Dazhuang instantly felt he was saved.
"My brother's here. You better run!"
Run?
If we run at the mere sight of a mantis, do we even deserve to be called Iron-Beaked Birds?
"Forget just one brother—even if a hundred mantises showed up, they'd just be an appetizer for us..."
One of the Iron-Beaked Birds sneered and turned around, preparing to instantly take down the mantis that had delivered itself to their doorstep.
When it turned around, however, a giant black Scythe filled its vision, gleaming with a light that chilled a bird to the bone.
Moving its gaze upward, it saw a massive triangular head behind the black Scythe, its sharp mandibles resembling a set of guillotines.
What the hell was this thing?
It was towering and imposing, easily more than twice the size of the Iron-Beaked Bird itself!Why did it look... like a mantis?
"Qing Yi, you're just in time. Save me..."
The two Iron-Beaked Birds shuddered, exchanging a simultaneous glance.
This was the little mantis's brother?
Was this giant really a mantis?
Holy shit~
...
Lu Qing leveled his black Scythe.
"Let him go!"
Under the intense pressure, the Iron-Beaked Bird's talons involuntarily loosened, and Dazhuang instantly regained his freedom.
Snapping back to its senses, the Iron-Beaked Bird tried to capture Dazhuang again.
Lu Qing didn't give it the chance. His black Scythe slashed straight at the bird's talons like a bolt of black lightning.
These two Iron-Beaked Birds were only Fourth Grade. Faced with Lu Qing's sudden ambush, they didn't even have time to react before one of them had its leg clamped tight.
The Iron-Beaked Bird's bones were incredibly tough; even at the Fifth Grade, Lu Qing couldn't sever its leg bone.
But that didn't stop him from eating it.
How much Flesh Value could a bird provide?
After pinning the bird down, Lu Qing unhesitatingly opened his mandibles and bit straight into its struggling neck.
The other Iron-Beaked Bird was dumbfounded.
What the f*ck, he's eating it alive!
Weren't birds eating bugs the natural order of things?
How had the tables completely turned?
"Baiwei, save me..."
Save you, my ass~
With a mouth like a guillotine, I can't take this thing on either!
Baiwei flapped its wings and took off without a second thought.
After taking to the air, it glanced back.
Its companion's neck had already been snapped in a single bite from that mantis~
So brutal!
Tieyu said we could eat whatever we wanted here? More like we were the ones getting eaten!
Baiwei was still fairly loyal; it didn't flee immediately, but went to find Tieyu instead.
"Tiezi, Tiezi~"
Hearing its companion's mental call, Tieyu immediately let out a chirp.
Baiwei quickly landed on a branch, communicating frantically.
"Tiezi, hurry, we have to run!"
Tieyu ruffled his beautiful feathers. "Run from what? This is such a great spot. We have to at least eat our fill first."
Eat our fill?
More like letting others eat their fill of us!
Baiwei instantly grew anxious.
"Forget eating. There's a terrifying existence here."
Hearing there was a 'terrifying' existence, Tieyu couldn't help but grow a bit more serious.
"What kind of terrifying existence?"
"A mantis~"
Tieyu's rising tension instantly evaporated, and he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, a mantis can be terrifying? I eat a few of those things every day and I've never found them terrifying. Are you still half-asleep?"
Baiwei insisted anxiously, "It really is..."
Halfway through the message, Baiwei's eyes suddenly filled with absolute horror. It shrank back and retreated a few steps.
"The m-mantis... it caught up."
Look at you, acting like you've never seen anything!
Tieyu shot his companion a look of profound disdain.
Scared like this by a mere mantis? What kind of bird are you!
It was truly a shame to flock together with a bird like this!
Tieyu turned his head, preparing to set a proper example in front of his kin.
However, the moment he turned around, a massive shadow had already enveloped him.
What the hell was this thing?
Taking a closer look... it was clearly a...
Tieyu shuddered. "This is a f*cking mantis?"
And this mantis looked somewhat familiar.
Every race had its own powerful existences.
To grow this massive, even larger than an Iron-Beaked Bird like himself, it had to be a Mantis Lord!
'What rotten luck, running into a Mantis Lord.'
He was also at Tier Five, but being in the same tier didn't mean they had the same strength.
The Iron-Beaked Bird's most powerful attack was a lethal dive from high above using its iron beak, heavily relying on the element of surprise.
Mantises, on the other hand, excelled at close-quarters combat.
In this kind of situation, Tieyu knew full well he was no match.
"Apologies, we didn't know this was your territory. We will retreat right now."
Lu Qing looked down at the docile Iron-Beaked Bird in front of him. "What, don't recognize me?"
"Do we... know each other?"
"You birds don't have very good memories. I'll give you a hint: three days ago, trapping two mantises in a tree hollow."
Tieyu suddenly remembered.
Three days ago, when he first discovered this great spot for an all-you-can-eat buffet, he had run into two mantises.
However, those two mantises had slipped away extremely fast...
Why was this mantis asking about that?
"That did happen. Were some of your subjects among them? My deepest apologies for disturbing your treasured land..."
He thought those two mantises were simply the Lord's subjects, completely unaware that the one standing before him was one of the very insects he had cornered.
"Hahaha, wrong. I'm not a Lord. I'm one of the mantises you trapped in that tree hollow!"
"What?"
Tieyu was completely dumbfounded.
Him?
How was that possible!
The two trapped in the tree hollow were the size of normal mantises!
But the one before his eyes was several sizes larger than even himself.
It was absolutely impossible!
"You must be joking..."
"Who has the time to joke with you..."
Taking advantage of the moment the bird's brain was still short-circuiting, Lu Qing struck out fiercely with his blade.
The black Scythe flew straight for the Iron-Beaked Bird's neck.
To ensure a one-hit kill, he even used his skill, 'Deadly Heavy Strike'.
As a fellow Tier Five, Tieyu's reaction was incredibly fast.
Sensing the danger, he flapped his wings and dodged to the side.
Then he attempted to fly away.
How could Lu Qing give him the chance? 'You can fly, but does that mean I can't?'
If they were competing in long-distance flight, he naturally wouldn't be a match for a bird.
But over a short distance, and with the explosive boost from his 'Swift Winged Flight' skill, catching up to the Iron-Beaked Bird was no difficult task.
...
After rapidly ascending into the air, Tieyu couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
As long as he opened up the distance, the initiative would fall into his hands, and a mere mantis wouldn't be able to touch him.
Just as he relaxed, he felt his talons get grabbed.
He lowered his head, and his soul nearly leaped out of his body.
That giant mantis had actually grabbed onto him!
Trembling with fear, Tieyu tried to drag the heavy insect higher into the sky, hoping to shake him off.
However, against a body even larger than his own, his attempts to continue flying higher were futile.
Just as he began an involuntary descent, something even more deadly arrived.
The other Sickle Leg directly hooked around his tail feathers.
Those terrifying, guillotine-like mandibles were already biting toward his thigh.
Tieyu completely panicked.
'No, bro, you're starting to eat while we're in mid-air?'
'Just how many days have you been starving?'
"A misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding, spare the bird in your mouth..."
The next instant, a piercing pain shot through his leg.
'He really bit me!'
The bird's cry instantly distorted. Unable to maintain his balance any longer, he plummeted headfirst toward the ground.
...
'Flesh Value +0.3'
As expected of a bird in the same tier, it really gave a generous amount of Flesh Value!
He didn't just focus on eating.
In the moment before impact, he used 'Swift Winged Flight' again, rapidly adjusting his position so the Iron-Beaked Bird smashed violently into the earth while he pressed down on top of it.
Serving as a meat cushion, Tieyu was smashed so hard he saw stars, but the intensifying pain in his leg instantly jolted him awake.
'No, you still won't let go even after we landed?'