bestfiction Chapter 706 Duck Vulture?
Chapter 706 Duck Vulture?
The griffin's figure was like a black lightning bolt, carrying the enormous kinetic energy of its descent, as it charged towards the control panel high above.
With each flap of its outstretched wings, it stirs up a strong gust of air, causing the instruments on the control panel to sway slightly.
The sharp claws gleamed with a chilling light in the dim space. When they were only a few meters away from the control panel, the ferocious aura, a mixture of wildness and ferocity, was already palpable.
At this critical moment, a golden screen appeared out of thin air without warning, blocking the griffin's path with perfect precision.
The screen's edge shimmered with a soft halo, yet it radiated an unusually solid energy glow. The griffin's charge was too swift; it had no time to slow down, and its hard head slammed into the golden screen.
A dull thud resounded, like a heavy object crashing onto thick metal, causing the surrounding air to tremble. The golden screen rippled with the impact, yet remained unbroken, steadily blocking the griffin's charge.
The griffin was violently thrown back by the enormous reaction force. Its massive body instantly lost its balance, flapped its wings wildly in the air a few times, and then crashed heavily to the ground below, stirring up a cloud of dust.
The operator on the platform, whose heart had been in his throat, suddenly relaxed the moment the golden screen blocked the griffin. A thin layer of sweat had unknowingly seeped out from his back.
At the same time, the St. John statues that stood quietly beside the control panel suddenly lit up with a soft golden light, and then several small luminous figures appeared on the surface of the statues.
They hovered in mid-air, their tiny hands outstretched forward, and beams of energy continuously flowed from their palms, like fine golden threads, rapidly weaving and entwining in the air to form a huge energy net that completely enveloped the entire portal and the griffins that were still charging around.
The resulting energy shield was a translucent gold color, with a slowly moving pale gold halo flowing across its surface, like a flowing galaxy.
The griffins, which were originally wild and restless, became even more agitated and irritable after realizing that they were bound by the energy shield.
They frantically scratched at the energy shield with their sharp, knife-like claws, making a piercing "sizzling" sound; they rammed it violently with their hard heads, each impact causing the energy shield to ripple in circles; they even pecked and bit with their sharp beaks, trying to tear a gap in it.
A series of piercing sounds echoed in the enclosed space, but no matter how frantically they exerted their strength, the energy shield only trembled slightly, firmly trapping them inside without a single crack, proving to be indestructible.
Stephen, standing nearby, looked down at the bound griffin and let out a long sigh of relief. His chest heaved violently, and his face showed obvious relief at surviving a disaster.
Just then, the magic mirror on the control panel suddenly lit up on its own. After a faint halo flowed across the mirror surface, Flora's figure clearly appeared.
Her expression remained calm as usual, without the slightest sign of panic, only her speaking speed was slightly faster than usual:
"The Netherworld portal must be shut down immediately. These griffins rely on the Netherworld energy continuously flowing from the portal to maintain their form. Once the portal is closed, the energy supply will be completely cut off, and they will slowly dissipate."
John quickly considered the current situation in his mind. There were quite a few griffins trapped inside the energy shield. Although they were temporarily restrained, maintaining such a large-scale energy shield for an extended period would inevitably consume a huge amount of magical energy, and no one knew how long the energy could last.
Moreover, the other end of the portal is the unknown Netherworld, and no one can predict what more powerful and dangerous creatures might rush out of the portal later.
Flora's suggestion is indeed the safest approach at present, and the one that can best avoid further losses.
He nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to the operator waiting beside him. Just as he was about to order the operator to activate the portal's closing procedure, an extremely abrupt sound suddenly came clearly from inside the portal.
"Gaga gaga gaga gaga..."
It was a crisp, loud, yet somewhat strange and incongruous duck call, which stood out prominently amidst the griffins' deep roars, like a completely different melody suddenly inserted into the noisy chaos, reaching everyone's ears with exceptional clarity.
John suddenly stopped, a look of obvious confusion on his face.
As the ducks continued to quack, the previously stable golden screen in the center of the portal suddenly began to fluctuate violently.
The once smooth wall of light became distorted and warped, its surface rippling with irregular waves, like the surface of a lake tossed with pebbles. Zhou
The surrounding energy fluctuations also became extremely violent. On the energy metering device next to the control panel, the water column used to display the energy intensity shook wildly, and a large number of bubbles rose on the surface of the water, almost breaking through the glass tube. The operator's face turned pale.
"The portal's energy is unstable! The fluctuations have exceeded the safe range!"
The operator stared intently at the measuring device, his voice trembling with obvious panic, and hurriedly reported to John and Stephen.
John's attention instantly refocused on the portal. He could clearly feel an energy far larger and more powerful than the previous griffins rapidly approaching from the other side of the portal.
The next second, a huge black shadow slowly squeezed out from the violently fluctuating light wall of the portal.
First, it revealed the outline of an enormous and astonishing body, with black fur faintly visible in the dim light. Then, its broad wings and thick limbs gradually appeared, and the entire figure slowly became clear under the influence of the Netherworld energy.
This suddenly appearing monster is somewhat similar in appearance to the previous griffins, with an exaggeratedly strong body, broad wings covered with thick fur, and thick limbs supporting its enormous weight.
However, it is more than twice the size of an ordinary griffin, standing there like a small mountain, exuding a sense of visual oppression.
Its fur is not the brownish-yellow color commonly seen on griffins, but a pure black without a single blemish, like fine obsidian, gleaming with a delicate luster in the dim light, with each hair clearly visible.
But what truly struck John as utterly absurd and shocking was the monster's head. Instead of the sharp, fierce head of a griffin, it had a round, black duck-like head.
Its flat, slightly open bill reveals small, pale white teeth, and its beady black eyes hold a hint of bewilderment and innocence, creating a stark contrast with its fierce and powerful body, leaving one momentarily dazed.
"Quack, quack, quack!"
After the duck-headed griffin completely stepped out of the portal, it shook its black fur to remove the small amount of Netherworld energy dust that had adhered to it. Then it shook its round duck head and let out another loud and clear duck quack.
The cry pierced through the energy shield and echoed throughout the enclosed space.
The cry seemed to carry a special kind of majesty and command. The griffins, which had been frantically charging and roaring inside the energy shield, suddenly fell silent as if a pause button had been pressed after hearing the duck-like call.
They all stopped moving, stiffly turned around, and slowly lowered their heads towards the duck-headed griffins. Their massive bodies lay on the ground, their wings folded to their sides, their posture extremely respectful, even showing a hint of fear. Gone was their previous ferocity and savagery; they were like docile lambs.
John stared at the bizarre scene before him, and a bizarre thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Could this duck-headed griffin be a lump of coal?
Although its appearance has changed dramatically, John is still very familiar with that duck-headed guy.
John shouted down:
"Ball!"
The moment the words were spoken, the duck-headed griffins below suddenly stopped all movement.
It slowly raised its round duck head, and its small, black bean-like eyes precisely locked onto John on the control panel.
"Gah?"
Then, it opened its flat duck beak, let out a long yawn, revealing its neatly arranged little teeth, looking lazy and content, completely devoid of the suffocating sense of oppression it had when it first appeared, still the silly little guy.
It really is a lump of coal.
John breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't understand how the lump of coal that had been floating around him could suddenly disappear and then emerge from the Netherworld portal in this form.
In the magic mirror on the control panel, Flora's image remained still. She looked at the duck-headed griffin below, her brows slightly furrowed, lost in deep thought, seemingly analyzing the reasons behind this phenomenon.
After a long while, Flora slowly spoke:
"It's possible that when the portal was activated, the energy of the Netherworld erupted instantly, forming a small energy vortex. Coal Ball itself is a creature of the Netherworld, and its body is composed of Netherworld energy. It was most likely that it was directly sucked into this energy vortex. The energy concentration deep within the Netherworld is far greater than that of the human world. During the process of being sucked in, it absorbed a large amount of pure Netherworld energy, which is why it underwent such a transformation."
John looked down at the coal balls flying excitedly around in the confined space, their huge wings flapping and creating gusts of wind that scattered dust from the ground.
He suddenly realized that the coal briquette had become so big that the exit of this confined space could not accommodate it. How was it supposed to get out?
As if sensing John's thoughts precisely, the coal ball that was hovering low in the air suddenly stopped and looked up sharply at the top of the control panel.
A flicker of excitement flashed in its beady black eyes. Then, it bent its legs slightly, exerted its strength, and leaped towards the top. Its massive body shot upwards like an arrow, passing directly through the golden energy shield that trapped the griffin. The energy shield seemed to offer no resistance to it, as if it were passing through a thin veil.
Immediately afterwards, its hard head slammed directly into the hard material on top, and with a deafening roar, a huge hole was punched through the top.