Unleashing his Beast Soul Power, a Niu family member carried a Fine Steel Crossbow Arrow over two meters long and walked up to Ning Zhesheng.
Just this single Crossbow Arrow weighed five hundred pounds. When he set it on the ground, the earth trembled.
Ning Zhesheng picked up the Crossbow Arrow with one hand, loaded it, and aimed at the Flame Eagle. He pulled the trigger!
BOOM!
An explosive blast echoed out. The two-meter-long fine steel Giant Crossbow shot toward the Flame Eagle like a bolt of lightning.
"SCREECH!"
Sensing the danger, the Flame Eagle flapped its wings. Instead of confronting the attack head-on, it swatted the Giant Crossbow away.
RUMBLE.
The Giant Crossbow embedded itself into the ground, creating a deep crater in the earth!
GASP!
Everyone drew in a sharp breath of cold air. The might of this Giant Crossbow was probably no weaker than a 9th Layer expert of the Frenzy Spirit Realm, was it?
"As expected of a Rank Four Beast. But that was only one. If all the Crossbow Arrows were fired at once, could you handle it?" Ning Zhesheng grinned, then turned to Niu Tong. "Have your men load the crossbows."
"Yes, Young Master Ning."
"All of you, hurry up and load the Crossbow Arrows," Niu Tong ordered.
"Understood, Town Mayor."
"I’ll be the shooter!"
The cannon fodder were suddenly filled with enthusiasm. After all, something like a Giant Crossbow was not a weapon they could normally lay their hands on. If they were too slow, they would miss their chance.
Soon, all fifty Crossbow Wagons were fully loaded with Crossbow Arrows, their gleaming tips aimed squarely at the Flame Eagle.
"SCREECH!"
The Flame Eagle cried out again. It flapped its wings up and down a few times, no longer as calm as before, having clearly sensed the danger.
SWISH!
The first piercing sound tore through the air like a lit fuse.
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!
Fifty Giant Crossbows were fired in rapid succession, shooting toward the Flame Eagle from all directions. Even the sunlight seemed to be blotted out. The Flame Eagle had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. It could only flap its wings to relentlessly fend them off, but with so many Crossbow Arrows, it simply couldn’t block them all.
A single Giant Crossbow might not hurt it. But what about fifty Giant Crossbows? What about five hundred?
The moment the first batch of Giant Crossbows was fired, the second batch was already loaded. The sheer speed of it practically guaranteed a completely indiscriminate bombardment.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Violent explosions rang out continuously. The dense swarm of Giant Crossbows fell relentlessly like a torrential downpour, without a moment’s pause. The Flame Eagle’s tough feathers might not have been pierced, but they began to fall.
After an unknown number of volleys, a spray of blood bloomed in the air.
"In the spots unprotected by feathers, the Giant Crossbow can injure it!"
"Keep shooting! Keep shooting!"
The people acted like wild animals, descending into a frenzy at the sight of blood. However terrified these men had been just moments ago, they were equally as brutal now.
Shoot, shoot, shoot!
Kill, kill, kill!
The tightly packed Giant Crossbows plummeted like shooting stars. Even dripping water could wear away stone, let alone Giant Crossbows forged from fine steel.
"How strange. Why doesn’t this Flame Eagle fly away? At this rate, it will definitely die," Tang Long’s puzzled voice rang out from the crowd.
Ye Xuan didn’t answer, as he had the exact same question. Judging from the Flame Eagle’s initial reactions, its wings weren’t injured. So why didn’t it fly? Was it too heavy to take off?
But that was impossible!
"SCREECH..."
Right as Ye Xuan pondered this, the Flame Eagle let out a hoarse cry. A Giant Crossbow had finally pierced its wing, lodged right through the middle like a massive thorn. Perhaps spurred by the pain, the Flame Eagle—which had been squatting on the ground this entire time—attempted to stand up.
But it only managed to rise slightly before crouching back down again.
"What is that?!"
"If I’m not seeing things, that looks like an egg!"
Cries of astonishment suddenly erupted from the crowd. Even though the Flame Eagle had only risen a fraction, they still saw them: massive white eggs tucked beneath its body.
"Hahaha! I was wondering why this Flame Eagle didn’t know how to fly. I thought it was just stupid, but it turns out it was protecting its young!" Ning Zhesheng burst into hearty laughter, the light in his eyes growing brighter by the second.
A Beast’s egg was far more precious than the Beast itself. Animals had an innate instinct where they would treat the very first creature they saw upon opening their eyes as their mother.
"I, Ning Zhesheng, truly am a man of immense luck! To think I’d stumble upon a scene like this!" Ning Zhesheng roared incessantly. "Kill! Keep killing it!"
The Giant Crossbows continued to be loaded and fired at the Flame Eagle. The expressions on everyone’s faces were thoroughly deranged.
Ye Xuan, however, stood amongst the crowd with a solemn expression, a trace of admiration in his eyes as he looked at the Flame Eagle. Although he was not a man given to overly soft-hearted mercy, and wouldn’t bat an eye when slaughtering a Beast himself, in this moment, witnessing this very scene, he was genuinely moved by the creature.
For nothing else, but for the animal’s instinctive maternal love. Species might differ, but a mother’s love did not.
Ye Xuan had longed for a mother’s love since he was a child; it was something he desperately wanted yet could never obtain. Ever since he could remember, his mother was gone. His father said she had gone to a faraway place, but he knew that she was most likely dead.
He never imagined that one day, his yearning for a mother’s love would be rekindled by an animal.
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!
The whistling sounds of the air being torn apart echoed once more as another wave of attacks rained down from the sky. Under the sunlight, the Giant Crossbows glinted with a cold light, akin to the Grim Reaper’s scythe coming to claim a life.
The Flame Eagle shrieked continuously. Several times, it stood up, seemingly prepared to abandon the young beneath it. If the Flame Eagle was determined to escape, no one present could have stopped it. Yet, every single time it stood, it gave up the thought. It looked down at the eggs beneath it, its cold eyes reflecting complex emotions normally found only in humans.
"SCREECH..."
The Flame Eagle let out another tragic cry. Both of its wings had now been pierced through by Giant Crossbows. Blood flowed down the shafts, dyeing the ground crimson.
Bizarrely, the moment this blood touched the ground, it vanished without a trace. With so many people having died earlier, even if it wasn’t a river of blood, there should have been at least a few small pools. However, aside from a bloody hue, there wasn’t a single drop of liquid blood on the ground.
"Hahaha, it won’t hold out for much longer! Keep shooting," Ning Zhesheng was still shouting. The more injured the Flame Eagle became, the more thrilled he grew.
SWISH SWISH SWISH.
A few more rounds of attacks rained down. Numerous gashes were torn open across the Flame Eagle’s body, leaving it completely riddled with wounds. Its wings drooped at its sides, as if even the bones within had been shattered. Its proud head was covered in blood, and now, it couldn’t even muster the strength to lift it, leaving its entire body prostrate on the ground.
Only those eyes retained a hint of cold, solitary pride.
"Can’t hold on anymore? Old Ma, send it on its final journey," Young Master Ning said to Old Ma, tossing a Treasure Sword over to him as he spoke.
One glance was enough to tell that this sword was no ordinary item. It was a Spirit Level Treasure Sword. Though it was only of low grade, it could still slice through iron like mud.
Old Ma caught the Treasure Sword and leaped high into the air. While he was still mid-flight, a terrifying aura pressed down like a Big Mountain. Above his head, a giant ape materialized. This was an intermediate-rank Wild Beast Beast Soul, the Strong Ape.
Old Ma used his full strength. Wielding the Profound Level Treasure Sword, he slashed toward the Flame Eagle’s neck.