Magic Trick

The process of entering the Black Berry Rainforest was much easier than imagined.

Perhaps it was because someone had cleared the path ahead, as Sean and the others didn't encounter any major trouble along the way.

For seven consecutive days, the most difficult challenge was a pack of wolves that were active at night and slept during the day. The wolf packs living in the primeval forest were fiercer and stronger than those in ordinary wilderness, and there were many of them. Fortunately, Gennardo understood their habits and set up beast traps in advance, and so...

On the morning of the eighth day, everyone ate chewy roasted wolf meat and a pot of fresh, wild wolf soup.

Wolf meat itself has a strong gamey smell, but Gennardo was clearly prepared, bringing a pile of bottles and jars filled with seasonings. Chili oil, bean paste, pepper powder, mustard sauce... etc., most of them were strong flavors. Forget wolf meat, even a shoe sole would taste good grilled with them.

Gennardo also had a special notebook to record what was edible and what was not in the Black Berry Rainforest. Forest wolves were just one of many types of wild game, so there was no need to worry about getting sick from eating them.

So far, their journey had been smooth, with every incident being thrilling yet safe. It could be said to be a perfect forest exploration experience—in this regard, Wilson had fulfilled his promise to Conina.

But he was still unhappy.

Because he wasn't just taking care of Conina, he also had to take care

The trees in the Wild Bird Forest were dark purple and easy to distinguish. After tidying up their pots and pans, everyone began to take a detour.

This time, Sean and Conina walked at the back.

The enthusiastic female neighbor always wanted to whisper secrets to him.

Sean still held the torch, driving away poisonous insects and birds that feared fire. The difference was that for the past few nights, he hadn't just held the torch; he had also been using his mental power to try to control the flames, coordinating with his hand movements. It looked as if the flames were being manipulated by him, coaxed into various shapes with his fingertips.

And characters.

The flame illuminated Conina's face, and her eyes looked at Sean like water, "Your fingers are so flexible, I want them."

Sean: "..."

Not giving.

"Don't you feel the heat?" Conina asked.

She had tried it the night before when Sean was playing with fire, suspecting it was fake fire. As a result, it burned her so badly that she yelped and almost climaxed.

She genuinely couldn't understand why Sean wasn't afraid, nor had she seen him apply any special essential oil to his fingers.

Sean coolly replied, "If you could understand it all, would it still be called a magic trick?"

"Okay, then I'll ask a different question." Conina got straight to the point, "Why don't you like me?"

Her tone carried a hint of melancholy and a bit of grievance.

She had tried many ways to sneak into Sean's tent these past few days, but in the end, Sean had kicked her out every single time. Once, she had even dressed as a bunny girl in fishnet stockings, but Sean had only complimented her clothes, saying they were very white, and then nothing more. It made her doubt her own charm.

Sean was also quite puzzled, "We have no grudges, why should I like you?"

Conina: "Because I'm slutty."

Sean: "?"

"Don't men like slutty women?" Conina asked.

Sean couldn't respond to that, as he couldn't speak for all men.

"Don't tell me you don't like women either." Conina glanced at Gennardo in front of them.

"Congratulations, you guessed correctly." Sean said this aloud, but in his mind, he recalled the Flame Crow Girl who had saved his life earlier. He wondered when he would see her again.

Sean hadn't had any dreams for the past few nights and still didn't understand what the Void Arts Space was. However, he wasn't in a hurry because there were more pressing matters. He looked up at the night sky; the crescent moon was cold and hazy, and in a trance, he saw a dark shadow flash by.

He could be sure it wasn't an illusion or a trick of the eye; something had been following them.

After a brief chat, Sean stopped paying attention to Conina and focused on playing with the torch, practicing his "magic trick."

The atmosphere of the entire team was also very quiet. It was best not to make noise when traveling through the jungle at night. Even if they had to chat, they should keep their voices as low as possible, otherwise, they might not hear any unusual sounds around them and wouldn't be able to react if attacked.

Gennardo, walking at the very front of the team, was exceptionally cautious. Before taking each step, he would first tap the ground with the branch in his hand to test it.

But an accident still happened.

"Caw!"

Without any warning, a bird cry, like that of a Red-tailed Hawk, suddenly rang out in everyone's ears.

It was extremely close, and the suddenness of it caused the eardrums of several people to ache.

Gennardo's expression changed: "Young eagle bird?!"

"Damn it, why are they here?" Wilson cursed. He also recognized the sound, but they had clearly bypassed the Wild Bird Forest. Why would they encounter young eagle birds?

Another hawk cry, and a young eagle bird rushed out of the darkness, carrying a hoarse shriek, giving the group no time to prepare.

"Get down!" Gennardo roared.

Seeing the dark silhouette flying towards her, Jenny was so frightened that she forgot to even call for help. Fortunately, Johnson reacted quickly and tackled her to the ground. At the same time--

"Bang!"

Jim, holding a hunting rifle, fired.

Young eagle birds prey on the weak and fear the strong. They had to kill one to make an example of it immediately, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

Jim was a veteran hunter who had been a mercenary and had seen battle. One of the reasons he had transitioned to being a man was that his marksmanship was too good, and he was a bit rough. No one liked a crude woman. Men always had strange competitive desires, which made him very unpopular at the time because his marksmanship often made others feel ashamed of themselves.

However, he missed this shot.

It was night, and visibility was already low. The young eagle birds were fast. Unless they charged from the front, it was difficult for human eyes to track their trajectory.

After the gunshot, more young eagle birds made sounds, like a pack of wolves surrounding their prey.

At least a dozen of them.

The sudden attack threw the group into disarray.

Gennardo forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "Find a tree trunk to squat down and protect your vital areas!"

Young eagle birds were not poisonous. As long as their vital areas were not pierced by their sharp beaks, they wouldn't die.

In contrast, how to repel these wild birds was the biggest challenge.

"If we can't, let's run..." Jenny, who had gotten up and was hiding behind Johnson, said fearfully.

"We can't run!" Wilson immediately stopped her.

Running is a sign of weakness. Once they turn their backs and flee, within ten seconds, they'll face an endless swarm of young eagle birds. That's when escape will truly be impossible.

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunshots rang out continuously, but with little effect.

Only two or three of the dozen or so young eagle birds were shot down, not nearly enough to deter the rest of the flock.

The scene descended into chaos.

"Damn it, how can these bird-things form formations!" Wilson wanted to fire a few more shots but saw several young eagle birds lining up. Their combined, hardened wings glinted coldly in the moonlight, like a scythe held horizontally, easily slicing through branches in their path as they "chopped" towards him, nearly decapitating him.

Wilson quickly pulled his head back.

The young eagle birds missed, but their momentum didn't diminish.

Wilson subconsciously looked back and realized the flock wasn't targeting him, but Sean.

Because Sean was still holding the torch!

When everyone else had crouched down behind trees, the flame became the only distinct target in the birds' eyes.

"Sean! Put out the fire quickly!" Wilson urged.

But it was too late.

From their position and angle, he and Gennardo couldn't even fire at the flock; the chance of accidentally hitting Sean and Conina was higher than hitting the young eagle birds.

Listening to the increasingly close hawk cries and the sound of air being torn apart, Conina, who was with Sean, turned pale with fright. The only thing she could do was cover her well-maintained face tightly, preferring to be pecked to death than disfigured.

Until the next second.

Conina's vision suddenly brightened.

When the light was sufficient, one could feel it even with closed eyes.

She couldn't help but open one eye, peeking through her fingers.

Then her eyes widened further.

Sean hadn't extinguished the flame. Instead, by some means, he had made it burn even fiercer than before, the scorching firelight illuminating almost the entire area they were in.

"Sean, they aren't afraid of fire!" Gennardo quickly reminded him.

Sean: "I know."

No need for Gennardo to say it; the young eagle birds daring to follow the firelight to find him clearly weren't afraid of flames.

But after tonight...

"They will be."

Sean crooked a finger.

Then, everyone saw—a huge ball of flame, as if suddenly unraveled, split into several strands following Sean's finger. Then, before their very eyes, strand after strand transformed into sharp arrows, shooting towards the charging young eagle birds.

"Boom!"

"Caw!"

Upon hitting their targets, the fiery arrows exploded, igniting a series of small fireballs. The forest was instantly filled with a series of shrill screams, accompanied by the tantalizing aroma of roasted meat.

Sean sniffed his nose: "Hmm... smells better than wolf meat?"

Conina: "?"

Gennardo: "??"

Johnson and Jenny: "???"

Jim: "?????"

Everyone's eyes were wide, their mouths could fit two grilled sausages.

After Sean played with fire in the car last time, Jim rubbed his eyes again.

What the hell did he just see?

Sean turned the flames into arrows, shot them out, and killed the flock of young eagle birds??

Conina was stunned: "Sean, you... how did you do that?"

Sean still gave the same two words: "Technique."

"Isn't it normal for a magician to control fire?"

Everyone: "???"

They looked at the young eagle birds falling from the sky, their feathers already burned away, their skin scorched...

Damn it, you call this a magic trick??

Sean ignored them, picked up a roasted bird, wiped off the ash, tore off a leg, and put it in his mouth to taste.

The taste was average, like chicken breast. It didn't smell as good as it tasted; perhaps it was because there were no seasonings?

Sean tasted it and threw it away, looking somewhat disgusted. He clapped his hands and called out to everyone: "Continue? We're almost there."

The young eagle birds were truly bullies who picked on the weak. Seeing their companions all roasted, the few birds that had luckily not attacked Sean and escaped death screeched, flapped their wings, and fled in panic, flying as fast as they could. One even flew in a panic, crashed into a tree trunk, and fell with a "splat," hanging on a branch. It then looked back at Sean humanely before flapping its wings and running off again.

Johnson realized, his face flushed with excitement, "So you know magic!"

This further proved the rumors about the small grove were true!

Sean had just turned fire into an arrow, which was totally awesome!

But he wasn't envious.

Because it was his turn to be awesome!

Sean knew that no words could change Johnson's mind now, so he didn't reply.

The Spring of Enlightenment was indeed very close. After walking all night, judging by the distance, they should be arriving soon.

The sky was already turning a pale white, as if symbolizing hope lay ahead.

But Sean knew in his heart that things weren't that simple.

He was increasingly convinced this was a trap.

Young eagle birds should be nesting in the wild bird forest; why would they come here?

Was it a whim to move?

No, birds are more attached to their nests than people are.

Sean leaned towards another possibility—a more powerful enemy had invaded their rightful territory.

Someone was occupying their nest.

Especially when, after walking the final stretch, they finally reached the small grove Chris had visited just before dawn, Sean became even more certain.

Because he saw more than just the small grove.

He also saw crows, like a dark cloud, circling above the trees.