Chapter 594: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
It seemed that although the Black Wolf Bird was a wild beast, it also had instincts. It appeared to realize that continuing to fight me in the jungle was not a good idea, so it took to the sky and forcibly broke free from the entanglement.
Actually, looking at how difficult it was for the Black Wolf Bird to take off, it must have been severely injured. During the chase earlier, I pretended to be unable to fight back and only escaped, making it seem like I was constantly on the verge of being eaten, which attracted the Black Wolf Bird to keep chasing me.
During this process, I had absorbed vitality for at least ten minutes. What does that mean? Generally, an adult would be drained of life within half a minute. Undead like Water Ghosts, with their fragile vitality, would fall within seconds.
Yet, this Black Wolf Bird, which had been drained of life for over ten minutes, could still fly. Although it looked a bit strained and was flying unsteadily, it had indeed managed to take to the skies with its large wings.
Once it exceeded a certain distance, my Life Drain was cut off. I didn’t dare to chase after it and could only watch it turn and flee. Don’t underestimate this Black Wolf Bird; even though it seemed to be at the end of its rope, if I dared to leave the forest and enter the open sky, it could instantly teach me a lesson.
There was no other choice. I decided to stop here. At least I had won and saved my life. I never expected to encounter mortal danger even after returning to the city and being right at its gates. This world is truly full of danger.
Just as I landed on a tree to rest, I suddenly heard the sound of hurried hoofbeats and a familiar neigh. It was Packhorse. I had raised it for so long and fought side by side with it. I could distinguish its neigh from other horses, and it wasn’t that different.
Packhorse’s neigh was a little hoarse and aged, but full of spirit and loud. It wasn’t this loud from the start; its voice had been getting louder recently, a bit like a worker entering old age but still strong.
Had it come to pick me up because it saw the Black Wolf Bird flee? What a clever horse! I followed the sound of its neigh, but instead of just Packhorse, I saw someone riding on its back. Packhorse was galloping towards me with the person on it.
He had short, light golden curly hair, eyes like emeralds, and was wearing a long cloth shirt stained with blood. In his hand, he carried a long sword that glinted with silver light.
“Older Brother Jayad!” I called out joyfully. We finally met again. Although we had only been apart for half a day, I was just so happy. But why was he here?
“Parul, wait a moment!” Jayad said as he unfurled six Bone Wings from his back. He suddenly soared into the sky from the horse, leaving a sacred trail of light behind him.
Honestly, this was the flying posture I wanted: a gentle flap of the wings and I could ascend into the sky. Although I didn’t feel like those incomplete Bone Wings could generate any wind pressure, Older Brother Jayad seemed more like he was flying with light jetting from his back. Yet, he could hover elegantly in mid-air, looking incredibly cool.
Well, if you didn’t look too closely at the six Bone Wings, the incomplete Bone Wings did look a bit terrifying.
Older Brother Jayad was actually chasing after the fleeing Black Wolf Bird. Did he want to avenge me?
I quickly shouted towards Jayad, “Be careful of that big bird’s tail, its bone spurs are poisonous!”
“Understood!” Jayad replied as he flew over me, heading straight for the Black Wolf Bird.
The Black Wolf Bird, having had so much of its Blood Energy drained by me, was now flying weakly. It had been flying slowly, thinking there was no threat. But before it could fly far, a youth with strange wings flew towards it.
The Black Wolf Bird was also fierce. Seeing someone dare to challenge it, especially in the air where it excelled, it became enraged. Ignoring its exhaustion, it turned to fight again.
The two collided in mid-air. Jayad slashed down with his sword, shattering the Black Wolf Bird’s feathers and splattering blood. Jayad was also knocked back a few meters.
The Black Wolf Bird immediately spun around and whipped its tail, trying to attack Jayad with its signature poison-tipped spurs. Jayad ascended to dodge it and immediately pressed forward, slashing his sword onto the Black Wolf Bird’s back.
They fought back and forth in the air. From my perspective as an observer, Older Brother Jayad had the upper hand. The Black Wolf Bird was already exhausted from my draining, and it was no match for the agile Older Brother Jayad in terms of speed. With every exchange, its body would be left with a sword wound.
Soon, during a rare opportunity, Jayad’s sword left a deep, bone-revealing fatal wound on the Black Wolf Bird’s neck. Blood spurted everywhere. After a futile twitch, the Black Wolf Bird plunged headfirst into the forest, and Jayad followed closely behind.
“Let’s go, we’ll go see!” I immediately flew onto Packhorse’s back, letting it carry me towards where the Black Wolf Bird had fallen. I saw Older Brother Jayad plunge his Silver Sword into the Black Wolf Bird’s chest, right at its Heart. The huge, fearsome black bird was no longer moving.
“Older Brother Jayad!” I rode my horse to his side. “You killed it! But why did you come out of the city to find me?”
“Uh, Parul, you should put on some clothes first. What if you catch a cold?” Jayad looked a bit unsure where to put his eyes.
“Ah!” I looked at myself and only then realized I was only wearing my underwear. I had taken off my robe before the aerial combat with the Black Wolf Bird because I found it cumbersome, and it was draped over Packhorse’s back.
My face immediately turned red. Even though Older Brother Jayad had seen everything, I still felt shy. It was mainly because this attire was too indecent. If anyone else had seen it, it would have been terrible.
I quickly grabbed the robe from Packhorse and tried to put it on. Jayad, however, watched me and asked, “How did Parul become a little elf? And what is that tube behind you? Is it an External Brain?”
“Huh?!” I was a bit surprised. I really didn’t want Older Brother Jayad to see my wings. They were fly wings and looked incredibly ugly.
But Jayad asked if I had become a little elf. That is, a small flower fairy or goblin from myths and legends, a girl with wings no bigger than my palm. They were Otherworldly beings known for their beauty, goodness, and friendliness.
“Little elves aren’t this big. These are mutated Insect Wings. Don’t you think they’re ugly, Older Brother Jayad?” I retorted.
“Not at all. They look much prettier than my six Bone Wings. Parul looks like a little bee,” Jayad said with a smile.
I blushed again. Alright, it was true that beauty is relative. No matter how I looked at my membranous wings, they looked much better than Jayad’s incomplete Bone Wings. And now that these membranous wings were so large, there was no difference whether they looked like a fly’s or a bee’s.
“So, how did you know I was here?” I asked again. He had arrived so timely.
“Packhorse came to find me. As soon as I saw your clothes on its back, I knew something had happened to Parul. I quickly had it bring me here. Thankfully, you’re alright,” Jayad said.
