Goblin Dependency

"Crackle."

Sparks flew.

A gigantic, short-beaked male eagle with feathers subtly crackling with electricity stood high on the treetop as it usually did.

Its sharp, eagle eyes shimmered with the light of an intelligent creature, cross-checking the positions of adventurers detected through perception while scanning for potential prey within sight.

Not far behind, the pale red boundary of the Secret Realm was contracting inward at a visible pace.

Though unsure of the underlying cause, since the accelerated shrinking of the boundary a few days ago, it had gained the ability to perceive the location of other adventurers.

Having already experienced killing other adventurers and absorbing Life Energy, it understood that it was nearing the final stage of the ceremony as it approached the Second Evolution.

Its identity as a raptor capable of flight further enabled it to navigate this environment with ease, fully exploiting its speed and flying advantage to harvest adventurers in the vicinity.

Just this morning, it descended from the sky to attack, crushing a groundhog adventurer emerging cautiously from its burrow, and through the larger-than-usual residue of Life Energy from its victim, it finally reached the stage of the Third Evolution.

He could roughly guess that "Algae Scale" Dodd was plotting something with such a ceremony, but he was merely an ordinary adventurer who came to Stodd Island with his team to participate in the Moon Tide Banquet, perhaps known in the Southern Islands, but scarcely associated with the Great Pirate.

Since he was already ensnared in this, he might as well cause some trouble for them, regardless.

As he pondered his next steps, the Thunder Eagle Adventurer was sensing for his next hunting target.

Suddenly, a dot of light quietly entered the range of his notice.

"The distance isn’t too far, likely just to the southwest."

"I’ll fly over to scout first, and if it seems too difficult, I’ll find another target."

His approach remained cautious, leveraging his flying capability.

Before attacking, he would often observe the chosen prey carefully. If they had also reached the Third Evolution stage or appeared troublesome, he would usually retreat and select another.

"Howl..."

A drawn-out, piercing wolf howl suddenly erupted from the southwest, reverberating across the plains.

The sound pulled the Thunder Eagle Adventurer’s focus back to reality.

Instinctively, his sharp eagle eyes shifted towards the direction of the wolf howl, barely catching sight of a swiftly moving blurred silhouette in the distant plains.

Even at such a great distance, it was evident to the naked eye that the figure was moving quickly.

But given their distance and the fact that the other could only run on the ground, while he could take flight at any moment, he dismissed it as an ordinary demon within the Secret Realm and paid it no further attention.

Refocusing his attention, he sensed the positions of surrounding adventurers.

"Huh?"

He paused suddenly.

The light dot he had initially selected as a target had vanished from its original position with just a lapse in attention.

In its place, a light dot appeared closer, seemingly moving toward him.

Realizing something, the Thunder Eagle Adventurer snapped back, looking again towards where the shadow had been.

In merely a few seconds, the shadow had crossed the space between them with exaggerated speed, approaching closely.

He could clearly see the pitch-black wolf head swirling like mist surrounding the figure, and the air distorted by its high-speed movement.

He had never seen a wolf-like creature with such appearance and mobility before.

Without time to think further, a sense of extreme danger erupted within him.

Unconsciously wanting to flap his wings to take flight, yet at the very moment escape crossed his mind, the wolf howl lingering in his ears, like sensing his weakness, surged into his heart.

Boundless fear spread through him, stiffening his movements.

It felt like even his thoughts had stalled.

When he came back to his senses, his view was spinning violently, seeing his own body sliced into two blood-drenched halves.

In the final stage of the ceremony, adhering to action efficiency, Xia Nan wasted not even a second.

He absorbed and digested the floating azure Life Energy above the corpse, while searching for the next target among the dwindling adventurers in his perception.

...

Deep in the mountain forest, at the very center of the current Secret Realm map.

"Rustle..."

The slightly undulating ground vibrated suddenly from below.

Clods of earth burst forth.

A gigantic earthworm, armored in metal-like carapace, with a spiraled, menacing mouth, cautiously emerged from the soil, peering at its surroundings.

All around were only trees and a clear sky, a touch of human-like curiosity in its enormous compound eyes.

Having also completed the Third Evolution, aware of the Secret Realm’s changes, it took proactive measures, using its perception ability in its mind to go on a large-scale hunt against other adventurers within the ceremony.

For safety, it instinctively avoided potential groups, targeting lone individuals as prey.

Overall, it had gone fairly well. Although still a long way from the Fourth Evolution, it had absorbed and amassed a considerable amount of Life Energy, taking advantage of the final stage of this Secret Realm over the last couple of days.

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