บท 24: Section 25: The Magic Beasts on the Island Are Man-made
บรรณาธิการ: Henyee Translations
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The afternoon meeting was held inside the tent.
Four people attended.
Zhenjin, Zi Di, Cang Xu, and Lan Zao.
Several animal hide maps were spread out on the ground.
The largest one was placed in the center.
Zhenjin pointed at this largest map and said, "This is what Zi Di combined from all the maps we had."
Everyone focused their attention on this map.
North was up, south was down, west was left, and east was right.
On the northeast end of the animal hide map, an anchor was depicted.
Zhenjin pointed at this anchor mark, "This is where your exploration team set off, and it's also the beach where the bow of the Pig Kiss ran aground previously. If nothing has changed, there are still fifty to sixty people here, under the command of the first officer of the Pig Kiss."
On the southeast end of the animal hide map, there was a cross.
Zhenjin's finger moved to the cross, "This is where Zi Di and I, along with the chairman, landed. There are also three landing boats on this beach."
From both the cross and the anchor, a winding route extended out. Along these routes, at each interval, there were words or pictures marked.
These two routes represented the paths taken by Zi Di's and Cang Xu's exploration teams.
However, these two routes did not converge but ended abruptly midway. The center of this large map was a vast blank space.
Zhenjin then took out two smaller maps and placed them in the blank space of the large map.
One map depicted a desert landscape, and the other showed a mountainous and forested terrain.
The focus was on the latter.
The mountain and forest map illustrated prominent locations such as the mine where the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear resided, the Spider Forest, and the mountain spring.
The two routes representing the exploration teams converged at the mountain spring.
Zhenjin's finger moved to the mountain spring mark, "We are here now, and our goal is to get back here."
He moved his finger to the northeast part of the large map, to the anchor drawing.
Everyone had no objections.
This island prohibited low-level magic and fighting energy and housed numerous fierce beasts unimaginable, making it essential to unite all available forces for survival.
External rescue was remote and unpredictable; rebuilding a ship and setting sail again was more reliable.
Constructing and operating a sea vessel could not succeed with just a few people.
"The difficulties before us are evident, there are two," Zhenjin continued, "The first is the fierce beasts along the way. The second is the mutation of this terrain. What do you think?"
Lan Zao replied solemnly, "Master, if magic and fighting energy weren't prohibited here, our strength would greatly increase. But now, to deal with these strange and fierce beasts, we can only fight them with our flesh and blood. Nevertheless, Huang Zao and I are your swords and shields, wherever your gaze falls, there will be the clash of swords."
Lan Zao expressed his loyalty, Zhenjin nodded, very satisfied with this attitude, "Then I look forward to your performance."
Zi Di seemed to keenly sense something in these words, she looked at Lan Zao, puzzled, "Your statement is a bit strange. If low-level magic and fighting energy weren't prohibited here, those fierce beasts might use various magic-like abilities too. We would be stronger, but they would also be more threatening."
"According to my speculation, it wouldn't be like this, Lady Zi Di," Cang Xu began, "I think the magical beasts on this island cannot use any magic-like abilities."
"Oh? Why do you have such a judgment?" Zi Di continued to ask.
Cang Xu did not directly answer but looked at Zhenjin, "May I ask, my lord, in the magical beasts' corpses you vanquished, did you find any demon crystals?"
Zhenjin shook his head, "So far, not a single demon crystal has been found."
This was clearly abnormal.
Cang Xu nodded, "Although we have not defeated any Silver Level fierce beasts, we have obtained many Bronze and Black Iron Level magical beasts' corpses."
"But we have never seen a single demon crystal."
"Why is that?"
"The formation of a demon crystal occurs when a magical beast lives long-term in an environment filled with elements, with continual growth and consumption, accumulating magic power until a qualitative change occurs and crystallizes into a demon crystal. A demon crystal not only stores most of the magical power within the magical beast but also helps stabilize and utilize that power."
"Generally, the stronger the magical beast, the higher the quality of the demon crystal inside it."
Neither Zhenjin nor Zi Di had any objection to Cang Xu's explanation. This was common knowledge.
Cang Xu then shared his opinion, "I believe the magical beasts on this island have chaotic magic power within them. They cannot coordinate it, making it impossible for this power to become stable and orderly. Because of this, they cannot control their magic power, leaving it in disarray, and thus, demon crystals cannot form."
Zi Di slightly nodded but also slightly shook her head, "Chaotic magic power indeed cannot form demon crystals, but this is just one possibility. The key is, Mr. Cang Xu, how do you judge that the magic power inside these beasts is chaotic?"
This caused Zi Di to doubt.
Zi Di herself was a Black Iron Level Mage, but unable to wield magic here, thus she could not investigate the magical state within the beasts.
Cang Xu was just an ordinary person, not even a Magic Apprentice. What method did he have to measure it?
Facing Zi Di's skepticism and questioning, Cang Xu remained calm and composed, "I've deduced it."
Then, the old scholar put forth a new viewpoint, "First, I believe the magical beasts on this island are not naturally born. They are artificial."
"Man-made magical beasts?!" Zhenjin and Zi Di exchanged glances, both showing expressions of astonishment.
As for Lan Zao on the side, he probably had heard Cang Xu's argument long ago, showing no surprise at all.
"So how do you determine that these beasts are not naturally generated but artificially created?" Zhenjin asked.
Cang Xu slowly explained, "Since arriving on the island, I've dissected many magical beasts and found that although they have stable cycles and tightly cooperating organs, as if naturally so, delving deeper reveals they are not natural."
Zi Di frowned slightly, pondering Cang Xu's words, "Not natural?"
"Yes." The old scholar nodded, his gaze profound, "They lack a natural rhythm. Don't you feel that these beasts seem pieced together?"
Zi Di mused, "I once handled the corpse of a Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, a fierce beast at the Silver Level, killed by Lord Zhenjin. It had a monkey's tail, a bear's body, an ape's hands, but on the tips of its fingers grew hard, long iron claws."
"At first glance, it seemed this Monkey-tailed Brown Bear was pieced together from an ape, a monkey, and a bear. But internally, its skeletal structure was very reasonable. It had two hearts, and the other organs perfectly supported its large frame."
"I am a low-level Mage, and in my studies, I devoted the most energy to alchemy. I've collected many materials and understood the structures of most living creatures. Although it was my first time seeing such a beast, I believed its physique was very perfect, not a crippled, mutated, or useless body structure. What's unnatural about it?"
Zhenjin's heart slightly skipped a beat.
Zi Di mentioned the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, which reminded him of the mutation in his own hands.
Under dire circumstances, his hands suddenly transformed into claws like those of a Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, delivering a fatal blow to the eight-legged spider.
Afterward, his hands reverted to their original form.
For some reason he couldn't explain, Zhenjin chose to conceal this incident, not telling Zi Di.
"Zi Di brought up this matter now, to openly display my strength," thought Zhenjin, realizing Zi Di's intention.
Indeed, the next moment he saw Lan Zao's eyes widen, looking at him in admiration.
Lan Zao sincerely praised, "Master, your power is truly remarkable!"
"Lord Zhenjin, your natural talent is astonishing. Your bravery and achievements will be widely celebrated," Cang Xu agreed, then turned his gaze back to Zi Di.
"Lady Zi Di, you are absolutely right. I fully trust your judgment; their life forms are indeed very reasonable and stable."
"I lack the qualifications of a Mage and have never engaged in alchemy, but fortunately, I read many books. Some of these books detailed the histories of various noble families. These histories describe how certain noble families rose to power, managed their territories, and their early pioneering history, essentially combating the environment and organizing nature through human effort."
"The accounts often mention clearing out gnoll thieves, fending off beast tides, hunting wolf packs near villages, and driving wild boars out of farmlands. To guide the family's descendants, the sagacious authors left numerous detailed illustrations, meticulously recording the forms and habits of wild and magical beasts, as well as the most effective ways to defend against and kill them."
"Because of these descriptions, I benefited greatly, and by contemplating with my dim intellect, I arrived at several shallow but interesting conclusions. This helped me sense the unnaturalness of the fierce beasts on this island."
"I found that generally, beasts with horns are herbivores. Their horns serve as their principal defensive weapons against predators."
"On the other hand, predators have longer, sharper teeth, stronger muscles, and excel in running, especially short-distance bursts. Some even have pads under their claws to silently approach their prey."
At this point, Cang Xu slightly changed his tone.
"Not long ago, before Huang Zao found us, we were in a hilly area with sparse forests, cold temperatures, and occasional snowflakes carried by the wind. At the end of our exploration, we caught a glimpse of a Golden Level magical beast."
"It was a stag, with enormous antlers made of white bone, branching like a tree. The stag ate meat, not grass, and a pair of massive white wings adorned its back. I privately named it the White Bone Feathered Deer."
"Though it was a fleeting sight, I believe its bone and flesh structure would undoubtedly be very reasonable, able to perfectly and stably support its daily activities."
"But it was not natural. Look, its physique doesn't suit flight; its huge wings at best enable gliding. It's a carnivore, residing at the top of the food chain, preying on other animals, yet it has antlers. The antlers, meant for defense, hinder attack, pursuit, and stealth."
"Take, for instance, the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear that Lord Zhenjin killed. When monkeys swing between trees, their tails maintain their balance and stabilize their direction mid-jump. But does a bear need this? It's very heavy; what tree can support it? Does it frequently leap? Does its monkey tail seem redundant?"
"Finally, the ape's hands, resembling human hands, differ significantly from the claws of many predators because of their thumbs, advantageous for grasping branches during tree-to-tree movement. Yet, in the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear's hands, these hands grew sharp claws. Isn't this redundant?"
"That's what I mean by unnatural."
Seeing the others deep in thought, Cang Xu continued.
"The primary need of life is survival. Nature is harsh and unforgiving; beasts that survive and propagate often possess extraordinary survival abilities, usually provided by their organs."
"Consider the mole. Its sturdy claws and teeth enable it to burrow efficiently, though its vision is nearly nonexistent. It doesn't need vision in pitch-black soil. Instead, its nose is highly sensitive."
"This is natural life. It has its strengths and weaknesses, the advantages and disadvantages unified, finding a suitable niche in nature's survival competition."
"But let's examine the beasts on this island. They are excessively powerful. Their structures are stable, but internally conflicted. They don't have clear roles in nature."
"Like the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, does it need a monkey's tail? No."
"Similarly, does the White Bone Feathered Deer need wide antlers? No. Its heavy antlers hinder its hunt."
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