986 The Return of the Drowning Curse (1/2)
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
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As the sea breeze swept past, the people could vaguely capture a strange scent from the giant skeleton lingering around the harbor.
The harbor was currently crowded with people who had never seen anything like this. All kinds of scary rumors were spreading rapidly among the people, most likely going to spread throughout the streets of Tinuoaya City in no time.
”It...it's actually big, like, very big!” Zhao Manyan swallowed with wide eyes.
They had already thought the white thing did not fit well in the little harbor when they were glancing down from the plane. However, when they actually landed, they realized how shocking the skeleton was when they arrived at the scene.
”How did a creature of this level end up like this? The skeleton is well-preserved, yet not a single drop of blood or the smallest piece of flesh remains, let alone its organs!” Nanyu wondered.
”Jiang Yu, go and see what creature is it,” Mo Fan asked seriously, nudged the demon creature expert.
Zhao Manyan was left speechless. He exclaimed, ”Aren't you asking too much from him?”
”It's most likely a Coastal Mammoth. Its head and upper body resemble an ancient mammoth, but its lower body is like a whale. It normally resides deep in the ocean. It doesn't like to bother humans, but many ferocious sea demons prefer to avoid this imperious creature, too. This thing has to eat more than ten sea monsters in a day to obtain enough energy for its body to function properly, and most of the time, it can swallow the sea monsters with a single bite…
”They also have another nickname… Ship Destroyers! In the past, almost a hundred luxurious cruise liners have been destroyed by these creatures, even when they were packed with Mages, not to mention that the cruise liners were designed to survive against Commander-level creatures...” Jiang Yu explained, all in one breath.
Mo Fan nodded. Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan almost dropped his jaw to the ground.
Did Jiang Yu seriously manage to recognize the creature just by looking at the skeleton? Wasn't his ability to identify creatures a bit too insane? Although there were not many creatures of this size in the ocean, it was still unbelievable!
”This creature died less than two days ago,” Jiang Yu added.
”Doesn't a creature of this size need a long time to end up as just the skeleton? How is it possible that it only died less than two days ago?” Mo Fan said.
”Look at the tusks… oh, those aren't horns, they are tusks, similar to the tusks of an elephant. The tusks of these Coastal Mammoths are worth more than ten million each! They are used for crafting magic armor or Deathstrike Magic Equipment. The tusks have only started to turn black, and usually, these tusks will be completely black after a few days, like coal. Once they turn black, they no longer have any value,” Jiang Yu informed them.
Mo Fan lifted his gaze and glanced at the tusks. It was just as Jiang Yu had said, the tusks had only started to turn black.
”I still don't understand, I know the ocean is vast, so it makes sense there are creatures stronger than a Coastal Mammoth, but this skeleton is perfectly preserved. It doesn't seem like it was injured at all, and even if the creature that killed it was so strong that it killed the Coastal Mammoth with a single attack, where did its skin, flesh, organs, and blood go? Besides, aren't bones supposed to be heavy? Why is the skeleton floating on the surface like a ship?” Nanyu wondered.
”Aren't you all busybodies? Let's hurry up to the Training Hall. We can head on to our next destination once we are done with the challenge!”
Obviously, no one could possibly explain the sight, including the Hunter Groups who had been around Tinuoaya City for many years.
The residents of the city were terrified knowing that a giant skeleton had shown up at the port. A single Coastal Mammoth was enough to bring utter destruction to the city, let alone the demon hiding in the ocean that had killed it so easily!
Fear was contagious. When the team reached the streets, they could hear everyone whispering to one another. They were all discussing the incident.
It was likely that many news agencies had started drafting headlines for the following story...
Mo Fan was a curious man. The visual impact of the skeleton was too strong to be ignored for him. Most importantly, how exactly did the Coastal Mammoth die?
”Jiang Yu, do you have any rough idea how strong that Coastal Mammoth was?” Mo Fan inquired.
”The weakest among them would be around the Commander-level, but the creature at the beach, it's most likely close to the Ruler-level, judging from its teeth and size,” Jiang Yu replied.
”Close...close to the Ruler-level… Jiang Yu, please don't scare me!” Zhao Manyan shivered.
If a creature that was almost as strong as a Ruler-level creature had died such a horrible death, wouldn't that imply there was a real Ruler-level creature close to Tinuoaya City? And it was the kind that liked to drink the blood and eat the flesh of its prey!
The team was not too bothered by the skeleton before Jiang Yu mentioned the level of the creature. However, their attitude completely changed, as they no longer felt safe even when they were in the city.
”Let's hurry up to the Training Hall and get on with the challenge. We'll take the first flight and leave as soon as we're done with it.”
”...”
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Mo Fan was not interested in fighting Portugal's Training Hall. He was actually more curious about the skeleton after listening to Jiang Yu's explanation.
”Just go if you want, we'll handle the challenge,” Ai Jiangtu said helplessly when he saw the look in Mo Fan's eyes.
”Hehe, we'll leave it in your hands then! Come, time to do some investigation!”
”What investigation? It's more like a ghost story.”