Evan Cross’s expression shifted slightly when he saw the colossal golden bird. It looked somewhat similar to the Goldwing Vulture, but was much larger—its wings spread nearly forty meters wide, and its feathers gleamed with dazzling golden light.
There was no doubt—this was the Galeclaw Eagle. Its two massive claws glimmered with a menacing, ghostly light, and its long, pointed beak looked even more terrifying. If it pecked you, even a multi-ton boulder might be shattered into fragments.
“Savage Earth Dragon, you damned mongrel! We’ve always minded our own business, but you actually dared to sneak attack me—looks like you’re tired of living! Today, I’ll swallow you alive!” the Galeclaw Eagle roared in fury.
“Galeclaw Eagle, you really think your Grandpa Dragon is scared of you? Let me be blunt—your Grandpa Dragon is here to take your bird life today! I’ve had enough of you. The area around the Thunder Pool is perfect for me to settle down, so you have to die.” the Savage Earth Dragon retorted.
“How dare you! You actually dare to be so rude to this king? Take this!” the Galeclaw Eagle snarled. Its massive beak opened wide, spitting out a bolt of purple lightning straight at the Savage Earth Dragon, completely ignoring Evan Cross as if he were beneath notice.
The purple lightning struck where the Savage Earth Dragon had just been standing, but the dragon’s body flickered and dodged the attack. With a thunderous boom, a massive crater was blasted into the ground where the dragon had stood, sending the surrounding rocks flying.
At the same time, countless rocks tumbled down from the cliff. Evan Cross quickly darted aside, and the spot where he’d stood was instantly buried under a pile of stones, forming a new stone mound.
Evan Cross saw that the mountain wall had split open with a huge crack. The power of that purple lightning was truly immense. Even his Earthsplitter might only achieve similar results, but the Galeclaw Eagle had done it with a casual strike. That showed just how terrifying its strength was.
Seeing that its attack hadn’t hit the Savage Earth Dragon, the Galeclaw Eagle’s body flashed with golden light. Its enormous wings beat, and countless golden feather-arrows shot out, covering the sky in a terrifying barrage.
Evan Cross and the Savage Earth Dragon dodged once again. The countless feather-arrows buried themselves into the shattered rocks and mountain wall, making the whole cliff tremble. In an instant, a mountain collapsed, and rocks came crashing down, smashing the nearby trees to pieces.
The Galeclaw Eagle’s feather-arrows were worlds apart from those of the Goldwing Vulture. Evan Cross watched as every single arrow embedded itself deep into the stone, as sharp as swords—getting hit by one of those would probably turn you into a pincushion in an instant.
“Stupid bird, you really think I don’t exist? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll keep thinking you’re hot stuff!” Evan Cross snapped, and swung the Frostbane Sword in a swift slash.
He unleashed an Earthsplitter slash with that sword. Evan knew he couldn’t seriously injure the beast, but he could at least test its defenses. The Frostbane Sword’s sword-light shot straight at the eagle’s massive body.
Actually, the Galeclaw Eagle had noticed Evan Cross long ago, but it considered the Savage Earth Dragon to be the greater threat. As long as it dealt with the dragon, this insignificant human would be easy prey.
But when the lowly human actually dared to attack, the Galeclaw Eagle was enraged. Its giant claw lashed out at Evan Cross, aiming to tear him to shreds.
The Frostbane Sword’s sword-light collided with the Galeclaw Eagle’s claw. With a resounding boom, Evan Cross was blasted dozens of meters away, while the eagle only retreated a few meters.
Evan Cross saw that even the Frostbane Sword couldn’t break through the beast’s defenses. Even though he’d hit its claw, its defense was still astonishing—maybe even Heaven-Cleave wouldn’t be able to hurt it.
“Human, I didn’t expect you to be an expert too. It’s been a long time since I’ve stretched my wings—today, I’ll use you two for a warm-up. I hope you don’t disappoint me,” the Galeclaw Eagle said, staring at Evan Cross.
At that moment, the Savage Earth Dragon revealed its true form. Its long tail whipped toward the Galeclaw Eagle—if that hit, even the eagle wouldn’t be able to shrug it off.
But just as the Savage Earth Dragon’s tail swept out, the Galeclaw Eagle’s massive wings flapped several times in quick succession. Countless golden feather-arrows shot toward the Savage Earth Dragon, making it panic and twist its body to dodge as fast as it could.
“Earth Dragon, why do you turn into such a coward in front of this old bird? Let me handle him—then you can help out later,” Evan Cross said. He knew just how deadly those golden feather-arrows were, and with so many of them, not even the Savage Earth Dragon’s defense could take them head-on.
“Such arrogance! Let me show you the power of my lightning!” the Galeclaw Eagle snapped, completely enraged by Evan’s words.
Its massive beak opened wide, and a bolt of golden lightning shot out, attacking Evan Cross at a speed almost too fast to see.
Evan Cross was about to dodge, but the Sword Spirit suddenly spoke: “Evan, you should try to withstand this lightning attack with your body. Remember, the Thunder Pool is filled with thunder everywhere—if you can’t handle even this lightning, there’s no way you’ll be able to obtain the Thunder Spirit Pearl.”
Hearing this, Evan Cross instantly activated Earthshift. Stones and earth covered his entire body, turning him into a walking earth-man—just as the golden lightning struck him.
A deafening boom and billowing smoke erupted in front of Evan Cross. The Savage Earth Dragon was shocked at the sight and cried out, “Golden Dragon Lord! Golden Dragon Lord!” as it rushed toward Evan.
The earthen armor covering Evan Cross was instantly shattered by the golden lightning. He felt his whole body go numb, with waves of pain surging through him—but he could still endure it.
His hair stood on end, and his face was pitch-black, as if smeared with ink—making him look utterly bedraggled.
“Golden Dragon Lord, are you alright?” the Savage Earth Dragon asked anxiously.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to test the Galeclaw Eagle’s lightning. I didn’t expect it to be this strong! But it still can’t hurt me. You stay back and watch how I deal with this beast!” Evan Cross replied.
The Galeclaw Eagle was momentarily stunned that its lightning attack hadn’t harmed the lowly human. That golden lightning was enough to overwhelm even the Savage Earth Dragon—clearly, this human was a tough opponent and would require extra caution.
Evan Cross shot into the air, gripping the Frostbane Sword tightly. “Old bird, your lightning isn’t all that impressive. It’s been ages since I’ve had roast bird—today, you’re on the menu!” he taunted.
Just then, the Wind-Binding Pearl’s artifact spirit spoke from Evan’s storage ring: “Big brother, do you want me to help you immobilize that nasty bird?”