novelraw Chapter 79: The Final Treasure: Flesh Armor
Chapter 79: The Final Treasure: Flesh Armor
The sky was shrouded in thick gray clouds as scorching embers fell onto Chen Qi's face.
Balong clenched his fists and forced a bitter smile:
"The real purpose? Didn't I say? This old man came for revenge."
Chen Qi responded coldly:
"No one would believe such a shoddy lie."
The other hunters cast curious glances their way.
The Red Crystal Hunters grew visibly tense, looking at Chen Qi with complex emotions.
Had this been earlier, they would never have paid attention to some opportunistic chef.
They had no other methods left to pry open the wyvern's mouth.
Balong loosened his clenched fists:"I can tell you, but first you must explain what method you have to deal with the wyvern."
Chen Qi made a chopping gesture:
"I'm a chef. My supernatural skill is cooking delicacies.
I can mix the potion into food and have the female wyvern consume it."
Chen Qi didn't conceal his plan.
Preparing food to feed the wyvern was a common strategy.
The crowd gasped in surprise.
A chef? Could this really work?
In its enraged state, would the wyvern even eat something made by humans?
They found it hard to believe.
Chen Qi added:
"It's possible. This wyvern has eaten countless human offerings."
Three conditions needed to be met to make a wyvern eat human food:
First, exceptional culinary skills.
Second, heavy use of chili peppers - wyverns loved spicy food, the hotter the better.
Third, collecting special volcanic grass growing on the mountain peak to place on the meat, which greatly enhanced the food's deliciousness.
Chen Qi's gaze turned icy like an interrogator's:
"Alright, Balong, now it's my turn to ask - why did you really come here?"
Balong's fingers trembled uncontrollably.
As leader of a hunter group, he was actually being interrogated by a first-tier supernatural being.
Could this really work... Balong looked at Chen Qi.
If he could truly deliver the potion into the wyvern's mouth...
Not only would he reveal their secret purpose, he'd even give Chen Qi all their bank account passwords.
Balong's trembling fingers stilled as he took a deep breath:
"Deal. I'll tell you my secret, and you find a way to get the potion into the wyvern's mouth."
Balong began his story:
"Ten years ago, my brothers and I accidentally dug up a battered chest in this scorched land.
Inside was buried a tattered hunter's garb - a treasure."
A chest... the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure.
Chen Qi's eyes lit up.
From Balong's description, this treasure truly wasn't placed near any sea monsters.
That explained why the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure map showed no difficulty rating.
Feigning curiosity, Chen Qi asked:
"Whose treasure?"
Balong fell silent as if transported back ten years:
"Who knows? At first, we all thought it was just trash.
No one even competed with my brother for that clothing.
Eventually, after three days of climbing, we reached this place and saw the wyvern.
Just like today, we fought the wyvern... and died.
Of our twenty, only my brother and I remained."
"When I was waiting to die, my brother - wearing that hunter's garb - fought the wyvern in the pouring rain.
Back then, he was just a weak first-tier supernatural, yet he briefly suppressed the wyvern.
In that moment, I knew he'd obtained something incredible, something that could make us nobility.
But sadly, in the final moment, exhausted, the wyvern bit off his head - swallowing both him and the clothing whole.
Severely wounded, the wyvern left the island due to its injuries.
And I... became the sole survivor of that dimensional rift incident."
Here, Balong gripped his greatsword:
"That's why I returned - both for revenge and to reclaim that clothing.
My goal was simply to retrieve a piece of clothing."
A chest, clothing... Chen Qi pondered.
He wasn't lying - it matched the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure map description.
An unguarded treasure that fell into their hands ten years ago.
But because of the wyvern, both man and clothing ended up in the beast's stomach.
From Balong's account, they'd obtained the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure quite easily.
So easily that Balong initially thought it was ordinary clothing.
"Really? The Deep Sea Hunters buried treasures so casually?"
Chen Qi tapped his forehead, temporarily burying his doubts.
An ominous premonition crept over him.
Balong placed a hand over his heart:
"I swear by the Day God's name - not a single lie. Chef, now it's your turn to perform.
Give me the potion."
Chen Qi accepted the Red Crystal Hunters' green potion, examining it carefully.
Not poison, but a supernatural compound specifically for large creatures.
With powerful emetic and sedative effects.
If a human consumed this, they might vomit their organs out.
This potion's value surpassed epic-grade skill cards!
"Hold out five more minutes. I'll gather ingredients."
Chen Qi turned toward the mountain peak.
The female wyvern had recovered.
After the Red Crystal Hunters' fierce assault, it sought to make them suffer.
The battle turned desperate again.
Chen Qi spent three minutes scaling treacherous cliffs using his balance skill, reaching the peak's wyvern nest to collect flamegrass.
Besides meat, flamegrass was the wyvern's favorite food.
Also the most crucial item for a first-tier chef clearing a wyvern dungeon.
Returning to level ground, Chen Qi took out a cutting board, quickly assembled a roasting rack, found an unused longsword to skewer a large chunk of meat. He retrieved meat from his Backpack Card, oiled it, rotated the spit, and began roasting.
Barbecuing on a volcano was certainly a novel experience... Chen Qi had the Deepsea Water Spirits wipe his sweat.
"Done yet, chef? If you don't hurry, we'll become wyvern barbecue!"
While he roasted intensely, others fought just as fiercely.
Chen Qi glanced at the battlefield.
Having attacked the wyvern, the Red Crystal Hunters became primary targets.
Now, besides Balong, most had lost combat capability.
Only ten hunters remained fighting.
"Almost ready."
Chen Qi rolled up his sleeves, mixed the potion into the meat, added seasoning.
A lethal dose of ghost peppers and salt, combined with Soul Seasoning, masked the emetic's taste.
Adding flamegrass made the entire roast burst into flames!
[You have created Flamegrass Roast (Ghost Pepper), gaining 100 Spirit Points.]
Perfect cooking!
Chen Qi sniffed.
Even he wanted a bite.
Now to see if the female wyvern would take the bait.
Chen Qi stepped back, uncertain if the potion-laced roast would appeal to her.
Worth a try.
If it failed, he'd just escape with the Deepsea Water Spirits.
Thwack!
The female wyvern sent a hunter flying.
It wanted to vent its fury and pain upon the world!
Suddenly, it caught a whiff of something delicious.
After prolonged battle, the enraged creature felt hunger.
The wyvern sniffed, spotting the ghost pepper roast in the distance.
Its massive eyes rolled - what was this?
Food falling from the sky?
Soul Seasoning enhanced the meat's aroma while ghost peppers and flamegrass perfectly matched the wyvern's palate.
Unaware of human deceit, the wyvern flapped its wings toward the roast.
Everyone watched nervously, swallowing hard, unsure if this gamble with their lives placed on a first-tier chef would succeed.
The wyvern swished its tail.
Lifting its head proudly as if declaring - as apex predators, how could they be tempted by mere roasted meat?
Yet the aroma gradually made it lower its head.
Just one bite!
It opened its maw, swallowing half the roast whole.
"Success! The peppers and salt masked the potion's taste."
Chen Qi observed from higher ground.
The wyvern savored the meal, its pained expression actually showing pleasure.
It blinked - having planned to save half for its mate.
Was it really that good? Chen Qi smiled.
His Backpack Card didn't hold much meat - barely a mouthful for a wyvern.
After eating, the wyvern happily pranced twice.
Then suddenly, its body convulsed with nausea, swaying uncontrollably.
The wyvern spewed a massive fireball at the ground.
Then began retching violently.
It vomited everything in its stomach.
Under the potion's effects, the massive creature collapsed, slowly closing its eyes.
The spectators trembled with excitement.
They'd held little hope initially.
Food prepared by a first-tier chef actually satisfying a wyvern's palate?
The wounded Balong and a Red Crystal Hunter rushed forward.
Their eyes fixed on the wyvern's stomach contents!
If undigested, the clothing might still be inside.
They crouched by the wyvern, searching frantically.
Between the wyvern's teeth appeared a skeleton - one wearing hunter's garb!
Chen Qi didn't approach but retreated to observe from afar.
That skeleton gave him bad vibes.
Normally, nothing should remain intact after wyvern stomach acids.
This might be what caused the wyvern's frenzy.
Balong and his companion yanked the skeleton from between the teeth.
Headless, its bones cracked all over, wearing tattered hunter's clothing.
"Ten years... ten years!"
Balong gripped his gun.
Meanwhile, a Red Crystal Hunter examining the clothing asked:
"Balong, are you sure this isn't some fetish wear?
I think I saw something like this at Goldenfinch Kingdom's 'Sexy Beasts' fashion show - something called 'Seaside Holiday, Tempting Siren Tentacle Edition.'"
Fetish wear?!
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Balong cursed.
How dare this fool compare such a powerful supernatural artifact to perverted Goldenfinch Kingdom costumes at this pivotal moment!
Yet the next second, his pupils constricted.
Externally, it appeared as tattered dark blue hunter's garb.
But that was merely surface appearance.
Under the cloak, countless squirming black tendrils covered the bones.
A garment of living tentacles.
The writhing tendrils entangled the skeleton.
The Red Crystal Hunter continued:
"See? Really looks like that Tempting Siren Tentacle Edition. They said these clothes feel amazing to wear outside..."
"What kind of bizarre fashion shows did you attend? Though it is strange..."
Even Balong voiced doubts.
Chen Qi observed the tattered hunter's garb from afar.
And why would a skeleton remain intact in a wyvern's stomach for so long?
From Balong's tone, he genuinely hadn't known this clothing was the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure.
Chen Qi took another step back.
Suddenly, the Red Crystal Hunter trembled, whispering as he made a discovery:
"Balong... doesn't this clothing resemble...
what that Deep Sea Hunter statue outside is wearing?"
Balong blocked the clothing with his body.
Though tattered and strange inside, its style nearly matched legendary Deep Sea Hunter attire exactly.
He murmured softly:
"No wonder... no wonder... so this is the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure..."
His decade-long mystery was finally solved.
Balong's heart pounded as he stood, gripping his greatsword.
Many were injured or had fled the wyvern battle.
Those remaining were exhausted first-tier supers.
Little Red Riding Hood was presumably dead by the male wyvern's claws.
Meaning if he killed these few useless people here, the treasure would be his alone.
"Ten years... finally reaching this moment."
Balong raised his sword, telling his companion:
"Do it."
Human versus human combat.
Chen Qi didn't rush to draw his blade.
The air grew colder.
He'd conserved stamina and hadn't approached the treasure immediately.
From the start, he'd wondered - would the Deep Sea Hunters really hide treasure somewhere safe?
According to Balong, they'd found this treasure without encountering sea monsters.
Also, the treasure lacked difficulty ratings.
Assuming the Deep Sea Hunters weren't careless about hiding treasures...
Only one possibility remained:
The treasure itself was the monster.
Other hunters retreated too.
Balong stepped forward with his greatsword.
"Sorry everyone... this is necessary."
He gathered energy, preparing to slaughter all present.
The only threat was that chef.
Balong glared at Chen Qi, gripping his sword.
Swish!
Chen Qi retreated - behind Balong, the white skeleton was slowly rising.
A sharp slicing sound.
Blood spilled from Balong's mouth as his eyes rolled up to see his own severed torso.
Thump! Thump!
Chen Qi's heart raced as he clenched his black blade.
Behind the bisected body, the headless skeleton clad in hunter's garb stood up.
Creak! Creak!
Tendrils extended from beneath the clothing, coiling around the decaying bones.
"What is that?!"
Others scrambled back.
Whoosh!
The tendril-wrapped skeletal hand picked up Balong's fallen greatsword.
Creak! Creak!
The skeleton turned, sword in hand, taking a step toward them.
Each step made hearts skip beats.
Boom!
Blue flames engulfed the bones.
An icy chill made everyone retreat further.
Their eyes no longer saw Balong or the fire-breathing wyvern.
Only one monstrous entity filled their terrified pupils -
A century-deceased existence -
The Deep Sea Hunter.