Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“No way, I clearly saw them flying out of the sea while spinning like boomerangs, before diving back into the water!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

What Featherless Birds? Zhao Manyan was more inclined to believe the creatures were a strange kind of fish demon instead. How could a bird stay in the water?

“The Featherless Birds have no feathers, so they are not afraid of being drenched. Their skin is as smooth as leather. Not only can it fly by perfectly utilizing the airflow, it can move freely in the water, too. It’s a unique species that can move in the sky or the water,” Tangyue informed him.

“A species that can move in the sky and the water? It’s my first time encountering anything like this,” Mo Fan murmured.

Most amphibious creatures were suited for both land and water, like some lizards, and crocodiles who had some special lungs. However, it was rare to see a creature that could fly in the sky and stay in the water!

“They can freely move in the sky and the water without compromising their strength. It is the main reason that many countries have tried to domesticate them, but the Featherless Birds are naturally aggressive, with a strong sense of territory. It will take dozens of years to domesticate them, requiring taming them over at least ten generations,” Tangyue said.

“If it’s actually possible to tame these creatures, that would be extremely useful, considering our current situation,” Lingling said.

The Featherless Birds’ attributes were perfect for cities along the coast. They could scout the sea while flying in the sky and fight the sea monsters in the water. The Heavenly Eagles were only useful for scouting purposes. There was nothing they could do once they were caught in the water!

“Yeah, the ideas are always brilliant, but it didn’t work out, and even left such a huge threat behind.” Tangyue let out a sigh.

“So you’re saying that not only can’t we reach the island by boat, we won’t be able to fly to it either?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Mm, it’s actually harder to fly to the island,” Tangyue replied.

Mo Fan finally realized why Tangyue was so troubled by the case. The Featherless Birds could move freely in the sky and the water, and the inaccessible island beyond; he bet even the military bases were not as heavily guarded as that island!

“I think we should ask the old soldier whom we stumbled into the other night for help. He might not know the Totem Beasts, but he should be familiar with the Featherless Birds. We should learn more about the species so we can figure out a way to deal with them,” Lingling said.

“That’s right, I’ll go ask,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Forget it, considering your wild train of thoughts when you were talking to him the other day… Lingling, the two of us will go,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Fine, go ahead.”

—

—

Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling went to the tower at the cliff. They saw the old soldier doing some morning exercises. It was just some ordinary physical exercises instead of magic practice.

“Why did you come again? Didn’t I tell you this place isn’t a playground for kids?” the old soldier did not sound friendly. He scolded them before Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu could even speak.

“We are trying to go to the island. You have lived here for so many years. You must know a lot about the Featherless Birds,” Lingling asked.

The old soldier could not get himself to scold the adorable Little Loli. He glanced at Tangyue, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai further away and asked, “Who are you guys?”

“The Enforcement Union and Hunters,” Lingling replied.

“Humph, how many years has it been? I was constantly reporting about the potential threat the island might pose, but it still ended up like this. The government caused it single-handedly!” The old soldier obviously held a strong grudge against the people responsible.

“We are here to solve the problem. I bet you don’t want the Featherless Birds to grow any stronger. Wanggui Town would be in serious trouble then,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Why do you insist on going to the island?” the old soldier asked with a puzzled look.

“Basically, the strongest person in our group is a non-swimmer. He is significantly weaker if he isn’t fighting on land. We would have more space to move around and fight the Featherless Birds if we can reach the island,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Is he strong enough to take on the whole jungle of Featherless Birds? You’ve underestimated those creatures. Why do you think the domestication ranch failed? It’s mainly because those Featherless Birds are stronger than humans, and most Mages,” the old soldier said.

“We only came to the town not long ago. We just want to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Please tell us if you have any plan in mind; we have three Super Mages in our group,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Three?” the old soldier was astounded. He could not help but glance at the others again.

A Super Mage would already be treated like a tyrant in a small town like this. The old soldier seriously could not tell these young Mages were Super Mages. He had to admit that it sounded a little ridiculous.

However, they had no reason to lie to him, so the old soldier chose to believe them.

“If it were three years ago, a Super Mage could easily lead a troop and wipe out the Featherless Birds at the domestication ranch, but that’s no longer the case now. The Featherless Birds now have a leader. It was once someone’s Contracted Beast twenty years ago, but after its master died, it was taken here for breeding and experiment purposes. The Featherless Birds are all its descendants. Its lineage was outstanding, and the intelligent creature seemed to have learned a way to strengthen its descendants from the experiments that were conducted on it. The Featherless Birds that inherited the lineage of their leader are extremely tough, unless an entire army is dispatched to take them out…” the old soldier said.

It was part of the law of nature that the stronger species usually had a weaker ability to reproduce.

Normally, the Featherless Bird Emperor could only reproduce three younglings with the same potential as it in its life, but the domestication ranch had provided it with the most suitable environment and guaranteed its safety from its natural foes, allowing the Featherless Bird Emperor to reproduce and grow stronger.

Every Featherless Bird with the Featherless Bird Emperor’s lineage was a high-ranking existence in the horde!

“Do you have any other suggestions?” Lingling asked.

“There’s only one way to reach the island without a powerful army… you will have to wait until the coldest day in winter. I’m familiar with their habits. They actually hibernate in winter, but after moving to the south where the temperature is higher, they are active almost throughout the year. However, they will still fall asleep on colder days,” the old soldier said thoughtfully.