Chapter 205: The White Griffin and the King of Night

"As expected, it is the Owl."

Waking in the shattered dream, Li En's head throbbed with splitting pain.

He raised his head, looking left and right, seeing only the pitch-black night still outside the window.

For no reason, he felt a chill and unease, as if some monster lurked within that dark night.

It followed him, waiting for him to fall asleep, then claws capable of destroying steel would descend from the sky, striking the back of his head.

"Am I afraid?"

Li En could not understand it at all, yet the hands he stretched out were indeed trembling continuously.

The young man's gaze shifted, subconsciously looking toward the night outside the window; he instinctively felt unease and the sensation of being watched, as if something was waiting for him from outside the window.

No, under the bed, outside the door, on the roof—he seemed to hear it everywhere: whispers and giggles, everywhere were watching eyes.

One by one, dim yellow eyeballs opened; they were all secretly spying on his weaknesses.

They, they were about to extinguish the lights and drag him into the night!

"Something's wrong! I've been targeted?!" This had exceeded a normal nightmare; he had been targeted without even realizing it!

"Sol (Holy Sun)!"

When he chanted this sacred word, orange-red radiance burst forth from his body.

His entire flesh emitted light and heat, transforming into a sun illuminating the dark night.

Only in this moment did he feel somewhat better, as if something had been driven out of his body.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Hehehe."

The screams and giggles from the surroundings confirmed this was not Li En's illusion.

Patches of black shadows were driven away from Li En; they either wailed or sneered at Li En, then dissolved before the holy scorching sun!

Though they appeared to be shadow creatures, they were fundamentally different; they were the crystallization of night, darkness with eyes, monsters running out of the night and nightmares!

Only after all those shadow monsters in the surroundings were dispersed did Li En's trembling body return to normal; he had been used by certain existences through nightmares, having fear and seeds of night implanted within him.

"This is the Owl, the King of Night Birds, the Owl."

At the moment the dream shattered, Li En would not have been mistaken; the "owl head" of the giant bird that woman transformed into seemed an overly obvious sign.

"Yes, it is the one, the ruler of dreams and night, the King of Night Battles with no natural enemies. The eagle's mortal enemy, and also..." The Snake appeared before Li En again; since Li En had guessed, he could naturally say something.

"... one of the strongest combat forces among the Beasts."

Calm words were the highest praise; among the outrageous combat power of many Beast Kings, the Owl King remained in the top tier. As for the Snake, looking only at combat power, it was always in the bottom tier.

"But rest assured, you cannot see its complete form. Warlike and vindictive, it has not missed a single war; it has too many enemies, torn to shreds..."

The Snake smiled happily, watching Li En's glare at him with satisfaction.

"... but it is also the Beast least likely to be killed. As long as life still fears night and darkness, it can return countless times."

Li En was numb; what kind of outrageous thing was this? Was it truly an opponent he could deal with?

"The Owl, one of the peaks of the food chain..."

But perhaps only the evaluation of a Top Beast King would fit this King of Night Battles on Earth.

Many people on Earth, due to the Owl's cute appearance during the day, often underestimate it; in reality, the Owl is not only a fierce bird but also the peak among fierce birds in the sky. In the entire natural food chain, there is only what it eats, nothing that eats it.

That gentle, cute posture exists simply because the day is not its active period.

This "harmlessness," besides its appearance, stems largely from the fact that humans and owls have no conflict on the food chain; there is no genetic conflict between the two sides.

The Snake, which humans instinctively fear, even in modern times, still takes tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of lives annually; reviewing past total losses for the species, the number is astronomical.

But the Snake is not at the top of the food chain; even owls can treat it as "spicy strips."

The insects humans hate the most have been eating human ancestors for how many years?

Life's instinct to fear or hate often stems from the memories and experiences of genetic ancestors; the Owl is merely harmless to humans. An owl entering night battle has no opponent; vindictive, it returns any grievance suffered during the day a hundredfold.

Whether it is the Eagle, also a top combat beast among birds of prey, or the fastest falcon, too many have been visited by owls at night, their entire families wiped out.

Imagine that silent-flying fierce bird, locking onto targets with night vision capabilities dozens or even hundreds of times greater than humans, predicting your movements with sonic radar, and claws like steel descending from the sky to grab directly at your skull... If it cannot tear your head apart, it will simply drag you away!

Eagles and owls often engage in death battles during the day, not only because of disputes over hunting grounds, but more so because once night battle begins, the eagle is surely dead... Only by killing the owl during the day, or at least driving it out of the territory, can one ensure their own safety.

But even so, various birds of prey are frequently wiped out by the extremely vindictive owl, from adults to chicks, dragged one by one into the darkness.

"If the owl's size were expanded a hundredfold, it would naturally not be harmless; humans would be like rats to them, the kind that can eat over three thousand a year. They would approach silently like stealth fighters, then tear off the head and drag away the flesh... No wonder the Snake told me before: if I don't upgrade the Dragon Eyes and Dragon Wings, I'm dead."

The opponent will definitely launch an attack at night, and it will be basically impossible to evade.

Once war breaks out, it will definitely be night battle plus aerial battle; without Dragon Wings, one is just a blind target on the ground.

"Even with Dragon Wings, you are currently a stupid target in the sky... Its aerial combat skills are beyond your imagination."

The Snake sighed somewhat; this kingdom was truly miserable and truly brave. In a sense, Lex was also screwed over.

The founding king of that year actually killed the owl (in its incomplete form) along with the eagle... of course, it was killed during the day.

"Its authority..."

"You saw it too; as the King of Night, it has only two authorities: Night and Dreams, but that is enough."

Yes, of course it is enough; this thing seemingly doesn't need authorities at all. Merely as the combat power of a Beast itself, it is nearly invincible—a super-high-speed, silent, stealth night-battle aerial assault machine.

"Wait, it has the authority of Night..."

"Yes, it can actively create darkness; any time, any location is night battle and aerial battle for it." The Snake also smiled somewhat subtly.

During the civil war back then, the owl was the craziest; a simple, crude combination of abilities was actually harder to deal with.

That fear of suddenly having your scalp torn off while walking along scared quite a few people.

The Snake was not afraid of the owl, but it was just very annoying.

It's like a person seeing a Guangdong cockroach in a room, especially when that little cockroach is bigger than you and is always drooling while looking at you.

Li En was numb; how does one fight such an opponent? It's simply impossible to fight!

"Rest assured, she is merely a fragment of a fragment; you still have a chance to survive. I will send the Eagle's Contractee to help you. Find her during her daytime slumber and kill her."

The good news is that it is not the beast's true form, but rather an existence like a magical girl. The bad news is that even so, the Snake still feels Li En is doomed.

The Snake shook his head; the plan seemed unworkable as well.

He never expected the Awakened of this generation to be so strong, and so vengeful.

Ultimately, the so-called Hall of Heroic Souls is merely "Li En's dream." While it draws people in over a wide area, it also creates gaps in the dream.

And that Second Princess finding her way here could not be a coincidence. She must have been repeatedly searching for "Lex's" soul fluctuations to happen upon the exact gap to enter.

"The Owl is truly as vengeful as ever. Pity that Solamit (the Eagle) has fallen; otherwise, we would not be so passive."

The Eagle and the Owl are mortal enemies; their feud is too deep. It is said that the owls of Earth were originally fierce birds of the day, only driven from the sunlight by the Eagles.

In this world, the authorities of the Eagle and the Owl also counter each other.

Without the help of the Eagle's Priestess, the Snake feels that once Li En is found, he is basically finished.

Perhaps there is only one chance for life.

"The Griffin... Oh, I understand." Li En pondered deeply on a countermeasure, then recalled his morning doubts and instantly realized the truth.

The Griffin is a hybrid of lion and eagle. The founding king of the Lion Kingdom chose this emblem to commemorate his great feat of sealing the Owl with the Eagle's help.

And the hatred of the sealed Owl was not directed at the Griffin, but at the "Eagle" part of the Griffin.

Perhaps in its view, even if it failed, it had little to do with the so-called Lion King; it was mainly because of the Eagle.

And the change of the national emblem from the Griffin to the Lion also signifies the concession of that generation's king; clearly, something happened.

"Go to the Royal Family; they possess the power you need." The Snake pondered for a moment. The legacy of the kingdom's founding king from those years certainly counters the Owl to some extent and might be the key.

(End of this chapter)