reins to a tree nearby, and ran up the mountain with a black javelin and a bow and arrow.
That half-elf little girl was quite cute. His little granddaughter was about the same age as her, and when he wasn't doing quests, she would pester him to play games with her everyday.
His son was also a mercenary, but he'd never thought of bringing his youngest daughter to Stranglethorn Vale. She was of school age, wasn't this just recklessly taking her out? He could still hear the roosters crowing, hopefully, he could make it in time. He quickened his pace.
…
Mai Ge looked at the Flaming Chicken standing on the big rock, picked up his sword and took a few steps to the left front. This was his first time facing a magical beast, but holding the long sword, he felt no fear at all, but rather a little...excited?
Yes!
It was a feeling of excitement. His heart was pounding, and his blood was flowing faster, but it was definitely not from fear.
His body yearned for battle, a long-awaited, exhilarating fight.
"You've really been wronged." Mai Ge thought to himself, glancing at his hands. A body nearly at the limits of human potential, yet in the past three years, he couldn't even lift a sword. This must be what it felt like to have a pearl hidden in the dust.
Now, it was as if he was breaking a seal on his body, removing the first seal, and gripping the sword again, ready to fight once more.
A fighting spirit rose from the depths of his heart, a feeling both strange and familiar. Scenes of past battles flashed through his mind. Those were his most precious combat experiences.
"Cock a doodle doo!"
The Flaming Chicken let out a sharp cry, flapped its wings, and six fireballs that had gathered on its wings flew towards Mai Ge, seemingly intending to burn him to death.
A fireball the size of a basketball flew in, and the temperature rose significantly as a result. This was the Flamingo Chicken's innate ability, Flameball. If it couldn't be avoided, even a knight's armor would be melted. This is why the Flaming Chicken is considered to be in the upper middle tier among level one magical beasts.
"If that's all there is to it, it's not enough." Mai Ge's lips curled up, his legs slightly bent, and with a light step, he easily leaped three meters away.
Six fireballs hurtled towards the spot where Mai Ge had been standing, blasting a deep crater that melted the soil and rocks around the edges.
"Daddy is so amazing! Keep it up! Keep it up!" Amy clapped her hands and shouted happily.
The Flaming Chicken was a little annoyed at missing its first attack, but it was clear that the fireball couldn't be released indefinitely, so it flapped its wings and took flight, swooping down on Mai Ge like an eagle, its sharp claws gleaming coldly, seemingly intending to attack Mai Ge directly with its body.
Mai Ge narrowed his eyes slightly. This Flaming Chicken had a wingspan of over two meters, powerful legs, and black claws that resembled black daggers.
Mai Ge knows better than anyone the hardness of a Flaming Chicken's bones, even a regular kitchen knife won't be able to cut them an inch, even if the blade gets dulled. Those sharp claws can easily tear through a knight's armor and crush a person's head.
Mai Ge stood still, then swung his sword forward.