EBE Chapter 104 Those who love to condemn express strong opinions!
Chapter 104 Those who love to condemn express strong opinions!
Chapter 104 Those who love to condemn express strong opinions!
Yu Wang covered his entire body with monster essence to mask his scent, and lurked downwind at the top of Wind Howling Cliff, clutching the seemingly toy-like [Little Yellow Duck Water Gun] tightly in his hand.
Duck B gripped a short-handled harpoon with a strong rope tied to its tail, equally ready to strike.
"Three, two, ——— Let's do it!"
Yu Wang suddenly appeared from behind the cover, switched the rubber duck water gun to "automatic rapid fire" mode, leaped up, aimed the water gun at the wind bird's head, and pulled the trigger!
Sizzle!
Several streams of murky liquid extracted from the venom sac shot out, smearing the voiceprinted wind bird's face, especially its eyes!
"Eh-!!!"
The sudden, intense pain and obstructed vision caused the windbird to let out a piercing scream, frantically flapping its wings and shaking its head. The pitch-black darkness only added to its confusion!
However, given the size of the Soundprint Wind Bird, the strong wind it generated with a flap of its wings almost made Yu Wang lose his balance!
Duck B, which weighs much less than an adult human, was blown over twice and only managed to steady itself by wedging its shield into a crevice in the rock.
"Now! Duck B!" Yu Wang shouted urgently.
"Quack! (Take this!)" Duck B used all its strength to throw the bone gun at the wounded and frantically flapping wind bird!
However, because Duck B's position changed, just as the bone spear was released, another seagull, completely unplanned, unfortunately appeared right in the harpoon's flight path!
puff!
The rope-tethered bone spear was firmly embedded in the base of the seagull's wing!
"???Eh-!!!"
The innocent bystander bird, unharmed but caught in the crossfire, let out a heart-wrenching cry!
This really stirred up a hornet's nest!
The dozens of large birds that were originally perched or strolling on the cliff top were completely alarmed by the continuous screams and chaos!
They all took flight in a flurry, circling and screaming in panic above the cliff top, creating utter chaos!
The target bird, blinded by the projectiles, and the passerby bird with an injured wing frantically flapped its wings and took flight. During this time, the target bird, unable to see clearly, collided with many other birds, making the scene even more chaotic.
The attack plan encountered a major setback right from its first step.
The plan has been completely disrupted. Now, forget about catching the target, the entire flock of birds is in complete chaos!
There was no choice! The arrow was already on the bowstring, and there was no turning back!
"Damn it! Deal with this injured one first!" Yu Wang made a decisive move, pointing at the seagull with an injured wing that couldn't fly high for the time being and was flapping and struggling at low altitude.
At the very least, we can't go home empty-handed.
The rope attached to the bone spear was tied to a rock, which was buried deep in the ground. The seagull could not escape, and if it tried to take off, it would only cause the bone spear stuck in its flesh to move around, resulting in severe pain.
Once the seagull with a wingspan of over three meters landed, Yu Wang, wielding a crab claw harpoon, activated the [Thrust] skill and attacked in a blur!
"Gah! (Got it!)"
Duck B immediately abandoned its pursuit of the blind target and turned to cooperate with Yu Wang in attacking the seagull that had been unexpectedly caught up in the situation.
The man and the duck worked in perfect harmony, focused on the seagulls in front of them.
This passerby bird was already badly injured, and then it was ambushed. One of its wings was practically useless, unable to generate any sharp airflow.
Despite its desperate resistance, retaliating with its beak and claws, it quickly became battered and its movements slowed under the fierce attacks of the man and the duck.
However, Yu Wang did not forget his original goal.
His mind raced, and through a mental link, he issued an urgent command to the three rhinoceros beetles he had brought: "Tracking the windbird with the injured eye! Maintain distance, mark its location!"
Three glossy black rhinoceros beetles immediately flapped their wings and quietly blended into the chaotic flock of birds, locking onto the "blind" target bird whose vision was blurred, whose flight path was erratic, and which kept emitting terrified cries.
When they fly, they are greatly affected by air currents and can only fall far behind, trying their best not to lose them.
After the unexpected turn of events, Yu Wang's strategy was clear:
The flock of birds scattered in fright, making them difficult to catch in a short time. But there was still a chance to capture the blind, vocalized pheasant.
It can't see, and in its panic, it will either crash into the rock wall or its companions, or it will be too afraid to land because it can't accurately judge where to land, and it can only quickly consume its energy in fear.
Once it's exhausted and forced to land, they'll still have a chance to take it down!
Right now, we should focus our firepower on quickly eliminating this unexpectedly captured "passerby bird" to obtain a guaranteed set of materials, while also keeping the tracker bug focused on the main target.
Moments later, the seagull fell to the ground and became part of the material for the down jacket.
Yu Wang quickly retrieved the bone gun and rope and began dissecting the corpse.
Intermittent mental feedback came from the rhinoceros beetle: the target was flying erratically along the coastline, with fluctuating altitudes and no signs of landing yet, but its speed seemed to be slowly decreasing.
"Chase!" Yu Wang dared not delay, and with Duck B, rode the Sea Helmet Worm down Wind Howling Cliff.
Following the general direction indicated by the rhinoceros beetle, we began a rapid pursuit along the coastline.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the main island, there is a colony of spotted seals.
A somber atmosphere hung heavy over the settlement. The joyful sounds of last night's bonfire feast had vanished without a trace.
The old clan chief, who had once greeted Yu Wang and Zhang Xinlan with a smile, now looked unusually serious, his brows furrowed, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened.
-
Young Ah Jiao also stood to the side, his brows furrowed, his round eyes losing their previous sparkle and filled with worry.
In the open space in the center of the settlement, several elderly spotted seal elders in charge of sacrificial affairs sat together, their faces ashen, even showing barely concealed fear.
For some reason, this year's grand festival was held earlier than planned.
Several elders in the clan who were in charge of the sacrificial rites received stern warnings in their dreams, demanding that they immediately offer more lavish sacrifices, or they would be punished.
Thinking about the punishment, the seals in the brethren who had signed the pact appeared to be calmly sitting there participating in the discussion, but in reality, they were terrified, their eyes vacant, as if their consciousness had drifted away for a while.
The oppressive silence lasted for a long time, with only the mournful sound of the sea breeze blowing through the shacks and the distant crashing of the waves.
Finally, the old patriarch spoke wearily: "How much of the sacrificial offering is still needed?"
An elderly seal, trembling, reported as he was in charge of inventorying the supplies: "The meat is mostly complete. Coconut oil, vegetable oil..."
The animal fats are just enough. We're missing about a third of the plant and fruit items, and two types of vegetables are missing. We're also short of the ten-year-old fluorescent coral branches; we can use younger ones as substitutes, but I'm afraid they won't meet that person's expectations.
The most troublesome thing is the deep-sea salt crystal mine. Recently, the "Hunger-Eating Flowers" have revived, and it is very dangerous for our people to dive into the deep sea. This year, we have only collected three catties in total, and we are still seven catties short.
"Seven catties—" the old clan chief repeated the number, his voice sounding even older.
Putting aside the salt crystal mines, even if the fluorescent corals managed to survive this time with seedlings that were a little older, what about a year or two later?
What will they do then?
He looked around at the bewildered faces in the settlement, especially the children who were still innocent and nestled in their mothers' arms, and felt as if a huge boulder was pressing down on his heart.
Just then, the seal, the patrol leader who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up: "Chief! We can't hesitate any longer! Let the children run while there's still some time!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of eyes turned to him.
"The children haven't had a chance to sign the contract yet! They don't have any marks on them! East or north, any direction is fine! Just get away from this sea! If all else fails, they can seek refuge with other seal species. Out of consideration for our shared heritage, they'll be taken in."
"Those of us who can't escape will stay and bear that person's wrath. At least this way, we can give the children a chance to survive!"
After he finished speaking, the village fell silent.
The young seal pups seemed to understand, raising their heads to look at the adults with confusion and unease. Their mothers, on the other hand, held their babies tightly, and couldn't help but let out mournful sobs as they thought about the impending separation.
To let the cubs escape while leaving the adult members of the tribe to die is such a tragic and helpless choice!
The children are living under someone else's roof, with no one to support them. If they fall into the hands of believers of evil gods, they might become sacrificial offerings!
But it seems that this is the only desperate measure, a last resort, that might preserve a sliver of bloodline for the clan.
But this sacrifice was far too heavy.
In the midst of the tribe's peril, the [Morning Star Watchers Set (Damaged)] enshrined in the ancestral hall flickered extremely faintly in the dim light, seemingly unnoticed by anyone.
A thin, pale golden light, as thin as a hair, seemed to be drawn by some force, quietly drifting out of the ancestral hall and disappearing into the brow of A-Jiao, who was pacing anxiously outside the settlement, unsure of what to do.
Go find—our morning star—
Ah Jiao's body jolted, a momentary look of confusion flashing in his eyes, which was then replaced by a clear guidance.
A sudden inspiration struck him, and he almost blurted out, "Clan Chief! Ancestor! We—we might not have to wait to die!"
All the spores of the spotted seals instantly focused on him.
Ajiao pointed in the direction Yu Wang and Zhang Xinlan had left last night: "Go find them! Go find those two human guests! They might have a way! I—I think I just heard guidance from my ancestor!"
Upon hearing this, the old clan chief and the other elders were initially surprised and doubtful. Then, their gazes turned towards the ancestral hall, and when they looked at A-Jiao's expression, which did not seem to be lying, a glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in their lifeless eyes.
"Ah Jiao! Go after them right now!! Tell them—tell them we're willing to pay any price just to get their help!"
The old clan chief made a decisive decision.
"yes!"
Without hesitation, Ah Jiao turned around and headed towards the shore where the crickets were.
Other ethnic groups have not completely given up hope.
They flocked to the seaside, dived into the water, and hurriedly searched for salt crystal beads, hoping to gather even a little more offerings before the deadline for the sacrifice, thus increasing their chances of success.
The requirements for sacrifices have been increasing year by year. This is not the first time they have been unable to produce all the offerings. If the difference is not too great, the consequences will not be too serious. At worst, they will lose half their lives and lie in bed for a few days.
This time, however, because a large number of young people were not in the community, the efficiency of collecting supplies was greatly reduced, and the number of offerings was far too small.
This could really be a fatal mistake!