CHAPTER 1502: CHAPTER 204: SIREN

Aiwass’s premonition was correct.

Only by the afternoon of the second day... that is, the afternoon of June 23, he received news from the messenger collecting debts.

"It’s already burning in Heaven City? Really?"

Aiwass exclaimed softly.

Sitting in front of him was a scantily clad Avianfolk female.

She wore nothing more than a sumo-style loincloth, with no other fabric. However, her face, shoulders, and chest were smeared with red and black paint, resembling the priest of an Indian Tribe.

"Of course it’s true, Lord Aiwass. My sisters and children hold first-hand intelligence. As soon as I found out, I flew here to find you—I know you’d definitely be interested."

The female Avianfolk smiled submissively and humbly, but her smile also held a hint of untamed wildness: "I also have a lot of exclusive, classified information about the rebels. I can give them all to you if you desire... If you pay an extra price, I can also ensure others won’t get related information for a few days. Or... a few weeks, a few months? It’s up to you, my lord."

Her gaze towards Aiwass was so intense it gave him a headache.

For the first time, Aiwass clearly understood what "really unsettling," "blatantly obvious" gaze meant...

—She was clearly craving his body. That gaze was almost like a tongue licking Aiwass’s face.

Although he knew Avianfolk were like this, it was his first time directly interacting with one.

Modern Avianfolk, strictly speaking, are not those ancient Winged Ones that could float effortlessly. Their appearance isn’t as handsome or beautiful as the Winged Ones; they’re much slimmer. They lack decorative ear feathers, waist feathers, and ankle feathers, and their wings unfold from their arms, resembling a dancer’s long sleeves. Their feet aren’t the Winged Ones’ elf-like five fingers but rather strong eagle claws.

Avianfolk are also called Sirens—of course, the Avianfolk have males in their tribes, but it’s typically a female-dominated society.

The biggest reason lies in the Avianfolk’s unique reproduction method.

No matter whether the male is Avianfolk, Lizardfolk, human, Troll, or Elf... the offspring will ultimately be Avianfolk; if a male Avianfolk has offspring with an Alien Race, it won’t result in Avianfolk, making it impossible to expand their population, leaving them only as warriors, mages, pharmacists, or educators.

Due to the unique method by which female Avianfolk reproduce, they allow the offspring to develop inside them for a time, then lay an egg that continues to develop outside; after hatching, they breastfeed. Thus, Avianfolk reproduction isn’t painful and does not delay activities or work. Offspring born this way will become Avianfolk, like successfully cultivating without soil before transferring to soil... Naturally, male Avianfolk cannot lay eggs.

And the special physical structure of the Avianfolk makes them unsuitable for labor, standing, or sitting for long periods. Moreover, the Avianfolk have a high rate of child mortality, not everyone can fly... naturally weak, obese, or lacking balance are often ostracized by the tribe and may even be thrown off a cliff during "forced flight training."

This has led to the Avianfolk’s reverence for reproduction, yet their population remains around the third largest in Parthia.

Aside from those delivering messages or packages, and serving as scouts for the Benevolent Lords or Slave Knight armies, most Avianfolk primarily engage in raiding—their ability to navigate freely through sandstorms makes them well-suited for theft, robbery, or kidnapping.

Due to the Avianfolk’s low natural fertilization rate, over ninety percent of eggs in an Avianfolk household are unfertilized.

This unique reproduction model has shaped the Avianfolk’s sense of shame, very different from other races—if the rate is low, then they win by quantity. Besides goods, they also kidnap outsiders to have children with them.

Aside from learned scholars and doctors, the rest are killed and eaten after mating, hence the term "Sirens."

Those residing legally as free people in Oasis City, unable to engage in raiding, resort to randomly grabbing someone from the street for mating or simply run a brothel to mutually fulfill desires with patrons.

—Though Avianfolk aren’t as attractive as their ancient ancestors, that’s relative to Winged Ones and Elves; compared to the human average, they’re still quite appealing with much better physiques.

Because of this reproduction model, they might not know who the father is, but at least they know the child’s mother is definitely themselves—after all, it’s their egg.

The more fertilized eggs an Avian lays, the higher the success rate in skirmishes or raids, the greater their charm and fertility, the more "children" they have in the tribe, increasing their influence and power, thereby elevating their status within the race.

Upon laying a fertilized egg, an Avianfolk would paint additional red runes on visible areas of their body. Black signifies the death of a child, covering red with black—because Avianfolk believe the child’s strength and health are related to the parent’s individual ability. Thus, Avianfolk also raid strong bloodlines to produce stronger offspring, using more offspring to spread over more territory.

These are akin to medals decorated on humans. These tattoo-like runes, difficult to wash off with water, indeed bestow them special powers... These are rune markings from the Path of Love.

Avianfolk possess two main paths, Love and Authority, with a few particularly weak Avianfolk possibly mutating to the Path of Wisdom. This means they are akin to the Dragon Clan, Sons of the Moon, and Werewolves, not requiring professions to harness path powers—they are inherently path beings.

To show off their runes, Avianfolk might brazenly undress. To Avianfolk, clothes may signify incompetence. Because they lack many "runes" on their bodies, they wear clothes to cover up. Despite this, to others’ aesthetics, these originally smooth tanned skins decorated with numerous wild, ferocious markings might seem somewhat intimidating.

Just like this female Avianfolk in front of me...

She has long red curly hair, with a brown complexion. Not ugly at all, her features are quite regular, with thick brows, a high nose, and large eyes; she even has a kind of bright, alluring beauty, reminiscent of a bold mercenary leader—if she were wearing normal clothes appearing before Aiwass.

But she’s currently topless, with over thirty runes on her skin, four of which are black. This indicates her children can form roughly two soccer teams, with only four deceased so far.

At the same time, this also suggests she has roughly Fifth Power Level strength, genuinely capable of invoking storms and thunder.

In most Avianfolk tribes, she’d be deemed at the "Great Chieftain" level, potentially commanding over twenty tribes, with influence reaching over ten oasis cities.

Aiwass doesn’t know her name. But the "Desert Sound" post and media organization is clearly under her control. There might be other Great Chieftains at her level, or maybe not... But she’s at least the second-in-command of this organization, so much so that Aiwass met her personally.

The one handling Aiwass before was not her. That Avianfolk bore only eight runes, suggesting she was a Third Level Transcendent. Clearly, she reported this incident above, hence their leader came directly this time.

Aiwass gently coughed and asked warmly, "How much money do you want? Or maybe water?"

If nothing else... when it comes to rewards, Aiwass is quite confident.

Whatever she desires, Aiwass can afford.

"I don’t lack money, nor water. I’m the tribe’s leader, its best warrior. I can catch the finest lamb and carry it into the sky; I can fly faster than a hawk, catching falcons mid-air; I can spot fish in rivers from above, diving down to capture them."

Smiling, she exposed her sharp teeth, "I want one of your children. Nothing else."