Chapter 8: The Azure-scaled Eagle

The dark-skinned Er Meng grinned foolishly, drool almost dripping from his mouth, and hurried forward, saying, “This is the biggest bird's nest I've ever dug out. I've never seen such a large egg before.”

“Exactly,” Pi Hou replied dryly, his smile resembling that of a mountain monkey.

“So beautiful,” Little Stone, Shi Hao, blinked his big eyes, his long eyelashes quivering. He looked at the three fierce bird eggs, which were smooth and gleaming with a hint of luster, and couldn’t help but feel delighted. Being the youngest, he was very curious and wanted to hold them and examine them closely.

When Er Meng reached the eggs and touched one of the giant eggs, he immediately exclaimed, “Ouch!” His arm felt numb, as if he had been electrocuted.

“What’s going on?” The other children were alarmed.

The eggshells, as translucent as jade, were adorned with bright spots and patterns that shimmered like stars. There was a mysterious energy flowing through them.

“Really powerful. The Azure-scaled Eagle is a descendant of the ancient demonic birds. Even though its bloodline is no longer pure, there are still some fragmented runes from its life imprint,” Little Stone, Shi Hao, who studied bone scripts daily, noticed the signs and said with a crisp voice, sounding like a little adult.

The children were both surprised and thrilled. The more powerful the fierce bird, the rarer and more noble the offspring it hatches. The chicks could potentially protect the village and might even rival the ancestral spirits.

“Only the spots on the eggshell are emitting a flowing light. Be careful not to touch those areas. Pack them into the animal hide bags. We need to leave quickly,” Shi Dazhuang, who was tall, strong, and steady, urged them. There was no time to waste.

Clearly prepared, each of them had brought an animal hide bag. They quickly opened them and carefully placed the fierce bird eggs inside. There were three jade-green eggs the size of washbasins. Except for Little Stone, the other three each carried one on their backs.

“This is great! I can’t believe we succeeded,” Er Meng said happily, grinning so much that it looked like his snot might come out.

Pi Hou also smiled cheerfully, saying, “From now on, our Stone Village will have powerful fierce birds to protect us. The village chief and Uncle Lin Hu will definitely be impressed and view us differently.”

“Oops!” Shi Dazhuang stumbled and nearly fell, but Little Stone quickly supported him.

The fierce bird’s nest was lined with soft golden silk grass, but among it were a few scales with a cold metallic luster. Shi Dazhuang, not noticing, stepped on them, piercing the sole of his shoe. Blood trickled from his foot, but fortunately, it was only a scratch.

“Such sharp scales,” Little Stone, Shi Hao, collected a few of the azure scales, each about the size of a baby’s hand, glittering with a cold light.

“These are the scales of a mature fierce bird. They’re indeed extraordinary. I estimate that even a several hundred-pound broad sword would find it hard to cut through,” Pi Hou remarked.

The children dared not linger. They swiftly descended the cliff like geckos and soon reached the ground, wiping sweat off their brows and sighing in relief.

“Did you get anything?” The group of children gathered around.

“Success! We dug out a whole nest of bird eggs. Haha!” Er Meng laughed heartily.

The children opened the animal hide bags to look inside. Seeing the washbasin-sized eggs, glowing and mysterious, they were all amazed.

“Great, we succeeded!”

“These are the eggs of a powerful fierce bird. Our Stone Village will have flying warbirds now.”

“Let’s go!”

They were both happy and excited, leaping through the stone forest like a group of little mountain beasts, moving with incredible speed. Soon, they exited the stone forest and made it out before the Azure-scaled Eagle returned.

“This went so smoothly. Let’s hurry,”

The mountain forest was dense, with leaves piled up a foot thick, soft underfoot. Tall trees blocked the blazing sun, and ancient vines wound around the giant trees. Occasionally, distant beast roars shook the mountains.

Fortunately, this place was not far from Stone Village, still within a relatively safe area, not close to the dangerous and fierce creatures of the deeper mountains.

“Almost there. Let’s push on and get to the village in one go.”

Although the children were excited, they were also a bit worried. After all, it was an Azure-scaled Eagle, which even the strongest men in the village feared. They had managed to take an entire nest of its eggs, which felt a bit unreal.

Suddenly, a piercing cry shattered the sky, sharp and terrifyingly penetrating, causing the children’s eardrums to hurt.

“Not good. The Azure-scaled Eagle has returned. It must have noticed that the three eggs are missing and will go berserk,” one of the children screamed.

“Run!” Little Stone, Shi Hao, with bright eyes, saw through the gaps in the giant trees that a shadow was circling in the sky, heading their way.

High above, the wind howled as a giant bird cast a large shadow over the forest, diving rapidly with a cold azure light flowing over its body, exuding a terrifying fierceness.

The other children saw it too. In the distance, a giant bird was attacking the forest with incredible speed, like a falling star, sharp and intimidating.

“My God, what a huge bird! Run!”

The children screamed in terror. The bird was enormous, about seven to eight meters long, with a wingspan of fifteen meters. Its body was covered in azure scales, shimmering with a cold metallic luster, and it emanated a menacing aura.

The children fled wildly, using their familiarity with the forest to dart towards the densest parts of the woods, evading the fierce bird with its shimmering scales.

“Boom!”

Dozens of towering trees were shattered by its iron wings. Branches and leaves flew everywhere, and debris scattered. It descended like iron, unstoppable.

The sight was terrifying. The children screamed, their faces pale as they ran for their lives.

This colossal beast was horrifying. Its iron wings smashed everything in its path, and its scales gleamed with a cold light. One dive was enough to devastate most of the forest, sending shattered wood and debris flying.

It was incredibly strong, with a body as hard as steel and wings like broad blades, able to break a mountain peak. The trees could not stop it at all.

It resembled a giant eagle but had no feathers. Its scales were as hard as iron, filled with a shocking power.

Its hooked beak was black and sharp, about half a meter long, stained with the blood of fierce beasts, indicating it had just returned from hunting. Its claws were even more frightening, icy and extremely sharp, nearly a meter long, capable of easily tearing apart a giant elephant.

On its head were some protrusions similar to feathers but were actually long, sharp bone spurs, like a row of horns that could easily slice open the chest of a large beast.

This was the Azure-scaled Eagle, covered in cold blue scales, brimming with immense power, sweeping through the forest and treating the giant trees as if they were nothing.

“Boom!”

In the thunderous sound, large sections of towering trees broke apart. Many were so thick that it took a dozen people to encircle them. The Azure-scaled Eagle swooped through, its iron wings breaking all obstacles, leaving branches and leaves scattered on the ground.

With a resounding crash, a massive boulder blocking the path was shattered, sparks flying and rocks tumbling. Many heavy stones fell in all directions, breaking numerous large trees and creating a terrifying scene.

All the children were horrified. The Azure-scaled Eagle was so powerful that, if not for the boulder blocking its path, many of them might have been attacked.

After the Azure-scaled Eagle destroyed a large portion of the forest, it soared back into the sky, circling above. Its hawk-like eyes, cold and electric, fixated on the fleeing children below, ready to dive down again and hunt them down.

“The village is not far ahead! Hurry up!” the children shouted.

(Note: The second part of the text seems to be a promotional message, which I’ve omitted in the translation as it doesn’t pertain to the story content.)