Silent Crown

In the Siberian wilderness of the Caucasus, dim fires flickered in the dispirited city in the distance.

The stench lingering in the wasteland had yet to dissipate.

The ignited ruins were still emitting pungent smog, and the extinguished embers gave off a dark red glow, which flickered in the cold wind, like the breaths of a dying person.

The powder-like snow that was drifting profusely fell in the cold wind and covered the earth. It descended upon the world, accompanied by the pervasive cold wind that sprinkled it into the fortress.

The wounded soldiers lying on felt croaked difficultly, trying to breathe. They exhaled white clouds of air as if souls were dissipating as death gradually drew near.

The war with the catastrophe was about to end.

The shadow cast by the Eagle Wing Mother marched across the territories of the Caucasus, passing straight through the Siberian wilderness, and was about to descend upon the country’s last line of defense. It had consumed millions of lives greedily, hatching countless eagle-bodied demons from blood and carrion. They surrounded the supreme king of the sky, the great Eagle Wing Mother, and had swallowed most of the kingdom into their bellies.

The country was like a prey struggling hard under the beak of the catastrophe. It was ripped apart bit by bit, its internal organs devoured. As the catastrophe munched on carefreely, the country gave its dying kicks before losing its last bit of life.

In the ditch frozen with muddy water, the stench of torn boots and rotten feet lingered. Dozens of soldiers with unkempt hair lay on the ground in dead slumber, and thunder-like snores rang out non-stop.

In the snow that was drifting profusely, in a corner that was relatively warm and sheltered from the wind, someone tossed and turned. In the end, he resigned himself to his fate and gave up on sleeping. He pulled a scrap of curtain on top of his face away, revealing cracking lips and a face covered in ashes and dirt. He climbed up, held on to the edge of the ditch, and extended his head out into the cold, howling wind. He took large gulps of breath in the life-saving fresh air and panted.

“How awful. Foot odor alone would be a great weapon for this country, no?” Charles leaned over on the edge and retched for a long time, but did not manage to vomit up anything. In the silence where only snores could be heard, he looked blankly at the surrounding wilderness and the city behind him. After a good while, he raised one foot and kicked the dead asleep guy next to him. “I heard a group of girls singing…”

“Don’t be silly.” Wolf Flute rolled over on the floor and mumbled, “It’s the dead of the night, why would there be people singing?”

“I’m not kidding,” Charles shouted in a low voice. “I can smell wine, the Royal Knights…”

“You’re overthinking,” said Wolf Flute.

Charles’ pestering prevented Wolf Flute from falling asleep again. Wolf Flute dragged a broken bucket filled with liquid over inattentively and handed it to Charles. “Come, drink some aged kerosene to satisfy your craving.”

“…” Charles was speechless, and he squatted back down in the ditch. The two men stared at each other, at a loss for words. After a long time, they shivered at the same time.

“It’s so cold!” one of them exclaimed.

“It’s really f*cking cold!” the other agreed.

Charles wrapped the scrap of blanket tightly around him and wanted to cry, but no tears came out. “Why is there not even heating? The local gangs really lack courtesy!”

“They can’t do anything about that, they’re too poor.” Wolf Flute shook his head. He fished out a small bottle and took a sip. “The gratitude and respect of the Caucasians for your willingness to die have already manifested themselves in the form of the blanket for you to cover. But you are still unsatisfied, and here you are, requesting for heating, girls, and wine. Are you still human?”

“…” Charles was rendered speechless once more. He stared straight at the bottle in Wolf Flute’s hand. “What are you drinking?” Charles had been starving for a night and was so cold that he was almost willing to go to hell to warm himself by the fire. Seeing that Wolf Flute had something edible, Charles couldn’t help but want to pounce on him.

“This? You want some?” Wolf Flute raised an eyebrow and shoved the bottle right in front of Charles’ nose. Stunned by the pungent smell, Charles almost tripped.

“Would you like a sip? It’s a special medicine for treating dysautonomia and schizophrenia. It’s really effective. Ever since I started drinking it, I can no longer see my second cousin who doesn’t exist,” said Wolf Flute.

“You still haven’t recovered?” Charles asked.

“It won’t be so easy for me to recover.” Wolf Flute shook his head. Behind him, the phantom of the wolf-headed god flashed across, half of its body missing, and it looked as badly damaged as before.

“That old fellow, Wagner, is really strong. Although our phantom beasts are both divine, the level of completion of Anubis is far lower than the Valkyrie, which had been passed down for generations. They just brushed past each other… and Anubis was hurt so badly. To recover completely, it’ll take at least another half a year. ”

Looking at him, Charles couldn’t help but shake his head. He couldn’t sleep. As he looked at the dark sky, his expression became sad and worried.

“I wonder how Little Yezi and Bai Xi are doing now. One way or another, I’m still worried about them.”

“You can rest assured.” Wolf Flute laughed gloatingly. “According to what I know, Ye Qingxuan couldn’t be better. He is probably gathering his strength to beat you up.”

Charles shrugged. “Nothing I can do about it then. After all, I was the one who ran away…”

“Don’t be sad, the worst case scenario for you is still much better than my situation.” Wolf Flute shrugged as well. “There’s a terrifying old man in the world who is ready to clean house.”

Charles said, “You mean Ba…”

Before Charles finished his words, Wolf Flute’s expression changed suddenly. He reached out, covered Charles’ mouth, and raised a finger to his lips, motioning for Charles to keep quiet.

“Shh,” Wolf Flute whispered.

Boom! Sudden bangs sounded in the sky. Frenzied lightning brewed up, burst forth, and stabbed towards the mortal world, bringing blazing light that only lasted for an instant. The light illuminated the phantom wolves around Wolf Flute. Their eyes were green, and they silently gazed at the sky. But the thunder and lightning only lasted for a flash and soon returned to silence, For a long time, nothing could be heard.

Wolf Flute let out a sigh of relief, let go and shook his head at Charles. “Don’t ever mention that name, especially when I am around…”

Charles didn’t say anything, just stared straight at him, a weird look in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Wolf Flute gave a resigned smile. “Got scared?”

“It must be very warm, no?” Charles suddenly asked, surprising Wolf Flute.

Charles pointed at him indignantly. “Don’t deceive me, I just saw them. With so much fur around you, it must be very warm! And I was wondering how you don’t shiver at all!

“You are too mean, you have so many wolves, it’s not like you can use all of them on yourself, so at least give me one!”

“…” Wolf Flute didn’t know what to reply.

Two minutes later, Charles, who was surrounded by the wolves, moaned happily, hugging one of the wolves and rubbed against its fur.

“You should get some rest.” Wolf Flute looked at him with resignation. “There’s a lot in store for you tomorrow.”

Charles was silent for a long time, scratching his head. “Speaking of which, you guys are surely not expecting me to deal with the catastrophe tomorrow?”

“Haven’t we told you about it many times?” Wolf Flute said.

“I thought you guys were joking!” Charles was confused and shocked. “It’s not just any catastrophe, but the Eagle Wing Mother, the legendary king of the sky that made a name for itself four hundred years ago, the old school catastrophe that has never been defeated so far. Are you sure I can defeat it? My death is but a small matter, but what if my defeat affects the great scheme of the revolution?! ”

“…” Wolf Flute patted his shoulder. “Tomorrow on the battlefield, I will not protect you.”

“Thank you… Um? Wait!” Charles spluttered.

“I am already hurt, bro.” Wolf Flute shrugged. “I have exhausted all my strength trying to protect you during our escape from the Sacred City. Surely you can’t let me confront a catastrophe head-on to protect you? Plus…” He paused, his expression complicated.

“Plus, what?” An ominous premonition popped up in Charles’ heart.

“Plus, it’s not tomorrow,” Wolf Flute raised a finger and pointed at the dark sky, “it’s already here.”

Boom! The next moment, the dark sky cracked. A torrent-like hurricane swept down from the sky, wrapping countless black eagle feathers in it. In the roar of the gale, a piercing alarm sounded from the entire line of defense, countless eagle-bodied demons screamed one after another, making anyone who heard them shudder.

In the cracked layers of clouds, countless thunder and lightning flashed wildly, illuminating a huge pair of black wings.

Catastrophe—Eagle wing mother.

The real king of the sky had descended!

“Ah, we’re counting on you!” Wolf Flute patted his shoulder and made a thumbs-up. “Go!”

“You can’t be serious, bro!” Charles looked up at the sky, his face pale. “How am I supposed to fight against it? Kill it by biting it with my teeth?”

Wolf Flute slapped his own head and finally remembered something. “Ah, before leaving, Mr. Gaius asked me to pass this to you, I almost forgot.” He stuffed something into Charles’ hand mysteriously, with a serious look. “Take it, it’s a secret weapon.”

Charles was momentarily cheered up. He opened his palm and looked down, then sprayed a mouthful of blood on Wolf Flute’s face.

“You’re f*cking kidding me!” Charles waved the item in his hand angrily. “At least give me an artifact! What good is this thing?”

In the hand of Charles lay an exquisite triangle… It didn’t even come with a beater!

“No fears, I have checked, are you not a Level 10 triangle player certified by the Sacred City?” Wolf Flute left him a confident smile. “I’ll leave it to you then, goodbye!” As Wolf Flute finished his words, Anubis wrapped around his body, and he disappeared in a flash.

Only Charles was left alone in the empty ditch, holding a triangle, staring blankly at the dark sky.

No, this is no way to fight a battle!

He dismissed the idea of bludgeoning the catastrophe to death with a triangle before it had a chance to develop.

Making up his mind immediately, Charles kept his body low and started running with all his might, abandoning the scene.

He ran away!

I must run, there is no other option!

In just a few seconds, two musicians of the Level of Master had been crushed under the Eagle Wing Mother’s claws! If he didn’t run any faster, it wouldn’t even have to do anything to get rid of him, as its subservient descendants alone could tear Charles into pieces.

I shall make use of the opportunity to run away first while its attention is attracted by someone else…

But very soon, Charles noticed that something was wrong. In his hands, the triangle suddenly became boiling hot, as if it had been burnt red. It stuck to his hand firmly, causing severe pain, and he could not get it away from him despite swinging his hands madly.

The severe pain could still be handled, but shortly after that, the triangle sent out horrifying aether waves. It automatically drew power from the nine-layer sea of aether and exuded an aura more terrifying than that of a musician of the Level of Master.

It was as if the triangle was trying to announce something in all directions: “I am here!”

By right, at the moment, Charles should feel a power from heaven descending upon him, as if he had received the help of God and the huge amount of power would be about to make his body explode, or something along those lines. But, he couldn’t sense a thing.

In other words, the item in his hand was all looks and no use! Its only use was to attract the attention of the catastrophe…

Feeling icy maliciousness coming from all directions, Charles stopped in his tracks, wanting to cry but no tears came out. “Let me explain, it’s a long story. I’m actually just an innocent passerby. The whole battle has no-goddamn-thing to do with me, er, I mean no offense to birds [1], I mean…”

In the sky, the huge shadow seemed to have sensed something and cast down a sinister gaze. Behind the wings of countless eagle-bodied demons, a vague figure that looked old could be seen faintly. It was an old woman that looked half-eagle and half-human. Her gaze was filled with a non-human grotesqueness, and she pointed a finger at Charles.

Charles’ expression changed drastically, as he held up his hands and begged for mercy. “Friend, please wait for one…”

Boom! He was swallowed by the howling torrent of wind.

[1] The literal translation of the previous part of the sentence is “The whole battle has no-‘bird’-thing to do with me”, as there is a curse word in Chinese that literally means “bird”, hence the second part of the sentence.