Chapter Fifty-Seven: This Feels Like an "Aviation Disaster"

Without their ultimate moves, the Blackwing Birds were nothing more than a flock of flying targets. Though they possessed close-range abilities like the Blackwing Frenzied Peck, they could not so much as touch a hair on Qin Chuan’s head. Instead, a single step and a casual attack from him dispatched them in waves. In terms of speed, Qin Chuan remained unmatched, utterly overwhelming the Blackwing Birds.

As the Blackwing Birds continued to wail and plummet from the sky, the eyes of their lord turned blood-red, his voice rising in a frenzied scream, as if afflicted with madness: “Damn it, force him to use Blink!”

But in the end, even he was bewildered, for in no time, barely any Blackwing Birds remained. Clearly, the Blackwing Bird Lord’s reckless gamble had failed, yet he refused to accept it, clinging to a shred of hope.

“I still have a chance! Go, attack!” In this moment, the Blackwing Bird Lord resembled a desperate gambler, unwilling to stop until every last chip had been lost.

Yet things rarely go as one wishes. The few remaining Blackwing Birds, seeing the situation was hopeless, ignored their lord’s commands and soared away, fleeing for their lives.

“Really? Can’t you finish the fight before running? Now you’re making me show off again!” Qin Chuan appeared annoyed, but in truth, he was thoroughly delighted.

“Well then, since you’ve waited so long, I’ll grant your wish.” Watching the Blackwing Birds dart away, Qin Chuan’s lips curled into a peculiar smile.

“Blink and Flow Strike!” This time, Qin Chuan took the initiative, transforming into a streak of cold light and shooting towards the fleeing birds.

“He used Blink! Heaven and earth, I’ve waited so long for this moment!” The Blackwing Bird Lord’s eyes flashed with wild joy.

“Die!” The Blackwing Bird Lord launched himself from afar, swooping down on Qin Chuan’s original position.

From the corner of his eye, Qin Chuan spotted a three-meter shadow darting out of the dense forest.

“What a delightful fellow, haha!” The Blackwing Bird, confident his scheme had succeeded, failed to realize he had fallen right into Qin Chuan’s trap.

“Pfft!”

“Ding! Kill…”

“Ding! Rage is maxed out. Next attack will be a critical hit with knockback effect.”

Qin Chuan’s Flow Strike hit its mark, then activated the second phase—Glide—felling another bird with a single sword.

Now, the awaited moment for the Bird Lord was upon him; he was about to reach the original spot.

As expected, Qin Chuan’s real body, wielding the Cold Iron Sword, appeared at the origin.

“Haha, I’ve finally caught you! Watch me shred your lousy black sword!”

“Brothers, I can finally avenge you!”

At this instant, the Blackwing Bird Lord was jubilant, victory seemingly within reach.

“Die! Sky Talon Air Raid!”

The Blackwing Bird let out a furious roar, unleashing his ultimate. At a mere three meters, he believed no one could escape.

Indeed, his giant talon struck the ground in just half a second.

But it hit nothing but earth—the ultimate missing its target entirely!

For in the 0.1 seconds before the talon landed, Qin Chuan had used Blink once more.

The three-second cooldown of Blink coincided perfectly with Flow Strike’s three-second duration; this was why Qin Chuan had used Blink early.

All of it was to deceive the Bird Lord, luring him into a sneak attack.

To ensure the Bird Lord would not flee, Qin Chuan had gone to great lengths.

Boom!

A massive crater appeared in the earth, dust and debris flying everywhere.

“Huh, how did this happen? Where did he go again?” The Blackwing Bird Lord, stunned by his failed ultimate, forgot to glide upward.

His heart was on the verge of collapse. Two squads of Blackwing Birds had been wiped out, yet the expected outcome eluded him. The shock was immense.

“Surprised? Astonished?” Qin Chuan’s voice echoed through the swirling dust, cold light flashing.

In that moment, the Cold Iron Sword slashed at the Bird Lord’s back.

“Bang!”

“Ding! Critical hit triggered. Damage increased by 150%, with knockback effect.”

“Ding! 25% slow triggered.”

“Ding! Freeze effect triggered, duration one second.”

This string of system prompts all but declared the Bird Lord’s death.

The massive damage from the critical hit left the Bird Lord with only a sliver of health, and, as luck would have it, he was struck by a rare freeze effect.

As he was knocked into the air, a layer of frost formed on his body.

“Haha, your luck is abysmal. Farewell, my adorable friend!” Qin Chuan laughed, chasing after him with a simple sword strike, finishing the Bird Lord off.

The poor Blackwing Bird Lord didn’t even have time for a final cry before his end.

“Ding! Killed level 19, tier two, elite mutant Blackwing Bird Lord. Gained 22,000 experience. Bonus: 100% experience for overleveled kill. Congratulations, host, you’ve gained 44,000 experience.”

“Devour Origin!”

“Ding! Devour successful. Gained 2,800 evolution points.”

“Ding! Devour successful. Gained 180 evolution points.”

...

Qin Chuan’s consciousness felt the surge of pure origin power, and he nodded with satisfaction. “Mm, this round took quite some effort. The aerial advantage is certainly clear.”

This time, Qin Chuan had collected 108 kills. Two Blackwing Birds had escaped, but that hardly mattered now.

His experience and origin points had changed:

Evolution Points: 481,360/819,200

Experience: 875,900/6,553,600

Rage: 10/100

Upon reviewing his gains, Qin Chuan sighed, “Ah, life is truly hard.”

The forest floor was littered with Blackwing Bird corpses, resembling a catastrophic ‘air crash.’

After a battle, the Sleepy Bug usually hurried out to flatter Qin Chuan.

But this time, something was amiss. Even after Qin Chuan had shown off his skills, calling out with his earth-shattering song, there was no response.

Qin Chuan wondered, “What’s my little buddy up to?”

After a while, the Sleepy Bug returned from afar, excited and out of breath.

“Big...bro, I tracked down the Blackwing Birds’ nest!”

“Well done, little brother! That’s some top-notch robbery sense! So you were tracking those two escaped birds.”

“Yep, it wasn’t too far, but those two deliberately circled around for ages!”

“Oh, I see. Let’s go pay them a visit then!”

“Yeah!”

So sword and bug headed straight for the nest, searching it thoroughly, but the haul was disappointing.

“Big bro, these Blackwing Birds are dirt poor. Only a dozen Blue Spirit Fruits and a few herbs—not even enough to fill a tooth gap.”

The Sleepy Bug was rather disappointed, his standards much higher now.

“No worries. Let’s split it. Waste is shameful, after all.”

“Yep.”

Though the harvest was meager, Qin Chuan didn’t mind. He noticed something odd: the core area’s resources were scarce.

Logically, these creatures should be flush with riches, but reality was the opposite.

Indeed, unusual circumstances always contain hidden pitfalls.

“I suspect all the resources are hoarded by the Grand Lord. That fellow must be a super tycoon.” Qin Chuan thought it over and quickly grasped the scheme.

“Little brother, let’s go rob the rich!”

“Yeah!”

Hearing there was more profit to be had, the Sleepy Bug instantly perked up.