Chapter 114: Tail Following.
The Poison Demon Bird trembled with a shiver, sensing it was being watched by a higher-level Predator.
Its big yellow-orange eyes darted around while it retreated to a corner, leaning against the wall for support, finally relaxing a little.
While keeping an eye on its surroundings, it extended its long tongue to suck up the poisonous vine grass beneath it.
“This guy eats all sorts of things. From what we can see, practically every plant fruit is on its menu—doesn’t matter if it’s toxic or not.”
The Team Leader, holding a naval telescope, clung to a tall tree like an ape, observing the various activities of the Poison Demon Bird from afar.
Once the Poison Demon Bird left the area, he put away the telescope and jumped down from the tree.
The tree seemed to instantly release itself from some indescribable immense pressure, its branches snapping back into place and swaying freely.
Upon reaching the area where the Poison Demon Bird had been active, the Team Leader first examined the plants that the bird had eaten.
Particularly intriguing was a plant resembling a pitcher plant. After sampling its nectar bag for a vial of fresh poison, he sniffed it closely.
“That thing’s stored toxins must come from this.”
This venom had a similar smell composition to the poison gas previously ejected by the Poison Demon Bird.
Carefully distinguishing it from Spiny Dragon venom, he then approached the feces excreted by the Poison Demon Bird, crouching down to observe it.
Because of its herbivorous diet, the feces didn’t have a strong odor, making it unsuitable for creating stink bombs.
That was his first reaction, as a Hunter.
From the perspective of an Investigator, the undigested materials in the feces were more noteworthy.
These undigested materials weren’t disgusting—they were seeds, plant seeds.
If the seeds on the rock face faced a hellish start where they might never sprout, then the seeds in the feces had a perfect start for vigorous growth.
The Team Leader pulled out a small bag, using it as a glove to grab a handful of seed-laden feces, folding it over carefully.
After wrapping it a few more layers, the faint sense of nausea gradually dissipated.
He handed the small bag toward his Companion, who earlier carried the Fire Dragon materials on the Shān Máo.
“Meow!”
The Shān Máo frowned—if he had to carry this, there would be no way the Team Leader could eat his grilled meat.
“Alright, alright.”
The Blond Man helplessly raised his hands in surrender, hanging the small bag containing feces on his own waist instead.
With this small interlude over, before they could continue tracking, the green figure returned with large strides, looking especially flustered.
“Wa wa gua gua!”
Seeing the Team Leader blocking its path ahead, the skin of the Poison Demon Bird turned gray again. Realizing it could fly only when surrounded by threats, it flapped its wings and jumped, flying over their heads.
“Ah oh~”
Watching the frantic escape of the Poison Demon Bird, the Team Leader felt the slight vibrations of the ground, staring dumbfounded at the forest ahead.
And within the forest, a monstrous creature was rushing forward, smashing trees as it ran.
The incoming monster was massive, a standard bipedal theropod dragon species, its most prominent feature being a pair of jaws filled with sharp fangs.
“A Savage Jaw Dragon.”
Jié Jié perked up on the tree, ready to watch the Golden Lion pummel the Savage Jaw Dragon.
The Savage Jaw Dragon charged towards the Team Leader and the Shān Máo like a dump truck. The terrifying pressure was incomparable to that of the Great Thief Dragon, almost immobilizing them from dodging.
At the critical moment, the Team Leader yanked his partner and sidestepped, lying down to avoid the huge feet of the theropod monster.
“Huff, another new monster, feathered theropods are truly rare.”
The Hunter steadied himself, hiding in the grass with his partner to observe the Savage Jaw Dragon.
Seeing the Poison Demon Bird flying above, the Savage Jaw Dragon stopped chasing, its nostrils curling outward into a nasal crest, sniffing the air delicately.
But the main smell in the air was that of the Poison Demon Bird’s feces; the scents of the Hunter and the Ailu Cat were too weak, ignored outright.
The Savage Jaw Dragon turned around and walked away slowly.
“Huff, that was a nerve-wracking guy. Our original tracking target is lost, so let’s switch to another one.”
Regretfully glancing at the direction the Poison Demon Bird flew off, the Team Leader temporarily changed his tracking target, starting to tail the Savage Jaw Dragon.
He watched how it used its giant jaws to move trees and boulders, clearing a path. The theropod’s body was adorned with beautiful muscle textures everywhere.
There was no hard shell covering these beautiful textures, which were fully exposed as if showing off.
“Truly a well-built monster.”
The Team Leader gave heartfelt praise.
But the Savage Jaw Dragon was not harmless—it wanted to bite Herbivore Dragons and Fairy Deer alike, and after feeding, it sought out dark enclosed environments with poor light transmission to sleep in.
Adding two capture tranquilizer balls to the Savage Jaw Dragon’s sleep routine, the Hunter began collecting feathers from its back.
Theropods with feathers were extremely rare, and these feathers could serve as research materials for studying theropod evolution.
Besides feathers, there was also the mucus from its nostrils. They had seen the Savage Jaw Dragon flick mucus from its nasal cavity to mark its territory.
The sight of the two Investigators handling the Savage Jaw Dragon made Jie Jie ponder.
They probably did similar things while he was asleep, right?
When the Savage Jaw Dragon slowly woke up, the two had already hidden again.
After taking a few steps, the theropod revealed a new characteristic—its back unfurled a pair of large wing membranes, like small wings.
“Is this wings? No, it seems more like a membrane-like feature, without any bones similar to those of Flying Dragons.”
If theropods having feathers was already surprising, if they really grew wings like Flying Dragons—
It would directly overturn numerous existing biological theories, and biologists might even want to destroy evidence.
So what was the purpose of that back membrane?
They waited until the Savage Jaw Dragon found a pond, lowered its head to drink water, and the membrane gradually retracted.
“It appears to be used for heat dissipation.”
For the next half day, they continued observing the Savage Jaw Dragon, all the way until evening when they parted ways with it, following previous markings to explore other directions.
Throughout this entire time, the Team Leader never engaged the Savage Jaw Dragon in combat, much to Jie Jie’s disappointment.
There was no attempt to lure the Savage Jaw Dragon toward them; they simply quietly tailed the various monsters they were following.
Day after day passed, and the Ancient Tree in their line of sight rapidly expanded. When their vision couldn’t encompass the entire Ancient Tree anymore…
It was just within reach.
Chapter 115
