"All of you surround it. Don't let it escape!"
Over a dozen men in scarlet robes could be seen surrounding a large hawk-like, clad in scarlet flames, magical beast. Obviously, this was the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk.
"Creeeeeee!!!!"
It released a piercing screech as it flapped its massive wings which kicked up scarlet flames in an inferno, burning a few of the men into cinders!
"Watch out for the flames! You need to dodge them!"
The same man ordering them around saw what was happening and tried to command his men in the face of this monster.
Before long, they were able to regain the upper hand, but that didn't mean they could relax. After all, many things could change due to any number of variables.
He then turned around to face one of those possible variables right now.
"Now what are you all doing here, and where are you from!?"
A group of frightened young disciples stood before him, frozen in fear. The sight of a rank 4 overlord class magical beast and the pressure it gave off terrified them even though it wasn't directed at them.
In addition, the men before them weren't anything to scoff at either.
Without exception, all the men here were Core Formation realm experts also known as Martial Adepts. There were two 9 Core Formation experts, with 7 Core and 8 Core making up the rest of the numbers.
However, the leader, the one who was now questioning the children, was a Core Flame Evocation realm expert or a Martial Master. With one lit core, he was a one-core martial master.
"I'll ask you again, who are you and where did you all come fro—"
"Argh!"
Before he could even finish asking the kids once again, a cry sounded out behind him as the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk released another area attack that culled the number of enemies surrounding it.
"You! Come here and keep an eye on them! Don't let any of them escape!"
After selecting one of the more injured and weakened members of his party to back out, he himself jumped in to finish up here as quickly as possible.
One of the members hobbled over. A massive burn wound could be seen covering the entirety of his torso.
"Tch!" He scoffed at the young ones with an ugly expression on his face, "If it wasn't for you brats appearing out of nowhere, we would be fighting alongside sir Xie He! Because of you, some of us got distracted allowing that thing to retaliate. Now a lot of our brothers ended up dead!"
Though he was injured and weakened, the children didn't even think of going against him; he was still many times stronger than them, so they could only be obedient, especially since he didn't take action against them. After all, the Xie He he spoke of told him to only keep an eye on them and nothing more, and he didn't dare disobey.
"Junior apprentice-sister Shen Ling, why did you tell us to come here?"
"I'm not sure, I just know that us being here would be beneficial, senior apprentice-sister," Shen Ling replied, nearly on the verge of tears because of the fear that gripped her.
"I don't see how that's a possibility. Look at the position we're in!" Tie Lang yelled.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Hey! Do you want this senior apprentice-sister to teach you how to treat women!?"
"S-Sorry senior apprentice-sister Feng Yu!"
'Shut up, all of you!" the expert barked at them.
That's right. The group of children were the disciples that dragged Long Di to the village like a dead bison. He was right!
In the beginning, they were out on experiential training once again when their junior-apprentice sister, Shen Ling, advised them of her wish to go through the magical beast forest.
With their strength, they were only qualified to shuffle around the outer periphery of the forest. However, Shen Ling expressed her desire to go deeper inside.
Of course, they were hesitant, but things similar to this had happened in the past when she would give advice on where she wanted to go. Even their latest discovery of the human known as Long Di was her doing.
Originally, they thought they would be finding a wounded, high-ranked magical beast, or an unguarded valuable spirit fruit or herb.
The others weren't aware of Shen Ling's identity as an Abyss Ghost apart from their senior-apprentice sister, Feng Yu.
What they did know, though, was that following Shen Ling normally yielded such results. This happened many times in the past. This time, however, they were in something way over their heads.
…
"I-I don't believe it. They are here, all of them! I won't lie. Were they not here, I would have taken us back immediately. How did you know!?"
"…"
"Little demon?"
I looked at Uncle Tian Lu with my expression unchanged, and with the knowledge that I lied without batting an eye all for the selfish desire of seeing a firebird for the first time, I did what anyone else in my position would have done… I lied even more.
"Something on the whispers of the wind told me I could find them here."
That was the biggest bullshit I ever spun in my life.
"W-Whispers of the wi—"
"Don't pay attention to that. Uhm, can you tell me what is happening here?" I had to interrupt him. I couldn't keep spouting nonsensical cultivation jargon forever. I wasn't even sure that was cultivation jargon.
We were hiding behind some bushes a good distance away. I don't mind looking at the firebird, but that didn't mean I was going close to it. I wasn't ready for my transition into a gyaru, so tanning was a no-no.
Uncle Tian Lu's eyes narrowed as he stared at the men in the distance. "They're from the Blood Crypt Sect. I heard that they've been going around collecting the essence blood of a lot of fire-type magical beasts, but no one knows why and they have been extremely tight-lipped about it. I didn't think they would be brave enough to provoke the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk though."
I nodded in understanding as he spoke. "This is indeed troublesome. So what are you gonna do?"
"I…" he stopped for a moment as he surveyed the situation once more. "Interesting. I'm not going to do anything."
"What do you mean, nothing? Is your dancing tooth an impediment? I know a fist-based treatment that I'm sure can work wonders."
He wasn't gonna let them die was he? I may be socially inept with all the emotional reflexes of a dead cat, but that didn't mean I just wanted to stand by and watch other people die. Only heartless people can stand by and watch NPCs die.
"Are we gonna stand by and watch them die?"
"No."
I watched as Uncle Tian Lu assumed the lotus position beside me.
"Then what are we going to—"
"WE are not going to do a thing," he said matter-of-factly.
"… I would like for there to be more common sense in our conversation please." I wasn't really good at the whole concocting of a conversation, but I heard from a reliable feline source that common sense was a crucial ingredient, like catnip is to a wedding cake.
"They won't die," he added, "at least not for now. Their entire attention is focused on that beast. I want you to use this opportunity to finish that so-called cultivation technique of yours. Everything will fall in place right after," he said calmly.
I didn't know what kind of revelation he had that caused him to calm down all of a sudden, but since he's so confident that everything will fall in place, I'll trust him.
I stopped talking and watched the battle take place in silence, my eyes focused solely on the bird.
…
Boom!
The battle between the scarlet-robed men was heating up. Flames and scorched earth could be seen all around as the fire pillar that was prevalent before had all but disappeared. It was beginning to weaken, and that was what all the cultivators from the Blood Crypt Sect wanted.
Suddenly, the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk's head reeled back as the flames on its body dimmed somewhat.
Seeing this, the leader quickly reacted. "Back away, everyone!"
Following his own advice, the leader retreated, not wasting time.
Fwoosh!
A large plume of flame shot from its mouth. The heat it radiated was enough to break through the defences the men erected. The leader was the only one who was able to withstand it.
A few more men perished under the attack, causing the rest to stay back, afraid to be the next casualty under its furious assault.
"Steady yourselves everyone! It's just some death-throes. That should have been the last of its energy!"
As if to give credence to what Xie He said, the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk collapsed after that last attack, while the flame on its body was all but extinguished, revealing beautiful scarlet feathers that glinted with a metallic sheen.
Greed flashed in the eyes of Xie He when he saw this.
"Reporting, sir, the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk is definitely weakened. If we leave now, we would have completed the mission," another cultivator came over and told Xie He.
"No, we're not leaving. This essence-blood would all go toward that pill. However, this Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk is a treasure from its feathers to its talons. If we can harvest all of this, we would have recovered the losses our sect suffered from this god-forsaken endeavour."
"But sir, it's still aliv—"
"Then we'll kill it, you idiot! It's obviously an arrow at the end of its flight. Now go over there and end it!"
Saying this, Xie He released his One-Star-Core Martial master realm pressure, forcing the disciple to stagger back in fright and powerlessness.
In truth, they had been able to steal the magical beast's essence blood while it was asleep in its nest. So they had long gotten what they wanted and only need to leave now.
However, the body parts of an overlord-level magical beast would fetch a very high price anywhere.
The disciple looked back at the immobile Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk and steeled his heart as he inched closer to it.
When Xie He saw this, a malicious grin spread across his face. To him, this was the way it should be. The weak should heed the strong.
…
"Little demon, do you know why the Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk was attacking them so viciously?"
"I can't say I do," I answered.
"I don't know how, but they somehow stole its essence blood at a time it was preparing to break through," Uncle Tian Lu answered.
"Oh? And let me guess, it needs that essence blood to have a higher chance of breaking through to a higher realm."
Things like these are pretty much self-explanatory, and I have a very vague idea of where he was going with this.
"Good guess," he nodded in satisfaction. "Now what do you think happens when the frustration of its inevitable failure in breaking through, coupled with the fact that a few idiots bested it in combat, along with the death of not only its life but dignity, all comes crashing through?"
I dived into thought this time, wondering what the most likely outcome would be, when it hit me.
"… Self-destruction," I whispered.
Uncle Tian Lu nodded, satisfied once again. "Many magical beasts, especially those at the overlord class, have the same, if not more, honour and dignity than even humans, and would prefer death over humiliation. This is one of the more tyrannical of those types, and so… keep your eyes peeled. This should give you the enlightenment you seek."
I asked him, already knowing the answer. "Will they be wrecked?"
"They shall be wrecked."
…
At the same, the Blood Crypt sect disciple finally arrived near the seemingly powerless Scarlet Flame Long-Tailed Hawk.
It looked at him with rage and indignation, but did nothing else. Seeing this, the disciple felt more confident as a smile split across his face.
He took the sword he had in his hand and slashed down at its neck with all the power he could muster.
Before it could arrive, however, the originally flameless body erupted into a blazing inferno, burning the disciple before he could even issue a scream.
"No!" Xie He paled in realisation and horror.
It was preparing a suicidal breakthrough, to kill itself and everyone near it!