Chapter 82 An Angry Mother Bird

Xue Yao’s eyes widened, sparkling like the stars in the heavens. ’This is it!’ She thought inwardly.

A smooth white egg lay hidden beneath the green ferns, pulsing with a rhythmic warmth that vibrated against her palms. In her mind, she could already see herself holding a legendary beast of powerful lineage, standing on top of the world while everyone bowed before her.

’Xue Yao, you really are blessed. Look at your amazing luck!’ She slicked her hair back mentally, a smug smile forming on her lips.

Suddenly, her victory dance came to a complete halt.

Before she could even process what happened, a terrifying feeling gripped her entire body. All the hair at the back of her neck and on her arms stood straight up on end. A violent, icy chill ran right down her spine, freezing her in her tracks. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead, trickling slowly down her temple. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a wild drum.

Beside her, the five wolf pups instantly stopped moving. Little Ancestor, Mu Dou, Tie Tou, Xiao Feng, and A-Hui all dropped to their knees at the same time, their bodies trembling uncontrollably while their ears flattened tightly against their heads. The glowing purple flowers snapped shut, and the silver moss on the giant trees dimmed into pitch blackness.

The temperature in the clearing plummeted, turning as cold as Antarctica. Xue Yao’s knees shook, and she could barely draw a single breath into her lungs.

Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over the clearing, completely blocking out the morning sun. The wind whipped violently through the trees, snapping branches and sending silver leaves flying everywhere.

A terrifying, shrill screech tore through the air, loud enough to make Xue Yao’s ears ring in intense pain.

Hovering right above them was a colossal, high-level bird beast. Her blue feathers were covered with pure white energy, pulsing with an angry silver light, and her massive, razor-sharp claws looked capable of crushing a boulder. Her wide, fierce eyes locked directly onto the smooth white egg near Xue Yao’s feet.

’It was the mother bird monster.’

The mother beast let out another deafening screech, her massive wings flapping violently as she prepared to dive. The sheer pressure radiating from the furious S-rank creature pressed down on the clearing like a collapsing cliff. Little Ancestor and the four pups were completely paralyzed by fear, unable to move a single muscle as they stared up at the impending doom.

Xue Yao’s fingers tightly gripped her wooden branch, her palms slippery with cold sweat. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to turn around and run. With her Medium-Grade Shadow Escape Talisman, she could easily blink herself a thousand miles away, leaving the wolf pups behind and escaping this crazy world for good. It was her perfect chance to flee.

She looked down at the trembling Little Ancestor, who was clutching his small cloth bundle of snacks, his golden eyes wide with helpless terror.

Her mother Lin Shuying’s stern voice suddenly echoed in her mind. ’Never let anyone walk over you, and never abandon those who depend on you. If you run from every fight, you’ll lose your dignity forever.’

Xue Yao’s teeth grinded together. The fear in her chest instantly burned away, replaced by a wave of pure, ruthless anger.

’Damn it all!’ She thought inwardly, her eyes turning cold and sharp. ’I just ate this kid’s chicken, and he climbed a wall just to make sure I wouldn’t starve. If I run away now and let a giant bird eat these puppies, I’ll never be able to look at myself in a mirror again!’

Instead of running, Xue Yao took a giant step forward, completely blocking the wolf pups behind her small frame. She aggressively lifted her wooden branch, pointing it right at the massive beak of the diving mother beast.

Her sarcasms and laziness were completely gone, replaced by a terrifying streak of ruthlessness.

"Hey, you oversized chicken!" Xue Yao shouted, her voice rough but echoing with pure defiance. "You want your egg back? Then you’ll have to go through me first!"

With a single thought, she activated her Intermediate Beast Taming skill to try and slow the creature’s descent. At the exact same moment, her hand slipped behind her back, closing around her High-Grade Sticky Smelly Socks. If this monster wanted a fight, Xue Yao was ready to unleash an absolute biological disaster to protect her tiny gang of bandits and keep that precious white egg safe.

The mother bird screeched and plummeted through the green canopy like a falling moon. Her razor-sharp talons were spread wide, casting a huge shadow over the small clearing. Xue Yao’s hands shook against her wooden branch, her palms incredibly slippery with cold sweat. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and the hair all over her body remained completely on end.

’Calm down, Xue Yao. You have upgraded weapons. You are a Spirit Initiate now. You can handle a big chicken... you handled Honghong.’ She tried to comfort herself inwardly, but the sheer pressure dropping from the sky made her knees wobble.

With a quick motion, "Take this, you crazy bird!" Xue Yao yelled as she activated the High-Grade Sticky Smelly Socks.

A green, pungent mist instantly exploded into the air, swirling aggressively toward the diving mother beast. Xue Yao quickly pinched her nose, her eyes watering from the familiar, horrid scent. She braced herself, waiting for the bird to look dizzy, vomit, or collapse out of the sky just like the rock rabbits had.

But nothing happened.

The green mist hit the silver-glowing feathers and simply dissolved. The bird didn’t sneeze. She didn’t look dizzy. Instead, her wide, bloodshot eyes flared with pure, unfiltered rage. The unbearable smell hadn’t subdued her at all; it had only made her ten times more furious.

[System Notification: High-Grade Sticky Smelly Socks weakness triggered. Stronger beasts get angry instead of confused.]

Xue Yao’s eyes widened in complete horror. ’Are you kidding me right now? The system description actually didn’t lie! This stupid weapon is totally useless against the big bosses!’

The mother bird let out a shrill, deafening screech that shook the dirt beneath their boots. She flapped her massive wings, sending a violent gust of wind across the clearing that nearly knocked Xue Yao off her feet.

Behind her, the four wolf pups were huddled together in a trembling pile. Tie Tou’s tiny bow was shaking so badly he couldn’t even set an arrow.

"W-Why isn’t it falling down?" Mu Dou whimpered, his orange tail tucked tightly between his legs.

Xiao Feng’s ears drooped flat against his head. He stared up at the massive white feathers pulsing with silver energy. "That’s because it’s an S-level beast! Look at the silver light under her wings! My dad told me only the beasts at the peak of the Spirit King realm can condense moonlight into armor!"

A-Hui’s face turned completely pale as he checked the bushes. "The outer region is only supposed to have level one or level two spirit beasts! Why is a Spirit King sitting near the ferns?!"