Chapter 116: Investigation |
The Crowned Eagle wanted to land on his shoulder as usual.
Qin Ziwen quickly dodged away.
Having its loving hug avoided, the Crowned Eagle felt a bit wronged and a little unhappy, letting out a couple of low cries.
Perhaps due to its increased size, its voice had become somewhat deep and resonant.
"You have no idea how big your claws are, do you? Landing feels like a bunch of knives stabbing into me," Qin Ziwen said helplessly.
The Crowned Eagle, having landed steadily, looked at its claws embedded in the dirt beneath its feet. It lifted its foot, examined its large, sharp talons, and let out a sound of unclear meaning.
Qin Ziwen then used Insight on Du Yu.
[Ordinary·Human (Du Yu): ☆☆☆☆]
Only four stars, not a full set.
Moreover, this is just a physical fitness rating, not a combat power rating.
Things like combat techniques and weapon proficiency fall under skill categories.
Out of curiosity, Qin Ziwen used Insight to check everyone present.
[Ordinary·Human (Qin Ziwu): ☆☆☆]
[Ordinary·Human (Li Tieshan): ☆☆☆]
[Ordinary·Human (Li Yue): ☆☆]
[Ordinary·Human (Deng Guang): ☆☆]
[Ordinary·Human (Zhao Pu): ☆☆]
After looking, he roughly understood the star rating criteria.
An ordinary, healthy adult male without injuries or illnesses is two stars.
Those who exercise regularly or engage in physical labor, belonging to the strong category among the population, can reach three stars.
Those with exceptional natural talent, born with an aspect that surpasses ordinary people, and who consciously train to develop that talent, probably like Du Yu, can achieve a four-star rating.
As for five stars, that's the peak of normal human physical fitness.
Of course, within the same star rating, there is still some variation in physical fitness, and what one excels at isn't necessarily strength. Some might be born faster runners, others might have greater stamina. The star rating here represents a range.
But what about me? How many stars do I have?
Qin Ziwen was curious. He took out his phone and turned on the camera.
He used Insight on the man reflected on the screen.
[Ordinary·Human (Qin Ziwen): ☆☆☆☆]
"Bro, what are you doing admiring yourself? Taking selfies now?" Qin Ziwu leaned his head over and flashed a peace sign at the camera.
"Click."
Qin Ziwen pressed the shutter, freezing the photo.
"Alright, let's go, we're heading down the mountain!"
In the sky behind them, several Black Falcons watched from a distance.
The Crowned Eagle glanced back, then immediately took flight, charging towards the Black Falcons.
The sudden attack scared the few Black Falcons into scrambling to escape.
But soon, those fleeing falcons turned around and angrily charged at the Crowned Eagle.
"Screech!"
The Crowned Eagle was like a heavy fighter jet, directly crashing into one of the Black Falcons, pressing it downwards as they flew.
Qin Ziwu wondered, "Huh, why did those ones suddenly stop running? How did the Crowned Eagle draw their aggro?"
Du Yu, with his sharp eye, said, "Their nest must be nearby. The Crowned Eagle is quite clever, actively attacking their nest to force them to turn back."
Li Yue praised, "Good grief, 'besiege the point to strike the reinforcements,' it's even using tactics."
The Crowned Eagle, pressing down on one of the Black Falcons, plunged into the woods, making the specific situation unclear.
A few minutes later, the Crowned Eagle flew triumphantly into the sky, a dead Black Falcon clutched in its talons.
Several other Black Falcons circled around it, crying out anxiously, but didn't dare get close.
Finally, after circling above them once, the Crowned Eagle flew over, looking very pleased with itself.
"Wheeeer——!"
Taking the Black Falcon from the Crowned Eagle's claws, Qin Ziwen laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, quite the vengeful streak. Wonder who you learned that from."
Qin Ziwu stole a glance at his big brother and said nothing.
The others looked at the Crowned Eagle. Qin Ziwen explained, "Earlier, when it came here to investigate the Altar, it was ambushed by these Black Falcons. It was pecked all over, covered in blood, and fled in a sorry state..." The Crowned Eagle quickly used its wing to cover Qin Ziwen's face, not letting him continue.
This elicited a round of laughter from the others.
Pushing its wing away, Qin Ziwen chuckled, "Alright, alright, this guy's pride is quite strong. I won't say anymore."
The Crowned Eagle pecked at the Black Falcon on the ground with its beak, then nudged it towards Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen said, "This bird doesn't have much meat on it, not tasty. Next time, go catch a bigger one."
The Crowned Eagle lowered its head in thought. It was unclear whether it understood or not.
On the way down the mountain, the Crowned Eagle circling above everyone suddenly turned its head. Its gaze sharp as lightning, it locked onto a figure in the woods not far away.
The Crowned Eagle flew over, scaring the Golden Leopard hiding behind a tree into scrambling away in a panic.
With a few leaps, it jumped deep into the woods, hid behind a bush, and stared intently at the Crowned Eagle.
The Crowned Eagle folded its wings and stood on the branch of a large tree.
It let out a few annoyed cries.
After its body grew larger, flying in the woods wasn't as convenient as before. Its wings easily brushed against leaves, and if it wasn't careful, it could easily hit branches.
When flying, collisions between wings and branches were quite painful.
"Hah~"
The Golden Leopard crouched low, facing the Crowned Eagle, and slowly backed away.
Seeing it wasn't being pursued, it turned around and nimbly fled deeper into the woods.
"What's wrong? Didn't catch up?"
Qin Ziwen ran over from behind.
The Crowned Eagle's voice sounded dejected.
Qin Ziwen laughed, "It's no big deal, just didn't catch it."
"Master, there's a wild boar over there," Du Yu pointed into the distance.
The group looked in the direction he pointed. About forty or fifty meters away in the grass, a wild boar roughly waist-high to an adult was rooting in the ground.
"Oink, oink~"
It seemed to sense movement.
It raised its head and looked warily at the group.
The seven men exchanged glances, smiles appearing on their faces.
Du Yu gestured, then crouched low, bending at the waist, and slowly moved to an upwind, uphill position, circling around from the side.
Qin Ziwen tightened his grip on the Long Spear in his hand. "I'll go to the front."
Gradually, the wild boar seemed to sense the subtle atmosphere in the air. It stopped its actions, raised its head, looked left and right, and finally fixed its gaze on Qin Ziwen and the others not far away. It grunted twice, then turned and started walking towards the depths of the dense forest.
Suddenly, from within the dense forest, the wild boar let out a startled cry.
Seeing this, Qin Ziwen raised his Long Spear and charged over.
After running several dozen steps, he saw Du Yu in the dense woods, holding his Long Spear with both hands. The spear tip was thrust into the boar's side, pinning it against a tree.
The wild boar struggled desperately, letting out panicked cries. Du Yu gripped the spear tightly, using skillful force to maneuver around it.
The boar, spinning in place, saw someone approaching. Its eyes bloodshot, it let out an agitated squeal and tried to charge towards Qin Ziwen.
"Master, be careful!" Du Yu held onto the spear for dear life, restricting the boar's movement.
"Coming right at me, good." Qin Ziwen raised his spear to meet it.
He thrust his spear into the boar's snout.
He and Du Yu pushed simultaneously. The wild boar, frantic, dug its hooves wildly into the ground. But with the two men pinning it from the front and right side, they forcefully restricted the boar to the spot.
The boar's bloodshot eyes gradually cleared, and it let out a mournful cry. In the end, it was forcibly pressed against a large tree.
......
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