Chapter 1192: [Wish] (Part 2)

The flying eagle unexpectedly released Hu Xiaotian's sleeve.

Hu Xiaotian also felt greatly surprised in his heart—could the flying eagle actually understand his words? He tried saying, 'It's dead!' The flying eagle captured by Luo Qianfu ultimately died at Luo Qianfu's hands, but according to what Luo Qianfu said, even if he didn't lift a finger, that flying eagle was already in its twilight years, with little time left to live. After the flying eagle was killed, its corpse was not thrown away by Luo Qianfu; presumably Luo Qianfu still wanted to use the eagle's corpse to lure this eagle over, so he temporarily tossed the eagle's corpse outside Flying Fish Cave.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Never mind, I'll go help you retrieve its corpse."

He and Yan Nujiao walked toward Flying Fish Cave, and the flying eagle followed them. Hu Xiaotian said, "You don't need to follow me; your target is really too big." He pointed upward at the sky, and the flying eagle immediately understood his meaning, flapped its wings and flew into the night sky.

Yan Nujiao watched the flying eagle's retreating figure and sincerely praised, "This is the smartest bird I've ever seen!"

Hu Xiaotian gazed at her emerald-like bright eyes, gave a slight smile, and said, "Not necessarily!"

Yan Nujiao blinked her eyes, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Could there be an even smarter bird?"

Hu Xiaotian hehe laughed and said, "Well, I happen to have one."

Yan Nujiao then understood what he meant, feeling embarrassed and helpless, she quickly walked forward, spat, "I'm ignoring you, you jerk!" After taking two steps she stopped again, turned to Hu Xiaotian and asked, "You're not going to Flying Fish Cave?"

They had come to Flying Fish Cave for the second time tonight; the cave was currently unguarded, and their killing of the stationed pirates had not been discovered.

The corpse of the dead flying eagle, burnt and charred, was still thrown into the iron cage outside Flying Fish Cave—no wonder the flying eagle sought his help; although the flying eagle was brave, it had no way to deal with this iron cage. Hu Xiaotian drew the long sword he had found in the armory and swung it at the iron cage; the blade sliced through the iron bars at the wrist and felt no resistance, as smooth as cutting tofu. Hu Xiaotian's heart was filled with astonishment and delight—he never expected that by sheer chance he would obtain a precious sword. In a few quick strokes he completely cut through the iron cage and dragged the flying eagle's charred corpse out.

The flying eagle that had been circling in the air swooped down, using its wings to push the dead eagle's corpse and its beak to touch the already charred head, hoping to revive it that way, but to no avail.

The flying eagle was overcome with grief, raised its head and let out a mournful cry that shook the clouds.

Hu Xiaotian hurriedly warned it, "Hey, don't call out—you'll just bring those bandits over and cause trouble."

The flying eagle didn't stop; instead, its cries grew even more urgent.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that perhaps the flying eagle was trying to attract Luo Qianfu's attention in this way, to lure him back for revenge. Seeing that his words had no effect on the flying eagle, Hu Xiaotian quickly pulled Yan Nujiao along to the hill above Flying Fish Cave to observe the situation. They arrived at the position where the giant crossbow was placed and found that the giant crossbow had been smashed to pieces by a huge boulder, and the pirates assigned to guard here had also been blasted apart by the boulder, their brains bursting out. It seemed likely that the flying eagle had dropped the boulder from high altitude.

Hu Xiaotian looked from the high ground and saw that far away over a hundred figures were rushing toward them at high speed, presumably attracted by the flying eagle's cries. He took out his binoculars and looked. The leader was none other than Luo Qianfu, and Hu Xiaotian was overjoyed. Luo Qianfu was so eager to obtain this flying eagle that, upon hearing its cries, he immediately rushed over, though this time he had brought many helpers.

Hu Xiaotian handed the binoculars to Yan Nujiao; seeing that the other side had brought so many people, she couldn't help but worry, "Oh no, they've come with so many people!"

Hu Xiaotian disdainfully said, "It's just a rabble, Yan Nujiao—stay here and guard; later I'll charge out to help the flying eagle, and you'll cover us."

Yan Nujiao replied, "But they're too many."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Capture the bandits by capturing their leader; as long as we take down Luo Qianfu, the gang will scatter like birds when the tree falls. Just relax—believe that your uncle has already started operations elsewhere, and if we here hold the islanders' attention, it will amount to covering for him."

Luo Qianfu was wearing mourning attire; he hadn't expected the flying eagle to show up at this critical moment. Although he knew he should be guarding the spirit hall at the righteous assembly, hearing the flying eagle's cries continuously coming from the direction of Flying Fish Cave made him restless. He was so eager to obtain this flying eagle that he finally made up his mind, regardless of what others said—tonight he had to go to Flying Fish Cave and capture the eagle.

Luo Qianfu saw from afar that the flying eagle was wailing continuously in front of Flying Fish Cave, and that the already-dead flying eagle had somehow been gotten out of the iron cage by it. Luo Qianfu secretly wondered how it had managed that. He waved his hand, and the troops behind him spread out, forming a semicircle to surround the flying eagle, everyone holding an iron tube.

Hu Xiaotian had never seen such a weapon before; he was secretly curious, yet also worried for the flying eagle. However, the eagle's life should be fine—Luo Qianfu had set up all these traps merely to capture it alive, so he would not likely kill it outright.

The flying eagle continued to guard beside its dead companion, then suddenly turned its body, spread its wings, and Luo Qianfu shouted loudly, "Don't let it escape!"

The flying eagle had no intention of fleeing; it vibrated its wings, rose a short distance, then swooped down toward Luo Qianfu.

Luo Qianfu's eyes burned with fervor; he knew the flying eagle had come for revenge. He flicked his sleeve, and a pellet shot out from his right hand with a bang! A blinding flash of light illuminated the dark night—he had actually thrown a flashbang, using intense light to temporarily blind the flying eagle's vision. Although the eagle's sight was temporarily affected, the others were the same: dozens of Luo Qianfu's subordinates raised their iron tubes, aimed at the direction from which the flying eagle approached, triggered the mechanism by feel, and dozens of white streams of liquid shot toward the flying eagle.

Because the flying eagle had temporarily lost its vision, it couldn't see the incoming attack; those dozens of white streams of liquid had already enveloped its body. The liquid was extremely viscous, and upon contact with the eagle it instantly glued its wings together—once the eagle's opened wings were pressed together, they could no longer be opened, and it collapsed heavily to the ground.

Luo Qianfu laughed heartily, waved his hand to signal, and immediately his subordinates launched a second wave of attack. Although the flying eagle was formidable, the white liquid that struck it quickly solidified, binding its feathers together and forming a white cocoon-like shell around its body.

Luo Qianfu was feeling pleased when he suddenly saw a person leaping through the air toward him; in the darkness he could not make out the person's face, and he shouted, "Shoot him!"

The subordinates repeated their old tactic, raising their iron tubes and firing at the person in midair. Hu Xiaotian had just seen them use this method to trap the flying eagle, and of course he would not repeat the same mistake. In midair, he brandished his long sword, performing the "Sweeping the Infinite" move of the Slay Heaven Seven Swords; a fierce blade qi actually detached from the sword and flew toward the enemy formation. The white liquid that had been shot out encountered this overpowering blade qi and was instantly shaken into mist; the blade qi pierced the white mist, forming a narrow, thin gap within it, then shot toward Luo Qianfu's camp at astonishing speed. With a series of soft 'pfft' sounds, nine people had their bodies severed at the waist.

Even Hu Xiaotian himself hadn't expected this single strike to wield such power; Luo Qianfu stared, eyes wide and tongue-tied, after a brief panic he immediately reacted—he blew the vertical flute at his neck, while his body kept retreating; a mass of black smoke rose from the cliff behind Flying Fish Cave and swept rapidly toward Hu Xiaotian. In the meantime, three more of Luo Qianfu's men were shot dead by crossbow bolts in his camp, and it was Yan Nujiao, providing cover for Hu Xiaotian from high ground, who saw several people attempting to ambush Hu Xiaotian from behind and decisively shot them down.

Hu Xiaotian charged forth like a tiger leaving its gate; he knew Luo Qianfu was an exceptionally skilled Beast Tamer, and to prevent his endless beast‑taming attacks he had to eliminate him first. Brandishing his blade, he stormed into the enemy ranks with unstoppable momentum—his long sword flashed up and down, and not a single opponent could withstand a single exchange.

A swarm of bats surged from all directions to encircle Hu Xiaotian, forming a black high wall between him and Luo Qianfu. Hu Xiaotian fearlessly swung his long sword and charged into the bat swarm. The fierce blade qi first struck the curtain formed by the bats, then exploded outward from the center; for a moment bat flesh and blood flew everywhere, and a gap about a zhang in diameter appeared in the center. Hu Xiaotian prepared to burst out through the opening, but before he could reach the curtain, the swarming bats had already plugged the gap.

Luo Qianfu was extremely cunning; taking advantage of the moment when the bats blocked Hu Xiaotian, he fled at full speed toward Flying Fish Cave—if he could enter the cavern, he would escape their pursuit.

Although Hu Xiaotian was brave, the surroundings were completely filled with swarming bats, and he had no choice but to wave his long sword so as to be wind‑ and rain‑proof, in order to fend off the bats' encirclement.

Luo Qianfu turned and looked, unable to help but give a heh heh cold laugh; just then he suddenly noticed that the bat swarm, for no apparent reason, had abruptly dispersed in all directions. Luo Qianfu's heart gave a start; he hastily blew the vertical flute, intending to regain control of the bats and send them to attack the enemy, but no matter how hard he tried, the bats no longer obeyed his commands—some even began to change direction and fly toward their side to attack, and the assailants were not only bats but also seabirds.

Luo Qianfu was greatly alarmed; he immediately guessed that a highly skilled Beast Tamer must be lurking nearby, secretly sabotaging his control over the bat swarm. While fleeing, he glanced around. Flying Fish Cave was right at hand, but before he could get close, hundreds of seabirds swooped down from the sky, densely sealing the cave entrance and launching a head‑on assault on Luo Qianfu.

Luo Qianfu's throat emitted a strange cry; his body moved like a swimming fish, his steps unique as if skating on ice, and in an instant he had shifted several zhang away. The bat swarm that he had once controlled now also changed allegiance, and the black wind formed by the bats swept toward him. (To be continued… ^~^)