Chapter 57: The King’s Displeasure

They found themselves at the halfway point of the Spanlam Mountains.

Inside a natural cave, Larry and the others sought shelter from the relentless lightning strikes.

“I still can’t believe you actually fainted there. How utterly embarrassing, truly disgraceful!”

Ellis had only just regained consciousness when Larry launched into a furious tirade, his voice laced with mock heartbreak.

“To collapse standing there? If word gets out, what will become of our S-rank reputation? And more importantly, I, who was so concerned for you, ended up getting struck by lightning because of this! Just look at my hair now! Don’t you bear full responsibility for this?”

Ellis’s mind was a tumultuous blend of shame, fury, and vexation.

She had actually fainted right there, simply because she was thinking *that* kind of thing!

How utterly disgraceful!

It was simply outrageous!

‘Is this really me?!’

‘What impossible thoughts have been occupying my mind lately?!’

If Larry hadn’t spoken, she might have been so mortified as to wish the ground would swallow her whole.

Her emotions were so complex, she hadn’t known how to unleash them.

But since that perverted scumbag, that pink trash among trash, Larry, had opened his mouth, she would show no mercy.

“Lushan Ascending Dragon Punch!”

Ellis unleashed a ferocious and sudden uppercut that connected squarely with Larry’s chin, sending him spiraling skyward. His head then melded with the cave ceiling, his body dangling like a chandelier, suspended mid-air. The scene, coupled with the sudden, day-brightening flash of lightning outside, painted an incredibly terrifying picture.

Julia and Irene clutched each other, trembling as they watched Ellis. Her hair seemed to float around her, and dark energy emanated from her, making her appear like a vengeful spirit.

“Hmph, that’s better.”

To the two women’s relief, however, Ellis’s dark aura dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. With a comfortable sigh, she returned to normal.

“Alright, let’s continue on our way.”

Irene hesitantly pointed to Larry, still suspended from the cave ceiling. “What about Larry?”

Ellis cast a cold glance at her good friend, whose fate was still uncertain. She roughly grabbed him by the waist and yanked him down.

Before Larry could even catch his breath, Ellis seized him by the collar, pulling him to within five centimeters of her face. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she warned him, “Keep your lower half in check, or it might just disappear entirely because of your words and actions.”

Larry swallowed hard, then loudly assured Ellis, “Yes, understood!”

The vexation in Ellis’s heart completely dissipated with Larry’s obedience. She pointed outside the cave and declared, “Good, let’s head for the mountaintop!”

Perhaps Ellis’s terrifying display had thoroughly intimidated everyone. Their attention was now solely focused on the journey, and this time, they quickly neared the mountaintop region.

However, as they were about to step into the summit area, all of them simultaneously halted.

The magnificent sight Ellis and her companions beheld defied mere words.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Thunder Kun Birds had constructed nests made of lightning-struck stones atop the mountain.

The nests were spaced less than a meter apart, each occupied by Thunder Kun Birds that had traveled thousands of miles solely to breed and thrive.

Brilliant electric currents shimmered across their blue feathers. From a distance, the mountaintop appeared to be blossoming into a garden of lightning.

“The Startling Thunder Nethergrass grows right there. Are you sure you want to retrieve it?”

Ellis followed Julia’s gaze and saw the patch of grass, shimmering with a metallic luster, blooming at the peak.

The lightning strikes at the mountain’s apex were a hundred times more frequent than anything they had encountered before.

Yet, beneath this destructive thunder, the seemingly fragile silver grass glowed brilliantly with each strike. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that these silver Startling Thunder Nethergrass plants were absorbing the power of the lightning to fuel their growth.

In the very center of this patch of Startling Thunder Nethergrass stood a colossal nest, easily ten times larger than any other Thunder Kun Bird nest. This was undoubtedly the dwelling of the Thunder Kun Bird King.

This meant that if Ellis and her companions wished to obtain the Startling Thunder Nethergrass, they would first need to navigate past thousands of Thunder Kun Bird nests, then harvest the grass right beside the Thunder Kun Bird King’s lair.

Though most of the Thunder Kun Birds were resting, many were still circling in the sky, serving as sentinels for their flock and fending off external threats.

“Everyone, calm yourselves!”

Cold sweat trickled down Ellis’s brow. “They’re just a flock of beasts. You have two S-rank adventurers with you. Besides, we can’t go back, can we?”

Indeed, Ellis and her companions found their retreat cut off.

After Ellis had fainted, Larry and the others had considered retreating. However, on their way down the mountain, they discovered a mysterious wall of lightning blocking their path.

The intensity of this lightning wall now exceeded all conventional limits. While Larry and Ellis might have been able to protect themselves, leading Julia and Irene through it was nearly impossible.

Julia and Irene had never encountered such a situation, so they had no idea how to deal with it.

However, they conjectured that the lightning wall would naturally dissipate once the Thunderous Period passed.

Larry and Ellis would never abandon Julia and Irene there, especially since they had ventured here to help Ellis.

The sheer number of Thunder Kun Birds before them was daunting, but it remained within Ellis and Larry’s capabilities.

Nevertheless, neither of them were battle maniacs, nor were they interested in being mobbed by a flock of giant birds. They preferred to carefully avoid the Thunder Kun Birds’ attention and simply collect the Startling Thunder Nethergrass.

Thus, the group began to cautiously approach the enormous nest.

They only needed to worry about the Thunder Kun Birds patrolling the skies. Those in their nests were sleeping soundly; Ellis could even hear their snores clearly amidst the thunder.

Even so, the dense concentration of Thunder Kun Birds created a unique magnetic field, generating formidable electric currents.

This was why the Thunder Kun Birds primarily focused their energy on the sky.

Fortunately, as long as Ellis was present, these currents posed no threat.

However, as they neared the Thunder Kun Bird King, Ellis detected an unusual scent.

This was more than just an odor; it was a surge of elemental energy akin to a curse.

As a specialist in healing and supportive elemental arts, Ellis was highly sensitive to such fluctuations.

Involuntarily, she glanced in the direction the fluctuation originated from. There, she saw an area distinctly separated from the other nests.

Thunder Kun Bird nests were present in that area too, but the birds themselves looked peculiar.

For some unknown reason, their blue thunder-feathers were covered in black, worm-like stripes. The Thunder Kun Birds there also appeared to be in immense pain, groaning incessantly.

Suddenly, a Thunder Kun Bird in that area abruptly stood up. Its normally ocean-blue eyes had turned completely black, and the black stripes on its feathers seemed to come alive, endlessly extending and writhing until its entire body was stained an ominous, abyssal color.

Despite being surrounded by its own kind, this mutated Thunder Kun Bird radiated an aura of pure slaughter.

Its sharp claws extended towards a companion, gripping its throat.

At that moment, a bolt of azure lightning descended from the sky, striking the mutated Thunder Kun Bird. Without even a shriek, it disintegrated into ash.

Upon closer inspection, a wisp of black smoke could also be seen dispersing under the azure lightning.

“What was that?” Ellis murmured, perplexed.

Julia and Irene shook their heads. “We don’t know. We’ve never heard of anything like that. But that’s the same azure lightning that forms the lightning wall.”

“Larry, that azure lightning feels ominous,” Ellis said, having sensed a dangerous aura from the bolt that had just incinerated the mutated Thunder Kun Bird.

Larry also spoke with a grave expression. “Indeed. Let’s hope it’s a natural phenomenon.”

After that, Ellis and Larry remained on edge, but it seemed their worries were unfounded. The journey proceeded without further incident.

They successfully reached the area where the Startling Thunder Nethergrass grew.

Julia instructed them to wait patiently outside the patch of grass while she retrieved special tools and began to harvest the Startling Thunder Nethergrass.

Out of boredom, Ellis began to examine the three-story-high stone nest before them.

“It’s so big,” Ellis remarked, impressed. “Truly befitting a king’s nest.”

Irene, standing nearby, clarified, “The Thunder Kun Bird King didn’t build it itself. Its subjects constructed it according to its will. Didn’t you know? Whenever a Thunder Kun Bird flock arrives at a new location, they first build a nest symbolizing their king’s status, and only then do they build their own.”

“Is that so? We certainly aren’t as familiar with these elemental beasts as you are, Irene.”

Ellis looked up at the enormous nest again. “Is this the advantage of a hierarchical system? It looks like a modern skyscraper erected in a slum. So, the Thunder Kun Bird society also has an exploitative class. Don’t you think if we rallied the thousands upon thousands of common Thunder Kun Birds at the bottom to rise up and resist tyranny, we’d gain a huge number of Thunder Kun Bird fans?!”

“You’ll find everything in your dreams,” Larry retorted, rolling his eyes. “Also, could you please speak quieter? They’re sleeping.”

“Don’t worry, these Thunder Kun Birds are sleeping like dead pigs. Even if I shouted twice as loud, they wouldn’t wake up,” Ellis said dismissively. Suddenly, she felt a sharp gaze, then noticed Larry and Irene staring blankly upwards.

Feeling a sense of unease, Ellis also looked up, meeting the eyes of a small Thunder Kun Bird peeking out.

This Thunder Kun Bird had a peculiar appearance; its feathers didn’t seem fully grown, and it was sparsely covered in downy fluff, making it resemble an ugly duckling.

Ellis, utterly bewildered, asked, “Is that the Thunder Kun Bird King? It’s far too small, not even a tenth the size of the outside Thunder Kun Birds. And it’s incredibly ugly! Could it be that among Thunder Kun Birds, the uglier one is, the higher their status?”

Upon hearing this, Irene quickly interjected, “Ellis, that’s incredibly rude. That’s the Thunder Kun Bird King’s chick. It will be very cool when it grows up. It wouldn’t be good if its parents heard you.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that it’s an ugly bird right now. Besides, its parents are sleeping so soundly that not even thunder could wake them. Their ears might as well be tossed in the recycling bin, so how could they…”

Before Ellis could finish her sentence, she felt another sharp gaze. This gaze was not as innocent and curious as the previous one; it was one of blatant hostility.

She looked up again, only to see another Thunder Kun Bird’s head emerge above the chick’s. This head alone was as large as an adult Thunder Kun Bird outside.

The Thunder Kun Bird King had apparently been awakened, and it was clearly displeased with Ellis’s assessment of its child.

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