Chapter 481: Hatching the Nether Thunderhawk!

Witnessing Nie Yan produce the Dark-winged Dragon’s egg, Tamer Colinson displayed an astonished expression and cried out, “Heavens, this is truly unbelievable! This is indeed the egg of the Dark-winged Dragon! Esteemed Sir Nie Yan, might I examine it?”

Unexpectedly surprised that Tamer Colinson would be so astonished, Nie Yan handed the egg of the Dark-winged Dragon to him.

Colinson carefully accepted the egg with a reverent expression. As a tamer, he naturally understood the preciousness of this Dark-winged Dragon egg. This was a pet egg that High Commander Brexspier of Hilton Fortress had risked his life to obtain, venturing deep underground and barely escaping with his life. In his entire lifetime, Colinson had only ever seen one such egg!

Colinson gently stroked the patterns on the eggshell of the Dark-winged Dragon, examining it intently. His expression alternated between excitement and a hint of regret.

After a while, Tamer Colinson looked at Nie Yan and said, “Respected Mr. Nieyan, I cannot hatch this egg of the Dark-winged Dragon. It was too small when it left the mother dragon, so it appears transparent.”

Nie Yan’s heart sank. Could this Dark-winged Dragon egg really be unhatchable? But upon second thought, that didn’t make sense. If High Commander Breckspear had given this egg as a quest reward, it must be hatchable—it likely just required specific conditions to be met.

Just as he was thinking, Tamer Colinson continued, “I can’t hatch it, but this Dark-winged Dragon is still alive. Therefore, if we can find some items, it might gain enough strength to break through the shell and hatch.”

“Please tell me what items are needed?” Nie Yan asked, just as he had expected.

“At least twenty Magic Crystals, thirty Light Crystals, two Life Crystals, and one Power Crystal,” Tamer Colinson replied.

Hearing this, Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief. With twenty Magic Crystals, thirty Light Crystals, two Life Crystals, and one Power Crystal, the Dark-winged Dragon could hatch. For ordinary players, collecting these items was nearly impossible. Magic and Light Crystals were somewhat easier to find, but Life and Power Crystals were quite rare, and ordinary players wouldn’t even know where to look for them. However, for Nie Yan, it wasn’t very difficult because he knew where to find these items. He could start collecting them now and would need at most ten days to gather them all.

This was a powerful flying mount. If he could hatch it, it would be of great help to Nie Yan.

Tamer Colinson returned the egg of the Dark-winged Dragon to Nie Yan, who then put it away.

“Mr. Colinson, please appraise this pet for me,” Nie Yan said, paying 2000 gold coins and handing the other black egg to Colinson.

Colinson held the large black egg in his hand, carefully examining it for a while. He stroked the shell and closed his eyes, as if sensing something. A warm white light appeared in his hand.

Nie Yan watched Tamer Colinson, who seemed to be performing some mysterious ritual. Nie Yan felt somewhat nervous because the appraisal result from Tamer Colinson was very important. If it was just an ordinary pet, it might only be worth a few thousand or even ten thousand gold coins. However, if it turned out to be a flying mount, it would be an invaluable treasure. Flying mounts were extremely rare and of great significance to the entire Bull Tribe.

After a while, Colinson opened his eyes and told Nie Yan, “It is a flying mount, the Dark-element Ghost Thunder Eagle.”

Hearing this, Nie Yan finally felt relieved. It was indeed a flying mount. Nie Yan wasn’t sure about the exact tier of the Ghost Thunder Eagle, but even the lowest-tier flying mount was extremely valuable.

“Honored Mr. Nieyan, have you decided to hatch this Ghost Thunder Eagle? Each player can only possess one flying mount. If you choose to hatch this Ghost Thunder Eagle, you won’t be able to give it to others. Also, until this Ghost Thunder Eagle dies, you won’t be able to have another flying mount,” Tamer Colinson explained.

Nie Yan suddenly remembered this rule. Once hatched, flying mounts were bonded to their owners.

Nie Yan weighed his options and decided to give this Ghost Thunder Eagle egg to someone close to him because he would be able to hatch the Dark-winged Dragon soon. Naturally, such a valuable item should be entrusted to a reliable person. Nie Yan first thought of Xie Yao and Tang Yao, the two closest to him. However, he considered further: Ghost Thunder Eagle was a dark-element creature, while Xie Yao was a Holy Word Mage. An elemental conflict would significantly reduce the attributes of both the pet and the owner. Tang Yao, on the other hand, was an Arcane Mage, and many of his spells had dark attributes. If Tang Yao owned the Ghost Thunder Eagle, both he and his pet would gain certain attribute enhancements.

For Nie Yan, it didn’t really matter who ended up owning the Ghost Thunder Eagle, as long as it could be used to its fullest potential.

The person who owned a flying mount would have to participate in every guild battle and could not be absent, effectively binding them to the Bull Tribe.

For the Bull Tribe, the Ghost Thunder Eagle was undoubtedly a scarce strategic resource that must not be wasted.

Nie Yan contacted Tang Yao and asked, “Yaozi, where are you now?”

“I’m farming monsters in Ghost Charm City,” Tang Yao replied through the voice chat.

“Ghost Phantom City?” Nie Yan was surprised. He recalled it was a level 90 map. He inquired, “Are you leveling up with a party?”

“I’m soloing now.”

“Wow, you can solo in a level 90 map already,” Nie Yan said with a smile. To farm monsters and level up in such a high-level map wasn’t just about having good gear; it also required excellent skills. With Tang Yao’s cloth armor defense, if a monster landed a single hit on him, he would be finished. However, mages were a ranged class, and as long as their positioning was skillful enough, they could farm monsters above their level. Moreover, Tang Yao possessed a powerful level 3 Arcane Sprite, which was said to be close to reaching level 4.

Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Tang Yao felt slightly proud and said, “I’ve farmed quite a few good items and stored them all in the guild warehouse.”

“Come to the pet store next to the central square in Carol City. I have a great item for you.”

“A pet store?” Tang Yao was puzzled for a moment and said, “I already have a pet, a level 75 Ghost Wolf. It’s quite useful. You can give this pet to someone else.”

Nie Yan smiled and said, “It’s not a pet; it’s a flying mount!”

Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Tang Yao was momentarily stunned and then excitedly said, “You’ve obtained a second flying mount?” He remembered that Nie Yan had previously obtained an egg of the Dark-winged Dragon, which he intended to keep for himself. He would only give Tang Yao a flying mount if he had obtained a second one.

“Not yet. I have two pet eggs here. One of them is the Ghost Thunder Eagle. I’ll give it to you. I need to figure out how to hatch the Dark-winged Dragon,” Nie Yan said. Although the Ghost Thunder Eagle was strong, it was not on the same level as the Dark-winged Dragon.

“I’ll come back immediately!” Tang Yao said excitedly. Upon hearing that Nie Yan was giving him a flying mount, how could he possibly delay? He quickly packed his things and found a corner to use a recall scroll to return to the city.

A player could simultaneously own a pet, a mount, and a flying mount, and these did not conflict with each other. Among them, the flying mount was the rarest and most formidable.

After a while, Tang Yao ran into the pet store.

“Where is the flying mount? Let me see!” Tang Yao said excitedly as he ran in.

Seeing Tang Yao’s excited expression, Nie Yan smiled slightly and handed the Ghost Thunder Eagle egg to Tang Yao, saying, “Give it to Tamer Colinson to hatch, and it will become yours.”

“Where did you get this flying mount? I’ve completed so many quests but haven’t even found a single feather of a flying mount,” Tang Yao said in frustration. He had deeply experienced how difficult it was to find a flying mount.

“I got it from an epic-level treasure chest in Golden City,” Nie Yan said with a smile.

“How is your Dark-winged Dragon doing? Can you hatch it?” Tang Yao asked. Nie Yan’s Dark-winged Dragon was still just an egg.

“It requires twenty Magic Crystals, thirty Light Crystals, two Life Crystals, and one Power Crystal to hatch,” Nie Yan replied.

“A Power Crystal?” Tang Yao frowned slightly and said, “I think I’ve seen this item somewhere. Why don’t you shout in the guild chat and see if anyone can find one?”

Nie Yan was somewhat surprised when Tang Yao mentioned having seen these items before. Power Crystals were apparently dropped only in maps above level 90, and even then, only in a few extremely rare maps with a drop rate of about one in several hundred thousand. Nie Yan remembered that a treasure chest in a level 100 map contained this item, so he had planned to go get it himself. However, just to try his luck, Nie Yan posted a message in the guild chat, looking for Magic Crystals, Light Crystals, Life Crystals, and Power Crystals.

Additionally, he suddenly thought that the Assassin Alliance could also be utilized. He posted a task there as well, offering generous rewards for these items. Anyway, these items would be useful in the future, so the more he collected, the better.

“Boss, that Power Crystal thing. I think Boss Da Guang obtained one during a raid. It’s now in the guild warehouse,” a player reminded him.

In the guild warehouse?

Nie Yan was momentarily stunned. He needed to check the warehouse.

“There are also a few Magic Crystals and Light Crystals!”

With these items already in the guild warehouse, Nie Yan would have it much easier.

“Honored Mr. Colinson, please help me hatch this Ghost Thunder Eagle,” Tang Yao spoke to Tamer Colinson, paying 20,000 gold coins. The large black egg in his hand immediately emitted a dazzling black light. The Ghost Thunder Eagle was about to hatch!