novelraw Chapter 440 - 439 - Arrogance of Instinct
Chapter 440 - 439 - Arrogance of Instinct
Han looked at the looming trees of the Mengcong. Compared to the relatively flat plains behind him, the trees seemed to dare intruders to enter at their own risk. Unlike the open lands, the plants inside the Mengcong were known to be as much in the Sky Realm as any aether beast.
His millennia of battles had his blood boiling at the carnage to come but he could not give the commands currently. He was only a sub-leader. When more than one Heaven Realm was allied, the strongest would be the leader.
If they were close, they would fight it out to see who would lead. Han knew his place and while his younger self would have challenged Lira, his experience told him she would use his fellow Fire Hawks like shields for her Light Ravens.
Still, Lira at least had respect for his kind.
The others arrayed around him had no such sentiment.
The leader of the shrikes was a peak tier 9 Sky Realm that had awakened a purer version of their bloodline. They had been able to transform partially before reaching the Heaven Realm.
The man looked painfully thin as the strangely pristine white feathers acted like robes to cover him. His beady dark eyes were far wider than any humanoid but that was due to the fact beneath those robes was a lethal beak.
How he spoke mystified Han but the creepy tilt of his head always made Han shiver. The zheng was at least more honest compared to the slim shrike leader.
The large female zheng could speak as well but she remained simply in her natural form only larger. Her 5 tails ended in black tips that glittered to show she had metal Qi in her core. Her rictus of a smile matched her vicious style of attack.
She would not go for the kill, but the maiming.
Her name, roughly translated, came to Mother of Blood. The shrike had at least taken a more direct name of Incisor. They both were bloodthirsty creatures but Incisor actually killed his target quickly, even if it was from a surprise attack only.
Lira smiled openly at them but Han knew that smile was not kind or warm at all. Sadly, the 2 beasts seemed to accept such a smile as one of their own. They could not conceive they were just fodder.
"The treacherous spider has killed one of our comrades but worse, she has invited cultivators into our island. She has forfeited any right to hold her territory!" Han repressed the sigh he wanted to exhale.
The words were mostly useless but it gave justification for any other Star Tier observing. Some might object to the Light Ravens and Fire Hawks gobbling up more territory, but cultivators were a common sore spot for many beasts.
Those beings were their food and should accept their fate! Han disagreed but he was in the minority. Lady Gua would be another outlier as she had no special feelings one way or the other but Han knew the other reason for the words.
The domineering roar a few months ago had likely come from the rumored sect master, Lind Frey. It was said he was now more beast than man but awakening a bloodline usually did not have such an effect.
Humans that were taken over by the bestial ancestral bloodline usually just became berserkers but Han felt the majesty in that roar. It was not mindless and the actions since have proved that.
Lira did not seem to care.
Likely, she could not conceive of it as her desire to dominate like a phoenix was making her choose foolish decisions. He also had such an instinct but he knew his limits. He was not a phoenix and never would become one.
"Great Mistress, as long as you dominate the spider, we can handle the rest." The shrike seemed to whisper but his subservience was clear. Han flinched at such an obvious lie.
He knew the shrikes and zheng would hoard as many corpses as they could get away with. Mother of Blood merely flicked her tongue along her razor sharp teeth. It was clear she was ready to fight.
"Then go, start the attack and we will engage Gua for the final time!" Lira was feverish but Han could only look on as he saw the fall of his counterpart. Her desperation was so clear but she could not attack him.
The chance to consume such a prime beast would lead to a massive improvement. Han would not get any as it was too late to help him.
His warriors looked to him and he nodded before they took to the skies. Han wondered who would win. His instincts told him it should be them but he had been humbled enough to know his instincts were too arrogant.
War was not decided by numbers alone. Luck played a part but Gua was a tricky fighter. If she could force them to the ground, the odds would not be in their favor at all.
Han followed Lira as they began the hunt for their prey.
The war between the Mengcong and the Singing Mountains began in earnest.
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The shrikes moved swiftly and silently above the giant trees of the Mengcong. Despite the jungle having ideal places for birds to nest, very few lived there. The Lady Gua was not the reason as many of the Illusion Pythons had long hunted birds as their favorite prey.
Incisor trusted nothing he saw but his kind was not lost in the art of illusion either. As if they were telepathic, the entire wing of shrikes dove sharply as the shattering of glass was heard. An illusion had been broken!
The expected aether beasts hiding, however, were not found.
Instead, there were cannons pointed directly at them by some demons and humans! They had been tricked!
Incisor responded quickly. Unlike many other avian races, shrikes were the best at swift change in directions. The Light Ravens and Fire Hawks may rule now, but the shrikes were once the overlords of the Singing Mountains.
Incisor hoped to find enough prey to break through to the Star Tier and challenge those fools currently sacrificing them. Unlike what Han thought, Incisor understood Lira very well. He would have acted the same in her position.
He also treated the others of his race much the same. All that mattered was his survival.
"Blend!" His word was only a whisper but the effect was terrifying as Qi blasted upward. Incisor sneered as the world became gray to his eyes. Shrikes had a racial ability to slip away into a dimension just barely outside the current world.
It was a very Qi intensive and short skill, but it was highly effective! The shrikes seemed to appear out of midair to pierce the puny cultivators. Incisor was about to rejoice when darkness covered the world.
Light Ravens and Fire Hawks suppressed his bloodline but he could resist as he grew stronger, but at that moment all resistance vanished.
"Kneel!" A giant golden bird had hovered over them with black tips on its wings. Incisor had never seen such a majestic creature! All his brethren crashed to the ground as they had not been prepared but Incisor tried to resist yet could not.
"I said kneel, or you will die right now!" The female voice made blood cough up from Incisor as he tried to stand. What was that beast?!
His race memory was screaming at him to obey! It never did so with Lira or Han, so why did this mere tier 5 make him feel so tiny!
"You have chosen poorly, mongrel!" The world suddenly tilted and Incisor thought he had been knocked down but then saw his headless body!
When was he attacked?! How?! All his plans were ruined! By what?!
The august presence finally was fully revealed and the last realization made him weep.
A roc! A pure blood roc! Next to the phoenix, the rocs were the gods of the sky! Incisor lamented his foolishness but there was no medicine for regret as death claimed him.
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A spirit fox sprinted in terror as several zheng chased it. The fox was only a tier 3 but the zheng were between tier 4 and 7. They could have easily caught up to the fox but it was more fun to see it panic and think it could escape.
Mother of Blood looked on but a mere tier 3 hardly interested her. She wanted more worthy toys. She still wanted to advance but had no desire to rule the Singing Mountains. So long as they had prey, she would be satisfied.
The small group dove around a rather large tree when Mother of blood narrowed her pale gold eyes. She smelled blood but not fox blood! The spirit fox poked its head out and stuck out a tongue before vanishing in a ball of fire.
It was a mere trick of Qi but she did not care. The tree was all she saw. The fox had no blood on it at all but all the zheng sent out did not appear.
They were dead!
"Rrrrrrrr." Her rumble made all the rest with her go on alert. Unlike their sadistic nature, they were quite serious if threatened but they all smelled nothing but the blood of their kin. What had killed them?
Mother of Blood suddenly dodged as a spear materialized out of thin air directly above her! A scent of an aether child filled her nostrils but that was not all! Pythons! The spirit's cursed Illusion Pythons were there too!
The scents vanished as quickly as they came but Mother of Blood noticed her numbers had thinned. Her eyes narrowed as something was off.
The pythons crushed and swallowed prey. An aether child used the spear but none of them smelled like blood. Who had killed her kin?!
Her mind raced but the spear came again. She dodged on instinct and finally saw the earth swallow members of her pride like they were nothing! Something powerful was here that controlled the earth!
Such a beast might as well be a god in the jungle. Plants would aid such a beast in ways Mother of Blood found sending a chill down her spine.
"ROAR!" Her voice was infused with air and metal. It shredded the illusions as she was far stronger but all she saw was a sapphire and gold aether child with a handful of Illusion Pythons.
There was no other beast. Still, she took the chance to kill! There was no time to play as the remaining members pounced before the earth exploded!
A young woman with stone gray robes burst forth but her hands were hard shells as the earth seemed to mold to her will! She was only tier 3 but her power was far above that!
"You will not hurt Mama!" Tal was fierce as more of the zheng were swallowed by the earth. The trees took over at that point and happily consumed the nutrients. Only the Mother of Blood remained but she did not advance.
"Stone dral?" Shock flashed across Tal's face as well as Annabelle's. That was enough for Mother of Blood to understand. As if to confirm it, the scent of Incisor's blood reached her at that moment.
"I surrender." She put her paws forward but her eyes never left the impossible beast. Her bloodline told her stone drals only appeared in the Heaven Realm. Lira had made a grave mistake.
Tal did not approach but swiftly encased the zheng's tails and paws in earth. The Illusion Pythons also used a jade stone to call someone, likely a tier 9 or more to come for Mother of Blood.
Two fronts in the war had been swiftly annihilated but more flooded the Mengcong and not all fronts were as advantageous to the Moebius Sect.