Chapter 210

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Chapter 210: Between Monsters

Jesse looked at the gryphon, placed the bag and cloak aside, realizing that damaging either of them would be a financial loss he couldn’t bear.

He confidently walked up to the monster, and the gryphon, upon seeing him, stopped barking and instead slowly folded its wings, making a deep rumbling sound like a car engine starting up.

Mimicking Greed, he tossed the magic wand aside.

Would you fight a wild beast almost as tall as you without any weapons? It feels like acting foolishly and seeking trouble.

Unexpectedly, the gryphon walked to the side of the magic wand, picked it up with its mouth, and threw it over here. Jesse caught the magic wand, and the gryphon shook its head in a somewhat arrogant manner… Could this creature really look down upon itself?

Greed couldn’t help but chuckle and said, "It thinks you are too weak and doesn’t want to bully you."

Jesse quickly glanced at Greed, then focused on the gryphon. Even though he felt a bit aggrieved, he also knew that such a huge monster, if determined to kill him, could easily take him down with one swift strike.

Having a wand as a shield, especially a reliable demon magic wand, was much stronger than fighting bare-handed.

But if it came down to a fight to the death, he could use Shadow Magic… whether it was Fear or Weakness Spell, it seemed like this beast wouldn’t stand a chance against any of them.

However, did he really need to use these spells? Just to win? Jesse understood that in order to truly impress this gryphon, he needed to defeat it with pure physical strength, even though the chances of success were not very high.

But if he truly unleashed the power of shadows, not only could it provoke the creature’s hatred, but it might also enrage all the gryphons in the forest. Perhaps even Greed would see him as someone who would do anything to win.

Jesse aimed the magic wand at the monster in front of him, preparing for a confrontation. The gryphon, seeing that Jesse wasn’t attempting to cast spells but was treating the wand as a weapon, let out two excited cries.

The battle suddenly began. The creature lifted its upper body and flapped its wings loudly. Jesse was almost blinded by the dust and leaves stirred up by the flapping, as the gryphon took the opportunity to pounce straight at him!

This cheap trick was as dirty as throwing lime. Jesse had overestimated this guy’s fighting spirit a bit.

But Jesse, who was used to street fights since childhood, would not be easily caught off guard. He swiftly dodged to the side upon hearing the roaring wind, narrowly avoiding the gryphon’s attack.

He aimed his magic wand at the shadow in the dust and stabbed forward, feeling resistance against something solid.

With a forceful push, Jesse caught the gryphon off guard. The creature let out a cry as it staggered to the side.

However, the gryphon quickly regained its balance. It swiped at the magic wand with its claws, using the assistance of its wings to lunge forward in an attempt to capture Jesse. Just as the claws were about to pass by his eyes, Jesse dodged, narrowly avoiding being blinded.

The gryphon’s momentum was strong, and in an instant, it had leaped in front. Its back exposed, Jesse prepared to strike at its hind legs with another blow, but was unexpectedly hit in the neck by the gryphon’s long tail from somewhere.

The hit felt sharper than a whip on a sheep, leaving Jesse dizzy and in intense pain from his neck to his chest.

The gryphon leaped back and viciously bit, only to be blocked by Jesse’s magic wand just in time.

The monster bit onto the magic wand tightly and Jesse thought it was all over when the wand was thrown away.

But as he stared at the magic wand, thinking that, suddenly, the wand was dragged back by some strange force and inserted directly into the ground beside Jesse!

He reached out and grabbed the magic wand, and the light from the dark gem on top of the wand pierced through Gorefiend’s cloak!

The gryphon, frightened, leaped away and barked frenziedly at Jesse. Jesse realized that the magic wand, possibly triggered by some shadow energy to return to him, had made the gryphon unhappy.

Did the magic wand really see itself as its master?

In fact, Jesse had realized this even before Gorefiend failed to take it with his magic. Today, he finally understood what this bloodstained connection meant.

Despite some excitement, he still put the magic wand aside.

Jesse looked back at the gryphon, with his hands empty, showing that he would not use Shadow Magic again.

However, the gryphon, panting heavily, issued a deep warning growl, clearly getting irritated.

It suddenly flapped its wings and leaped towards Jesse, trying to grab him with its claws. Jesse was alert and quickly dodged between its claws, then moved around to the side.

The large and clumsy creature looked down at itself, unaware of where Jesse had gone.

Jesse took the opportunity to grab the gryphon’s side wing to jump onto its back. The gryphon yelled and quickly turned around, flapping its wings to shake Jesse off!

The wings flapped too strong for Jesse to hold on. Jesse was not trained as a Gryphon Rider and was not prepared to fight such a big monster. He was caught off guard and thrown off.

The gryphon did not stop attacking like it did with Greed. It flapped its wings and charged straight at Jesse!

Jesse struggled to get up from the messy pile of leaves. The gryphon charged at him, but Jesse managed to dodge the attack and narrowly avoided falling by jumping aside. The gryphon noticed Jesse’s imbalance, flapped its wings hard, creating a powerful wind that almost knocked him down. Seizing this chance, the gryphon leaped forward and pushed Jesse to the ground, finally succeeding.

Jesse fell into the mud, realizing that if it were a stone ground, he could have cracked his head.

The enraged gryphon trembled with fury, let out a fierce cry, and struck with its sharp claws. Jesse quickly grabbed its claws with both hands.

Jesse exerted all his strength to prevent the claws from scratching his face and causing blindness or disfigurement. The gryphon’s claws were as big as his chest, each hook resembling an exaggerated curved blade.

However, the two friends struggled for a while, and the gryphon soon stopped growling. Jesse also didn’t feel its pressure anymore.

It stared at Jesse for a while, flapped its wings and leaped away. Jesse was blown by the wind, with dust, dirt, and leaves in his nose, mouth, and eyes. He coughed and sneezed for a while before finally standing up with a sense of direction.

He was truly exhausted now.

But the gryphon seemed to stop attacking. It made a huffing sound and took several steps back.

Jesse brushed off the dust from his body and face, breathing in the fresh air without the gryphon’s smell. "What is it planning to do?"

"She is convinced," Greed said. "The gryphon just wants to know one thing, Jesse, if you can be a companion. As long as it can trust you… it will let you ride on its back without the need to win in a fight."

"You should have said that earlier…" Jesse said wearily.

Greed explained, crossing his arms. "If I had told you earlier, could you still have fought her with all your strength? Gryphons are combative creatures. If you don’t put in effort, she will get angry."

"Honestly, this is the first time I have seen a human who can match strength with a gryphon, Jesse. Of course, I have no doubt that great warriors like Danath Trollbane or Anduin Lothar could easily defeat this gryphon barehanded. But you are still too young, and you probably haven’t had any rigorous strength training, right? Or is it that the people of Lordaeron can unleash such potential in times of danger? Like inheriting the bloodline of the ancient Alterac warriors for thousands of years…"

"I suspect it is related to that black dragon," Jesse said, resting his chin on his knees. "When I rescued you from that dragon in the tower, the energy I drew out may have affected me as well, not just spat out completely."

"The blood of the black dragon?" Greed asked, surprised. "Why didn’t you mention this before?"

"I’m not sure," Jesse said. "But just like you said, I haven’t undergone any special intense training, nor have I strengthened my physical strength through any other means. If it was me two months ago, I would never believe I could arm wrestle with this gryphon."

"Ah… if that’s the case," Greed nodded. "I’ve also heard stories of people seeking dragon blood for more power, but the stories always end up finding the dragon blood, drinking it, and then dying. None of them have a good ending. Maybe it’s because you always use shadow magic, so you’re particularly compatible with black dragon blood."

Greed probably heard stories created or embellished by ancestors, to persuade everyone not to blindly pursue various evil paths for power, so they deliberately show some irreparable terrible consequences.

But drinking dragon blood and dying is definitely not an exaggeration.

Jesse read in the alchemy book at the Wizard’s Sanctum that dragon blood cannot be directly consumed without special processing, especially black dragon blood, which would cause a very tragic death for ordinary people who drink it.

Even drinking the blood of other dragons is likely to be fatal. Even if one miraculously survives, severe lifelong effects or disabilities will be left behind.

The creation of the Wyrmkin Legion by the dragons also requires a special initiation ceremony, rather than allowing unprepared mortals who are being promoted to drink blood directly.

The book says only the fish in the wetlands can drink dragon blood without any problems. They have evolved a special stomach that can digest Red Dragon blood.

Jesse used dark magic to extract energy from black dragon blood. If he drank it directly, the outcome wouldn’t be good.

He brushed off the dirt on himself and said, "I’m not sure. If I had known, I would have been more cruel and taken more, instead of stopping when the dragon fell."

Greed asked, "If you keep extracting from black dragons, will you eventually turn into a real black dragon?"

Jesse glanced at Greed and thought that if he kept doing that, he might end up as a mindless monster following the black dragon’s orders, and then get locked up by Nefarian as a raid boss for players to defeat.

Of course, it was too early to tell Greed everything right now.

This reminded him of the dragon dream… In the dream, whether it was Nefarian or Deathwing himself, they represented the possibility that his mind might be influenced by dragon blood.

Right now, Jesse didn’t feel any admiration or emotions towards black dragons, but it didn’t mean that things wouldn’t change if he kept absorbing it.

He could only say, "It’s not like there are many black dragons lining up for me to draw from. I almost lost my life with just this one."

Greed smiled and said, "Anyway, Jesse, with your strength, you might become as good as a Gryphon Rider with some practice."

"Is it possible for me to become a real Gryphon Rider?" Jesse asked.

Greed replied, "No, Aerie Peak only trains dwarves."

Jesse replied, "Well, maybe in the future they’ll train for money. Tell me, would you train someone for one gold coin?"

With determination, Greed said, "Absolutely not!"

Jesse coldly approached the gryphon and touched its feathers. The gryphon made a sound but did not move away this time.

Do you acknowledge my strength, or do you trust that I won’t use dark magic to harm you?

If only this gryphon could speak.

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