章 171: The King of Avians

I ran as fast as I could, in the dark tunnel. The herd of Corpse Dogs behind, was still chasing but I managed to get further away. What welcomed me at the front, was another herd of Corpse Dogs. I ran straight into them with the maximum force, just like Shelly used to do. My body was much more sturdy than it was before, and I had the Domineering Aura released as well.

I ploughed through many Corpse Dogs, before jumped up a bit and landing on a few of them. I slashed my daggers furiously while running forwards. I had little space but thanks to my Natural Path skill, I could use even the smallest of gaps to squeeze past. I could already see the light at the end of the tunnel. 'Finally an exit!' I thought and slashed like a mad man. There were no skills involved, I only had time to use simple slashes. Some of the Corpse Dogs managed to land a few hits on me as well. This meant, I wasn't going to come out unscaved.

A bit more slashing and running later, I finally managed to get outside. What I saw there, was scary. 100s, no, maybe even a 1000 of Corpse Dogs waiting outside. 'This is truly bad. I need to get out of here, fast!' I thought and slashed more. The Corpse Dogs outside started to hurl at me, as if I was the tasties food walking on this earth. The normal Corpse Dogs were not much of a thread, as their strength was too inferior to cause any real damage. The problem were the Variants. Some, more healthy Corpse Dogs, were mixed in with the crowd. I had no time to look for them or avoid their locations. I simply focused on running away and clearing anything, that blocked my path.

With more slashing and getting even more injured, I finally broke out from the encirclement. "Finally!" I exclaimed loudly and started running towards the Dead Forest. I was already tired and the injuries on my body didn't help. I ran at my full speed, but the Corpse Dogs were still chasing. It would take a while for me to lose them.

I ran and ran and ran, until I finally ran out of energy. I looked back and saw nothing. "Hah...Hah...Hah… That was close. I managed to get away somehow. 1000 of them my ass, you stupid Avians! If they could mobilise that kind of army outside of one entrance, I believe that there should be at least 4 times as many of them" I said to myself. Those were mostly normal Corpse Dogs as well. Elites were still protecting the Den, at least that was my guess.

I had to take care of my injuries first. I used some medicine on my wounds and wrapped them with cloths. The injuries I sustained were quite substantial but it wasn't something, a dose of medicine and time wouldn't heal. 'I am not going back there. I need to speak to those Avians first. This deal is not satisfactory to me' I thought and rested a bit more.

When my wounds got better and I restored most of my energy, I moved towards the Vulture Cliffs again. I went back to the same place, where I met with Avians for the first time. The swarm was visible as usual, I decided to wait. After a while, I saw about 10 Avians approaching me. They landed not far away and I moved towards them.

It was the same Avian again, who came to the front and asked "You didn't destroy the Den yet. Why are you here?". I responded "I don't like your deal, your information was also flawed". The Avian seemed a bit shocked and asked "What do you mean?". I slowly replied "You said that there are about 1000 of them in the Den. I believe the number to be at least 4 times as big. This would make it at least 4000 of them. No doubt you can see my injuries. I was barely able to escape with my life from a horde of Corpse Dogs".

The Avian turned towards his companions and spoke with them. I waited patiently for them to finish. After a while, the Avian turned towards me and said "If what you say is true, then we do apologise. The leader of those damned Corpse Dogs, is not that stupid. What do you propose, human?".

I said "I have a way of destroying them all completely but your deal is not worth it. If those dogs are allowed to breed and reach numbers twice, if not 3 times their current numbers, you will be damned". The Avians didn't like my comment and said "We don't appreciate the threat but the danger is real. What is that method you spoke of?".

I looked at him, as if looking at an idiot and said "Do you really think, I will just tell you, like that?". The Avian got a bit more angry and asked "What do you want then?". I said "I want unique stuff. Something that will help me develop my skills. I also want an entry to the Vulture Cliffs but I want to know beforehand, what is inside there".

The Avian turned around and spoke to his companions again. In a short while, he turned towards me and said "We can't make the decision by ourselves. I have to talk with the King. Wait here, I will return shortly". He then lifted into the air and left. The other Avians stayed behind.

I didn't try to make a conversation. I was the one saving their asses and telling them about all of this. In a few years, they would be overrun with Corpse Dogs, and many would die. There was also the possibility of losing the current territory, that belonged to them. The Avian that returned to the swarm, took his time. I stood there waited for a long time at that point. When I looked at the swarm, I finally saw some movements but it wasn't any normal movement… pretty much the whole swarm was moving towards me.

The Avians started landing left and right. Some seemed to be much more imposing, than the Avian I talked with before. They surrounded me completely but none of them got too close to me. Then a female Avian landed in front of me with couple of male Avians by her side. The previous Avian I talked with, was not there. I took a look at the female Avian and noticed that her feathers were much brighter and seemed to be whiteish in colour. She was obviously different from the rest. The male Avians on both her sides, were also a bit different. Bigger than others and had very dark feathers.

The female Avian took a step forward and said "I'm the King of Avians". I looked at her and said "Shouldn't your title be Queen though?". She shook her head and said "The title doesn't change, no matter what gender the leader possesses". I nodded my head and asked "Did you guys think about my demands?".

She responded "Yes, they are very beneficial to us, if what you said is true. We can't do much to those dogs underground, we can only hunt them when they crawl out of their holes". I responded "I know that already. You guys are not very well adapted to ground based fights. Walking causes you trouble as well". The Avians gathered around, didn't seem to like me saying that out loud. I could sort of understand, it was their weaknesses. The King of Avians waved her hand and all went quiet.

She said "That is true. Human, let me ask you this one question. Why are you helping us really?". I looked at her and thought 'I just wanted to enter the Vulture Cliffs. Although, I guess I had hidden agenda. I wanted to study the Avians as well as whatever is inside. This could help me develop my skills. I want to know what they are hiding'.

I said "I want to learn your skills. I want to explore whatever is guarded so strongly inside. I want to know your secrets". The Avians around me seemed shocked at first but then, I felt immense amount of eyes, staring with hatred at me. The King of Avians thought for a while and said "At least you've answered truthfully. How do you know we have any secrets? Did someone tell you something?".

I said "Are you worried that I will steal something from you? No, no one told me about your race. I just guessed, that you are protecting something. I don't know what that something is, I simply want to learn more. I have no intentions of stealing anything of yours or harming you". She thought about it some more and nodded her head. "Then we have a deal".