Chapter 420 - 367: A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix?
Chapter 420: Chapter 367: A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix?
The Golden Crow flew higher and higher, its body wreathed in True Sun Fire that instantly incinerated any grass or leaves it touched in its flight.
Flora Bloom couldn’t control this type of flame. Watching the surrounding plants catch fire one by one from the fiery energy in the air, she began to grow anxious.
This forest had a strange aura to begin with, home to many powerful evolved plants and beasts. They had only been able to hunt here thanks to Cynthia Grant’s affinity for plants, which allowed them to avoid the territories of these dangerous creatures.
Now, if the area burned to ashes, their position would be completely exposed.
Sure enough, a purple, vine-like plant of some unknown species anthropomorphically pulled up its roots and rapidly approached Flora Bloom’s group from the north.
Flora Bloom, Cynthia Grant, Ethan Monroe, and Neal Wallace had no time to react before the plant whipped a finger-thick vine toward them, aiming straight for Flora Bloom’s neck.
But just as the purple vine neared Flora Bloom from behind, about to touch her neck, a soft white light flared to life and violently flung it away.
The attack alerted Flora Bloom. She spun around to see an unknown plant about her own height. Her sudden movement seemed to have startled it; its dense, fine roots bristled like the fur of an animal struck by lightning. After a moment of shock, it turned tail and bolted.
Flora Bloom found it strange. ’This thing attacked me first, so why was it the one to get spooked and run off?’
But Flora Bloom knew it hadn’t gone far. It had rooted itself in the earth somewhere within a kilometer, and it was still spying on her group.
Not only that, but besides this strange purple plant, numerous other life forms were rapidly approaching. They all stopped about a kilometer away, wanting to draw nearer but not daring to.
Flora Bloom had the diminutive Monkey One use the nearby unburnt trees to stealthily inform all the other teams in the vicinity to return to the base.
Monkey One was an ordinary baby monkey that Flora Bloom had cut from its dead mother’s belly back in Janton. But after the first evolution of the ’space,’ it was branded by the spatial mark and, upon its own evolution, actually began to speak.
Furthermore, a third, unopened eye had appeared on its forehead, just like the gorilla, Three-Eyes. If not for the massive difference in their sizes, Flora Bloom would have almost thought Three-Eyes and Monkey One were the same species.
A short while later, Monkey One returned and informed the group that the nearby teams had all mostly retreated. However, through its jumbled speech and frantic gestures, they also learned that a massive flock of birds was flying in their direction.
Flora Bloom had assumed "a massive flock" meant a few hundred, or maybe a thousand at most—and a thousand was already pushing it.
But who would have known that the sky above the wild forest would be blotted out by a haze resembling a dark cloud, obscuring nearly all the light where they stood.
Flora Bloom, Cynthia Grant, Neal Wallace, and Ethan Monroe looked up and, with a silent, mutual understanding, prepared for battle.
Because it wasn’t a dark cloud or a haze at all. It was a shadow formed by countless birds of all sizes. They were currently circling and crying out high above the forest, their calls strangely unique.
It was as if they were calling their friends and companions to join some mysterious and joyous party; their cries were high-pitched, urgent, and filled with glee.
Flora Bloom’s brow furrowed even deeper.
’At this rate, it’s going to summon every bird from thousands of miles around!’
Flora Bloom tried to use her mental link to communicate with the Golden Crow, only to find that it was in a closed-off state and couldn’t receive her commands at all.
With no other choice, Flora Bloom enveloped her companions in a water mist. The group stood their ground, on guard against sneak attacks from the air and any nearby creatures.
They were now surrounded by a massive number of plants and animals in the very heart of the wild forest. And because the True Sun Fire leaking from the Golden Crow had incinerated all the nearby vegetation, the area around Flora Bloom’s group was completely empty, leaving them with no path for a breakout.
All of them were completely exposed to the gazes of the surrounding creatures.
Although Flora Bloom’s water mist provided some cover from animals that hunted by sight, she feared there might be an evolved creature nearby that located its prey by smell or magnetic fields.
Time ticked by, second by second. In the center of the circle, the group didn’t dare move a muscle, their gazes fixed on the Golden Crow in the sky, which was still wreathed in True Sun Fire.
Just then, the Golden Crow seemed to awaken from a deep slumber. The True Sun Fire within its golden eyes suddenly flared, and the flames covering its body burned even more intensely.
Finally, a cry like that of the king of a hundred birds—"SKREEE!"—resounded through the heavens. The dense flock of birds above shuddered at the sound and, as if in response, erupted into a cacophony of chirps, squawks, and cries of their own. The entire flock seemed exceptionally excited.
For some reason, the scene reminded Flora Bloom of an old saying.
A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix!
’But the Golden Crow isn’t a phoenix, it’s a... well, a Golden Crow. Still, seeing it wreathed in fire like it’s being reborn from the ashes... the image in my head is getting closer and closer to reality.’
Finally, the Golden Crow’s body began to change.
While the True Sun Fire did not die out, the Golden Crow’s raven-black feathers began to fall, blanketing the ground. A few stray embers of True Sun Fire drifted down into the forest below. The land, which had already been burned bare, began to change the moment these embers touched the soil.
The ground dried and cracked, forming a web of fine fissures. Suddenly, it seemed as if something was about to burst forth from beneath the earth. It wasn’t fast, but it stubbornly pushed up against the hard-packed soil.
At last, a small golden seedling pushed its way out of the soil.
At that very moment, the golden flames on the Golden Crow flared magnificently, showering a constant stream of sparks onto the small golden seedling.
Under the assault of the fiery embers, the golden seedling wasn’t incinerated. Instead, like a young plant nourished by spring rain, it began to thrive and grow.
Flora Bloom and the others watched in disbelief as the golden seedling grew taller and larger, bit by bit, amidst a meteor shower of flames.
After what felt like a century, the golden seedling had finally grown into a towering tree. Although it wasn’t as tall as the highest trees in the forest, its trunk was thick and rugged, and even its leaves glittered with a golden light, radiating Fire Element Energy.
"Cynthia, does this tree look like a parasol tree? The leaves look like parasol leaves, too." Flora Bloom asked the others, seeking to confirm her suspicion.
After receiving affirmative replies from the others, Flora Bloom grew even more puzzled.
’Phoenixes perch on parasol trees... Don’t tell me my unreliable, pitch-black Golden Crow is going to perch on a parasol tree too? That makes no sense!’
And just then, the Golden Crow in the sky let out a sharp cry. The True Sun Fire flared brightly for a second along with the shriek, then suddenly retracted completely.
With the flames gone, the Golden Crow’s body was revealed once more. But the creature that reappeared before their eyes no longer bore any resemblance to the ink-black crow it had been before.