Eryndor stood amidst the trees, his sharp eyes scanning the skies.

    The moment he took one more step towards the direction of the Moltrasis plant, the air filled with a cacophony of shrill cackles and sharp chirps.

    The Crappy Birds had surrounded him.

    There was one thing which brought him relief though. Only one of the Crappy Birds had an aura of the middle level Latent realm.

    The rest were all in the early stages of the Latent realm, the first level of power system of beasts.

    As mentioned before, the power system of the Beasts and Anomalies was the same.

    He exhaled, shifting into a relaxed stance, weight sinking into his heels. It was just as the report described, these pieces of shit were already taunting him.

    "Gawk-gawk, look at this slowpoke! No wings, no speed, no chance!"

    "Better give up on the plant, ground-walker, before we pluck your eyes out!"

    "Hey, why’s he just standing there? Did his tiny human brain freeze? Ha!"

    Eryndor’s smirk deepened as the birds circled above. He could feel their aggression, their confidence in numbers.

    But he had read the full report—he knew exactly how to deal with them.

    "Your beaks are longer than your brains," Eryndor said, voice even. "I’ve met sewer rats with more backbone than you lot."

    Eryndor felt like a weight was lifted off his chest. It always felt good taunting cowards who were provoked easily.

    Even in games, he liked campers who would rush when he taunted them.

    Result? Easy kills.

    He was always better than campers in a straightforward face to face fight.

    The flock screeched to a halt, wings flapping wildly.

    "What did he just say?"

    "He insulted us! HE INSULTED US!"

    "TEAR HIM APART!"

    As beasts, their intelligence wasn’t really high.

    The first Crappy Bird dove at him like a javelin, its razor-sharp talons gleaming in the dim light.

    Eryndor vanished. One step into a shadow, and he shot forward like an arrow.

    "Don’t you dare say anything about my brother!"

    "You insulted my mother??!"

    The rest of the birds hesitated, but swarmed down nonetheless. There was no more any semblance of co-operation between them.

    Eryndor saw his chance. His feet blurred as he sprinted through the trees, each step on a shadow amplifying his speed.

    He wasn’t running away, just weaving between the trees, and making sure to stay in the same area. It was all so that he had shadows to step on and the flight of birds could be interrupted.

    He struck the two incoming beasts’ vital points with pinpoint accuracy. Each blow ignored their feathery armor, sending them crashing into a tree.

    Continuing his assault, he dealt with the birds one by one.

    Finally, only one Crappy Bird remained, staring at him with wide, beady eyes. It was only at an early stage of Latent realm.

    The Crappy Bird at middle stage must’ve died sometime in the fight. I definitely didn’t witness any bird running away.

    "Uh... You wouldn’t hit a lone bird, would you?"

    Eryndor dusted off his sleeve.

    "Depends. Are you still feeling cocky?"

    "...No."

    "Good. Now tell me what direction your nest is in."

    He had spotted a nest with his extended vision just a while ago. Due to some suspicions, he wanted to know if it was their nest or some other community of Crappy Birds.

    Eryndor had read their entire information after all. These beasts didn’t move around much outside of their territory.

    When the last remaining Crappy Bird began flying in the direction of that same exact nest, his doubt deepened.

    A few minutes later, they reached the spot Eryndor had scouted with his third person view.

    Just like how he had witnessed, there was a large Moltrasis flower in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by lots of small ones of the same kind.

    All of them gently swayed about, glowing slightly beneath the dense canopy of trees.

    One needed to remember that Eryndor had spotted their nest using his extended vision given by an Active level innate ability, not with his naked eyes.

    What were the Crappy Birds doing so far out from their nest when even their food source was next to their dwellings?

    He asked the only remaining beast of the community.

    "Why were you out there so far away from your territory?"