Chapter 85: The Secret of the Brown Bird Tribe

Whether one can use language or possess the intelligence for communication is the sole criterion that distinguishes magical beasts from sentient life.

Take the Brown Bird Tribe standing before me. Its head resembles a true avian magical beast with a sharp beak, it lacks arms, and instead has a pair of brown long feathers. Its two legs are like those of a bird, covered in claw-like keratin.

But there’s no doubt—the glimmer in its eyes reflects a degree of intelligence.

“Lady Philena and everyone else, allow me to introduce this wonderful individual. This is Ms. Gukasah, the chieftain of the Brown Bird Tribe from Omoland. She is here to express her gratitude for your assistance.”

A lady?

The Priestess instinctively wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead.

To be honest, seeing the towering figure standing two meters tall, Vilyric had thought it was a male bird.

And by the way, this “Gukashi” lacks…

Wait, come to think of it, birds are egg-laying creatures, so they don’t require nursing. That kind of makes sense in a weird way, doesn’t it?

Hmm, how do you even differentiate between male and female in the avian world…? Wouldn’t it just be that all humanoid flying creatures in this world are egg-layers?

Unbeknownst to others, the black-haired girl, who appeared calm on the surface but was actually experiencing a storm of thoughts in her mind, observed the peculiar greeting performed by the woman named Gukasah as she stepped forward.

“Thank you, strong ones from the United Kingdom. If it weren’t for your timely assistance in the previous battle, our tribe would have suffered even more devastating losses. It’s surprising there are good people among humans, and we are truly grateful.”

Vilyric felt little about these redundant platitudes. Seeing no one else speak, she was about to casually respond, but was hit by the realization that everyone around her had perplexed expressions.

Oh, right! This creature must be speaking in a dialect, not even the common sky language—so they can’t understand her!

Only then did Sigrid seem to grasp Gukasah’s meaning, translating into the somewhat clumsy royal language for Philena and the others.

Wait, Sigrid can even speak the Brown Bird Tribe’s language?

While witnessing the two sides struggle to communicate with the help of the translator, Vilyric couldn’t help but feel a bit moved.

The Free Wings are also not having it easy! Not only do they battle bizarre creatures frequently, but one person might also need to learn several foreign languages…

The language barrier in this world isn’t any less than back on Blue Star. If it weren’t for the cheat I brought from the game, my journey would probably be a lot tougher!

Trying to sneakily take off the item in her ear, Vilyric found that the sound coming from Gukasah’s bird-like beak immediately turned into a jumbled mess of unintelligible words.

This so-called chieftain of the Brown Bird Tribe, judging by her aura, seemed to be at the peak of earth-power or just entering the sky. As a leader of a small sky island with fewer than 100,000 lives, including various magical beasts, this strength is actually not bad at all.

But she remains completely powerless against the Abyss.

Even without understanding the bird-like expression, Vilyric could feel the deep sorrow emanating from her.

Not to mention, when observing the whole island through the soul network, there were fewer than 50,000 magical beasts left alive on Omoland. After that intense follow-up fight…

If Sigrid, Philena, and the others hadn’t supported them, especially the Priestess taking down that Abyss Worm, the island’s creatures might have truly been wiped out.

But just a mere two hundred Abyss Beasts—that’s…

Hmm? Speaking of which…

“Um, Ms. Gukasah, could you tell us in detail how the Abyss Beasts invaded? From start to finish, specifically, were there any particularly powerful individuals that showed up?”

Although Abyss Beasts are terrifying, if they invaded directly, it shouldn’t have escalated to this extent.

Aside from their sudden appearance catching the islanders off guard, another crucial reason is that the signal for help sent from Omoland was blocked by some force. Only creatures passing nearby, like Vilyric and her party riding the Son of Leviathan, could see it.

Even the island itself had been shrouded in a special psychic field. From the reactions of Sigrid and the others when they first arrived, it felt somewhat like some “Diminishing Halo,” otherwise even if they couldn’t defeat it, sending someone fast to relay the news shouldn’t be an issue.

The source is likely that “troublesome entity” Xiao Guang sensed earlier, which led to Sigrid and the others dropping from the sky and having to fight for themselves—the culprit behind it is probably the same too.

However, it seems that the opponent has no intention of directly attacking the creatures of Omoland or may be under some restrictions. Otherwise, with the level of power displayed, it would be impossible for magical beasts with only sky-level abilities to resist for this long.

“Are you called… Miss Vilyric?” Gukasah interjected. “Hello, esteemed strong one.”

Perhaps surprised that a human could speak her native tongue so fluently, Gukasah curiously looked at the black-haired girl, as Sigrid had just introduced everyone.

Sigrid seemed momentarily stunned that Vilyric understood the Brown Bird Tribe language, but she was evidently more concerned with what the Priestess had implied.

“You mean the power that caused everyone to fall? Do you think it was cast by a specific entity? A large magic formation would make more sense, right?”

Having already scanned the entire island with the soul network, Vilyric shook her head decisively.

“There’s nothing like that on the island.”

“Hmm…”

Sigrid tilted her head in contemplation for a moment.

“If that’s the case, then their power is truly unfathomable… And since they bypassed the defenses, why would the Abyss choose to attack Omoland instead of larger islands with more dense populations and weaker defenses?”

The two exchanged glances at Gukasah, whose expression seemed to show some struggle, and the answer was all too clear.

There truly is a secret on this island.

“Ms. Gukasah, even though we belong to different factions, we share a common stance against the Abyss. This matter is very important. Even considering the heavy losses we incurred while aiding you, please do not conceal anything if you know something.”

Sigrid’s words carried a hint of extracting favor, but Vilyric understood she had no choice. For so many years, the Winged People had always been the frontline against the Abyss, and they were more eager than anyone to gain intelligence regarding that mysterious place.

“This…”

Gukasah’s beak moved a few times, her deep brown feathers ruffling slightly. Even if Vilyric couldn’t fully understand her expression, she could tell she was hesitating and uncertain.

The others present, apart from the taciturn Little Dragon Daughter, couldn’t grasp the Brown Bird Tribe’s language, so they could only look on in confusion.

Just when Vilyric thought it might take further persuasion, Gukasah suddenly spoke up.

“Alright, well… with our tribe on the verge of collapse, there’s nothing left to hide. Please follow me.”

Gukasah turned and headed toward the lake at the center of the island. After Vilyric explained a bit to the bewildered Philena and the others, she followed after her pet.

Sigrid and her little entourage quickly followed, and soon, the Envoy Group Leader also joined in, but it seemed those powerful folks from the kingdom were dispatched to handle other matters.

After all, this is the secret of the Brown Bird Tribe. Even if Gukasah had indicated it was fine, it was probably best not to let too many people know.

The group arrived at a spot by a small lake distanced from the center of the battlefield, where the magical beasts and creatures cleaning up the mess had significantly dwindled.

Gukasah spread her wings and gestured for everyone to wait momentarily, then from her fluffy feathers, she took out a seemingly ordinary little stone and placed it on the ground.

“O rulers of the skies, please open the path for me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the marble-sized stone emitted a faint white light, illuminating the ground by the lake and extending forward.

The water of the lake naturally parted, revealing a dark staircase that descended into view.

   

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