Chapter 141: The Strange Bird

What did Zhou Tian see?

When he looked in the direction of the noise, his eyes were immediately met by a massive flock of strange birds. Zhou Tian was unsure of the individual strength of these creatures, but their sheer numbers left him with no choice but to flee.

As far as the eye could see—whether it was tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, Zhou Tian could not tell—there was nothing but a sea of black shadows. In that situation, running was the only logical reaction.

In terms of raw power, Zhou Tian did not fear these birds, but their numbers were overwhelming. Facing a barrage from so many, he could easily handle a small portion, but being completely swarmed by such a massive flock would make it impossible to remain at ease.

Furthermore, he was currently traveling by riding an auspicious cloud. While this did not consume much demonic energy, it was not his own natural ability, and he could not match the agility of the birds. With every disadvantage piled against him, and having no prior grudge with the creatures, there was no reason to fight to the death.

However, Zhou Tian had miscalculated. The speed of these birds was unexpectedly high. As a snake demon, his cloud-riding speed was not slow—certainly no slower than a fighter jet on Earth—yet compared to these birds, he seemed sluggish. Before he had even traveled a kilometer, the birds had already surrounded him.

"It seems I have no choice but to fight," he sighed helplessly. Looking at the birds with their glowing red eyes, he shook his head and launched a preemptive strike.

Because of their numbers, Zhou Tian dared not waste his demonic energy on probing attacks. He went all out from the start, summoning the Fantian Seal and smashing it into the flock behind him. The Fantian Seal had never disappointed him, and it didn't fail now; the strike was devastating, instantly killing a large portion of the birds in his rear.

However, this attack infuriated the flock.

They had surrounded him from all sides, and their previous hesitation was likely just to assess his strength. They had not expected his attack to be so ruthless, wiping out nearly a fifth of their number in one blow. Such heavy casualties were unacceptable to them.

What had been a hunt had now turned into a blood feud. The birds were no longer just looking for a meal; they were seeking a frenzied revenge.

With a shrill cry, the birds dispersed at the signal of their hidden leader. They reformed into a much wider perimeter, surrounding Zhou Tian once more. Believing he had nowhere left to run, they launched their assault.

Zhou Tian felt a pang of frustration. He had initially hoped to scare them off, even using nearly half his demonic energy on that first attack to create a shocking display. But these creatures possessed a certain level of intelligence and were incredibly vicious. His attack hadn't scared them; instead, they had adapted. Now, even if he used the Fantian Seal again, the damage would be limited.

He was distressed, but the birds did not pause. While he searched for a new plan, they swarmed him. With no other choice, Zhou Tian stood his ground and braced for the onslaught.

If he couldn't run, he would let them strike. He refused to believe that birds with such speed could also possess overwhelming offensive power.

He was right. Evolution always favors one trait at the expense of others. Since these birds had evolved for speed, their attack power was mediocre. His Cloud-Silk Immortal Armor, while not as powerful as top-tier legendary artifacts, was still the most expensive piece of defensive gear he possessed. Its performance did not disappoint. The birds’ strikes, bouncing off the armor, caused him no harm. In fact, many of the birds ended up injuring themselves against his defense, and in the air, an injury that affected flight meant certain doom.

Yet, what made Zhou Tian shudder was that despite their attacks being useless, the birds showed no sign of stopping. Ignoring their own casualties, they kept diving at him, suicide-style.

Panic began to set in. The Cloud-Silk Immortal Armor was durable, but it required demonic energy to function at full capacity. Without it, the armor could only provide a fraction of its protection. Under the barrage of thousands of pecks per minute, he had to constantly burn his own energy to sustain the defense. Having already depleted much of his reserves earlier, he couldn't keep this up for long.

He decided to descend. He retracted his cloud and plummeted toward the ground, hoping that once on solid earth, their numbers would be less of a threat.

But the birds would not let him fall. Every time he tried to descend, their strikes acted like a rebounding force, buffeting him back and forth like a ball. He was left in a disheveled mess, unable to reach the ground.

Finally, losing his temper, Zhou Tian decided to stop playing the ball. Since the armor kept him safe, he stopped trying to escape and went on the offensive. As he was being knocked into the air by one bird, he reached out, grabbed another by the beak, and flipped onto its back.

Once he became a "bird rider," the other birds stopped their frenzied attacks, glaring at him from a distance but fearing to strike. Zhou Tian smiled in relief. Whether it was because of the specific status of the bird he was riding or their strange social cohesion, the cessation of hostilities was exactly what he needed to recover his strength.

He sat calmly on the bird’s back, ignoring its wild maneuvers, and swallowed some spiritual medicine to restore his demonic energy.

Meanwhile, the flock gathered and consulted in shrill cries before flying off in a specific direction. They didn't notice that Zhou Tian, thanks to his "Mastery of Languages" ability, understood every word they said.

He realized he had been incredibly lucky. The bird he was riding was a prince of their kingdom—a nation of magical beasts with billions of subjects. This flock was merely an elite hunting party. Had it been any other bird, he would have had to kill it, but this prince had been naive enough to let him climb on.

When he heard their plan, his blood ran cold. They were bringing him back to their kingdom to have their King execute him. They wouldn't attack him now for fear of harming their prince, but once they reached their destination, he would surely die.

He couldn't let them reach their kingdom. As soon as his energy was mostly restored, he struck the prince on the back of the head, knocking it unconscious.

As the bird plummeted, the flock panicked. They clearly feared their King; if his son died, they would all be doomed. To save their prince, they rushed underneath him, catching the unconscious bird in mid-air with their combined strength.