Chapter 219: Iron Spike Vulture and Griffin Battlefield!

"My lord, the Magic Swift Eagle squad is fully assembled!"

"Good. Everyone, remember—no matter what you encounter ahead, stay calm. Just follow behind me and Zhuoyue. Understood?"

"Understood, my lord!"

"Then let's move out!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

At Gervas's command, eleven Magic Swift Eagles lifted off the ground and soared into the sky behind Zhuoyue.

Their target this time, of course, was the wounded griffins in the Death Mountains.

Because griffins were massive and numerous, Gervas could not retrieve them alone—he could only risk it with the Magic Swift Eagle squad.

But now, the Magic Swift Eagle squad's riding skills were highly refined; even if danger arose, escaping should not be a major problem.

As long as they were careful, the mission should not be too difficult!

"All units, attention! The Death Mountains lie ahead. Stay close—do not fall behind!"

After several minutes, when the sky ahead turned distinctly gray, Gervas reminded them again.

Only then did the Magic Swift Eagle riders understand why their lord had been so serious.

For this was the Death Mountains—a place whose very name once made them shudder.

Now, each of them straightened up and followed closely behind their lord.

For the next hour, the group advanced with extreme caution.

Fortunately, though Magic Swift Eagles had no offensive power, their maneuverability surpassed that of most low-tier flying beasts.

With Zhuoyue, a divine artifact, leading and warning them, they encountered two other flying beasts along the way—but safely avoided them all.

Upon reaching Eagle Peak, they continued flying eastward for about thirty li, per the intelligence.

Soon, a green lake appeared amid the black-and-gray forest, like a jade gem spilled upon the earth, clear and flawless.

Of course, Gervas was not here to admire the scenery.

The place was beautiful, but danger could strike at any moment.

He needed to locate the wounded griffins as quickly as possible.

Soon, Gervas noticed that trees on the lake's western side appeared toppled.

"Go check there!"

After flying west for two minutes with the Magic Swift Eagle squad, Gervas saw a shocking sight.

Beneath the western forest, a vast stretch of trees lay flattened, and among them lay numerous massive flying beast corpses.

These beasts fell into two types: two sixth-rank Iron Spike Vultures, each with a wingspan of nearly twenty meters.

The other type were fourth-rank griffins, with wingspans of about six meters—there were over a dozen of them.

They all shared one trait: every single one was covered in deep, gruesome wounds.

"Good heavens! Griffins—so many griffins slain here! What beast could have done this? Its size must be enormous—this is terrifying!"

"Yes, no wonder they call it the Death Mountains. Our Magic Swift Eagles are like ordinary birds beside them!"

"Look! Those griffins are still moving!"

The cries of alarm from his subordinates kept coming.

After all, unlike Gervas, they had not been told the mission's target beforehand.

The two giant beasts below were creatures they had never seen in their lives.

"Our target is here. Everyone, land with me—bind the surviving griffins as quickly as possible and prepare to extract them from the Death Mountains!"

"Remember: two Magic Swift Eagles carry one griffin. Ev Lan, you're with me!"

Gervas wasted no time—he immediately led his subordinates down to the ground.

"Yes, my lord!"

Then, the riders paired off and began binding the griffins still capable of movement.

And indeed, as the intelligence had stated, the griffins were barely alive.

At the sensation of being bound, they faintly opened their sharp eyes—wanting to struggle, yet powerless to do so.

This was normal: any griffin still able to fly would have fled with its flock.

Conversely, the flock would never abandon them.

Thus, it made Gervas's team's binding task easier.

In less than ten minutes, all six living griffins were bound.

"My lord, what about the other beast corpses? That largest beast must be at least fifth-rank, right?"

Though the Magic Swift Eagle riders were ordinary humans, they knew the value of creatures as massive as Iron Spike Vultures.

"Those are sixth-rank Iron Spike Vultures, but we don't need them—we must leave immediately!"

Gervas was naturally tempted by the remaining beast corpses, but he knew well.

If they grew greedy now, they might get trapped themselves.

The Magic Swift Eagles were already at maximum load capacity.

Even adding a hundred pounds of beast meat could jeopardize their safety.

Thus, under Gervas's urging, all Magic Swift Eagle squad members spurred their mounts into flight.

Amid a chorus of whooshes, the Magic Swift Eagles struggled to flap their wings and rise into the air.

Their flight posture was clearly unsteady.

Clearly, flying had become difficult for the Magic Swift Eagles now!

"Go!"

Gervas dared not delay—he immediately instructed Zhuoyue.

Then, Zhuoyue led the way, and the Magic Swift Eagle squad followed closely behind as Gervas's group turned back along their original route.

And this return journey would surely be more dangerous than the outbound one.

Gervas now hoped the God of Glory truly watched over them.

After all, if another vicious flying beast appeared now, they would have no chance of escape.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

As Gervas's group flew five or six li away, a roar suddenly erupted from behind.

Gervas and his team turned back in horror—and saw a massive black shape hovering above the lake they had just left.

After roaring several times, it descended into the forest below.

Clearly, Gervas and his men could no longer hope to return later.

It was no longer their turn.

"I'm not greedy—I just want to get these few griffins back safely!"

Perhaps the God of Glory had truly heard Gervas's prayer.

On the rest of the journey, though they encountered two more waves of flying beasts, they were incredibly lucky—both were Magic Swift Eagles.

And those Magic Swift Eagles, seeing Gervas's strange group, actively avoided them from afar.

When the last gray mist faded and the familiar Dragonblood Grass Canyon appeared, Gervas finally let out a breath of relief.

"Ha! We're back in our territory!"

"Ha! We're safe!"

Clearly, the Magic Swift Eagle squad had been just as tense—they now cheered wildly.

"Today, the God of Glory has blessed Stormhold! Listen up—Magic Swift Eagle squad, full speed to the castle!"

"Upon safe return, every member gets an extra mug of beer and three catties of smoked meat tonight!"

"My lord is mighty!"