Chapter 15: The Manticore Lair

Night fell quickly. By this time, both the griffins and the manticore swarm had discovered the presence of Li Mingxing and his forces. However, because Li Mingxing was still underwater practicing his movements, neither faction knew whether the newly arrived troops were friends or foes. Until Li Mingxing made the first move, they chose to remain on standby.

After successfully catching a red sea fish using the manticore's hunting technique underwater, Li Mingxing finally completed his training. He leaped out of the water in high spirits, and this very jump immediately drew the attention of the manticores and griffins.

The griffins were not overly concerned about the appearance of yet another manticore; what caught their attention was the army under Li Mingxing's command, especially the harpies trailing behind him. Although these small creatures were no match for the griffins in terms of raw power, their very existence would heavily tip the scales in the ongoing war between the griffins and the manticores.

For the griffins, this was undoubtedly bad news. They hesitated, debating whether to launch a preemptive strike before Li Mingxing could establish contact with the manticore swarm. Yet, the uncertainty of the current situation forced them to temporarily shelve that idea. After all, Li Mingxing had not yet displayed any hostility toward them, and they had no desire to push him and his forces into the camp of a mortal enemy.

The manticores, on the other hand, were quite pleased. In their eyes, a purple manticore was merely a brother of the same species from a different clan. Even if the troops he brought along did not belong to their race, they could still serve as valuable reinforcements. Once the griffins had withdrawn to a safe distance, three robust manticores detached themselves from the swarm, flew over, and landed right in front of Li Mingxing. Opening their mouths, they uttered a dialect of Manticore tongue, a hybrid language blending elements of Draconic and Leonine speech.

Li Mingxing was not entirely fluent in this manticore dialect, but he could understand enough to grasp their meaning and even reply in broken phrases. After listening for a moment, he understood what the three manticores were after. They intended to invite him into their tribe to gather information regarding rival factions—or, to put it more bluntly, to draft Li Mingxing and his entire army into their war machine.

Naturally, given the innate arrogance of the manticores, they did not think much of Li Mingxing's meager troop count. Their need for him stemmed purely from a desire to have him handle tasks they found inconvenient to execute themselves. As high-tier beings, they possessed a strong sense of personal pride; even when fighting at their most desperate moments, they would never stoop to actions that compromised their dignity.

After assigning docking positions for Li Mingxing's forces, the manticores led him and Zheng to a relatively spacious cavern situated on a nearby cliffside.

Upon entering the cave, the fact that Li Mingxing's wings were temporarily useless for flight caused the manticores to look down on him even further. Two of them roughly dragged Li Mingxing into the cavern before flying off with cold sneers.

Li Mingxing paid no mind to the mocking attitude of his supposed kinsmen. Having transformed into a manticore phantom, he fully understood the nature and pride of the species. Had he been in their shoes, he would likely have made the exact same choice.

He had no intention of picking a fight with those manticores right now. He understood that if he wanted to alter such a destiny, he had to become the most powerful manticore of all. Only absolute strength could compel these arrogant beasts to submit.

Realizing this, Li Mingxing let out a cold snort of his own and strode deep into the cavern. However, before they had taken even two steps, two distinctively different manticores emerged from the depths of the cave. At a single glance, it was obvious these two stood out remarkably from the rest.

One of them exceeded seven meters in body length—an exceptionally towering stature even among manticores. His mercury-like musculature and scales reflecting a chilling blue light were covered in scars of all sizes, and even the wings on his back were tattered and torn. It was clear at a glance that he was a veteran of countless battles.

Beside him stood the only manticore Li Mingxing had ever seen adorned with decorations. Wrapped around this manticore's barbed tail were ornamental feathers plucked from griffins, making the tail resemble a bizarre feather duster.

Upon seeing Li Mingxing approach, the decorated manticore spoke up directly, "Which clan do you belong to, and why have you suddenly appeared here?"

The question came so abruptly that Li Mingxing was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. After a brief pause, he answered, "I came from the subterranean world and happened to witness your battle against the griffins."

"The subterranean world?" The decorated manticore sighed. "So you come from our ancestral homeland. I suppose you aren't even fully grown yet, seeing as you cannot even fly."

"Indeed, I am still in my juvenile stage and have not yet reached the milestone of flight."

"A juvenile? I never imagined the gap between us and our ancestral clan could be so vast. Based on your size, you would already be considered a young adult around here. It seems your strength is sufficient, yet you haven't undergone the adult trial. Care to explain why?"

How could Li Mingxing possibly know what an adult trial was? Faced with such a question, he could only reply evasively, "Ever since I left my clan, I have simply been unable to find my way back."

"Figures. I always wondered how our Haya tribe, having split off only a few years ago, could differ so drastically from the mother tribe. Still, since you hail from our roots, how about this: you shall participate in the adult trial alongside the juveniles of our own tribe."

"Does passing this trial mean I will finally be able to fly?" Li Mingxing's heart skipped a beat, and the question slipped out before he could stop it.

Yet, a second later, Li Mingxing realized he had asked the wrong thing. The moment the words left his mouth, the two manticores stared at him as if he were an absolute fool. Finally, the heavily scarred manticore shook his head and remarked, "Now I understand why you left the mother clan without even passing your trials."

Without waiting for Li Mingxing to respond, he turned around and walked back toward the depths of the cavern. The remaining manticore had also lost whatever shred of initial warmth he possessed; after exchanging a few brief, perfunctory words, he left Li Mingxing standing there and retreated as well.

Once the two senior manticores had departed, Li Mingxing silently cursed himself for his loose tongue. He never expected that a momentary lapse in anxiety would cause valuable intelligence to slip right through his fingers. But with no other options left, Li Mingxing sighed and resumed walking deeper into the cave system.

After taking a few more steps forward, Li Mingxing realized that this cavern served as the training hall for the manticore swarm. The manticores gathered here were all high-tier elites possessing unique skills. Any manticore could learn exclusive racial abilities from them, provided they were willing to take on certain tasks—and, not least of all, keep them well-fed and supplied with the finest provisions.

As for the two who had come to greet him earlier, one was the reigning battle king of the manticores, while the other was the poison master of the swarm. They also happened to be two of the elders governing all matters related to the trials within this community.

Because of his premature gaffe, Li Mingxing had thoroughly offended both elders. It was safe to assume that any trial he faced from here on out would undoubtedly be the most punishing and difficult one available.

Acknowledging this grim reality, Li Mingxing had no alternative. He chose to feign ignorance and began questioning the manticores stationed throughout the cavern one by one, hoping to unearth some useful skills he could master.

Only after making inquiries did Li Mingxing realize he still lacked a complete understanding of the manticore race. To his surprise, even powerful manticores branched out into two distinct developmental paths: the melee-combat type and the intellect-strategy type.

Naturally, unlike other races, this classification was not divided simply between physical fighters and spellcasters, for manticores would routinely employ quasi-magical innate abilities even in close-quarters combat.

The melee type referred to those who charged into the very vanguard of battle, whereas the intellect type designated those who directed the flow of combat from behind the lines. When Li Mingxing first stepped before them, his formidable and muscular physique had led the manticores to instantly peg him as prime material for a melee-focused manticore.

However, Zheng, who had been following closely behind him, immediately objected to that path. In her view, Li Mingxing existed as a supreme commander whose safety was guarded by numerous warriors. If a situation ever arose where Li Mingxing was forced to fight on the front lines personally, it meant his defeat was already imminent. Therefore, Zheng strongly advocated for Li Mingxing to cultivate himself as an intellect-type manticore, while leaving him free to pick up a few melee techniques on the side if he so desired.

Persuaded by Zheng's reasoning, Li Mingxing agreed with her assessment. Nodding, he bypassed the instructors of the melee branch and approached one of the three intellect-type mentors residing within the cavern.

Seeing him approach, the instructor looked straight at him and demanded, "Why do you believe you are qualified to become an intellect-type manticore?"

"Because I command a loyal band of subordinates who are utterly devoted to me," Li Mingxing replied without a moment's hesitation.

To his surprise, the manticore's mouth curled into a cynical smirk. "Then you shouldn't be talking to me. Go to the one on my left; you might actually learn something useful from him."

Curiosity piqued, Li Mingxing turned his gaze toward the indicated manticore. Looking him up and down, Li Mingxing noticed not a single scar upon the creature's body, yet it lay flat on the ground, utterly motionless. At first, Li Mingxing assumed the beast simply refused to move, but upon closer inspection, he realized with a start that this manticore had been securely trapped and restrained by others.

Stepping closer, Li Mingxing asked, "If I were to learn from you, what is it that I could possibly be taught?"

"Sacrifice," the trapped manticore answered coldly. "I can teach you how to sacrifice the fewest subordinates possible in exchange for the greatest possible return."