Chapter 73: Clash Of Different Winds (2)
"Shall we get this over with now?" His sharp voice was filled with mockery.
His words very easily agitated the monster. Although it had now become a zombie due to its unfortunate circumstances, it was still an Ironfeather Eagle at heart.
Its instincts, pride, and hatred had not been erased simply because its body had died and been brought back to life through the zombie virus.
When it was ambushed by the humans, it had been severely suppressed by only a single man, whilst the others didn’t particularly stand out in its eyes.
Because of this, the eagle had developed a hatred towards humans, especially that man who had captured it and forced it into captivity.
Had Ethan still been a human and tried getting the eagle’s help, the eagle would’ve undoubtedly attacked him too, regardless of whatever reason he could have given.
To the Ironfeather Eagle, humans were the creatures who had taken away its freedom and treated its existence as nothing more than a resource.
But ever since the eagle saw the Envoy, its hatred had once again resurfaced, causing it to so willingly and intently attack the man.
There were several reasons behind this reaction, with the most obvious one being that the man was undoubtedly a human.
More importantly, he wore the same attire as the one man who had captured it.
Did it mean that it was the Envoy who had ambushed the eagle?
Yes and no.
It was indeed an Awakener Association envoy; however, it wasn’t this envoy.
Even the eagle had already realized this difference after their brief confrontation.
Although the clothing was similar and the scent of humanity was the same, the power radiating from this man was completely different from the one who had once suppressed it.
The power this man wielded was much closer to its own.
It was very similar, almost like the bond of twins, yet essentially completely different.
The eagle couldn’t properly understand the nature of that strange power; its instincts could clearly tell it that something about the man was abnormal.
However, even so, the eagle’s eyes weren’t staring at the Envoy at all.
They were staring at the two teal bells he wore in his ears.
What seemed like nothing more than ordinary accessories were actually the source of such strange energy.
The moment the eagle understood that, its eyes narrowed slightly as it released another furious screech, causing the surrounding wind to surge violently.
Gazing into the eagle’s eyes, the Envoy smiled. "So you’ve realized it?"
His fingers lightly touched one of the teal bells hanging beside his ear before he continued with a faint chuckle. "I wouldn’t expect any less from a C-rank monster."
Since the apocalypse, Nox had leaked into the earth and began changing its entirety, and humans were naturally one of the biggest parts of this change.
After being exposed to this strange energy, they began awakening different classes and skills while their bodies underwent great changes in order to inhabit such powers.
Whether it be their physical features, mentality, or even their personalities, everything could be altered by their own powers.
Such changes were ever-evolving and often unthinkable, with some awakeners gaining abilities that completely defied what humans previously believed to be possible.
In rare cases, classes didn’t manifest directly into a human’s own body but instead manifested in the physical world, bound only to their designated owners.
In the Envoy’s case, these were the teal bells. Although they looked extremely ordinary, they were the very manifestation of his class.
Wind Current Reader.
A C-rank class that allowed him to perceive, see, and manipulate wind currents to a high degree.
It wasn’t an overwhelmingly destructive class by itself, nor was it capable of producing storms out of nowhere, but its true strength depended heavily on the environment surrounding its user.
In an area full of trees, wind often blew at its lowest, creating an unfavorable environment for someone like him.
The countless trees and plants disrupted the natural movement of air and prevented large currents from forming.
However, unbeknownst of this fact, the Ironfeather Eagle had turned the entire battlefield into chaos.
Wind currents that otherwise seemed graceful and gentle had been twisted violently.
They turned into raging currents that gradually became stronger as several wind gusts crashed into trees, splitting their trunks instantly and sending countless leaves flying through the air.
The entire forest had become a playground for the Envoy as every violent current created by the Ironfeather Eagle became another path that he could follow.
The teal bells trembled beside his ears as the cerulean glow around his body grew stronger.
The Envoy felt as if the battle was no longer completely one-sided against him.
Exactly because of this, the Envoy felt more confident than ever.
’If it was before, my winning chances were barely over ten percent.’
His eyes remained fixed on the Ironfeather Eagle as countless invisible currents moved around his body.
’But now... with this, they’ve jumped to forty percent.’
The eagle suddenly spread its enormous wings, and the air around its body began twisting violently as a massive pressure gathered within the forest.
The Envoy didn’t retreat, but instead, his body slowly rose higher into the air as the invisible currents carried him upward, allowing him to hover several meters above the ground without flapping his arms or relying on any visible support.
The Ironfeather Eagle released another roar before suddenly charging forward, its enormous wings creating a violent wave of wind that tore through everything standing in its path.
The Envoy’s eyes flashed beneath his white veil. The world around him seemed to slow as countless colorful threads appeared within his vision.
Each one represented a different movement of air, and rather than resisting the incoming wind, he reached toward one of the threads and allowed his body to move along with it.
His figure instantly vanished from the eagle’s path. The violent wind crashed into the forest behind him, destroying several trees while the Envoy reappeared above the eagle’s back, his teal bells shining brightly.
’There.’ He clenched his fist tightly as the wind beneath him suddenly changed direction.
The Envoy was thrown forward like an arrow, and at the same time, a sharp current of compressed air formed around his fist, making his next attack far more powerful than anything he had displayed before.
The Ironfeather Eagle sensed the danger and twisted its enormous body in midair, barely avoiding the attack as the Envoy’s fist passed beside its feathers.
BOOM!
The compressed wind exploded against the ground, creating a deep crater beneath them.
༺━━━━━━༺༻━━━━━━༻
At the same time, far from this place, a silhouette was approaching at a speed great enough to seem invisible to the naked eye.
As he ran through the sparse forest, faint currents of wind blew because of his speed.
Leaves rustled around his body, and stems of the trees and plants swayed in his direction.
Bzzzt
Very small sparks of yellow lightning could be seen flickering near his bare footprints on the ground, along the air trail behind him, and even across the plants that he passed.