Chapter 205: The Griffin and the King of Night

"It really is him, Xiao."

When he awoke from the shattered dream, Li En's head throbbed with unbearable pain.

He looked up, glancing left and right, seeing only the still-dark night outside the window.

For no reason, he felt a chilling dread—as if some monster lurked within the darkness.

It followed him, waiting for him to fall asleep, then its claws, strong enough to crush steel, would descend from above and strike his nape.

"Am I afraid?"

Li En could not understand it, yet his outstretched hands trembled uncontrollably.

The young man's gaze shifted, unconsciously drawn to the night beyond the window—he instinctively felt watched, as if something waited just outside.

No, beneath the bed, beyond the door, atop the roof—he seemed to hear whispers and laughter everywhere, eyes watching from every corner.

One by one, yellowish eyes opened, all secretly observing his weaknesses.

They, they were about to snuff out the light and drag him into the night!

"This isn't right! I've been targeted?!" This went beyond a normal nightmare—he had been subtly ensnared without realizing it!

"Sol (Holy Sun)!"

As he uttered this sacred word, orange-red radiance burst forth from his body.

His entire flesh emitted light and heat, becoming a sun illuminating the night.

Only then did he feel somewhat better—as if something had been driven from his body.

"Aaaahhh!"

"Hehehe."

The surrounding screams and laughter confirmed this was no illusion of Li En's.

Clusters of shadows were expelled from Li En's body—some wailed, some sneered at him, then dissolved before the sacred blazing sun.

Though they appeared as shadow creatures, they were in truth something entirely different: crystallizations of night, darkness with eyes, monsters born from night and nightmare.

When all the shadow monsters around him were scattered, Li En's trembling body finally steadied—he had been used by some entity, implanted with fear and the seed of night through his dream.

"This is Xiao, the King of Night Birds—the owl."

At the moment his dream shattered, Li En had not misseen: the giant bird's "owl head," transformed from the woman, was far too obvious a sign.

"Yes, it's him—the master of dreams and night, the undefeated King of Night Combat, the sworn enemy of the hawk, and—" The serpent reappeared before Li En; since Li En had guessed, he could speak plainly now.

". ne of the strongest combatants among the Beasts."

A calm statement was the highest praise—amid the absurd combat power of so many Beast Kings, Xiao's King remained top-tier; the serpent's words, if judged purely by combat strength, always ranked at the bottom.

"But rest easy—you'll never face the full version. It's warlike and vengeful, never missing a single battle; it has too many enemies, torn to shreds more times than I can count."

The serpent chuckled happily, pleased by Li En's furious glare.

"But it is also the Beast most impossible to kill—as long as life fears night and darkness, it will return countless times."

Li En was numb. What the hell was this thing? Could he even hope to fight it?

"The owl—one of the apex predators."

But perhaps only the top-tier Beast King evaluation could match this Night Combat King of Earth.

Many on Earth, misled by the owl's daytime docility, underestimate it—yet the owl is not only a fierce bird, but the apex of aerial predators; in nature's food chain, it eats everything, nothing eats it.

That gentle, foolish demeanor? Merely because daytime is not its active period.

This "harmless" impression comes not just from appearance, but from the lack of conflict between humans and owls at the genetic level.

Snakes, which humans instinctively fear, still claim tens of thousands of lives annually—historical total losses across tribes likely number in the astronomical.

Yet snakes are not apex predators—even owls treat them as "spicy snacks."

The insects humans hate most have devoured our ancestors for countless generations.

Life's instinctive fear or hatred often stems from ancestral genetic memory—the owl is harmless only to humans. In night combat, it has no rival; any slight endured by day is repaid a hundredfold.

Whether the hawk, another apex raptor, or the fastest falcon, many have been hunted down at night and utterly exterminated by owls.

Imagine it: a silent flying predator, locking onto its target with night vision dozens or even hundreds of times sharper than a human's, predicting your movements with sonar, then descending with talons like steel claws to seize your skull—if it can't tear your head off, it'll just drag you away!

Hawks and owls frequently fight by day—not only over hunting grounds, but because once night falls, hawks are certain to die. Only by driving owls from their territory during daylight can one ensure safety.

Even so, various raptors are still routinely exterminated by the obsessively vengeful owls—adults and chicks alike dragged into darkness.

"If the owl's size were multiplied a hundredfold, it would no longer be harmless—humans would be nothing but rats to it, preyed upon at over three thousand per year. It would approach like an invisible fighter jet, then rip off heads and drag away flesh. No wonder the serpent told me earlier: if I don't upgrade Dragon Eye and Dragon Wing, I'm dead."

Its attack will come at night—and evasion is nearly impossible.

Once combat begins, it will inevitably be night combat and aerial combat; without Dragon Wing, you're just a blind target on the ground.

"Even with Dragon Wing, you're still a sitting duck in the sky. Its aerial combat skills are beyond your imagination."

The serpent sighed. This kingdom was truly tragic—and truly brave. In a way, Rex had been screwed.

The founding monarch, long ago, had slain the owl (in its fragmented state)—alongside the hawk, of course—and he did it by day.

"Its authority—"

"You saw it yourself. As King of Night, it possesses only two authorities: night and dreams. But that's enough."

Yes, it was more than enough. This thing didn't even need authority—its raw Beast power alone was nearly invincible: a silent, ultra-fast, invisible night-strike machine.

"Wait—it has authority over night?"

"Yes. It can actively create darkness. Any time, any place—it's always night combat and aerial combat for it." The serpent smiled faintly.

During the civil war, the owl was the craziest—its simple, brutal combination of abilities made it even harder to counter.

The terror of suddenly losing your scalp while walking down the street scared many.

The serpent wasn't afraid of the owl—but it was deeply unsettling.

Like a person in their room seeing a Guangdong cockroach—especially when that cockroach is bigger than you and drools while staring at you.

Li En was numb. How could he possibly fight such an opponent? There was no way!

"Relax. She's only a fragment of a fragment—you still have a chance to survive. I'll have the hawk's Qiyuezhe help you. Find her during her daytime slumber and kill her."

The good news: it won't be the Beast's true body, but rather a magical girl-like entity. The bad news: even so, the serpent still believed Li En was dead.

The serpent shook his head. The plan seemed unworkable.

He hadn't expected this generation's Awakened to be so strong—and so vengeful.

After all, the Hall of Heroic Souls was merely "Li En's dream." While it pulled in souls across vast distances, it also created gaps in the dream.

That Second Princess finding him couldn't have been coincidence—she had clearly been repeatedly scanning for Rex's soul signature to pinpoint the entry point.

"The owl. Still as vengeful as ever. Too bad Solamit (the hawk) perished—otherwise, we wouldn't be so defenseless."

Hawks and owls are sworn enemies—their feud runs deep. Legend says owls on Earth were once daytime predators, driven from the sun by hawks.

In this world, the authorities of hawk and owl also oppose each other.

Without the aid of the Hawk's Priestess, the serpent believed that if Li En was found, he was already dead.

Perhaps, there was only one chance.

"The griffin. Oh, I get it." Li En, lost in thought trying to devise a response, suddenly remembered his daytime confusion—and it all clicked.

The griffin is a hybrid of lion and hawk. The founding monarch of the Lion Kingdom chose this emblem to commemorate how, with the hawk's aid, he sealed the owl.

But the owl's hatred wasn't directed at the griffin—it was aimed at the "hawk" part of the griffin.

Perhaps in its eyes, even if it failed, the so-called Lion King was irrelevant; the real enemy was the hawk.

And the royal crest changing from griffin to lion signified the monarch's retreat—something must have happened.

"Go to the royal family. They hold the power you need." The serpent pondered. The founding monarch's legacy of the kingdom once partially restrained Xiao—perhaps it would be key.

(End of Chapter)