Azure-Scaled Eagle

Er Meng, dark-skinned, grinned foolishly, practically drooling as he hurried forward. "This is the biggest bird's nest I've ever raided. It's my first time seeing eggs this huge." Little Monkey gave a dry chuckle; when he smiled, he truly looked like a mountain monkey.

"So beautiful!" Little Dot, Shi Hao, blinked his large eyes, his long lashes fluttering. Gazing at the three ferocious bird eggs, warm and crystalline, glimmering with specks of light, he could not help but feel delighted. He was the youngest and immensely curious, badly wanting to pick them up for a closer look.

Er Meng stepped forward, but the instant he reached out and touched one of the giant eggs, he cried out, "Ow!" His arm went numb and tingly, as though he had been struck by lightning.

"What happened?!" The children were all startled.

On the jade-like, crystalline eggshell, the spots and patterns shone brilliantly like twinkling stars. They were exceptionally beautiful, with a mysterious power flowing through them.

"So powerful. The Azure-Scaled Eagle is descended from an ancient demonic bird. Even though its bloodline is no longer pure, some fragmented rune inheritances still remain within the imprints of its life." Little Dot studied Bone Script every day, and now he had seen through the mystery. His big eyes fluttered as he spoke in a crisp voice, like a little adult.

The children were both shocked and delighted. The more powerful such a ferocious bird was, the rarer and nobler its hatchlings would be. In the future, they could guard the village—perhaps even stand shoulder to shoulder with the sacrificial spirit.

"It's only the spots on the eggshell that are giving off light. Be careful not to touch those places. Put them in the animal-hide bags; we need to leave quickly." Shi Big Strong was tall and powerfully built, but also steady and composed. He urged them on. There was no time to waste.

Clearly, they had come prepared. Every one of them carried an animal-hide bag. They swiftly opened them and carefully placed the ferocious bird eggs inside. There were three jade eggs as large as washbasins. Apart from Little Dot, each of the other three carried one on his back.

"Wonderful! I never thought we'd succeed." Er Meng was overjoyed, grinning so broadly that even snot bubbles were about to come out.

Little Monkey also grinned. "From now on, Stone Village will have a powerful ferocious bird guarding it. The chief, Uncle Lin Hu, and the others will definitely be convinced. They'll look at us in a whole new light."

"Ow!" Shi Big Strong stumbled and nearly fell, but Little Dot caught him at once.

The ferocious bird's nest was covered in golden-thread grass, soft and plush. Yet among it lay several scales that glinted with a cold metallic sheen. Shi Big Strong had not noticed them and stepped on one. It pierced through the sole of his shoe, drawing blood from his foot. Thankfully, it had only broken the skin.

"What sharp scales!" Little Dot, Shi Hao, gathered several azure scales into his hands. Each was as large as a baby's palm, flashing with cold light.

"These are scales from a mature ferocious bird. They truly are extraordinary. I reckon even a broadsword weighing several hundred jin would struggle to split them!" Little Monkey said.

The children did not dare linger. Like geckos, they rapidly descended along the cliff face. Before long, they reached the ground, wiped away their sweat, and let out long breaths.

"How was it? Did you get anything?" A group of children crowded around them.

"Success! We raided a whole nest of bird eggs, haha..." Er Meng laughed loudly.

The children opened the animal-hide bags and peered inside. When they saw the washbasin-sized bird eggs, gleaming softly with mysterious flecks of clear radiance, they all exclaimed in amazement.

"Wonderful, we succeeded!"

"These were laid by a powerful ferocious bird. Stone Village will have flying war birds now."

"Let's go!"

They were both happy and excited. Like a pack of little mountain beasts, they leaped through the Stone Forest with incredible speed. Before long, they had left the Stone Forest, escaping before the Azure-Scaled Eagle returned.

"This went really smoothly. Let's hurry and go!"

The forest was dense, with fallen leaves piled more than a foot deep, soft beneath their feet. Towering trees blotted out the blazing sun, while ancient vines coiled around giant trunks like horned dragons. Beast roars occasionally drifted from the distance, shaking the mountains.

Fortunately, this place was not far from Stone Village. They were still within a relatively safe region and had not ventured into the range where the dangerous horrors of the great mountains roamed.

"Almost there! Put your backs into it—we'll run all the way to the village in one go!"

Though the children were excited, they were also somewhat worried. After all, it was an Azure-Scaled Eagle. Even the strongest grown men in the village feared it, yet they had successfully swept away every egg it had laid. It all felt a little unreal.

Suddenly, a cry rang through the sky, piercing metal and splitting stone. It was incredibly shrill, carrying a terrifying penetrative force that made the children's eardrums ache.

"Oh no, that Azure-Scaled Eagle has returned. It must have discovered that its three eggs are gone. It's going to go mad!" one child cried out.

"Run!" Little Shi Hao's eyes flashed brightly. Through a gap in the branches of the giant trees, he saw a shadow circling in the sky and heading their way.

High in the air, violent winds howled. A giant bird cast an immense shadow over the forest as it dove down at extreme speed, its body flowing with cold azure light and radiating astonishing ferocity.

The other children saw it as well. In the distance, a giant bird swooped toward this stretch of forest through the air, moving as fast as a falling star, fierce and terrifying.

"Dear mother, that bird's huge! Run!"

The children cried out, fear rising in their hearts. The bird was simply too enormous—seven or eight meters long, with a wingspan of fifteen meters when spread. Its entire body was covered in azure scales that gleamed with a cold metallic luster, its vicious baleful aura bearing down upon them!

The children fled wildly, relying on their familiarity with the forest and charging straight for the densest thickets to evade the ferocious bird whose scales flashed with cold light.

Boom!

Dozens of towering trees were smashed apart by its iron wings. Branches and leaves flew everywhere, splinters whirling through the air. It was like a creature forged from steel; as it dove down, nothing could withstand it.

The sight was terrifying. The children screamed, their faces pale as they ran for their lives.

This enormous creature was terrifyingly powerful. Its iron wings struck the heavens and destroyed everything in their path, while its scales glimmered with a grim, icy light. A single dive had devastated more than half this patch of forest, sending shattered wood and torn leaves flying.

It was far too powerful. Its body was incomparably hard, and its wings were like broad blades, seemingly capable of snapping a mountain peak in two. These trees could not stop it at all.

It resembled a giant eagle, yet not a single feather covered its body. Its dense scales looked as though they had been cast from molten iron, filled with a shocking sense of raw power.

Its hooked beak was black, gleaming, and razor-sharp, more than half a meter long. It was still stained with the blood of a ferocious beast, clearly having just returned from hunting. Its talons were even more terrifying, cold light gleaming from their edges. Nearly a meter long and incredibly sharp, they could surely tear apart a giant elephant with ease.

Several protrusions resembling plumes stood atop its head, but they were not feathers at all. They were thick, long, sharp bone spurs, like a row of horns, capable of easily ripping open the chest and belly of a large predator.

This was the Azure-Scaled Eagle. Dense, icy azure scales covered its body, which brimmed with boundless strength as though forged from steel. It swept through this forest, treating the giant trees as if they were nothing.

Boom!

Amid thunderous crashes, swath after swath of towering trees broke apart. Many were enormous trunks that would have taken more than a dozen people to encircle. The Azure-Scaled Eagle simply dove through them, its iron wings shattering every obstacle, leaving branches and scattered leaves strewn across the ground.

With a deafening crash, even a massive boulder blocking its path was forcibly split apart. Sparks sprayed in all directions, rubble exploded outward, and many chunks of stone weighing over a hundred jin crashed down around them, snapping countless trees. The spectacle was staggering.

Every child felt their hair stand on end. This Azure-Scaled Eagle was far too powerful. Had that boulder not blocked it just now, quite a few of them might have been pounced on and killed.

After destroying a vast stretch of forest, the Azure-Scaled Eagle soared back into the sky and circled overhead. Its eagle eyes flashed like lightning as it coldly stared down below, preparing to dive again and hunt down the fleeing children.

"The village is just ahead! Charge!" the children shouted.