Chapter 556: Mixed Breeds

"Your Majesty, when do you plan to take away the people towards the World Tree? Most of the tribesmen are ready to leave anytime," Faelyn asked upon Elizabeth's arrival. 

Elizabeth scanned the crowd behind Faelyn before she nodded, "We can leave immediately once everyone is gathered."

Shortly after, Elizabeth furrowed her brows before she spotted General Marquis Hendrick in the distance and made her way over.

"General Marquis Hendrick, have you seen Duke Ignis?" Elizabeth queried. 

"Duke Ignis, you ask?"

So much was happening, General Marquis Hendrick could not pay attention to everyone. But now that the question was raised, he realized Duke Ignis was nowhere to be found.

"Duke Ignis... he was last seen hanging in the forges," General Marquis Hendrick responded with knitted brows after some thought. 

"And where are the forges?" Elizabeth continued.

"The forges are..." General Marquis Hendrick fell silent. The forges were swallowed into the rift. 

Elizabeth only needed to read the General Marquis's expression before she understood. With a heavy face, she sighed, "I understand. Continue with the evacuation. The further away from this place the people are, the better." 

"Understood, Your Majesty," General Marquis Hendrick saluted in compliance with a somber look. 

As the retreat arrangements were being made, the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan continue to fight ferociously. 

The distant earthquakes quickly grew more intense before their humongous bodies were seen flying back out of the enormous rift. 

Boom!

The two colossal birds crashed on the field of piled-up rat carcasses further away from the Great Wall, kicking up dirt and ashes as they tumbled together down a slight slope. 

Roar!

Kree! 

The two competed in a contest of both strength and frenzied cries, seeing who was stronger, fiercer, and more domineering of the two!

Wounds covered their bodies from top to bottom with fresh blood gushing out like fountains while they tore at each other's necks with sharp beaks and mighty claws. 

Shh~!

Fresh golden blood splashed onto the ground and sizzled with steam from the high heat while dim crimson blood froze the area. 

Even so, the vitality of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan remained strong like mighty dragons; unyielding, and seemingly unending!

The two were caught in a deadlock with near-equal strengths as they continued to clash before their widespread wings flapped furiously and took them back into the skies.

Just when people thought the two creatures were gone, smaller versions of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fell out of the skies and crashed into the ground with booms like heavy meteor showers.

Back in the mesosphere layer, Leon weaved through the air with Duna in his arms as they continued to evade the numerous Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans. 

"There's so many of them here. Forget about a thousand; there's got to be at least a few thousand of them!" Leon furrowed his brows in question, "Just where did they come from?" 

"There's a lot of things about the Wildlands that we still don't know about. The Human Domain only occupies a small corner of the Desolate Continent after all. Still, I wasn't expecting visits from two types of legendary Divine Beasts," Duna spoke with interest in the topic. 

"It's true that we only occupy a small corner of the continent..." Leon nodded while stepping in the head of a Three-Legged Golden Crow before taking off, "However, these creatures aren't Divine Beasts."

"They aren't? But their appearance closely matches what is described in the stories of Mythical Divine Beasts," Duna said with a crumpled expression. 

"Closely resembling doesn't mean that they are," Leon smiled lightly before swiping a few drops of golden blood off his face to study, "There's no doubt that these two creatures have Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan ancestry, but their bloodline has been diluted over the years. They're nothing compared to real Divine Beasts." 

After all, how can Divine Beasts be considered Divine Beasts if their strengths measure up to Divine Practitioners in the Divine Origin Realm at the very least?—which was the equivalent of Early-stage Celestials.

"If you look carefully, these Three-Legged Golden Crows don't all look the same. Traces of eagles, hawks, and features of other birds can be seen on their bodies. These Three-Legged Golden Crows' only distinctive traits are their three legs and golden flames," Leon added. 

His words quickly made Duna frowned with confusion, "Isn't that enough to call them Three-Legged Golden Crows? Why are you saying that they are not?"

"When did I say that they aren't Three-Legged Golden Crows? They can be considered a mixed breed of Three-Legged Golden Crows. I only said they are not Divine Beasts—at least not yet. Same for the Blue Luans." Leon grinned.

"Huh? Of course, I knew that. I was just seeing whether you knew the difference," Duna said with a frown, not wanting to admit her lack of knowledge.

Leon smiled wryly at her dishonesty.

However, after falling silent for a moment, Duna could not help but ask, "So, what's the difference between these mixed breeds of Three-Legged Golden Crows and a real Three-Legged Golden Crow Divine Beast?"

"Real Three-Legged Golden Crow Divine Beasts should at least have strengths that rival Celestials, if not greater. That being said, these mixed breeds do have a chance at becoming Divine Beasts, no matter how slim their chances are," Leon explained wryly as Duna found herself engrossed in his knowledge.

Whoosh~!

Leon and Duna were suddenly blown away by the wind current of a nearby Blue Luan's mighty wing flap as it shot past them before Leon twisted and flipped onto the cold back of another Blue Luan.

"Whoops, that was a close call," Leon softly exclaimed.

Duna remained unconcerned that they nearly crashed into a Blue Luan as she asked, "What are the exact conditions for them to Divine Beasts?"

"I thought you already know about these things?" Leon asked slyly with wry amusement.

Duna's eager look quickly changed to a frown before she spat stubbornly, "Just shut up and answer the question!"

"So, do I shut up, or do I answer the question? Which one is i—Ahem, okay, fine. Just don't snap, okay?" Leon quickly gave up on teasing Duna after sensing the surrounding air around her became dangerously cold.