After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Saliva, still glowing with embers, dripped from the firebird's beak, landing on the ground and igniting tiny flames.

The Firebird was furious.

This despicable and shameless creature took advantage of its relaxed state when it returned to its nest to launch a sneak attack, causing one of its wings to be fractured so badly that it could not move.

These petty thieves must pay a bloody price!

Deep red lines appeared on the Firebird's body, its eyes turned blood red, and a faint red mist appeared around its body. At the same time, it let out a shrill wail, as if it was enduring unimaginable pain.

Ryan's expression changed. The moment the Fire Umbrella Bird's aura appeared in the deep red markings, it began to rise wildly, bringing him an extremely strong sense of threat.

At this moment, the description of the Firebird in gray text also changed.

-

[Firebird (Burning Rage): A special species, resembling a crane with scales on its body and an umbrella-shaped crest on the back of its head. It possesses extremely high short-range flight speed and special organs that can store and release fire attacks. Influenced by the approaching Red Sun and driven to extreme rage, the Firebird enters "Burning Rage," a state in which the elements within its body become highly active, and its physical functions are enhanced. However, at the cost of its rapidly diminishing life force.]

-

"Red Obsidian goes berserk?!"

Ryan was shocked. He wanted to stop the Firebird's mutation process, but the speed at which it "bewitched into a rage" was too fast. In just a second or two, the Firebird had already completed the transformation.

Its size increased, and each of its feather scales had a layer of deep red patterns on the edge, layered together, making it look like an abyssal monster covered in "dark red eyes".

Fortunately, even after the "Red Glow" went berserk, the Firebird's broken left wing remained drooping and was not healed, which relieved Ryan.

The blood-red bird's eyes stared intently at Ryan. The Fire Umbrella Bird, having completed its mutation, slightly opened its beak, and the next moment, a spinning orange-red fireball shot out.

Ryan narrowed his eyes, and faced with the surging fireball, he did not rush to dodge.

A flash of light appeared on the spatial ring on his finger, and a translucent blue bead the size of a thumb appeared in his hand.

Ryan hadn't forgotten that his purpose in seeking out the Firebird was not only to hunt it, but also to test his tolerance to fire attacks, which would be crucial for future battles against the Rathalos leader.

Although there was a minor accident at the moment, with Firebird going into "Red Frenzy", it didn't have a major impact.

In other words, this would result in better fire resistance test results.

The moment the [Pure Water Crystal] appeared, a dense mist spread out, forming a "mist environment" within a three-meter radius of Ryan's body.

The orange-red fireball flew into the "water vapor environment," and the flames and brightness diminished at a visible rate. By the time it reached Ryan, it was already a flickering candle in the wind.

Ryan raised his left hand and caught the weak fireball with his palm.

"Whoosh..."

A faint burning sensation came from his palm. Ryan turned his hand over and saw that the skin on his palm was only slightly red, far from being a burn.

"The effect is so good?!"

Ryan's eyes gleamed with a strange light.

Before trying it, he thought that the "Flame is hard to sustain" effect of the [Pure Water Crystal] would at most reduce the effect of fire attacks by 70% to 80%, but now it seems that it is far more than that.

Before the fire attack reaches a certain level, its power will be weakened to almost nothing by the "moisture environment"!

Therefore, it can be inferred that even if the Rathalos leader's flames could break through the "water vapor environment," their power would be weakened to a level that he could withstand.

Ryan was very satisfied with the test results, but the Firebird on the other side was stunned.

In all its lifespan, it has never seen a living being catch its fireballs so easily and emerge unharmed.

If it were in a conscious state, the Firebird would have fled without hesitation upon witnessing this scene. However, in its "Red Rage" state, its destructive desires intensified, and its reason was quickly overwhelmed. It then rushed towards Ryan.

In the giant forest, the Firebird is like a flying red arrow, its body appearing somewhat blurred.

Ryan's face was solemn.

He put the [Pure Water Crystal] into his pocket, a faint coolness washing over his body, and then gripped the greatsword tightly with both hands.

He can now ignore the Firebird's fire attacks; the only danger left is close-range attacks.

As it approached Ryan, the Firebird suddenly mustered its strength in its legs, and then, with the help of its only remaining right wing, it took off into the air with a somewhat distorted movement, its sharp claws striking down at Ryan's head.

Those menacing claws would surely bring a miserable end to anyone who caught a piece of flesh and blood.

Ryan's expression remained unchanged as he opened his mouth.

In the next instant, spiritual sound waves spread, and the [Soaring Battle Cry] was released!

The powerful shockwave made the Firebird, which was in mid-air, dizzy.

Its flapping right wing stiffened, and its loss of balance rendered its attacks inaccurate.

With the "morale boost," Ryan, whose size and speed had further increased, turned his body and easily dodged the Firebird's aerial claw attack.

The Firebird landed awkwardly, its dazed state preventing it from getting up.

One second, two seconds.

[Storm Sword Skill - Wave Breaker], a brief charge-up, complete!

Ryan's eyes narrowed, and he exerted all his strength to slash out with his greatsword.

Chapter 64 The Thirteen Seats of the Black Knights

"Crack!"

The greatsword, gleaming with a spiritual light, struck the Fire Umbrella Bird's relatively slender neck precisely, followed by the sound of bones cracking.

Just as the Firebird was about to recover from its "shock" state, it let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground again.

To Ryan's surprise, in the "water vapor environment," the frost condensed faster and over a wider area on the part of the Firebird that was injured by the Greatsword - Ferocious Ice.

What is the beneficial effect of "humidity" on ice?

An unexpected surprise.

Ryan took a deep breath, hoisted the greatsword onto his shoulder, and charged up again.

After his physique reached 12.66, the burden of charging up twice in a short period of time was much less. With the help of the "Necklace of Abundance", he completed another "charge" two seconds later.

The greatsword fell mercilessly, landing in the same spot.

"Crack——!"

After a particularly loud, crisp cracking sound, the Firebird's struggling movements came to an abrupt halt.

The greatsword severed the Firebird's vertebrae.

It's dead.

"call……"

Ryan took a deep breath, his face turning slightly pale.

A tuft of fan-shaped crested feathers detached from the fire-umbrella bird's corpse, emitting a faint glow.

Ryan bent down and picked it up.

-

[Loot: Crown of the Fire Umbrella]: A bronze-tier loot, featuring the crest feathers of the Fire Umbrella Bird, symbolizing freedom and flight. It comes with the special skill [Concentration Lv.1]: Reduces greatsword charge time by 5%, and increases the special energy bar accumulation speed by 5% (this effect is not active if the corresponding ability is not currently mastered).

-

"【Concentration】? Reduces the greatsword's charging time?"

Ryan was astonished when he saw the special skill that came with the new loot.

What an incredibly powerful skill!

Although the reduction in charging time is only 5%, in a life-or-death situation, even 1% is crucial, let alone 5%. Moreover, what if I were to acquire another item with the same special skill in the future and further upgrade the skill level?

After his initial excitement, Ryan turned his attention to the panel of his travel clone.

-

[Level]: 7 (17%→67%)

[Spiritual Value]: 12635 → 15635

[Spirituality]: 2.5

[Physique]: 12.66

[Loot]: Crimson Horn (Craftsmanship Lv.1), Lightning Needle (Elemental Resistance Lv.1), Fish-Dragon Heart Scale (Fire Resistance Lv.1), Crown of Fire Umbrella (Concentration Lv.1)

-

"It only increased the progress by 50%, but it didn't upgrade?"

Ryan sighed.

He had long known that as his level gradually increased, the difficulty of leveling up his travel clone would become increasingly greater, but he never expected that day to come so soon.

Even the Firefly Bird, a "special species," could not be directly leveled up after being defeated.

To upgrade again, you need to defeat at least one more "lower-level one-star" special species.

Just as Ryan was preparing to dispose of the Firebird's corpse and gather materials, a deafening dragon's roar suddenly came from afar, rapidly approaching.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Ryan's expression changed.

He suddenly raised his head, and above his eyes, a huge crimson shadow was flying rapidly toward his position.

It's the leader of the Rathalos!

Ryan felt a chill run down his spine.

Is this monster targeting him? Why does it always appear after he defeats the alien species?

No, that's not right.

Recalling a sentence mentioned in the panel's description of the Rathalos leader—"Affected by the approaching 'Red Sun,' the Rathalos is hunting more and more frequently in the Ancient Forest area"—Lion suddenly understood.

The Rathalos leader's target was most likely not him, but those special species living in the Ancient Forest. The reason it always appeared after his battles was probably because the noise, sounds, or elemental attack fluctuations of the fierce battles had attracted the Rathalos leader's attention.

However, Ryan couldn't possibly leave these special species unpunished!

There's no time to think about these things right now.

The Rathalos leader is extremely fast; it is estimated that it will arrive here within ten seconds.

Ryan reached out and touched the Fire Umbrella Bird's corpse, storing it in his spatial ring—the Fire Umbrella Bird's body was very slender, appearing large, but in reality, it was much smaller than the Thunder Dragon.