Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “Gah gah—” The sound of an old peacock rang from the top of the tree.

  Alva’s countenance turned serious. He speedily removed his animal skin skirt and transformed into a peacock, before flying towards the top of the tree.

  [Dad, is something the matter?] Alva stood before the old peacock respectfully.

  The old peacock waved his wing and sent Alva flying. Bang! The latter crashed against the wooden wall.

  Alva shrunk in the wings he had spread open, but before he could crawl back up, a pair of brown claws appeared before his eyes.

  [Do you know why I’m hitting you?] The old peacock’s voice was raspy and murky, yet it exuded the dignity only possessed by someone in power for a long time.

  [For bullying a female,] Alva replied without having to ponder the question.

  [So you knew. But this isn’t the greatest reason I’m angry at you. What made me most furious was seeing you ostracize a female, especially one who is pregnant.]

  2

  The old peacock was so mad that he stomped on the ground. [For her to be pregnant at such a young age, her fertility must be pretty good. How could you… You’re too young, after all. How can I feel assured about leaving this village in your hands?]

  [I know all these.] Alva got up and said, [Don’t worry, I’m only doing this to pursue Bella. I will handle other matters appropriately.]

  At hearing this, the old peacock’s expression eased a little. He said, [That female looks timid to me and doesn’t interact much with the males. She’s only spoken to you before. If you were to pursue her, you’d stand the greatest chance.]

  [That’s impossible.] Alva’s crest feathers flared up a little, exuding a high spirited manner. [My mate has to be the most beautiful in this village. She’s too ugly, only Bella is good enough for me.]

  The old peacock sighed. He was very satisfied with this son of his who earned his second animal stripe in his twenties, which meant he would definitely be able to become a three-striped beastman in the future. Even when placed in a large tribe, he could be considered rather powerful.

  There were only five three-striped beastmen including himself in this village, and they were all getting on in age. In the future, Alva was bound to become the most powerful beastman in the village, so he absolutely had the right to pursue the best female possible.

  Hence, the old peacock merely said, [Then you should hurry up and make arrangements. Make sure that she doesn’t leave.]

  [Okay.]

  [My health is deteriorating. I’ll leave the village in your hands in the future.] The old peacock walked into the house in an exhausted manner and said without turning his head, [You may leave.]

  Alva nodded in response, before spreading his wings and flying down.

  …


  At night, with a clear moon and few stars in the skies, in a mountain where there were plenty of short shrubs, the black and red figure of a snake flashed by indistinctly.

  Several eagle beastmen were in light sleep on a shrub. Several eagle beastmen were keeping a vigil for the rest of them and didn’t detect any abnormality.

  Suddenly, the figure of the snake leaped up into the air with a crash, surfacing above the crowns of the short shrubs and exposed under the moonlight.

  Before the startled eagle beastman could let out a screech, he was ferociously bitten by the snake and held to the ground. After letting out a short and pitiful cry, he stopped breathing.

  Curtis had chosen such a place to make it more convenient for him to attack the eagle beastmen.

  Those eagle beastmen who were lucky enough not to be attacked instantly charged towards the cave where the snake beastman was resting. With Curtis not around, they reckoned this was their best shot at killing Bai Qingqing.

  Curtis, too, instantly slithered towards the cave, following right behind the eagle beastman.

  The sound of wings flapping rang out from the cave, after which silence resumed.

  After swallowing the eagle beastman whose body was still instinctively convulsing, the snake beastman lazily laid at the entrance of the cave.

  He had killed another two. They had become smarter and had diverted more than half of them to rest elsewhere. With time running out, he had to find another method.