12.3 - A free plane ride and a trouble making system
translator: xiin
editors: Macabre & alamerysl
Mottled sunlight fell through the thick forest canopy, leaving no trace of warmth in its wake. The leaves whispered in the wind, following the small team trudging carefully through the forest. They were lacking in strength and were afraid of encountering something they could not afford to fight; they didn't want to end up dead in this mysterious forest.
They already lost a comrade last night. That idiot refused to listen to their advice, and had chosen to stay up and keep watch in the middle of the night. As a result, they disappeared into the Demonic Beast Forest during the night.
Night in the Demonic Beast Forest did not belong to human beings, nor did it belong to the demonic beasts, so very few demonic beasts would move about during the night as they would only end up as fertilizer for the demonic plants. If it hadn't been for the fact that those demonic plants would only transform at night, the Demonic Beast Forest would have become the world of demonic plants by now.
This continent had once been a flourishing one with countless races; dwarves, elves, orcs, all the races that existed in legends had once appeared on this continent, but now they only existed in history.
That time had long passed; so long that when the oldest elder still living had been born, this continent had already been left with nothing but the Demonic Beast Forest and the area where humans resided. Everywhere else had long since disappeared.
Legend had it that a clan of elves once lived at the center of the Demonic Beast Forest. The Elf King had extremely high magical power, as well as the strongest spiritual power on this continent. If he wished, he could have overturned the entire continent. During that time, the Demonic Beast Forest had no demonic beasts at all, and only demonic plants existed. After the Kings and Gods fell, the Devil World and the Mortal World became isolated, and children no longer heard legends about the devils. Even the legendary Beast God was held in contempt by many people.
This world had entered an era similar to the Desolate Eras in cultivation worlds. Gods were slowly disappearing for reasons unknown. It was obvious that they had cared for this continent, but they hadn't left even the tiniest bit of themselves behind, not even the legends from long ago.
Xue Ling didn't understand these things, nor did he want to pay attention to them. He was crouched over the group of human beings at the moment, trying to choose the most suitable angle to pass through the road in front of them without catching their attention.
He calculated back and forth without finding any way to achieve it, and finally rolled his eyes in disgust, feeling that this group of people was really too eye-catching.
What was this group of spineless people doing in the Demonic Beast Forest? Couldn't they just find some random grove of trees to play in and be done with it? They were still in the outer layer of the Demonic Beast Forest. If they entered the middle layer, they would be done for sooner or later.
Xue Ling hadn't finished criticizing them internally when he heard a faint rustling sound from behind.
He tensed up all over, and the fur on the back of his neck stood on end. He unhesitatingly dove down and landed on the head of one one of them men in the group, launched himself off with a foot, and ran like he was flying.
That group of people's eyes brightened, and someone shouted, "Immature Flame Ink Wolf!"
Smiles burst out onto their faces immediately, but they were not happy for too long as the sound of a bird calling could be heard from behind.
The bird's cry was harsh, and the huge bird's flapping wings made a very loud noise, bringing forth fierce winds that swept through the crowd. They had no way to maintain their ranks, and the demonic beasts around them started to flee as various noises and calls rose and fell one after another.
This was the signal for an impending crisis. Although the demonic beasts here did not have the ability to speak, they were still very clever. When their natural enemies or stronger powerhouses came by, their auras were enough to frighten them out of their wits, quickly causing chaos in this area.
The members of the team immediately scattered, running around in every which direction. Several of them died on the spot, their deaths wretched; most of them had carelessly rushed in front of the already-frightened demonic beasts and were cut in half as a result.
Crying, howling, and all kinds of other noises did not affect the actions of the huge bird in the sky at all.
Its wingspan was very long; one extended wing was twice the length of a man's height. When they flapped, they lifted up a comparatively small body, and made the bird appear light and graceful.
A hunter who had been hiding in the vicinity waiting for an opportunity to ambush some demonic beasts had a face full of surprise, "… How could it be? That's a four-star Meteorite Bird! Why is it in the outer layer!!!"
This was also the question Xue Ling wanted to ask. Damn it, if he hadn't been so on guard, he would probably have been carried away by the huge bird which had approached so silently just now!
As its name implied, the Meteorite Bird dropped very quickly, just like a meteorite. It usually went unnoticed by its target, and by the time they came to their senses, they were already caught by the Meteorite Bird. Xue Ling was lucky to have been able to detect it, but to escape once did not mean he could escape a second time - especially when he was the bird's target.
Xue Ling tried his best to move to various places that the system marked for him where various other demonic beasts resided. He tried to disturb the forest and have the Meteorite Bird change targets, but unfortunately, prey that had been locked onto by the bird had no way to escape. Xue Ling's wolf cub body had short legs, and it was compounded by the hierarchical suppression. After disrupting everything over a significant stretch of the forest, he still ended up caught in the Meteorite Bird's claws as it flew straight up into the sky.
Xue Ling had given up struggling. When the meteorite bird caught him, it was very careful and did not hurt him. Although Xue Ling was not afraid, the immature cub acted very pitiful, trembling and crying as it was carried up into the sky.
Xue Ling: "…" This was really too much. He had only turned smaller because he'd been hurt. His previous shape had still been very powerful - when he took on human form, he was a sleek and cool, icily handsome man. Why was this body so weak and useless now?
Fine, he still had some doubts about the body of the little ger from the previous world, but at least that body had been able to make use of his own strength. Now, because he was blocked by the will of this world, he could only make use of this body's original strength…
And this body was currently in the form of an immature cub…
Having thought in a circle and returned back to the original point, Xue Ling's expression while he was up in the sky was that of someone with nothing to live for.
The system consoled him, "Don't be so sad. Isn't this great? He caught you in order to bring you back to his old nest, which should be in the deepest part of the middle layer. Based on the Meteorite Bird's strength, no matter how you look at it, the territory that he occupies should be excellent. You no longer need to climb mountains and cross rivers just to get to the middle layer, but you're still so unhappy."
"Then when it tosses me down later, will you stand in for me and serve as its food?"
System: "… Host, be more open minded. Perhaps it just wanted to bring you back for fun and doesn't actually plan to eat you?"
Xue Ling: "Ha-ha."
It was in fact a very good thing to have a free plane ride a-la-Meteorite Bird. And because it was carrying him as it flew, Xue Ling finally realized how big the Demonic Beast Forest really was, and why the humans had set up so many transmission formations within the layers. If he had relied on his own short legs, perhaps the three gongs would have already destroyed the world while fighting over Ivan before he even reached the center of the forest.
After flying for the better part of a day, the Meteorite Bird crossed the boundary into the middle layer, then landed on a tree and rested for a while. Xue Ling was kept firmly pressed under its feet, and had no way to escape all night. He could only thoroughly give up any thoughts of resistance, and allow the bird to carry him for a very long distance the next day until they reached the Meteorite Bird's nest.
Meteorite Birds lived on cliffs ten thousand feet high. Their nests were very difficult to find, and only they were able to spot their own nests at a glance while in the sky, and then drop down to land like the meteorites they were named after.
Xue Ling had guessed that the bird probably did not plan to eat him. Although they were natural enemies, an adult Ink Flame Wolves' magic flame could burn Meteorite Birds at close range. Since they were naturally born enemies, this was why Xue Ling had been targeted by the bird.
Xue Ling realized the huge bird's intentions after he was tossed into the Meteorite Bird's nest.
There were now very few Ink Flame Wolves in the forest, because their species had basically all been massacred by Kent. Even if they had been stronger, they would have been unable to contend against humans' **, and it would be difficult to find even an immature cub. The Ink Flame Wolves were very useful for Meteorite Birds - only when they have eaten Ink Flame Wolves would the immature Meteorite Birds really be able to spread their very wide wings.
There was no need for the entire wolf. Just a mouthful of meat would be enough, but Xue Ling looked at the rows of eggs in the nest and felt a little pressured.
Even if they shared him, it wouldn't necessarily be enough for these birds.
Without the Ink Flame Wolf, the mortality rate of young Meteorite Birds would be very high. No wonder the bird had gone to the outer layer to catch and bring Xue Ling back. It must have been searching constantly as it headed out, but the only wolf it had managed to find was Xue Ling.
The huge bird threw him into the suspended nest. It was confident that Xue Ling would be unable to escape as the nest which was set up very high in the cliffs, and thus turned and left again to continue looking for more Ink Flame Wolves.
Hatching the baby birds did not require other birds' care, and humans would be unable to spot the nest, so it left without much concern. Xue Ling moved silently to the edge of the bird's nest and asked the system to call out the map so that he could figure out where he was.
"This cliff is right next to the innermost boundary. You can't see it now. Let me help you turn on the god view function." The system's words were rather juvenile, but a semi-circle boundary really appeared in Xue Ling's vision. The boundary line did not account for altitude, and made no differentiation between the sky and the ground. "I've told you to think positively. If you jump down from here, you'll be one step closer to the Sacred Pool. It's quite close to here."
Xue Ling laughed sarcastically, "I'll kick you down first. You can pad my landing for me after you've fallen down."
"Host, don't laugh like that!" Xue Ling didn't know what the system was trying to pull off, but it offered, "I'll carry host down. Even though host can't use your own power, you can still borrow my strength. Host, don't worry. I'll fly us down."
Xue Ling wasn't worried, but he was unwilling to hug that white fox that looked so foolish when it stood up. He used a paw to smack the system onto the ground, then laid himself out on its back. His paws clutched two tufts of fur, and they looked just like a double layered carpet - the scene was quite beautiful.
The system stood up rather pitifully. It knew that things were not going that smoothly for its host this time, and very considerately made it a point not to go against him… Otherwise, its host wouldn't be merely lying on its body, and might instead choose to pull out its fur during their trip down to the ground.
Xue Ling thought about it. Although it hadn't been easy for the Meteorite Bird to carry him all the way here, its original intention had been to eat his meat and drink his blood. It seemed that simply walking away did not conform to his character of avenging any grievance and obtaining revenge.
The system commented, "Other than you, there are no other Ink Flame Wolves in the forest. What are you worried about? His children won't be able to live even if they hatch. At that point, he'll probably go and confront the humans."
"A while ago, the original host of this body heard that humans were planning to raise their own Ink Flame Wolves because the wolves in the forest had already been cleared out by them. As soon as he heard this news, Ivan immediately turned around and set this curse on him so that he would be unable to kill Kent his whole life. If I were him, even if I couldn't kill Kent, I would still stab Ivan so that the Holy Saint would also learn how it feels to be stabbed and killed."
The system shrugged its shoulders, stood at the edge of the nest, and jumped down.
At first, the system was not falling very fast. It had chosen a landing spot that was right at the edge of the boundary and planned to figure out a way to get Xue Ling across the boundary after they landed. But after they had fallen halfway, Xue Ling discovered that the Meteorite Bird had seen them and was now closing in.
The Meteorite Bird locked onto the system, and the system accelerated in a panic. Regardless of where they land, as long as it was within the middle layer, they would still be caught by the bird a second time. It would be absolutely impossible to escape a second time as the Meteorite Bird would definitely guard against them.
"Head towards the innermost layer." Xue Ling was on its back. He wrapped his arms tightly around the system's neck and commanded, "It can't get into the innermost layer!"
It's true that it couldn't get in! But we can't get in either! The system roared in its heart and thought to itself, if it was that simple to enter the inner boundary, this world wouldn't be fun at all!
But it hadn't even had time to swear when they came into contact with the innermost boundary. The system had originally thought that they would create a loud 'pa!' sound as they smacked against the boundary, but unexpectedly, they really went straight through. It subconsciously tried to stop, and accidentally sent Xue Ling, who had been on its back, flying through the air.
System: "…" QAQ It's over. Its host was going to kill it…
It looked up and saw that the Meteorite Bird had been blocked by the boundary. The system had originally thought that it would attempt to get in, but instead, when the Meteorite Bird saw them go in, it simply turned around and left. It seemed that the children in its nest were not as important as the boundary.
The figure of the system disappeared into thin air. After all, it wasn't really there, and as long as it wanted, it could immediately return to its host's side…
Even if its host was now unconscious from being tossed off its back…
xiin: given that the system doesn't even have wings, i have no idea how it can offer to 'fly'… best plothole ever.
Macabre: Today we learn the system was a flying squirrel all along.
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