Isuokon

Chapter 48 Isuokon

"Boss!" someone screamed, but was immediately bitten on the ankle by a lincat, pulled and slammed against a tree, and fell silent.

Faced with this one-sided slaughter, the hunters instinctively scattered and fled.

Unfortunately, this behavior of exposing their backs to other animals only led to a more tragic death.

Upon witnessing what was happening outside, the locomotive operator frantically turned the steering wheel, attempting to start the pioneering locomotive and escape.

But the car had only turned half a circle when the driver felt a chill coming from afar.

Looking up, deep in the dark forest, a woman with honey-colored skin and an exaggeratedly tall figure was staring at him.

The driver could even swear that, in terms of figure, this woman was definitely taller than any girl he had ever seen, and even the cover girls of Piltover magazine would pale in comparison.

Before the driver could recover from the breathtaking, wild beauty, he saw the woman holding a strange, dark red spear that looked as if it were twisted from bones and flesh.

Then, Nidalee moved.

Through the outer steel skin, Qin Deli's eyes were firmly fixed on the driver.

The lower limbs push off the ground to generate power, the core muscles of the waist and abdomen tighten to transmit power, and the shoulder and back muscles receive the power. All the muscles in the body tighten in one continuous motion at this moment, and the power is transmitted from the lower limbs to the tip of the gun.

In that instant, Nidalee's entire body seemed to transform into a whip, or a thick tail.

The moment it was thrown, a buzzing sound exploded in the air.

On the other side, upon seeing Nidalee's actions, the driver only felt a genuine sense of amusement.

It's worth noting that, to prevent being hit by falling trees while cutting them down, the entire chassis of the pioneering locomotive was reinforced with strong brass, and the internal beams were so sturdy they were almost suffocating.

Even the windshield in front of him is literally bulletproof glass, so even if he is hit by a Hextech Propulsion rifle, he will not be affected in any way.

But just as the pilot was still thinking, the next moment, accompanied by a violent sound of air friction, whoosh! Before the pilot could even react, he was thrown into the air and then pinned to the bulkhead behind the cockpit.

He blinked blankly, then looked down at his chest, where he saw a grotesque spear that looked like a hardened, twisted mass of bone and flesh.

Uh?

He instinctively placed his hand on the spear, but before he could exert any force, he felt his eyelids become heavy and his head spin.

In the instant he lost consciousness, the tall and graceful figure was already in front of him, easily pulling the spear out of his chest.

Without the support of the spear, the pilot's body fell to the ground with a thud. Nidalee's face remained expressionless; she casually flicked away the bloodstains and then stepped out of the hatch beside her.

After a quick glance, he let out a low growl.

Upon hearing Nidalee's voice, the jungle cats, who had been searching for prey, quickly withdrew their claws and silently gathered in the open space.

Upon hearing Nidalee's command, the flesh-toothed beasts, including Rengar, tacitly stopped their continuous slaughter.

Although the attack was stopped in time, the pioneering team, which originally numbered in the dozens, was now reduced to just a few scattered individuals, most of whom were missing or maimed.

It wasn't that it was eaten, it was just simply torn apart.

Having promised Nidalee that the Pacarin cats could thrive, Tarin naturally hoped that they could integrate into Ixtal society.

To integrate into human society, knowing that you can't eat people is the bare minimum.

At least, under conditions of sufficient food and non-extreme environments, and by refusing to eat people, Pacarin cats can better integrate into human society.

A monkey? Don't get involved.

The remaining hunters felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at the forest cat that had suddenly stopped its killing spree, licking its paws and glaring at them menacingly, and at the Vastaya flesh-toothed beast that was coldly watching them from the side.

But then they discovered that, accompanied by the sound of leaves and branches being crushed underfoot, all the wild beasts turned their gaze to the darkness on one side.

Then, Tarin, Qiyana, and the others walked out of there at a leisurely pace.

When the surviving hunters saw Tarin and Qiyana, they stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Although Piltover has long had legends about the Ixtal people, even the Explorers' Guild, which published documents about Ixtal, has never had a real Ixtal person.

And now—

It was one thing for Tarin to be at the front, but when the young hunters who were joining the hunt for the first time saw Qiyana and Lupe following behind Tarin, they were so frightened by their clothing style, which was exactly the same as the one described in the magazine, that they trembled with fear.

"I--Ixtal?! Really Ixtals?! Do Ixtals even exist?!"

Ignoring the young hunter, Tarlin simply looked around at the surrounding woodland, a cold glint appearing in his eyes.

Born in the Monster Hunter world and having lived in Starry Sky for several years, Tarin was always constrained in his hunting due to the rules of the Hunter's Guild, but one thing was undeniable.

That is, the reason why Tallinn was willing to live there, besides the fact that it could provide shelter and systematic learning of hunting knowledge, was also because Tallinn himself genuinely recognized the connection between humans and the ecosystem.

Especially after being able to clearly feel the life energy, Tallinn became absolutely certain that the relationship between humans and the ecosystem is one of interdependence, rather than one-sided exploitation.

Even when Tarlin is leading his herds on a general hunt, he consciously controls the population size of the area.

They don't just focus on hunting one type of easy prey, but through controlled hunting, they obtain sufficient food supplies while allowing the remaining herds to recover and maintain their population, thus ensuring ecological balance.

But now it's like this—

Indiscriminate logging, destructive mining, and the near-extinction-level hunting of wild animals —

Perhaps to these poachers in Piltover, this destruction is just "a little bit of damage" to the Kumangu Mountains and the Ixtal Forest, and is insignificant.

But in reality? Trees are habitats, homes for birds, insects, and reptiles.

Tree roots are the hands that grip the soil, and leaves are nature's lungs, purifying pollutants in the air.

Trees form the foundation of the ecosystem, while animals themselves are the maintainers of the food chain.

The birds were all killed, insect infestations broke out, and the trees were left barren.

The wolves were hunted out, the deer began to proliferate, the vegetation was eaten away, and the land withered.

In the ecosystem, animals and plants are closely related.

The damage caused by destructive mining and hunting, as it is now, is not just "a little," but is slowly killing a piece of land.

"If it were anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but coming from Piltover, you should know very well what the consequences will be once the environment starts to deteriorate." Tarin looked at everyone and said, "After all, you're right next to Zaun."

"You know us?!"

Upon hearing Tarlin's words, the young hunter paused, seemingly surprised.

Beside the young hunter, upon discovering that Tarin was their leader, a bearded hunter, as if blessed by some magic, mustered his courage and challenged Tarin, saying, "Savage! You know who we are!"

"There are still too many survivors."

Tallinn shook his head and sighed.

The next moment, two axiomatic arcs burst forth from the sky under the faint, earthy-yellow magical light.

The young hunter heard only a few sounds of flesh and bone being cut, and then he realized that he was all alone.

"Arrange for a flesh-toothed beast to escort him back to the human settlement outside." Tarin looked at Rengar.

Rengar nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

Then, Tarlin glanced at the young hunter and said, "Leave here, tell the other Piltover ladies what happened here, and then tell them to take their machines and get out of Ixtal."

"————Okay, okay————"

Feeling Tarlin's cold gaze, the young hunter swallowed hard, nodded tremblingly, his eyes filled with fear.

Everyone else is dead, and I'm the only one left.

Then, seemingly coming to his senses, the young hunter also got up in a disheveled state and fled back the way he had come.

To prevent it from being attacked by wild animals along the way, a fleshy beast quickly followed to ensure that it could return to the camp in Piltover.

After watching the last hunter leave, Tarin and the others also turned their attention away. Tarin then said slowly, "Once that young hunter returns, it won't be long before the external forces of Piltover approach Ixtal—then we must seize this hard-won opportunity."

"Of course—but then again..."

After staring into the distance for a while, Qiyana glanced at Tarin with a suspicious look and said, "Why does it feel like what you're doing is almost exactly what you predicted I would do?"

Qiyana remembers it.

Tallinn once said that among the prophecies he saw was his own massacre of miners in the Kumangu Mountains of Piltover, and his deliberate release of some people to escalate the conflict.

"Miners and poachers are two different things; the former are mostly honest people trying to make a living."

Tarin shook his head, then glanced at Qiyana with a hint of helplessness and said, "And I don't object to using ruthless methods, it's just—you handled some things too roughly."

In Tarlin's view, Qiyana's actions weren't really that problematic; the only issue was that she went too far and left no room for compromise.

This is unpopular in any country with a strong conservative atmosphere.

But with just a little restraint and proper propaganda, they can transform from brutality to martial spirit, from belligerence to courage.

"But don't worry about it. Those people won't come back anytime soon," Tarlin said calmly. "Right now, our most important task is still with Ishkigal."

"Oh." Qiyana nodded, and then followed Tarin back the way they came.

As for the escorting flesh-toothed beast, with no extra personnel to worry about and a bottle of recovery medicine in hand, there was no need to worry about it getting tired, losing speed, or falling behind.

These poachers were just a minor incident for the group in Tallinn.

During this journey, Tallinn witnessed firsthand the heritage and true form of this ancient country.

Although Ixtal is ancient and isolated, not all its towns are as primitive as the village where Lupe and others were exiled.

On the contrary, Ixtal's true capital was often visibly magnificent and vast.

It is no exaggeration to say that, after thousands of years of studying the primordial axioms, the people of Ixtal have almost firmly controlled this land that has nurtured them for thousands of years.

Nestled between a river and dense forest, the heart of Ishtar is a massive pyramid-like structure.

However, unlike the pyramids which are built by people carrying them on their backs and shoulders, the main building materials for these elemental towers are often lifted directly from the depths of the earth using elemental magic.

After the basic outline is constructed, the elements are then depicted and outlined using a gemstone solution to stabilize the energy pathways of the elemental tower.

Once everything was completed, this tower became the sanctuary for the Ixtals to study the primordial axioms, and also the heart of the city where the Ixtals lived.

Depending on the regional environment and the different Yuntars who serve as governors, each tower has its own unique elemental magic and architectural style.

Without exception, they are all literal wonders.

In other ordinary kingdoms of Runeterra, building such a colossal tower might deplete the treasury and bring the kingdom to the brink of destruction.

In Ixtal, however, this is simply the normal state of the city—no wonder they harbor a sense of superiority and refuse to communicate with the outside world.

The journey has been full of surprises.

After about a week, Tallinn arrived at its destination—Iseoken.

Tarlin had some expectations regarding Isuoken.

It lies hidden in the densest rainforest of eastern Shurima, concealed by towering trees and elemental magical barriers. Combined with the millennia-old green walls, it remains undiscovered to this day.

Despite being mentally prepared, Tallinn was still overwhelmed by the sheer size of Ixokeng when he actually arrived.

Like something out of a myth, this colossal complex spans a vast rainforest and is not a single city, but rather a series of towering, magical structures.

Its tower has sharp edges and is exquisitely carved, with a crystal and rock-like luster throughout.

The spire soars into the clouds, piercing the canopy of the forest, more majestic than the mountains. The tower's body lies heavily on the ground, bearing immense weight, more profound than the earth itself.

It was only because Ixtal used magic to conceal it that this towering central tower could be seen from hundreds of miles away.

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