I patted my wildly beating heart; this time, I was so close to death.

If I hadn't stopped in time, I certainly wouldn't have seen the sun rise tomorrow.

Looking at the deep sinkhole shrouded in mist, I felt my legs go weak, my calves were trembling uncontrollably, and my back was soaked with cold sweat as if it were raining.

This is not because I am afraid of heights, but rather a normal bodily reaction when a person is in a state of extreme fear.

The sinkhole in front of us was clearly blocking our way, and judging from the swirling clouds, it was quite large.

I roughly estimated the diameter of this sinkhole using my thumb, and it should be over three kilometers.

As for the depth of the sinkhole, I can't be sure how high it is because it's always shrouded in clouds and mist. But the deep, dark clouds and mist always give people a feeling of unease.

I took two steps back and used gestures to communicate with the young indigenous man, asking him if he knew anything about the sinkhole.

The young indigenous man frowned as he looked at the sinkhole, then shook his head. However, he quickly pointed in the direction of his tribe, indicating that the people there knew.

I knew perfectly well who he was talking about. Who else in the tribe could be so familiar with these terrains except the high priest?

But Pat was still nowhere to be seen, and I didn't want to go back.

At this moment, I noticed that the bloodstains disappeared at the edge of the sinkhole. It seems that if it was an animal, there is an 80% chance that it accidentally fell into the sinkhole.

Did Pat really use the sinkhole as a cliff while chasing its prey, leading the prey into it?

If that's the case, the thick layer of clouds and mist could very well absorb the sound I make like a sponge. In addition, the terrain of this sinkhole is complex, so it's possible that I can't hear it at all.

Thinking about this, I felt a little more at ease. If Pat was just going down to the bottom of the sinkhole to find the prey, I could go down and use the survival whistle to call it back.

I asked the young indigenous person what he meant, and he said I wanted to go down to find the harpy eagle I kept.

The young local frowned as he looked at the deep sinkhole, but finally nodded at me and patted his chest, indicating that he was willing to go down with me.

The current location is far too high for us to descend from this cliff. Even with ropes, it would be extremely dangerous without knowing the depth of the sinkhole.

I plan to walk around the edge of the sinkhole first to see if there is a path that leads down to the bottom.

Generally speaking, unless it's a completely vertical rock face, millions of years of erosion will eventually carve out a path through these sinkholes that connects them to the outside world.

We began searching along the edge of the sinkhole for a path down to the bottom. Along the way, we saw only swirling clouds and steep cliffs.

Every now and then, one or two unidentified wild birds would cry out, appearing briefly in the clouds before quickly disappearing into the deep mist, adding to the mystery.

After walking for nearly half an hour with the young local, we finally found a narrow path leading to the bottom of the sinkhole.

To be more precise, this narrow path is a winding road that has been eroded and sculpted by water over a long period of time.

However, the course of this water flow may have changed over time, and now, with the accumulation of time, a layer of soil has filled in the traces of those bygone years.

However, the smooth, exposed rock walls and the traces left by the backflow of water on the rock walls are good evidence that there was once a sizable stream of water meandering down here.

Although the road is not very wide, many shrubs and weeds have taken root and grown in the cracks between the stones, and the winding road looks like a long green carpet.

This type of terrain is not much safer than the rainforest in some respects, mainly because it may have some animals that are adapted to living on rock walls, and naturally, there will be no shortage of predators.

Predators that want to successfully hunt in such harsh terrain are usually more ferocious and agile than beasts on flat land.

Because their prey are also experts at traversing cliffs; without some skill, one cannot survive in such harsh terrain.

Top continued to lead the way, occasionally turning his head to warily observe the surrounding movements.

I cocked the shotgun I was carrying on my back and held it in my hand. I wouldn't mind letting any wild animal that dared to approach within fifteen meters of us experience the thrill of firearms.

The young indigenous man also picked up his wooden spear and looked around warily. He was originally a resident of this place, and he naturally knew better than I how dangerous the rainforest was.

After walking for a while, our vision gradually became obscured by the clouds and mist in the sinkhole. Losing good visibility in this terrain is quite dangerous; any wild animal could be lying in ambush, waiting for its prey.

But I have no choice now but to rest the butt of my shotgun against the back of my shoulder so that I can fire at any time if threatened.

Fortunately, Top is leading the way. Now, even if our visibility is poor, Top will issue a warning call as soon as there is any situation.

Perhaps due to the continuous rain these past few days, the air is very humid, and breathing it into my lungs feels stuffy and oppressive.

The winding mountain road was also made even more slippery and difficult to walk on because the soil had become soft after the rain.

We continued walking down through the clouds for about twenty or thirty meters, and finally the fog started to thin out.

The road ahead, which had previously been only two or three meters of visibility, now extended to more than ten meters. As the clouds and fog thinned, the trees below the sinkhole gradually became more clearly visible in their general outlines.

Perhaps it was because the bottom of the sinkhole was moist and warm, but even though the trees were not yet fully visible, one could already sense the extraordinary nature of those large trees from a distance.

But we hadn't walked far when Top, who was walking ahead, let out a series of squeaking screams.

Upon hearing Top's warning, neither the young native nor I dared to be careless, and we immediately took out our weapons.

Soon, I heard a buzzing sound coming rapidly toward us.

If I hadn't experienced those incredible events and witnessed so many prehistoric animals in this desolate wilderness, I would have...

I would probably have assumed the sound was from a rescue helicopter, but that idea is far more absurd than a dream.

Soon, a huge black figure rapidly approached us from within the mist.

When I saw those transparent wings fluttering at an incredibly fast pace, my pupils constricted sharply, and I gasped.

"Watch out, everyone! It's a Meganedra!