An Unmerited Disaster
Lu Heng stood at the top of the slope, motionless.
The Bone Demon lay motionless beside him.
In the open field below, the Black-Eyed Bear, the Ghost Tiger, the Wolf Pack, the Dark-Spotted Leopard, and the eagle and raven in the sky were still locked in a stalemate. The sounds of breathing, flapping wings, and claws digging in the soil mingled together, creating a very low murmur.
He didn't try to hide it.
The rock face at the top of the slope wasn't very high, and the moonlight shone down, making his and the Bone Demon's silhouettes clearly visible. But he didn't care. The boundaries of Moonview Valley were defined by rules, and this forest recognized him; he had no need to hide.
The animals on the ground spotted him first.
Black-Eyed Bear turned its head, glanced at him, and let out a low growl as a greeting. Ghost Tiger also looked over, its tail tip twitching, showing no hostility. The Alpha Wolf looked up, its ears twitching, before turning back to stare at the ravens in the sky.
They didn't take it seriously.
Lu Heng had helped the insects during the Insect Tide, and afterwards he guarded his own valley, never venturing out to seize anyone's territory or getting into conflicts with anyone. In their eyes, Lu Heng was a "permanent resident" of this forest, someone who neither caused trouble nor interfered in other people's territorial disputes.
But the birds in the sky are different.
The first to notice the Bone Demon was an eagle.
It hovered low in the air, its wings flapping slowly, its eyes fixed on the Bone Demon, its head tilted slightly. It smelled— the Insect Queen's scent. The scent emanated from the Bone Demon, thick and cloying, like a piece of overcooked meat hanging on a tree. The eagle let out a low cry, as if calling to its companions.
Immediately afterwards, a second and a third eagle also looked over.
Their gazes fell upon the Bone Demon, and the rhythm of their wing flapping changed from leisurely circling to rapid fluttering. Their eyes gleamed—not the kind of light reflected from moonlight, but the light of a living creature seeing its prey—a great tonic. Insect Queen, they could take another step forward.
The raven also looked over.
It tilted its head, its claws gripping the broken wood, its gaze sweeping over the Bone Demon before settling on Lu Heng's face. Its eyes gleamed a dark blue in the moonlight, its pupils narrowed to thin slits, like needle tips.
Lu Heng felt that gaze.
It wasn't the heavy scrutiny of the Black-Eyed Bear, nor the wary examination of the Ghost Tiger; it was something else entirely—cold, calculating, like a knife scraping against the skin.
The raven suddenly cawed.
It wasn't the deep, chest-shaking cry of before; it was a sharper, shorter sound, like metal scraping against glass. As soon as the sound came out, the eagles in the sky simultaneously rose half a circle, and the beasts on the ground tensed up at the same time.
Lu Heng couldn't hear what it was saying.
The distance was too far, and the wind had scattered the sound; he could only catch a few fragmented syllables, unable to piece together the complete meaning.
But the beasts on the ground heard it clearly.
Black-Eyed Bear abruptly turned its head, glanced at Raven, then at Bone Demon, and let out a low growl, as if questioning. Ghost Tiger arched its back even more, its tail bristling, its eyes fixed on Raven. The Alpha Wolf's ears snapped back, its fur standing on end, and it bared its teeth in Raven's direction.
Their eyes were filled with disbelief.
It's like saying—Are you crazy?
The ravens ignored them.
It leaped down from the broken log, its wings flapping as it landed, making it appear even larger than before. It ignored the herd of beasts on the ground and the eagles in the sky, its eyes fixed on the Bone Demon, as it walked step by step toward the slope.
The eagle in the sky moved.
Three eagles and two falcons simultaneously folded their wings and swooped down from the sky, their target not the beasts on the ground, but Lu Heng and the Bone Demon.
Lu Heng frowned slightly.
He watched the eagle swooping down, then the raven approaching step by step, and slowly placed his fingers on the hilt of his sword.
No way.
Picking the softest persimmon?
You can't squeeze the Black-Eyed Bear, you can't squeeze the Ghost Tiger, you can't squeeze the Alpha Wolf, so why are you trying to squeeze him?
Do you think he's easy to bully?
Lu Heng was a little angry.
After the raven finished cawing, the eagles that had swooped down didn't swoop down directly. Instead, they circled around Lu Heng and the Bone Demon, flying lower and lower, the wind from their flapping wings sweeping up the grass on the ground.
They started to chirp.
It wasn't a unified call; each bird called out its own. The eagle's cry was deep, like muffled thunder; the hawk's cry was sharp, like a whistle; the raven stood still, making gurgling sounds in its throat, as if assigning tasks to its subordinates. Lu Heng couldn't understand what they were saying, but he understood the meaning—competition.
Rob.
point.
Whoever goes first gets which piece, and whoever gets how much.
Lu Heng was so angry he wanted to bite his teeth.
His fingers tightened around the sword hilt, his gaze sweeping across the ground. Black-Eyed Bear had retreated more than ten meters away, standing behind a broken tree, its eyes fixed on them, motionless. Ghost Tiger had also retreated, lying prone in the grass, its tail tip drooping and its ears pressed back. The Wolf Pack spread out further, the Alpha Wolf standing at the front, looking at Lu Heng, then at the flock of birds in the sky, letting out a very low whimper, as if sighing.
They had seen Lu Heng kill his prey.
During the Insect Tide, he single-handedly hacked away at the ground with only a sword, leaving behind countless insect corpses. They all remember that scene. Now these birds are deliberately courting death; they can't stop them, nor do they want to. Retreating further away is to leave themselves a way out, and also to give Lu Heng some space.
Lu Heng didn't look at them.
With a thought, the Mycelium of the Blood Taisui sprouted from beside his feet.
The fine white threads, thinner than a hair, spread outwards along the ground. They climb slowly and silently, slipping into the gaps between blades of grass, wrapping around tree roots, climbing up the trunks, all the way to the canopy, and then extending into the air. The Mycelium are so fine that they are almost invisible in the moonlight, only occasionally revealing a fleeting glimpse of white when stirred by the wind, as light as spider silk.
As a hawk swooped down, its wing brushed against a Mycelium, causing the thread to tremble but not break. The hawk paid no attention, its focus entirely on the Bone Demon, its eyes burning with intensity.
The raven stood on the broken log, tilting its head to look at the Bone Demon, gurgling in its throat, its claws leaving several marks on the wood. It didn't notice the fine white threads in the grass at its feet that had already wrapped around the roots of the broken log.
The ground was fenced off.
The sky was also surrounded.
The Mycelium wove a thin net above the canopy, completely covering the open space. The eagles that were still circling flew low, and the wind created by their flapping wings swept across the Mycelium, causing the threads to tremble slightly before returning to calm.
They were so focused.
So focused was I that I didn't notice the fine white threads that had already crawled all over the grass under my feet, the tree trunks around me, and the branches above my head.
Lu Heng looked at the flock of birds still chirping and scrambling for the food, and a slight twitch appeared on his lips.
You all should just give up and live yourselves.
The raven suddenly cawed.
This sound was louder than any before, causing the leaves on the trees to fall in a rustling sound. It spread its wings, soared into the air from the broken log, and pounced straight at the Bone Demon, faster than any of the previous eagles had ever swooped down.
Lu Heng narrowed his eyes as he watched it rush towards him.
They actually dared to make a move.
He couldn't bear it any longer.
The sound of a sword being drawn was crisp in the night.
He took a step forward, the tip of his sword pointing diagonally at the ground, his gaze sweeping over the flock of eagles still circling in the sky, and then looking at the ravens swooping down.
The Mycelium has closed its enclosure.
Not a single one of these birds will escape.