Chapter 130 – Departure
*whoosh whoosh*
Bursts of chaotic gales erupted in the sky, as a gigantic shadow darted through the clouds at lightning speed.
It was almost like the pa.s.sing of a horizontal lightning bolt.
“Oi, Roran! Tell me, what do you think of the beasts?”
Calron suddenly asked a question while glancing back at the muscular teen on his back.
After learning Tarnila’s flying technique which imbued lightning into his wings, Calron’s current velocity had already broken past the speed of sound. If he was not protecting his two riders with his essence, they would have already been turned into paste.
“Ooong! B-big brother, c-can you not make me t-talk… Oong… I t-think I’m going to p-puke… ”
Roran’s stomach lurched, his cheeks had inflated like he was about to vomit. His face was completely flushed as he was struggling to restrain the movement of his gut.
It was Roran’s first time flying in air, and although he was fine initially, after Calron sped to the point of creating air explosions with his wings, he began to feel motion sickness.
Avi peeked at the human who was her guardian’s friend, and she let out a proud bark. It was like she was claiming her seniority over the newcomer, and had forgotten the pitiful state that she herself was in when she first flew with Calron.
“Oh sorry, Roran. Let me slow down a bit since we are almost there.”
Calron apologized and hastily withdrew most of the lightning essence around his wings.
He was still flying fast, but it was significantly slower than before.
“Cough cough… thanks, big brother.”
Roran took several deep breaths before answering. “I don’t know much about them; I simply just attack the ones that attack me.”
“Well, what do you think about Avi?”
Calron steadied his gait, and glided smoothly over a mountain peak.
“The wolf pup? Well, she’s pretty cute I guess.”
Roran laughed, as he ruffled Avi’s ears.
The wolf closed her eyes in pleasure, but she quickly snapped them open and glared at him while letting out a squeaky growl. Her guardian was the only human that was allowed to pet her, and unlike Calron, this human smelled very… human.
“Woof woof! Woof!”
“She has a fiery personality as well, hahaha!”
Roran chuckled at the sight of the cute wolf pup barking at him.
“Beasts are not like as we were taught in school, Roran… they have the same thoughts, emotions, happiness, fear, hunger and pride as us… Just like bad humans, there are bad beasts and just like good humans, there are good beasts.”
Calron explained, as he continued to look ahead and fly.
“Rather than me telling you about it, I think you should experience it for yourself.”
Calron stated after a moment.
His azure eyes were twinkling with mirth as he began to descend down towards a group of little figures on the ground.
Roran inwardly pondered about his brother’s words. He knew that Calron had a bit of beast blood as he was able to transform into one of them, so his acceptance of beasts was important to his Calron.
However, Roran would not know until later in the future, how important his understanding of beasts would turn out to be.
……………………….
“W-what in the h.e.l.l is going on here!?”
Roran bellowed with irritation at the sight before him.
The contents of his satchel were all laid out on the gra.s.s, as a tiny yellow monkey shafted through his belongings. With a carefree att.i.tude, the little beast gnawed on a piece of dried meat and it h.o.a.rded the remaining food, while throwing away any clothes or coins that it found.
Meanwhile, a little cobalt boar kept attempting to grate its tusks against his steel gauntlets, trying to sharpen the tips.
“You little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, give me my stuff back! And you, I am not a sharpening tool, so stop poking me!”
Roran shouted in anger, brushing off the boar and chasing after the monkey misfit.
*Ptui*
“Gagagaga!”
The baby monkey spat in Roran’s face when he got close to it and it let out a victorious yell while scrambling away with the stolen food.
“f.u.c.k…”
Roran cursed in a defeated tone.
The little monkey was shocking swift and nimble for its size, and since Calron had told him not to use his essence in the area, Roran was left humiliated by the mischievous monkey.
Glancing in the distance where Calron was, Roran started to slowly walk towards him. Calron had already reverted back to his human form.
Roran wished that he had one of those special bracelets like Calron, so he could also store his belongings instead of carrying them on his back. He decided to ask his big brother about getting one later.
Numerous little beasts surrounded Calron, and there was a cacophony of cheerful young animal noises echoing in the vicinity. Avi remained hanging on Calron’s shoulder, as she silently observed her peers. However, clear excitement could be seen in her eyes if one paid close attention to them.
“Meowww! Meww!”
A little golden leopard jumped up and down, its claws scratching Calron’s legs with elation.
“Hahaha, how have you been, big guy?”
Calron let out a happy laugh, as he bent down and picked up the little leopard.
Flashes of pale yellow lightning bounced on top of the golden beast, as it tried to proudly show off its training.
“So you have already started cultivating! Impressive!”
Calron fondly stroked the little leopard’s head, its tail swayed with pleasure.
“Woof!”
Avi made her presence known with a little yip.
“Mewww!” The little golden leopard cheerfully greeted the dark wolf.
Avi turned her head with a snort, completely ignoring the leopard.
Noticing the brief exchange between the wolf and the leopard, Calron smiled with amus.e.m.e.nt.
Although I want to spend more time here, we need to hurry back to the Beast City.
Calron mused, looking at the small group of infant beasts around him.
“Everyone, I need you all to listen up! I plan on taking you all to a city where you will be surrounded by beasts like you, and you will also receive training and a good environment to grow up in. Moreover, you will not have to worry about food.”
Calron conveyed in a loud voice, grabbing the attention of all the beasts.
The little beasts turned their heads in confusion at his words, but their eyes lit up towards the end at the mention of free food. All of them vigorously nodded their heads and letting out excited calls.
Calron shook his head in disbelief. He thought that he would need to do a lot of convincing before the little brats would accede to come with him. But with the simple mention of food, all of them agreed in a single blink.
Of course, the little beasts were not utter gluttons. They completely trusted Calron and they knew instinctively that he would never harm them, so they all wanted to follow him.
Quickly shape-shifting into his beast form, Calron beckoned to the little beasts to get all aboard. Seeing the giant golden bird, the little beasts all stared in amazement at its sheer size.
There was not enough s.p.a.ce on Calron’s back for all of them to fit, so he picked up the bear cub with one of his claws while several snakes wound themselves around the other. With his back and claws full of pa.s.sengers, Calron flapped his wings with power.
As a eighth rank Vajra expert, the combined weight of all these beasts was almost nothing to him. However, it did take him a while to get used to balancing himself in air with the extra weight.
*SCREEEEEEEEE*
With ear-shattering cry, the golden bird disappeared on the horizon.
This was the start of a new journey.
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