Chapter 148: Poison Demon Bird?
The unusually colored thug leisurely patrolled its territory, catching sight of the Poison Demon Bird greedily drinking from the soft Coral Land water source ahead.
The white fur and bluish skin did nothing to temper its fiery temper. A Savage Jaw Dragon subspecies named Thunder Jaw Dragon charged straight at the Poison Demon Bird.
This Poison Demon Bird was somewhat special; it shouldn’t have been here, nor should it have been so thirsty for water.
The abnormal individual that had fed on coral eggs lifted its head, seeing the far more massive Thunder Jaw Dragon, and jumped anxiously as if frightened.
Its body’s color slightly turned gray in patches, a sign of fear. Under this fear, the Poison Demon Bird fled to the distance.
Instead of ejecting poison from its bloated tail, which should have stored toxins, it sprayed out colorless liquid—water.
Using the recoil force from the water, the Poison Demon Bird leaped into flight, escaping the area.
The flying bird perched on the coral branch glanced at the Thunder Jaw Dragon but remained more curious about that “Poison Demon Bird.”
After discovering this Poison Demon Bird that shouldn’t be here, Jié Jié followed it and observed for quite some time.
Jié Jié speculated that its presence here might be due to the singing of the Ground Crying Dragon causing an incorrect migration.
From observing its habits, the Poison Demon Bird seemed to have expanded its diet to include the eggs of land corals, treating them like fruits of plants to consume.
Perhaps because of this change in diet, it began consuming water more frequently, inevitably reminding one of a future subspecies of Poison Demon Birds.
He might have just witnessed the process of a monster evolving into a subspecies.
Evolution and transformation are happening all the time; the current forms of all species over long periods of time can only be considered temporary.
Such changes are always tied to environmental adaptations.
The birth of a new subspecies might not require an excessively long timescale; perhaps just a few generations would be enough to produce noticeable differences from the original species.
Jié Jié watched as the Poison Demon Bird descended from the air, drove away nearby cat-lizard dragons, then hid itself in a coral cave.
The Poison Demon Bird naturally possessed a certain ability to change color. Now, in response to the shock, it was trying hard to make its skin color resemble the surrounding coral for protection.
This might also be due to pigmentation caused by eating coral eggs, but there’s no doubt that the green camouflage originally needed in forests has adapted to its environment.
Natural evolution is uneven. The Ground Crying Dragon’s tours aren’t the first, and based on time probability calculations, there should already be evolved Water Demon Birds in the Coral Land Plateau.
Undoubtedly, as the population of Water Demon Birds increases and advantageous genes stabilize through reproduction, this subspecies will gradually take shape, rather than being a fleeting anomaly.
Until discovered by the investigation team, this subspecies will be officially established.
Actually, the Poison Demon Bird’s big eyes were quite cute, ugly-cute.
Jié Jié shook his feathers, flapped his wings, and flew back to where he had encountered the Thunder Jaw Dragon earlier.
Monsters change due to adapting to their environment, but evolution can also lead to them becoming dependent on it or changing again when leaving their current habitat, unable to retain their current traits.
Some monsters, however, won’t be confined by their environment after evolving. Their powerful foundation allows them to traverse all terrains.
Their evolution isn’t about surviving and reproducing within their environment, but spreading themselves to every corner.
The Thunder Jaw Dragon is such a powerful monster. Though it can no longer use firebags for Flame Breath like normal species, it possesses an organ called the Lightning Bag and conductive bodily fluids, allowing it to perform Electric Current Breath and strengthen its physical abilities with electricity.
Of course, environmental factors and individual biological qualities are complex calculations. The Sulfur Slaying Dragon and the Valley of Miasma are examples.
The evolution of organisms is an eternal process. Research into biological evolution, whether in the past life or this one, may forever remain within the realm of hypotheses and speculation.
That’s why nature remains interesting.
The Spiny Dragon landed heavily on the ground and roared at the Thunder Jaw Dragon.
Without having experienced beatings or overwhelming situations, this beast’s mind was all muscle.
All-muscle minds drove all-muscle bodies, charging directly toward Jié Jié.
The evil-poison-covered horn tore through scales and pierced flesh, while the lightning-wrapped giant jaws bit down, leaving marks.
The impact of the Thunder Jaw Dragon stopped with the bite, but Jié Jié had just begun.
Ignoring the heavy pressure on him, Jié Jié possessed the strongest brute force among beast-dragon types.
That brute force could lift a Horned Dragon and throw it behind, and Jié Jié could similarly withstand the Thunder Jaw Dragon, initiating a Dragon Charge, rolling it over his spines, and tossing it heavily behind.
As the Thunder Jaw Dragon rolled, it became eroded by intense poison. Panting, it took large steps.
The toxin didn’t bring it down. Its back membrane and nasal crest opened, emitting a flash of light, and it spat out a thunderball before rushing toward Jié Jié at a speed almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.
Lightning Slash!
In the blink of an eye, it moved almost as fast as the thunderball.
But unlike most flying dragon types, the Spiny Dragon’s fully-insulated shell made it resistant to lightning.
When the thunderball exploded, scattering electric currents, only a few strands managed to flow through the toxin-secreting glands of its spines.
However, its body, modified by Thunder Wolf Dragon and Sea Dragon宝玉, acted as an infinite resistor against these minor currents.
The Thunder Jaw Dragon bit onto its wing, but Jié Jié swung his wing with great force, making it lose its grip.
“Grunt!”
A fireball exploding in its abdomen forced it to release its bite completely, and it received a slap from the wing.
Losing balance, the Thunder Jaw Dragon stumbled and fell to the ground, facing Jié Jié’s finishing blow.
Ignoring the Thunder Jaw Dragon wriggling underfoot, the Blood-filled Mouth wrapped in toxic flames smashed down toward its neck.
Paralyzing toxins stole away its final nerve reflexes.
While feeding on the corpse of the Thunder Jaw Dragon, his attention was drawn to shimmering scales.
It was a Celestial Scale, far rarer than Dragon Jade, a scale formed from energy overflow that directed energy outward.
Energy usually fills the body, only overflowing afterward. These Celestial Scales, used in weapon-making, are not only tough but also possess perfect attribute directionality.
Monsters incapable of producing Dragon Jade have a higher chance of generating Celestial Scales.
Swallowed into the stomach, Celestial Scales have effects similar to Dragon Jade.
The abilities of the Thunder Jaw Dragon combined excellently with those of the Thunder Wolf Dragon and Sea Dragon, clearly achieving a 1+1>2 effect. The previously ineffective muscle-enhancing electrical currents returned due to its powerful constitution.
Up until now, his strength had been enhanced multiple times in various ways—from physique to muscle signals, from muscle signals to heart and lungs.
Speaking of strength—
Little Hand Slap!
The sturdy coral ground cracked extensively from the force of the wings.
…
Chapter 149
