Chapter 608 Jihaad's Cries
608 Jihaad's Cries
Thundering Highlands, central region
The explosive stomach rumble that came with the setting sun was something Jihaad had not anticipated. The sense of extreme hunger came without warning. It was like his internal organs suddenly drained all his energy reserve.
But rather than thinking of food, Jihaad thought about training. It was easier to improve his strength if he practiced physical exercises in such a state.
However, there was also a catch.
He couldn't train in such a state for longer than two hours. If he failed to replenish his body with food within that time, his efforts would have a detrimental effect on his body instead. At least, that was what he had been taught.
Jihaad glanced up at the skies, hoping to catch the sight of a Steel-
Beaked Eagle, which could potentially become his next meal. Even if he wanted to train, he had to secure his food source first.
Naturally, he had brought along rations and water for the trip. However, he was confident they wouldn't be enough to satisfy his terrible hunger.
Rumble…!
Jihaad's stomach grumbled again, and with it came a stronger sense of hunger. Jihaad felt lethargic as strength left his body. His steps became slower and more sluggish, causing him to lag further and further behind Vaan.
Jihaad thought he was knowledgeable in body refining, but it was the first time he had encountered such a situation. It appeared he had greatly underestimated his hunger level.
'Is this a side effect of intense training under gravitational pressure?'
When Jihaad had that thought, he suddenly recalled the Gravity Chamber Center's manual did mention it was recommended to have a big meal one to two hours after using their Gravity Chambers.
After finding out the hard way as to why it was recommended, Jihaad could only blame himself for forgetting.
Whoosh—!
As Jihaad searched the vast skies for his meal, a large shadow shot through his field of vision. The large shadow was only gliding low over the rock pillars and small hills, but its speed was still incredible.
Jihaad almost wanted to chase after it and hunt it down—until he quickly realized it was an adult wyvern. Furthermore, it was equipped with a harness!
Although he failed to see if someone was riding the wyvern, a wyvern equipped with a harness couldn't possibly be a wild one!
All Wyvern Riders were considered elites in the Great Ratholos Empire.
As such, Jihaad quickly gave up.
He wasn't confident he could beat the wyvern rider, not to mention wyverns were national beasts. It was a crime to kill wyverns, let alone eat them.
Suddenly, Jihaad found himself forgetting about his hunger as he felt envious of the passing Wyvern Rider instead.
"Sigh! It must be nice flying on the back of a wyvern… I wish I could also fly," Jihaad lamented enviously.
Witches and Wizards could fly with their magic, but Body Refiners and Aura Users couldn't. They didn't have the support of magic like Witches and Wizards did. As such, riding on the back of flying beasts was the next best alternative to flying.
"Hm?" Jihaad glanced up at Vaan with surprise.
Jihaad had unexpectedly caught up to Vaan. The latter had paused his steps after hearing his comment.
Rumble…!
Jihaad's stomach grumbled again, causing Jihaad to clutch his stomach with an embarrassed yet wry smile.
"Is something the matter, Sir Pendragon?"
"You wished you could fly?"
"Y-Yes…? Who doesn't? Haha…"
"I can help."
"Huh? You can… what? How?"
The exchange was brief, and Jihaad couldn't determine Vaan's intentions or where he was leading the conversation. However, he immediately regretted asking in the next moment.
"S-Sir Pendragon…?!"
Jihaad's shoulders were abruptly grabbed by Vaan before he was launched five meters up into the air. As his body descended, he felt his ankles caught by firm grips. In that instant, a faint premonition of danger sprouted in his heart.
Vaan spun three full revolutions and hurled Jihaad into the sky with great force, sending the latter flying a couple hundred meters through the air.
"Ahhh—!!"
Jihaad's cry caused a group of warriors tailing a short distance behind them to shiver with dread and apprehension.
The strongest within this group of warriors was only a Mid-level Rank 2 Body Refiner. They had followed Vaan and Jihaad because they thought they could have a safe passage through the Thundering Highlands if they did.
After all, it was the shortest path to reaching the Dukedom of Dragonmoor.
Although they didn't know why the two people ahead of them had fallen out, they quickly increased their pace when they saw Vaan rushing forward.
They didn't want to fall too far behind and lose their protection.
"Ahhh—!!" Jihaad's loud cry continued resounding through the air.
Although crashing at such height and speed wasn't fatal to Jihaad, so long as he braced himself with aura, he had been caught off guard by Vaan's brutal throw. As such, his cry was involuntary due to surprise.
If he had been mentally prepared, he would been exhilarated while enjoying the sense of flight.
Nevertheless, when Jihaad had time to reflect on his situation, he was shocked by the force applied behind Vaan's powerful toss.
'I thought this person was a Peak-level Rank 3 Body Refiner, but his strength actually surpassed that! Moreover, he looks younger than me! What a monster!' Jihaad was flabbergasted by Vaan's overwhelming talent.
"Huh?"
Jihaad caught sight of Vaan's figure matching his pace while his body slowly lost altitude and dropped toward the ground.
A sudden thought caused his face to pale.
"Don't tell me you're going to…"
Boom!
With a powerful step, Vaan launched himself toward Jihaad, grabbed both his ankles, spun another three times, and then hurled him even higher into the sky!
"Are you f*cking kidding—?!" Jihaad's indignant cry resounded in the distance.
This time, he was truly scared of the height! If he didn't have anyone to break his fall, he would be seriously injured or even die!
Kewee! Kewee!
A Steel-Beaked Eagle's distant cry from higher up in the sky was heard shortly after Jihaad's own cry. In that instant, Jihaad's fear disappeared. His heart became calm and full of trust.
He suddenly realized Vaan's intention.
'So you wanted to let me experience flight and attract a Steel-Beaked Eagle over simultaneously…'
'This is certainly killing two birds with one stone. I wouldn't have any problem with this plan, but… Dammit, couldn't you have at least consulted me first?!'
Jihaad felt aggrieved and wanted to cry.
He wondered if every powerful person and monstrous genius was such an eccentric as Vaan.
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