Chapter 106 Argentavis
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“Kaaak!”
The parrots flew around in a frenzy.
The jungle was home to countless parrots.
Their combat power was pathetic.
They were no more than gecko lizards flying through the air.
Any gecko trained in the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step could easily take down a parrot.
And yet, the jungle was teeming with parrots.
Why were there so many parrots with such weak strength that they would lose in basic survival competition?
The answer lay in the unwritten rule of the jungle.
No matter how hungry you were, hunting parrots was forbidden.
Parrots were special beings.
Even though they weren’t of a divine class, they could speak and fly through the skies.
They became messengers, enabling communication throughout the vast jungle.
Especially in this jungle, where divine beings competed, parrots that delivered information received special treatment.
Even the King of Birds respected the parrots.
The parrots, in turn, maintained neutrality, never siding with anyone.
Of course, some might follow a faith out of personal preference, but their duty was to distinguish between work and personal matters, delivering information without bias.
“Snake Quee-eeen!”
“Kaaak!”
“Mate! It’s her mate!”
“Scoundreeeel!”
The sudden appearance of the Snake Queen.
And the meteoric arrival of the Snake Queen’s mate.
The parrots’ wings flapped more frantically than ever before.
Their information spread and spread, eventually reaching Gaechar-goa-dal’s nest.
A parrot wandered nearby, spilling the information it had gathered.
“Kaaak!”
It didn’t dare get too close.
It realized that the mere mention of the Snake Queen had soured the Imoogi Bird’s mood.
“Uoooh….”
Gaechar-goa-dal growled low.
He had learned of the Snake Queen’s appearance.
Even without the parrots, he could have obtained that information.
He had recently gained a power.
The ability to share the vision of his followers.
However, the location where the Snake Queen had appeared was not in the Imoogi Bird’s territory, so the information reached him later.
“Kaaak! Kaaak!”
So this time, it was clear that the parrots had been helpful.
The parrot, shaking off its unease, quickly flew away from the nest.
Gaechar-goa-dal seemed displeased.
Although he had never killed a parrot before, he had a feeling he might be the first to do so.
Whoosh.
A massive fireball shot out suddenly.
“Kaaak!”
The parrot couldn’t avoid the attack.
Whoooosh!
The intense flames, unlike any normal fire, quickly incinerated the parrot.
Thud.
The parrot, reduced to ashes, fell to the ground.
“Grrooo….”
The one who had fired the fireball was a giant crane.
No, could it really be called a crane?
Its body was far too thick to be considered a bird.
In contrast, it had one leg so thin it looked like it might break at any moment.
It had only one leg.
And the most unusual thing about it was that this bird could control the power of fire.
**Filbang.** He was a divine beast known as the right wing of Gaechar-goa-dal.
“Gruu….”
Filbang landed naturally on his one leg, letting out a cry uncharacteristic of a bird.
“Aha.”
Another bird, or rather, a divine beast half in human form, laughed as it watched him.
“Of course it’s Filbang; his temper’s as fiery as ever.”
The left wing of Gaechar-goa-dal, **Nakaljo,** remarked.
Filbang growled at Nakaljo, not hiding his displeasure.
“Grrooo….”
Nakaljo’s laughing face hardened instantly.
“What’s that? Are you challenging me?”
Nakaljo shouted in a sharp voice.
Neither hid their murderous intent.
Although they were equals, there was no reason for them to get along.
The situation was tense, as if they could clash at any moment.
“Enough.”
Gaechar-goa-dal flapped his large wings.
At the low, sinister sound of his voice, Filbang extinguished his flames.
Nakaljo also retracted her sharp, black feathers.
“I didn’t… call you here… to fight….”
Filbang turned his head and stood rigidly on his single leg.
“Well, the information the parrots brought is indeed shocking.”
Nakaljo, who had withdrawn her killing intent, subtly leaned into the Imoogi Bird’s embrace.
She looked up at him with a gentle smile, her face radiating a beauty that could topple kingdoms, but everyone present knew that this wasn’t her true face.
Nakaljo’s ability was transformation.
The Imoogi Bird slightly pushed her away with his wing.
“Is the Snake Queen finally making her move?”
At her words, the King of Birds let out a low hum.
The Snake Queen must have known this information would spread.
And yet, she chose to act in her true form.
If she had moved discreetly in her human form, at least the parrots wouldn’t have spread word of her presence.
Why did she do that?
Moreover, she moved so ostentatiously.
To the point that every beast in the jungle knew that the Snake Queen’s mate had appeared.
As a result, her location had been revealed.
Such a tantalizing prey lay right before his eyes.
“What shall we do? If we’re going to launch a full-scale attack, now’s the perfect time.”
The King of Birds quietly organized his thoughts.
No one in this world knew the Snake Queen better than he did.
For the Queen with a snake’s heart to reveal her weakness?
It didn’t make sense.
That bait was likely laced with poison.
If he launched a full-scale attack, they would surely lose.
“The target… hasn’t changed….”
In that case, he would take the bait for sure and then withdraw.
The goal of this mission was to eliminate the Snake Queen’s mate.
Even one divine beast could easily handle a mere lizard.
But the problem was the Snake Queen standing beside him.
As long as she was protecting him, there was no way to get to the mate.
The answer was simple.
Make it so that the Snake Queen couldn’t protect him.
“Tell Beihj….”
The King of Birds spoke in a low voice.
“To create a trap… to kill him….”
*
There’s a saying about a fox borrowing the authority of a tiger to act all high and mighty.
That saying probably suited me best right now.
I was just riding on the Snake Queen’s power, pretending to be something I’m not.
It was supposed to be a pleasant outing, but somehow, it turned into a spectacle where I had to witness every beast making a fuss.
Most of them couldn’t speak, so I couldn’t tell what they were thinking, but they probably envied me a bit.
They might have been admiring the sight of this harmonious family.
Among the beasts, I spotted a familiar face.
It was the unicorn I had encountered before.
Now that its horn was gone, I might have to call it a hornless unicorn.
It was crying, probably because this scene was so moving.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Continuing to receive the beasts’ cheers, I kept walking through the jungle.
This jungle was much larger than I had imagined.
No matter how much we walked, there was no end in sight.
As we walked, an enormous tree came into view.
To be precise, I only noticed its presence after stopping right in front of it.
It might sound contradictory, but it was so massive that I hadn’t recognized it.
It was truly a colossal tree.
Even if the Basilisk stretched out fully, it would barely reach the top.
Its thickness was also extraordinary.
If there were such a thing as a World Tree, this must be what it looked like.
“Remember this well.”
A human voice came from the Basilisk’s head.
How could I ever forget this tree?
It was the largest tree I had ever seen.
“Gek gek.”
The Snake Queen’s tail wrapped around mine.
Then, suddenly, she dashed toward the tree.
Was she planning to knock down that tree?
It was an unbelievably huge tree, but the Snake Queen might be able to do it.
…But what about me?
“Ge, Gegegek!”
One second before I was about to become lizard paste, I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a desperate scream.
The Snake Queen collided with the tree.
Rustle.
The cataclysmic sound of heaven and earth splitting apart did not follow.
Did something go wrong with my body?
Even if I was still alive, I should have heard the sound of either the tree breaking or my body shattering.
Did my ears malfunction?
No, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Whhooooosh….
I could hear the wind blowing perfectly fine.
I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes.
What I saw before me was a rugged hillside that could be called a mountain range.
The Snake Queen and I hadn’t collided with the tree.
The massive tree was a sort of illusion.
“How surprising.”
“Piiik!”
Shikshik chirped as if she had known all along.
Why didn’t she tell me earlier?
I may look like this, but I have a delicate heart.
Passing through the illusion, I was met with a mountain range filled with mist.
It was truly a breathtaking sight.
I wondered how such a place could exist within the jungle, but it seemed like no one was around to answer that question.
The Snake Queen had her mouth wide open.
…But why was her mouth open?
“You’re late.”
Hsssssss.
A fierce wind arose as if all the air in
this space was being sucked into one point.
That action was a precursor to a destructive beam.
A destructive beam far more powerful than the one she had shown me before.
“Hieek!”
I quickly flattened Shikshik beneath my chest and ducked down.
“Piiik!”
She slapped me in frustration, but I couldn’t let her go.
Zzzzzzzaaaaang!
A massive destructive beam sliced through the air.
All the beam-like techniques I had seen until now were single-shot.
The longest they lasted was about three seconds.
I, who could use similar techniques, knew very well how hard it was to maintain that.
However, the Snake Queen maintained that technique for tens of seconds without breaking a sweat.
Zzzzzzzzzing!
The beam’s trajectory changed with every movement of her head.
Krrrrrrrrash!
As if she intended to destroy the entire space, the Snake Queen continued her relentless attack.
After a long while of smashing the mountains, a cry from a bird of prey echoed from afar.
“Kieeeeeek!”
Only then did the Snake Queen stop her attack.
“Hmph. You’re finally showing yourself.”
Something in the shape of a bird was flying towards us.
“Kieeeek!”
A massive bird tore through the sky, emitting the distinct cry of a bird of prey that I knew well.
**【Argentavis LV70】**
It was the former King of Birds.