Supreme Electromagnetic Tyrant
Chapter 286 - 218 Highlander Tribe

Chapter 286: Chapter 218 Highlander Tribe

Whoosh!

An invisible arrow shot out, targeting the furthest vulture-like creature.

It was over three hundred meters away from Ji Xinghuo, positioned at the very end. Sensing danger, it had already started to flap its wings, climbing higher in an attempt to escape.

If he had targeted the closer vulture-like creatures first, it would have definitely escaped out of range.

An arrow flew out.

The next second, the vulture-like creature three hundred meters away had its head pierced through, screaming as it plummeted to the ground. Then another arrow flew, and the second-to-last vulture-like creature was also shot dead.

After killing three vulture-like creatures in a row, the one up close had already collapsed.

This was another superior vulture-like creature that had initially lagged slightly behind. Even witnessing the accident that befell its kin, with prey right before its eyes, it chose to continue the attack. The vulture-like creatures were ferocious and aggressive, bereft of much intelligence, going berserk once engaged in battle.

Amidst the screeching, massive claws swiped at Ji Xinghuo.

He didn’t have enough time to shoot another arrow, but everything was within his plan. He stomped his foot, his figure turning into a bolt of lightning that passed between the claws, appearing behind the vulture-like creature, landing on the ground with an arrow already nocked on the Invisible Stab, aiming at the next target.

Behind him, the Qing Hong exposed under the vulture-like creature’s claws suddenly swelled several times in size, transforming into an enormous creature more than twenty meters long.

The vulture-like creature let out a cry of terror.

Qing Hong, now running wildly, turned and pounced upwards, soaring like a dragon taking flight, directly tackling the vulture-like creature flying low in the sky to the ground.

Under the force of inertia, Qing Hong and the vulture-like creature violently rolled on the ground.

Covered in a tri-colored Holy Scale Armor of blue, gold, and silver, Qing Hong’s thick hide made such collisions roll off like water off a duck’s back.

The vulture-like creature, however, was battered beyond recognition, its wings broken, and even before it could counterattack, in the midst of the struggle Qing Hong bit its neck. Its claws unleashed the Virtual Blade, a powerful sweep that sliced the body of the vulture-like creature into more than a dozen pieces, spilling blood and entrails everywhere.

Ji Xinghuo paid no attention to the battle behind him, not even turning his head to glance back.

Almost upon landing, he had already shot another arrow.

Whoosh!

From afar, the third-to-last flying vulture-like creature had its head pierced through, tumbling downward.

In the blink of an eye, only two vulture-like creatures remained mid-air, both elite monsters, now screaming in terror and desperately flapping their wings to fly higher.

Even the most ferocious creatures wouldn’t foolishly court death.

Ji Xinghuo, of course, had no intention of letting them go.

The bowstring of the Invisible Stab vibrated continuously as two arrows flew out in succession, and the vulture-like creatures that had flown over a hundred meters high dropped like stones. Thud, thud, their hefty corpses hit the ground, lining up like dots across the prairie.

The gale subsided, and the sky grew quiet.

This was a battle that seemed intense but was in truth utterly devoid of suspense.

Only then did Ji Xinghuo turn back.

Qing Hong had already shrunk back down to its normal size, licking a taste of the vulture-like creature’s blood, a look of disgust appearing in its eyes as it hastily spat out saliva.

"Hahaha..." Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but laugh twice.

The vulture-like creatures were omnivorous, with a particular penchant for carrion. Their flesh and blood had a nauseating stench. Apart from the vulture-like creatures themselves, no other creatures could stomach it.

However, the distasteful flesh had no effect on mutants.

Ji Xinghuo walked over to one of the corpses, put his hand on it, and an information interface popped up before him.

[Monster: Carrion-Eating Vulture-like Creature]

[Level: Superior]

[Mutant Abilities: Beeping Scream, Eagle Eye, Tear, Carrion Eater, Intuitive Reflex]

Superior monsters usually had between four to six mutant abilities. The mutants of this vulture-like creature weren’t anything extraordinary, with only two valuable ones, Beeping Scream and Eagle Eye.

The Demon Sound Sword also carried the Beeping Scream ability, a sharp sonic attack.

Eagle Eye was a core ability for hunters.

Carrion Eater was a superior mutant ability, allowing for rapid recovery of physical fitness and star power by digesting rotten flesh, and it also slightly sped up the rate of star power growth. The effect was quite good, but it was too disgusting, and no mutants wanted it, and it couldn’t be sold either.

Ji Xinghuo then examined the other six bodies of the vulture-like creatures.

He harbored some expectations.

Because flying creatures had a very low chance of bearing the "Flying" mutant ability, valued at hundreds of millions, the higher the rank of the monster, the greater the probability of its appearance.

However, after checking them out, he felt disappointed.

"As expected, a low probability..." Ji Xinghuo muttered self-deprecatingly, swiftly harvested the mutants from the vulture-like creatures, and said cheerfully, "Not bad for a haul."

Just the seven Eagle Eyes alone could sell for more than ten million Ya Yuan.

The other mutant abilities added up to roughly seven to eight million. The earnings from this battle could reach twenty million.

Plus, there were over a hundred points of Spiritual Origin Ability.

Ji Xinghuo looked towards the distant mountaintop. The vulture-like creatures were gregarious. There had to be nests on the mountaintop, and many more vulture-like creatures.

Without hesitation, he mounted Qing Hong and headed back, galloping towards the peak.

But just halfway there, the mountaintop erupted like a boiling pot. More than a dozen vulture-like creatures of various sizes took to the sky, fleeing without looking back.

"Uh..."

Ji Xinghuo felt helpless; the vulture-like creatures’ vision was too sharp, they must have seen the recent battle.

He didn’t chase after them since there was no way to catch up.

So, he continued his search for the Gale Beasts.

Riding Qing Hong, Ji Xinghuo slowly meandered through the mountain range, his electromagnetic induction scanning every inch of the surrounding space like radar. Occasionally, he found some monsters, and if they were close enough, and not dangerous, he would take the opportunity to kill them, collecting the Alien Species and harvesting Spiritual Origin Ability.

As night fell, the temperature dropped sharply, and it began to rain.

Ji Xinghuo set up camp on a flat area on the mountainside. Outside, the cold wind was blowing harder and growing colder, so he took out a stove and even had firewood prepared. Once lit, the tent immediately warmed up.

Raindrops beat against the tent fabric, creating a dense pitter-patter.

Inside and outside the tent seemed like two different worlds.

Ji Xinghuo drank hot soup and ate roasted meat, sitting at the entrance of the tent and looking out at the rainy dark night, feeling extremely comfortable and at ease.

After a satisfying meal, he added more firewood to the stove and quickly fell into a deep sleep once he crawled into his sleeping bag.

He woke up just past midnight.

Yet, he was fully energized, without a trace of fatigue. The rain had stopped, and the darkness was occasionally pierced by the cries of wild beasts or monsters, along with the intermittent chirping of insects.

"It’s time to head out."

Although it was very comfortable inside the tent, and one could be tempted to linger, lying down any longer was pointless.

He did not need to rest, nor could he cultivate; it was a waste of time.

Ji Xinghuo decisively got up to pack his things. He put the watchful Qing Hong into his pocket to rest and walked himself into the darkness.

The Wanxiang Star Pupil allowed him to see everything clearly in the night, unaffected by the darkness, and his electromagnetic induction was just as effective.

He moved forward while searching.

Ji Xinghuo looked up at the sky and noticed the sanguine Red Flame Star hanging high above. Its position seemed unchanged, but its brightness had diminished in the dark, leaving only a dim red glow that one wouldn’t notice without looking up.

Several hours later.

The silver dawn rose into the sky, casting a silvery white glow upon the land. The reflection of the Galaxy also appeared in the sky, filled with dazzling stars that were truly stunning.

Star Night had come.

Qing Hong too had rested enough, leaping out and transforming into a mount. Ji Xinghuo climbed onto its back and sped up the pace.

On his first night entering the Bloody Plateau, Ji Xinghuo searched several mountains, valleys, and forests but, apart from two or three ordinary monsters, came away empty-handed.

The next few days also yielded little.

The Bloody Plateau was vast, almost as large as the surface area of Earth, with its east, west, south, and north extending beyond twenty thousand kilometers.

After several days of wandering, Ji Xinghuo had only covered the periphery of the eastern part of the plateau.

He decided to delve deeper into the west.

Indeed, after just two days of traveling westward, he found a path that was clearly frequently traveled. Ji Xinghuo hid hundreds of meters away in the dark off-roadside and observed for half a day, waiting until a team arrived.

They were a group of Star Realm humans, much taller than the average Human Race, averaging over one-meter-ninety, many reaching two meters, donned in thick beast skin coats and armor, carrying heavy weapons, riding a strong six-legged horned horse, moving at a steady pace on the road, heading westward.

"Highlanders."

Ji Xinghuo recognized them.

The Human Race of the Star Realm had many branches, and Highlanders were a relatively common one. They lived in high-altitude areas, and most of them had a low level of civilization, equivalent to the middle ages on Earth.

However, Highlanders had strong Race talents. Whether male or female, each person possessed "Giant Strength" and "Iron Lungs." Giant Strength granted them extraordinary power, while Iron Lungs provided robust physical fitness and Recovery Power, enabling them to survive in harsh environments.

Highlanders with outstanding talents would awaken even more Abilities in the process of growth.

Therefore, Highlanders were prolifically strong.

On the Bloody Plateau, there were tens of thousands of Highlander Tribes with innumerable populations, half-claiming the Plateau as their own.

The other half belonged to the Biao Clan.

Both were devout followers of the Red Emperor, but they were in constant war with each other, sworn enemies that would fight to the death.

In addition to Highlanders and the Biao Clan, there were many small forces on the Bloody Plateau, such as the Dan people, the Deserted People, and Giants, as well as over twenty Alien Species, some of which had even formed loose alliances. However, they were all unable to contend with Highlanders and the Biao Clan and could only barely protect themselves.

"It must be a Hunting Team."

Ji Xinghuo watched these Highlanders; there were about a dozen of them, and their mounts were laden with packs filled to the brim.

There were also several unmounted six-legged horned horses carrying prey and tents.

They were on their way back.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t disturb them, watching in the dark as they moved westward until the rotating hawks in the sky also left before he emerged.

Highlanders were adept at falconry; their Hunting Teams always had hunting falcons as scouts.

Gazing into the sky, the three hawks became tiny dots. Even with their Eagle Eyes, they could not see him.

But he could see them clearly and trace them back.

Ji Xinghuo let Qing Hong shrink and placed it into his pocket. He activated his Stealth Ring, using Refraction to hide his figure, and followed this Highlander Hunting Team. He trailed the hawks for over a hundred kilometers, arriving at the foot of a steep and majestic peak by evening.

A vast Highlander Tribe appeared in his view with houses made of logs and rocks stretching from the mountainside to the grasslands, without an end in sight.

Ji Xinghuo lay atop a hill, gazing at the tribe.

This tribe had at least four to five hundred thousand Highlanders. Almost every moment, Hunting Teams were coming and going.

A conspicuous emblem was present everywhere in the tribe.

On doors, on walls, atop poles as flags on every home, and even as tattoos on the people’s bodies, they all bore this vibrant red insignia.

It was a bloody, roaring skull with two crossed, blood-dripping axes and a War Blade below it, surrounded by a circle of sanguine flames.

This was the Red Emperor’s Emblem!

This Highlander Tribe consisted entirely of devotees of the Red Emperor.