About fifty meters away from him, countless black wings began appearing, flapping silently in the distance like an approaching storm.
If counted... there would be more than two hundred!
The sound of wings slicing through the air grew louder. Clearer. Each beat was like a warning bell.
’Set a circular barrier of Mana NOW!’ the crystal barked in an urgent tone, more forceful than usual.
Leon didn’t hesitate. He didn’t need to understand why. The crystal had never once been wrong. Its tone alone was enough to trigger every instinct in his body.
Even before the birds came into view, he felt something shift in the air—a strange unease clinging to the wind.
Familiar... but also foreign. A beast he had never encountered before. He had read about them during the Qi Sensing Era—but never seen them. Especially not in this region.
’Wait... ravens? Black ravens?’
These beasts didn’t thrive in the Great Zhou Empire. Their kind belonged to the Gu Empire and the Lin Empire. There, near the coasts and the sea, their normal versions lived freely—so when the mutation wave came, their evolved versions only stayed in that environment.
They weren’t supposed to be here.
Mutated black ravens.
Their entire bodies were jet black—wings, beaks, feathers, talons. The only thing that broke the dark silhouette was the glow of their yellow eyes.
Despite their color, their feathers were smooth, waterproof, and shimmered faintly with a light red reflection under certain angles. It was subtle—but distinct. Enough to differentiate them from other beasts.
Their beaks were curved and pointy, sharp enough to pierce armor. Their claws were long, jagged, and deadly.
Once upon a time, they were called pirates’ companions.
Now, they were predators.
Leon frowned. He couldn’t see their levels.
That alone was enough to make this fight dangerous.
If he couldn’t gauge their strength, he couldn’t plan. He didn’t know if they were stronger or weaker than him.
Still... he did not flinch.
Two seconds later, the Mana shield activated—forming a full circular barrier around him.
A semi-transparent glow of blue expanded across his entire body like a second skin, wrapping him in energy. The glow shimmered faintly, giving him an ethereal glow.
Like something out of legend.
Like a mythical warrior reborn.
The ravens saw this—but they didn’t care.
They ignored the chill creeping into their bones, the warning their instincts screamed at them.
To them, Leon was just one more pest. A boy covered in blood, standing at the center of a slaughtered clan.
They had known the chicken clan was dead.
They had seen the corpses.
And yet... they still didn’t think much of it.
Because to them, even the chicken clan was trash.
If not for the ancient contract binding their species together, they wouldn’t have come.
And why should they fear?
Their weakest member was Level 4.
Their strongest—Level 7.
That alone was enough to fill them with confidence. Compared to the chickens, they were monsters. Titans.
Their plan was simple: kill the boy and fly back home.
Leon had initially assumed they would take longer to arrive—he thought the beast the chicken called was walking.
He had no idea it was a flying beast.
That mistake nearly cost him.
They reached within 50 meters of him—twice as fast as he expected.
Their cries ripped through the air. Dozens. Hundreds.
Leon winced slightly at the sound. But he didn’t retreat.
He already knew—this would be far harder than his fight with the chicken beasts.
So he reinforced the shield.
Thickening it with nearly half his remaining Mana.
The glow around him deepened—shifting to a darker, denser shade of blue. The air around him pulsed with energy, almost like heat waves.
He was fully encased. A glowing, armored titan of mana.
Yet, despite the threat... despite the numbers...
This was his first time fighting flying beasts.
His blood pumped faster. His heart thudded wildly in his chest.
He didn’t know how many hits the barrier could take. If it shattered mid-battle, he would be exposed—and drained.
But none of that stopped him.
They had every advantage.
Almost 400 ravens against one blood-soaked boy.
Still, Leon didn’t care.
’If there’s no path—I’ll make one.’
The ravens circled overhead like black clouds.
They screeched again. This time in a mocking tone. As if asking, Are you not afraid?
Leon raised his chin.
Unbothered. Unshaken.
He wanted them to strike.
He needed them to strike.
There wasn’t much time left.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
’What are they waiting for?’
’Do these beasts understand human language?’ he asked the system.
’Any language spoken by you can be understood by them.’
A wicked smile spread across his face.
He took a deep breath.
And then he shouted, voice rising like thunder:
"What are you nincompoops waiting for?! Are you scared or what?! The chickens were more daring and challenging than you lot!"