The Thorne of Destiny

Deep within the core region, in the depths of the Misty Mountains, on top of a huge mountain, the roars of two distinct beasts could be heard. If someone were here, they would be astounded to find the two creatures engaged in battle.

One of them was a beast known as the mountain bear that was as big as a building. Parts of its body was covered in stone which resembles armor. Its massive paws smashed against the rocks as its strike destroyed a huge chunk of the mountain. However, there was no joy on its face as its strike missed the intended target.

A silver flash could be seen descending upon the bear as it furiously clawed at the bear. If people were present, they would be astonished to find one of the most rare species of beasts, the silver-winged tiger here.

The bear couldn't dodge and a large claw mark appeared across the bear's chest. A roar filled with pain resounded as the bear, which was previously standing on its two hind legs was forced to descend on all fours. The silver-winged tiger, not wasting this opportunity lunged towards the bear's neck as it attempted to bite it off.

However, the ground suddenly shook as the bear let out another roar. The silver-winged tiger was thrown off balance which enabled the bear to land a solid attack that opened a deep wound in its side. A few ribs were broken as it was sent flying off the mountain.

Only after using its wings was it able to steady its descent and land groggily.

Now both beasts were critically injured.

A fierce look appeared in the silver-winged tiger's eyes as if it had steeled its resolve.

It soared high into the sky before suddenly stopping. With its gaze on the mountain bear, it released a deafening roar that was accompanied by a silver beam of light. The light beam didn't miss its target as it pushed the bear back several meters. The silver-winged tiger then rapidly descended towards the mountain bear. It turned into a silver blur as it flashed right in front of the mountain bear. It completely gave up on dodging as its massive jaws clamped down on the bear's neck. Because it hadn't recovered from the silver beam attack, the mountain bear was caught off guard, it swung its paws while shaking its head repeatedly trying to get rid of the silver-winged tiger.

However, the silver-winged tiger didn't budge. Every swipe of the bear's paw landed like sledgehammers, leaving injuries all over its body, yet the silver-winged tiger didn't budge. It held on as its jaw continued to tighten on the bear's neck. Gradually, the bear's strikes became weaker and weaker until it gradually stopped resisting and finally succumbed to death.

The silver-winged tiger didn't let go until about a minute after the mountain bear stopped moving. The bear's massive body landed with a thud causing a small landslide. However, the silver-winged tiger couldn't care less about that as it started limping towards a cave near the peak of the mountain.

Injuries covered its body causing its pristine silver fur to be dyed red. As it entered the cave, a faint whimpering sound could be heard. The silver-winged tiger slowly walked towards a fairly large boulder that was in a corner of the cave. As soon as it reached the boulder, its azure eyes fell on a small, whimpering silver-winged tiger that was still covered in a slimy substance. This was its cub.

It had just given birth a few hours ago before the mountain bear suddenly came to challenge it. This was the primary reason why it risked its life to kill the bear. On a normal day, it wouldn't have suffered so many injuries while fighting the bear but because it was in a weakened state, it had to go all out.

It licked the face of its cub before gently picking it up. The teeth that had just taken the life of a powerful beast like the bear were now holding the newborn cub as gently as possible. It placed it on its back before exiting the cave in the same slow fashion.

The silver-winged tiger then soared into the clouds before flying outwards, towards the inner regions. Its fight with the bear would soon attract new 'visitors' and with its current state, it wouldn't survive another battle. Of course, it wasn't doing this solely for itself. Any beast that was able to defeat it certainly wouldn't let off its offspring.

The only wise option was to give up on its abode temporarily until it was able to heal itself and come back to reclaim it. However, it had underestimated the extent of its injuries. The core region was different from the others. Weakness there was a taboo for any beast there. Since beasts at that level had developed a certain amount of intelligence and had awakened some special abilities specific to their bloodlines, some form of schemes were not uncommon there. This was a textbook example. The mountain bear somehow knew about the pregnancy of the silver-winged tiger and waited patiently until it gave birth when it would be at its weakest before coming to challenge it.

Luckily for the silver-winged tiger, it was able to leave the core region without too much hassle. Only a few bird-type species tried to block its path but it dealt with them swiftly.

However, it didn't stop flying. It mustered all of its strength and continued its journey until it arrived at the outer region. The aura of such a powerful beast sent the inhabitants of both the inner regions into a frenzy. They abandoned their territories in mass and tried to escape.

However, when the terrifying aura continued following them, they all went crazy from terror and flocked in mass towards the outer regions. This action didn't go unnoticed by those adventuring in the inner regions. When they saw waves of beasts rushing towards them, they were filled with panic. They rushed to report this immediately and soon, the cities situated near the Misty Mountains were notified of a massive beast tide that would soon attack them. Of course, this also included Stonehold City.