*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…*
Two enormous hot air balloons moved slowly through the sky, with flames having just been fed a Kerosene Fruit.
Yan Hua leaned against the edge of the hot air balloon in utter boredom, sighing. "How many more days do we have to endure this?"
Yan Hua desperately wanted to land and rest for a bit; spending too much time in the sky was not particularly pleasant for her.
When they had landed to rest last night, she had been overjoyed and actively volunteered to go hunting and patrolling.
This was purely so she could properly stretch her muscles, since there would be another full day of flying tomorrow.
"We’ll arrive tomorrow, just bear with it a bit longer." Co Co estimated based on her memories of having been there before.
"Another whole day?" Yan Hua helplessly closed her eyes.
"When we rest tonight, you can still go hunting." Sha Lan said with a covered smile.
"It’s agreed then, nobody can compete with me to go hunting." Yan Hua’s eyes opened wide again, like large pearls.
*Chirp chirp chirp…*
Just as Yan Hua and the others finished speaking, a series of bird calls echoed around the hot air balloons.
The sound was very crisp with strong penetrating power, just like… a whistle.
"There are wild beasts." Yan Hua instantly straightened up.
Completely different from her dejected appearance just moments before, she already had her recurve bow ready in her hands.
"From the sound, it seems like there’s a whole flock," Sha Lan came to the edge of the hot air balloon, scanning the surrounding airspace.
*Flap flap flap…*
"I’ll go take a look." Cheng Shi spread his slender black wings.
Yan Hua instinctively covered her face, her tone carrying dissatisfaction. "I’ve told you before to go outside before spreading your wings!"
The space inside the hot air balloon was not small, but it still could not withstand the opening and flapping of that pair of large wings.
It was very easy to hit others, or cause the hot air balloon’s balance to be affected.
"I didn’t do it on purpose, I’ll go look first," Cheng Shi crouched on the edge of the hot air balloon and took off.
*Flap flap flap…*
As he flew away, the hot air balloon swayed slightly before quickly returning to normal.
"I’ll also go and have a look," Ai’er followed him out of the hot air balloon.
The two flew in circles around the edges of both hot air balloons, their sharp eyes scanning the nearby airspace.
Cheng Shi adjusted his goggles and frowned. "I can’t see anything."
"Same here, but we can’t let our guard down," Ai’er flapped her purple butterfly wings.
"This area is full of tall trees. They might be hiding in the forest." Cheng Shi cautiously observed the vast forest below.
"The hot air balloons aren’t very close to the forest, so there shouldn’t be any problems," Ai’er also looked at that large expanse of forest.
The forest beneath the hot air balloons was extremely vast, stretching beyond what the eye could see.
There was also a winding river flowing through the middle of this large forest, twisting and turning with no visible end.
*Flap flap flap…*
The two flew back into the hot air balloon and relayed their analysis.
"We still can’t let our guard down. Anything can happen once we’ve left the Tribe." Sha Lan warned.
Sha Lan was different from the others; after the Black Snake Tribe’s attack last time, she had been away from the Tribe for a long period.
This current scene was all too familiar. Once beyond the Tribe’s protection, danger lurked everywhere.
"It’s not like this kind of situation has not happened before. Didn’t it just occur recently?" Yan Hua also knew they should not be careless.
Before the eternal night had arrived, the Tribe had been attacked by a giant unknown bird.
Fortunately, nothing serious had happened, and that giant bird had also been dealt with.
"I feel like these Ferocious Beasts could charge out at any moment." Sha Lan’s blue eyes continuously surveyed the environment beneath the hot air balloon.
*Chirp chirp chirp…*
*Rustle rustle rustle…*
A series of urgent calls rang out, accompanied by the sound of branches being disturbed.
A flock of birds appeared. They were greyish-brown all over with sharp, pointed beaks that also had greyish-brown tips.
Their two claws were thin and short, but their sharpness was clearly visible. Their body size was similar to eagles from Earth.
With wings spread to a metre long, they looked like a combination of eagles and pigeons, a quite strange combination.
"Ferocious Beasts are attacking! Everyone be careful!" Yan Hua knew things would not be this simple.
"We must protect the hot air balloons! Otherwise, we won’t be able to get back!" Sha Lan pointed out the severity of the situation.
Sha Lan could see that this flock of wild beasts was quite large, especially their very sharp, long beaks.
If the Animal Hide on the hot air balloons got punctured, they would fall straight down.
"Understood!" The other Totem Warriors responded in unison.
Everyone had their recurve bows ready, just waiting for these Ferocious Beasts to approach before shooting to kill.
There was still some distance between the hot air balloons and the forest below, so it would take time for these grey birds to fly up.
The reason the Totem Warriors did not blindly shoot arrows was because they worried about missing or having insufficient lethality.
"Aim for their heads or wings. We absolutely cannot let them get close to the hot air balloons." Sha Lan wanted these birds to fall straight down.
"Meeting me today is your misfortune!" Yan Hua, relying on her super-precise accuracy, had already made two grey birds fall.
Moreover, both birds had been shot in the head and fell before they could even cry out.
These birds probably did not even know how they died, having been eliminated before they could get close.
*Swish swish swish…*
A series of whooshing sounds rang out as the other Totem Warriors also began firing their recurve bows.
*Chirp chirp chirp…*
Visibly, grey birds kept falling one by one, but there were still many more.
Looking at the dense black mass, it was impossible to distinguish exactly how many there were.
"Ah’Hua, this isn’t working. There are too many of them while our arrows are limited," Sha Lan noticed something was wrong.
No matter how many approaching birds the Totem Warriors shot down, the remaining birds would continue flying up.
"The Shaman once taught us something like… to capture the bandits, first capture their king?"
Yan Hua could not remember very clearly, but said earnestly. "There must be a leader among these birds. I think if we shoot it down, things will improve."
"Yes, that’s the saying." Sha Lan also remembered this phrase.
When Sha Lans had free time at the Yong’an Building, Su Bai would teach them various things when he was available.
Things like luring the tiger away from the mountain, of the thirty-six stratagems running away is the best, to capture the bandits, first capture their king, and so forth.
Sha Lans listened with great interest, all feeling these methods were very useful.
"There it is, right in the middle!" Yan Hua instantly spotted the leader of this flock of birds.
That grey bird was obviously much larger in size, with some black mottled patterns on its body.
It had been hiding behind the other birds, not daring to approach.