The Heavenly Avian Temple was a na that sounded pleasant, but the path leading to it did not feel heavenly in the slightest. It was dim, damp, and filled with sothing that was watching with hostile intent. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, ready to fight. They were already so close and would not allow themselves to die before seeing the temple with their own eyes—though a part of them feared that the watchers lurking in the dark would not let them approach the temple easily.
The first wave to attack Chang Long's group was bantam chickens clad in full armor and ard with weapons. They sward in to attack as if trying to drive the intruders away. Although they were stunned for a mont, Chang Long, the two young n, and their pets responded to the attack just in ti. The bantams attacked with reckless abandon. Their combat technique impressed Chang Long and the two n quite a bit. They wielded their weapons skillfully using their wings—and even if their weapons were knocked away, they had a last resort: pecking relentlessly with their beaks.
The first wave was cleared with great difficulty. They fought while laughing until they were exhausted, prompting Chang Long to call a break before continuing the journey. Based on their guess, the beast that would attack next would surely be fiercer than the armored bantams—especially since those bantams had an average level of over thirty.
"I wonder what the second wave will be,"
Aswa said, while imagining various species of birds that might attack them next after the bantams.
"Maybe it'll be turkeys,"
Chang Long replied with amusent. Siegfried nearly burst out laughing at the image of turkeys in armor attacking them—complete with their signature gobbling sound.
"Ha ha ha… It's really turkeys, huh!"
Aswa's laughter ca to a sudden stop when he saw an actual army of armored turkeys advancing toward them, fully ard and making the exact gobbling sound Siegfried had imagined.
All three—even Lycanth—stood agape. But they were soon scrambling in chaos to dodge the arrows flying at them. The turkeys coordinated their attacks excellently, leaving no opening to counterattack. Since closing in to slice the necks of the noisy enemies was impossible, Chang Long turned to Little Jade—who, unless asked, would not lift a claw to help.
"Little Jade, where does your species live?"
Chang Long asked while dodging arrows.
"My race lives in the deep forest, in the Dragon Valley region of the Longshan Mountains. Why do you ask?"
Little Jade replied, glancing at Chang Long with curiosity.
"Forest dragons. I wonder what kind of finishing move their attack would be. Fire dragons breathe fire, water dragons shoot water, right? I'm really curious."
Chang Long muttered. Little Jade narrowed her eyes at her and asked with suspicion,
"You want to see what I'd breathe out of my mouth, is that it?"
"Huh! Oh, yeah. So, how about showing us by breathing it at those turkeys?"
"Why should I do what you say?"
"To prove that you can breathe sothing out like other dragon species. But if you don't want to, that's fine—then we'll know you've got no juice."
"What did you say! Fine, I'll show you—then you'll see what an Erald Forest Dragon like can do."
Chang Long's plan to provoke worked. Furious, Little Jade expanded into her massive form and opened her mouth wide, preparing to unleash her skill. Chang Long's group was thrilled at the chance to see a full-sized dragon use a skill at such close range. They all expected it to be powerful and massively destructive. But then…
Sigh!
Chang Long, Siegfried, and Aswa almost fell flat on their backs when they saw that the furious Little Jade rely let out a single heavy sigh. A faint gas drifted from her mouth and nostrils, lazily floating toward the turkey army that was still enthusiastically raining arrows upon them. The gas faded into the air as Chang Long's group watched in disappointnt—while the turkeys burst into mocking laughter all around them.
But then sothing happened. On the cloud floor beneath the turkeys' feet, hundreds—no, thousands—of tiny blades of grass suddenly sprouted upward. Patches of flowering grass even appeared here and there. The look in the turkeys' eyes began to change. They threw down their weapons and armor, then ran off to frolic through the grassy field that had erged from Little Jade's skill, showing no further interest in fighting Chang Long's group. Which only left them even more stunned than before.
"Where's the attack in that?"
Chang Long asked, still not entirely out of her shock.
"Forest dragons like don't have offensive skills. The skill I released was a skill of creation. The longer we've lived and the stronger our cultivation, the more we can create entire forests with just a single breath. Anyway, those turkeys aren't attacking you anymore, are they?"
Little Jade's words made Chang Long's group turn to look at the turkeys again. They really did seem to be more interested in scratching around the grass in search of bugs than in attacking them.
"Well, that's true."
Chang Long replied, looking like she was not sure what to do next.
"Let's move on. Good thing we don't have to waste more ti on those turkeys."
Siegfried said to everyone, and so they began moving forward once more. However, it seed that the real battle was only just beginning for them. No more barnyard fowl would be coming to attack them now—instead, it was ostriches with devastating kicks that hit so hard, even Lycanth, Siegfried's powerful pet, ended up with a numb arm.
The closer they got to the temple—which they still could not quite make out—the more avian beast monsters ca to attack. Their level and unique abilities only continued to increase.
After a brutal series of encounters with all the winged beasts that had co out to greet them—even Kitsune in his tiny fox-form, and Brownie, the thieving field mouse, were nearly snatched away and turned into snacks several tis—it finally seed they had reached the entrance to the temple.
At first, Chang Long's group had not paid much attention to their surroundings, too busy running with all their might, panting hard in sheer exhaustion. But once they had a mont to rest, a breathtaking sight appeared before their eyes.
A golden rectangular temple, with carvings of various kinds of birds entwined along its full height, which seed to stretch all the way into space. Chang Long, the two young n, the pets, and all the spirits stood in awe. The thin curtain of cloud that had veiled their view had vanished at so unknown mont. All they knew now was that they were standing before outer space, staring at millions of stars, which felt as if they were just within arm's reach—so overwheld with emotion, it was beyond words.
"Totally worth coming here, don't you think?"
Chang Long said with a contented tone, never once taking her eyes off the twinkling starlight in the sky.
"Mm. So worth it!"
The two young n answered in unison. Not just because they were in such a breathtakingly beautiful place—but because of who they had co here with. That was what made this journey worth it. A pity, really, that this trip had not turned into a heart-pounding romantic getaway for either of them. And so, the two young n glared at each other, silently blaming the other for being the extra tag-along on this journey.
Whoosh!
Wide wings spread fully, rising upward above. Wing after wing circled in the air before diving down from over twenty ters high like an eagle hunting prey.
Thud. Thump. Thud!
What appeared to be human-like beings with eagle heads, hands and feet shaped like bird talons, dressed in ancient Egyptian military attire—bare-chested, large and muscular bodies adorned with golden sashes—descended. They wielded sharp-tipped spears, standing in formation to block the entrance to the Heavenly Avian Temple.
"Avian Gatekeeper Beasts — Level 60 Appeared (Total: 12)"
The gatekeepers stood as still as statues, but the mont anyone stepped into their attack radius, they would launch an unrelenting assault—ferocious, fast, and perfectly coordinated—leaving almost no opening for Chang Long's group to counterattack at all.
No matter who they sent to challenge them, everyone was forced to retreat in disarray. Even Aswa, who took great pride in his speed, lost his composure when faced with such flawless synchronization.
"What should we do? There's no way we can get through this."
Aswa turned to ask Chang Long and Siegfried, who stood watching the gatekeepers' attack patterns with grim expressions.
"There's no way the three of us can handle this. Even though Aswa and I have higher levels than them, their coordinated attacks are way too good. Forget counterattacking—just dodging all twelve spears is hard enough."
Siegfried analyzed. Aswa nodded in agreent. From the perspective of top-tier fighters like the two young n—who assessed things strictly based on combat ability—they naturally did not think like Chang Long did. She was soone who always searched for possible variables in her surroundings to turn the tide.
"Not really. Among us, the ones who can actually attack them are , (she looked at Siegfried) you, (then at Aswa) you, (finally at Lycanth) and you. As for Little Jade, she's sulking because I tricked her into using her skill just now. On our own, we obviously can't take on twelve of them. So, we need decoys to confuse them."
Chang Long said to the two young n with another sly smile. Aswa gulped, a chill running down his spine as he recalled the last ti Chang Long smiled like that—it was when she had said everyone had to run around taunting the King of Reptile to send it into a frenzy. They had barely survived that ordeal.
"Who's the decoy? If it's one of your pets, Chang Long, aren't they too small? And their levels are still low. I think that's way too risky."
Siegfried, now well-used to Chang Long's wild ideas, asked.
"Exactly. If we let them help as decoys, it might actually make things worse."
Aswa agreed.
"Who said I'm going to put my pets at risk? Sothing like this needs the big guys to step in. Spirit Summoning."
Chang Long shot them both a glare before invoking the spirits under everyone's command to appear.
"Sp... spirits?"
Siegfried asked in surprise.
"But they're incorporeal. How can they stop the gatekeepers' attacks?" Aswa asked. He knew well that spirits, when passing through objects, simply phased through without contact. That ant they might not attract the Avian Gatekeepers' attention at all.
"Ever heard of distraction? I never said I'd send the spirits to fight. Just to draw their attention long enough for us to get an opening to attack."
Chang Long answered wearily, annoyed by the slow comprehension of the Dark Horse Guild leader, making the young man blush slightly in embarrassnt.
"But wait, Chang Long, you have a skill that gives spirits physical form. Why not use that and let them help us fight? That way we could finish this a lot faster."
Siegfried asked curiously. So Chang Long pointed to sothing inscribed on the surface of the massive golden doors—the entrance to the Heavenly Avian Temple.
The Golden Temple of the Aviary No path can be found to it.
A trial still awaits Those who guard the golden gate.
There is but one way in, The path that relies on oneself alone.
The golden gate opens only to those who endure, who still stand strong after the trials have passed.
Chang Long read the poem engraved on the gate aloud for the two young n to hear. The poem seed to emphasize the importance of using one's own strength to pass the gatekeepers and reach the Heavenly Avian Temple. Siegfried and Aswa understood imdiately when Chang Long spoke of having the spirits act as decoys to divert attention—because that was not a violation of the stated rules. As for pets, they were considered extensions of their owners, so they could assist in combat without question.
"But will Rogy and Heaven agree to cooperate?"
Chang Long glanced sidelong at the two pirate king spirits, who looked displeased at her manner—acting as if she had truly beco the leader—and even worse, their heir seed perfectly happy to follow her every word.
"I guess we have to…"
Heaven replied reluctantly, unable to withstand the pleading look from his heir. Rogy also nodded, still deeply wary of Chang Long. If he did not obey, who knew what kind of punishnt the heir of Devi Jones might inflict on him this ti?
"Very good. Spirits, listen well."
The hesitant deanor of Rogy and Heaven vanished instantly when Chang Long spoke in a commanding voice. Her tone carried such powerful authority that she seed like a different person entirely.
It was a power that allowed her to command all spirits—even those not under her ownership. And once a spirit was issued an order in that voice, they could never defy until the assigned task was complete. This was sothing Chang Long was entirely unaware of.
"Your duty is to distract and mislead the gatekeepers so they lose focus and leave an opening for us to strike. Continue until the last gatekeeper falls."
Without being able to resist, the four spirits bowed respectfully and acknowledged her command with deep reverence, surprising not only Chang Long herself, but also the two young n—and the spirits as well.
"Uh, well, this is nice and all, but you don't have to bow and show that much reverence."
Chang Long said, feeling a bit awkward.
Once everything was agreed upon, everyone turned once more to face the Avian Gatekeepers. The spirits, ard with their signature weapons, launched forward in full attack stance, aiming to kill. The gatekeepers raised their spears to retaliate, showing no intention of defense—thus leaving an opening for the living, Chang Long's group, to act.
One of the gatekeepers was slashed at the side, leaving a massive wound. Another was stabbed straight through the front, the spear piercing out the back. A third was clawed across the wing so hard it was severed completely on one side. And the fourth had its spear broken in half by a heavy, diagonal strike.
The wounded gatekeepers scread in pain, drawing the attention of their remaining comrades. Chang Long and her companions knew they had to press the attack. Especially now, while they held the upper hand—taking advantage of the gatekeepers' confusion about what the spirits were doing, and why they could not land a hit on them. Even when they could clearly see their spears pass through the spirits' bodies.
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