Chapter 105: Argentavis
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 105: Argentavis
“Kaaaaaak!”
Parrots flew about in a frenzy.
Countless parrots inhabited the jungle.
Their combat power was pathetic.
They were basically just geckos that could fly.
A gecko that had mastered the Soaring Dragon Ascension Steps could easily take down a parrot.
And yet, there were innumerable parrots in the jungle.
Why were there so many parrots, creatures so weak they should have been weeded out by natural selection?
The answer lay in the jungle's unwritten rule.
No matter how hungry one was, hunting parrots was forbidden.
Parrots were special.
Despite not being spirit beasts, they could speak and fly.
They served as messengers, allowing for easy communication across the vast jungle.
In a jungle where spirit beasts constantly vied for power, these information-carrying parrots were treated with the utmost respect.
Even the king of birds respected the parrots.
The parrots, in turn, remained neutral, taking no one's side.
Of course, some might follow a faith based on personal preference, but they always separated public and private matters. Delivering information was their destiny.
“The Snake Queeeen!”
“Kaaak!”
“Companion! Her companion!”
“Philandererrrr!”
The sudden appearance of the Snake Queen.
And, like a comet, the arrival of her companion.
The parrots' wings beat faster than ever before.
Their information flowed and flowed, eventually reaching the nest of the Human-faced Bird.
One parrot, loitering nearby, relayed the information it had gathered.
“Kaaak!”
It didn't get any closer than necessary.
It had realized that the moment it mentioned the Snake Queen's name, the Human-faced Bird's mood had soured dramatically.
“Uooooo....”
The Human-faced Bird cried out in a low voice.
It had received the news that the Snake Queen had appeared.
Even without the parrot, it would have learned of this eventually.
Thanks to a power it had recently acquired: the ability to share the vision of its followers.
However, since the Snake Queen had appeared outside the Human-faced Bird's territory, the information would have been delayed.
“Kaak! Kaaaak!”
So, in this case, it was clearly indebted to the parrot.
The parrot shook off its unease and quickly flew away from the nest.
The Human-faced Bird seemed displeased.
The creature had never killed a parrot before, but the parrot had a feeling it might be the first.
Fwoooosh.
A massive fireball suddenly shot out.
“Kaaaaaaaak!”
The parrot couldn't dodge the attack.
Fwoooooosh!
The flames, possessing a firepower incomparable to ordinary fire, incinerated the parrot in an instant.
Thud.
Reduced to ash, the parrot fell to the ground.
“Grrrr....”
The one who had shot the fireball was a giant crane.
No, could it even be called a crane?
Its body was too thick to be called a bird's.
In contrast, it had a single leg, so thin it looked like it might snap at any moment.
It had one leg, not two.
And the most bizarre part was that, despite being a bird, it wielded the power of fire.
The Bifang. A spirit beast known as the Human-faced Bird's right wing.
“Geueueu....”
Letting out an un-bird-like cry, the Bifang landed gracefully on its single foot.
“Ahat.”
And another bird laughed at the sight.
No, to be precise, it was a spirit beast in a semi-humanoid form.
“Just like a Bifang, you've got a fiery temper.”
It was the Rakshasa Bird, the Human-faced Bird's left wing.
The Bifang didn't hide its displeasure and growled at the Rakshasa Bird.
“Krrrr....”
The smile on the Rakshasa Bird's face instantly vanished.
“What was that? You want to go at it with me?” the Rakshasa Bird shouted in a sharp voice.
Neither hid their killing intent.
Though they held equal positions, there was no reason for them to get along.
The situation was tense, as if they might clash at any moment.
“Enough.”
The Human-faced Bird flapped its massive wings.
As its low, sinister voice echoed, the Bifang extinguished its flames.
The Rakshasa Bird also retracted its sharp, black feathers.
“I... did not... call you here... to fight... each other....”
The Bifang turned its head away and stood stiffly on its one leg.
“Well, the news the parrot brought was certainly shocking,” the Rakshasa Bird said, withdrawing its killing intent and subtly leaning into the Human-faced Bird's embrace.
It looked up at the Human-faced Bird with a charming smile.
Its face boasted a beauty that could topple nations, but everyone here knew it wasn't its true face.
The Rakshasa Bird's ability was shapeshifting.
The Human-faced Bird moved a wing to gently push it away.
“Looks like the Snake Queen is finally making her move, doesn't it?”
At its words, the king of birds fell silent.
The Snake Queen would know this information would spread.
And yet, she carried this out in her true form.
If she had moved secretly in human form, at least the parrots wouldn't be chattering about her.
Why on earth would she do that?
And she did it so flamboyantly, too.
So much so that every beast in the jungle now knew of her companion's existence.
Thanks to her, their location was also exposed.
A very tempting piece of bait had been placed right before them.
“What should we do? If we're going to launch an all-out attack, now seems like the perfect time.”
The king of birds quietly organized its thoughts.
No one in this world knew the Snake Queen better than it did.
The queen with the heart of a snake, revealing her own weakness.
It was absurd.
That bait was almost certainly poisoned.
An all-out attack would only lead to defeat.
“The objective... has not... changed....”
In that case, they would simply take the bait she offered and retreat.
The purpose of this gathering was to eliminate the Snake Queen's companion.
A single spirit beast would be more than enough to kill one lizard.
But the problem was the Snake Queen by its side.
As long as the Snake Queen was protecting it, they couldn't get to the companion.
The answer was simple.
They just had to make it so the Snake Queen couldn't protect him.
“Tell... the Jian Birds....” the king of birds said in a low voice.
“Tell them... to create a trap... to kill him....”
*
There's a saying, hoga howi. [Borrowing the tiger's might.]
I think it's the perfect idiom to describe my current situation.
It means a fox borrowing the tiger's might to act powerful. Right now, I was piggybacking on the Snake Queen's authority.
What was supposed to be a pleasant outing had somehow turned into a front-row seat to watch every beast in the jungle make a fuss.
Most of them were animals that couldn't speak, so I had no idea what they were thinking, but I figured they were probably just jealous of me.
Or maybe they were admiring our harmonious family.
I spotted a familiar face among the beasts.
It was the Unicorn I'd met before.
Though now that its horn was gone, maybe I should just call it a Spirit Beast.
It was shedding tears. Perhaps it was deeply moved by the sight.
That's what I thought.
And so, we continued walking through the jungle, receiving the cheers of the beasts.
This jungle was much larger than I'd thought.
No matter how far we walked, there was no end in sight.
As we walked, an enormous tree came into view.
To be precise, I only registered its existence after we had stopped right in front of it.
It might sound contradictory, but it was so massive that I hadn't even perceived it as a tree.
It was a truly colossal tree.
So huge that the Basilisk would have to stretch all the way out just to reach the top.
Its thickness was just as extraordinary.
If a World Tree existed, it would probably look like this.
“Memorize it well.”
A human voice came from the Basilisk's head.
How could I ever forget this tree?
It was bigger than any tree I'd ever seen.
“Gekgek.”
The Snake Queen's tail wrapped around mine.
Then, she suddenly charged toward the tree.
Was she planning to knock it down?
It was an absurdly large tree, but for the Snake Queen, it might just be possible.
...But what about me?
“Ge, Gegegek!”
One second before becoming a lizard pancake, I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a frantic scream.
The Snake Queen collided with the tree.
Shhhk.
The cataclysmic roar I expected, along with me turning into a Gomodo patty, never came.
Was something wrong with my body?
Even if I was still breathing, I should have heard the sound of either the tree or my body shattering.
Had my ears broken?
No, that didn't seem right.
Whoooosh....
The sound of the blowing wind was all too clear for that to be the case.
I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes.
Before me was a rugged mountain range.
The Snake Queen and I hadn't crashed into the tree.
The giant tree had been some kind of illusion.
“So easily startled.”
“Peep!”
Swish-Swish chirped as if she'd known all along.
Hey! You could have told me beforehand.
I may look tough, but I have a fragile heart.
Passing through the illusion, we were met by a fog-filled mountain range.
The view was truly spectacular.
I wondered how such a place could exist inside the jungle, but there seemed to be no one to answer my question.
Because the Snake Queen had her mouth wide open.
...But why was her mouth open?
“You're late.”
Swooooosh.
A fierce wind kicked up, as if all the air in the space was converging on a single point.
That motion was the precursor to a Destruction Ray.
A Destruction Ray at full power, incomparable to the one she'd shown me before.
“Hiek!”
I quickly flattened myself to the ground, pinning a shrieking Swish-Swish beneath my chest.
“Peeeeep!”
She slapped at me as if to say she was suffocating, but I couldn't let her go.
KRAKOOOOOM!
A Destruction Ray of incredible thickness tore through the air.
All the beam-type techniques I'd seen until now had been single shots.
At most, they lasted for about three seconds, and that was considered long.
As someone who could use a similar technique, I knew just how difficult it was to maintain it.
But the Snake Queen maintained the technique for tens of seconds without any sign of strain.
Zhiiiiiing!
Every time she moved her head, the beam's trajectory changed.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The Snake Queen continued her assault as if she intended to obliterate the entire space.
After she had been destroying the mountain range for some time, the cry of a bird of prey echoed from the distance.
“Kieeeeeeeeeek!”
Only then did the Snake Queen stop her attack.
“Hmph. Took you long enough to show yourself.”
Something in the shape of a bird was flying toward us.
“Kieeeeeh!”
A giant bird, letting out the characteristic cry of a raptor I knew so well, soared through the sky.
【Argentavis LV70(-15)】
The former king of birds.