Hunting a Thunderhawk

In the northern mountains, the Empty Vines were bearing fruit, and it wouldn't be long before they matured. Moment Queen had made plans to send out subordinates for their retrieval.

But now, she had been claimed by Han Sen and robbed of her ability to command super creatures. She had no choice but to ask Han Sen to collect the fruit on her behalf.

"Do others know and wait on the maturing of this Empty Fruit?" Han Sen asked Moment Queen.

"There are many super creatures hungry for it, yes. In the northernmost reaches of these lands, the Devil-Blood King resides. He will most certainly come, for one," Moment Queen answered.

"Didn't you just tell me you can only absorb Life Geno Essences that are aligned with the element of your being? What is the Empty Fruit? And why do so many super creatures and spirits vie for it?" Han Sen frowned.

"Plant-born Life Geno Essences are non-elemental. Many super creatures and spirits are therefore attracted to them; the Empty Fruit is just one of many that can be found across this world," Moment Queen said.

"Oh." Han Sen was delighted to hear this, actually. Obtaining such fruit would undoubtedly benefit him; they did not provide him with geno points, but the body-strengthening properties such fruit had yielded him were of great benefit in the past.

"Tell me, which are the most powerful super creatures you'd suspect us to face-off against there? And that Devil-Blood King; what manner of super creature subordinates does he command?" Han Sen wanted as much intel as he could get before wandering off there.

Moment Queen proceeded to give Han Sen as much information as she could, and when she was done, he frowned. There were a lot of powerful super creatures suspected to be there, but above all, the strength of Devil-Blood King was higher than Moment Queen's.

After all, Moment Queen had been demoted and returned to the Second God's Sanctuary. She had only been here for a decade, and the collective of super creatures she had assembled was limited.

Devil-Blood King's situation was different. He had been here and developed his following over the course of thousands of years. He would inevitably have many more super creatures than Moment Queen previously had.

However, it would be unlikely for Devil-Blood King to bring even half of his super creatures as he wasn't the sort to leave his shelter unprotected. His retrieval of the Empty Fruit was not guaranteed because of this.

"Well, if this is how things will be, let's go take a look." Han Sen decided to go sneak a look at the fruit. Once he was there, he'd determine the viability of obtaining the fruit. If he deemed things to be okay, he'd go for it. If things looked to be too hot to handle, he'd return without risking it.

Han Sen, with the silver fox, left the shelter under the care of Little Black and Big Black.

Little Black's wounds were still bad, and it had to remain there to recover, anyway. Since it had to stay at the shelter, Big Black wouldn't be willing to leave its young. Therefore, Han Sen decided to leave them behind to guard the shelter during his absence.

Before Han Sen left, he asked Moment Queen if there were any thunder-element super creatures in the nearby vicinity.

After hearing of Moment Queen's method of evolution, he began to suspect the reason for the silver fox's general disinterest in the Life Geno Essences he had collected thus far was because of their elements. Perhaps the silver fox would want one if it was the right element.

The silver fox was quite powerful now, and Han Sen had grown attached to the little blighter after having him for so long. Han Sen was really hoping the silver fox could also accompany him when he reached the Third God's Sanctuary.

In regards to the unreliable little fairy, he settled on helping her when he could. But he wasn't willing to go out of his way to aid her purposely.

Moment Queen, after a moment's thought, recalled a nearby Thunderhawk. It was not far, but its flying abilities were extremely powerful and felling it was sure to be no easy feat.

Moment Queen once tried to capture the Thunderhawk, but her attempt was a failure and the creature managed to escape.

The only subordinate she had that could fly was the black tiger.

Han Sen and his followers were different, though. He, the little angel, and the silver fox could fly; even Moment Queen could. With such a collective, the chance of securing the Thunderhawk was relatively high.

Han Sen decided to kill the Thunderhawk before proceeding onwards to collect the fruit. The silver fox had just evolved, and it saved Han Sen's life right after, so he wanted to reward him with a Life Geno Essence. And, of course, to boost his strength with further nutritious goodies.

No creatures sought to impede their travel, even across those mountain ranges that were notorious for the population of high-class creatures. The silver fox still frightened them off.

And with Moment Queen's presence at the head of the band of adventurers, it would be folly for any creature to try their luck.

When they arrived at the correct mountain, it wasn't long before Han Sen caught sight of a big, green hawk in the distance. It was flying around just beneath the clouds, surveying the lands below for prey.

Han Sen immediately summoned his little angel and let the silver fox and Moment Queen surround it in the sky. Bringing out the scallop shell, Han Sen extended an invitation to the fairy to join them. The fairy, however, continued to sleep and pretend she didn't hear anything.

Not wanting to bother with her any further, he returned the scallop and took off into the skies to join his pets and companions in battle.

The silver fox appeared to be quite excited. A thunderous lightning shone, and it transformed into a Thunderfox. He hopped towards the Thunderhawk, while the little angel and Moment Queen flanked it from behind.

The Thunderhawk attempted to fly away and escape them. It moved extremely quickly, and its passing was accompanied with green lightning like a moving storm.

But unlike its previous encounters, the Thunderhawk's challengers on this day were actually faster. That was especially true of the silver fox. Resistant to the hawk's lightning, the silver fox was quick to catch up and leap atop it. The green lightning that surrounded the hawk was immediately snuffed out by the silver lightning.

With the little angel and Moment Queen taking its rear, the hawk quickly found itself in a poor situation. Plumes of feathers rained down, accompanied by a downpouring of its blood. It cried aloud in agony, its echoes like a chorus across the mountainous landscape.

When the opportunity presented itself, Han Sen fired two bolts in quick succession. Once they found their target, the silver fox was able to tear off the hawk's head effortlessly.

A green lightning-like Life Geno Essence fell all the way to the ground. The silver fox immediately swallowed it and licked its lips.

A flicker of green lightning appeared to spark across the silver fox's fur, but then, it was gone. The only visible effect it had on the silver fox, from what Han Sen could see, was that its coat had become shinier.

"I wonder how many thunder geno essences it needs, before it can proceed to the Third God's Sanctuary?" Han Sen thought.

There was no way Han Sen would be able to eat a Life Geno Essence like that.

After killing the Thunderhawk, Han Sen passed leadership back over to Moment Queen so she could take them to the Empty Vine.

The mountain ranges were massive, and the rocky geography reached on for thousands of miles. They flew for eight days before arriving at the valley she said the fruit would reside in.

Before entering the valley, however, they saw two scary creatures fighting ahead of them.

"Why is he here?" Han Sen looked surprised. He knew one of the two frightening creatures that fought.