Chapter 120: The Bloodrage Golden Eagle and the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle

"Brother Jing, is this what they call a spell robe? It feels so wonderful, I feel like my whole mind and body are so energized!"

After another moment of intimacy, the two continued their journey toward their destination. Listening to Liang Jing's explanation, Su Yuting couldn't help marveling at the sensation. True to Liang Jing's words, her mind felt remarkably clear and she was brimming with energy.

"This was specially saved for you, so of course it shouldn't just look pretty. You'll realize later that its uses go far beyond this," Liang Jing said, holding his giant sword and occasionally hacking away the thorny bushes blocking their path.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared as they walked out of the shaded greenery.

"We've arrived!" Liang Jing's eyes lit up as he looked at the small peak ahead.

"Ah! Such a huge bird's nest! Brother Jing, are there bird eggs inside?" Seeing the massive nest perched on the small peak, Su Yuting jumped up with excitement.

"They should be chicks."

Looking up at the giant nest perched on the steep small peak, Liang Jing couldn't help frowning slightly. This was going to be a bit troublesome!

The nest was at least fifty meters above the ground, and the entire route up was sheer and steep, with very few branches or vines to grab onto. Even without any tools, it would be difficult for Liang Jing to climb up. Fortunately, he had anticipated this and made some preparations beforehand.

Liang Jing pulled out a grappler-like three-pronged steel hook, which he had asked Jia Yujin to forge earlier. The rope attached to the back had been gathered directly from the forest; these mutated vines were exceptionally tough, matching or even surpassing ordinary ropes.

Liang Jing gave the thumb-thick, grayish-brown vine a firm tug and felt that its durability was acceptable. However, for safety reasons, he unbuckled the dark golden giant sword from his back—carrying nearly two hundred pounds of weight would be too much of a hindrance during the climb.

Whoosh!

Clack! After giving the steel hook a firm tug to ensure it was securely anchored, Liang Jing began his ascent amidst Su Yuting's worried gaze. For Liang Jing, however, this was hardly a challenge. His physical attributes were simply too formidable; if not for his natural constraints, a few dozen meters would not have required such troublesome efforts.

Before long, after tossing the grappler three times, Liang Jing finally scaled the nest before him.

The nest was built upon a sheer cliff face. The rock overhang above provided shelter from the rain, while its location faced south and away from the wind—making it treacherous and exceedingly difficult to approach. Constructed from a pile of withered tree branches, the structure was massive, with an outer diameter of nearly twenty meters and a height of fifteen meters. The interior was lined with twigs, pine needles, grass stems, fur, and other materials.

Observing the fresh marks before him, Liang Jing knew the nest had been built very recently, perhaps within the last two days. He shook his head. The giant golden vulture must have been caught off guard by its enemies and, burdened by its young, was heavily wounded and forced to flee here. He simply hadn't expected to run into it, and consequently...

Climbing into the massive nest, Liang Jing spotted four hairless chicks, each about the size of a grown hen. These must be the offspring of the giant golden vulture. Liang Jing's eyes brightened. With their eyes still unopened, these chicks could only have been hatched two or three days ago. Remembering how certain tribes trained eagles before the apocalypse, newborn chicks of this age could easily bond and become helper pets without needing to occupy a skill-based enslavement slot.

Granted, these golden vulture chicks were still too young and would require a period of growth before they could form any combat capability in the short term. Still, all four were descendants of a giant golden vulture, making them well worth the anticipation!

Unable to wait any longer, Liang Jing cast [Basic Insight] on them.

"Blood-Raging Golden Vulture (Chick): Blue Boss, Level 1. A mutated golden vulture species. Frenzied and bloodthirsty, highly aggressive with extreme swiftness. Its talons and beak are sharp and powerful, possessing exceptional potential."

"Blood-Raging Golden Vulture (Chick): Blue Boss, Level 1. A mutated golden vulture species. Frenzied and bloodthirsty, highly aggressive with strong explosive power, tough feathers, and extreme swiftness. Its talons and beak are sharp and powerful, possessing exceptional potential."

……

"Black-Crested Golden-Light Vulture: Pink Rare Monster, Level 1. A mutated variant of the golden vulture species. Possesses a rugged body with strength, explosive power, and speed pushed to the absolute extreme. An anomaly among vultures, holding infinite potential.

Innate Talent: Physical Solidification (Passive Skill). The physical body is overwhelmingly rugged and tough. While physical size growth is severely restricted, the growth of all physical attributes reaches the absolute extreme of its kind."

Examining the four chicks before him, the reality differed significantly from his expectations. Liang Jing had initially assumed that these chicks, being offspring of the giant golden vulture monster, would at least be of the Golden Boss tier. After all, the strength of the adult giant golden vulture had been terrifyingly powerful—far outclassing the Golden Boss Baroque he had previously encountered. Finding them to be merely Blue Boss tier was a slight disappointment.

Yet that disappointment lasted only a moment. Blue Boss tier was nothing to scoff at, and more importantly, these golden vultures were newly hatched chicks; no one could predict what the future held. Didn't the data obtained from [Basic Insight] explicitly state that their potential was exceptional?

Consider this: the Caucasian shepherd that had previously evolved into the Golden Baroque was once just an ordinary domestic dog, and even common flies could evolve into Blue Boss Red-Haired Stinging Flies. These giant golden vulture chicks, boasting such extraordinary potential, had a much higher starting point, and no one could say for certain what they might achieve in the future.

What thrilled Liang Jing the most was that the final chick, which appeared relatively thin and small, turned out to be a pink-named rare monster—an anomaly among monsters, an existence rejected and unrecognized by its own kind. This was an aberration among the Blood-Raging Golden Vultures, born with an innate talent skill that was not only immensely powerful but possessed infinite potential. It was easily on par with, or perhaps even superior to, monsters of the Golden Boss tier!

The innate talent, Physical Solidification, meant that it might never grow to the gargantuan size of its mother, but its strength would undoubtedly surpass that of its siblings. From birth, it already possessed an innate passive skill. Liang Jing could easily envision this pink-named rare chick growing up to possess an unyielding, incredibly tough body with formidable defense, immense strength, and explosive speed—capable of going toe-to-toe with powerful land monsters directly on the ground.

Liang Jing fell for this little golden vulture at first glance, even imagining it becoming a monstrous human figure like Li Yuanba or Hu Che'er. Did he know of Li Yuanba, the twin-hammer-wielding warrior of the Sui and Tang dynasties? Did he know of Hu Che'er from the Three Kingdoms era, whose strength could carry five hundred pounds and who could travel seven hundred li in a single day? Such were his expectations for this little golden vulture—a monstrous anomaly among the golden vulture species.

"Chirp... chirp, chirp..."

……

Seemingly sensing something, the little golden vultures were awakened. They chirped incessantly, opening their lead-gray beaks as they waited for strips of meat from their mother. They looked starving; their mother must have been severely wounded for a long time and unable to hunt and feed them.

"Brother Jing, how is it? Are there little golden vultures inside? Hurry up and bring them down, I want to see them!"

At that moment, a crisp call drifted up from below—it was Su Yuting shouting.

"Yuting, wait for me, I'm coming down right now. There are four little golden vultures up here!" With that, Liang Jing quickly wove a large two-meter-wide backpack basket out of branches and vines, lined the inside with quilts, and transferred the four chirping little golden vultures into it.

Glancing around the massive nest to ensure nothing else required attention, he retraced his steps and climbed back down.

"Brother Jing, are... are these the little golden vultures? Why don't they have any feathers on their bodies?"

"Are they hungry? They're so pitiful, Brother Jing, let's find some food to feed them."

"Brother Jing, I'll take care of them from now on. Their mother is dead, they're so pitiful..."

A dark line involuntarily crossed Liang Jing's forehead. Along the way, Su Yuting had been chattering endlessly like a little golden vulture herself. Besides, he was the one who had killed their mother...

They quickly returned to the cavern. The spacious hall-like rock cave remained relatively well-lit due to the burning fire, though the outside had already grown dark. However, despite the flickering firelight, with the Venomous Ripper, the two mutated wolves, and the mutated military dog roaming outside on guard duty, there were no safety concerns to speak of.

As soon as they returned, the four little golden vultures instantly captured everyone's attention. They had already heard about how terrifying the chicks' mother had been—how it had withstood attacks from heavy weapons, rapid-fire cannons, and bombs fired by over a hundred people while remaining completely unfazed. If not for Liang Jing, this monster in human form, launching a sudden sneak attack that decapitated it before it even had time to react, it probably would have been invincible.

At this moment, whether it was the women who loved cute animals or the men who admired the formidable power of golden vultures, everyone was utterly captivated by the little chicks. They secretly hoped they could raise one; since these chicks were newly hatched with unopened eyes, cultivating a bond from youth would turn them into powerful future assistants and aids. They didn't even need to be as strong as the mother—possessing half her strength would bring boundless joy.

Yet obviously, there weren't enough little golden vultures for everyone. At least three were already tacitly spoken for, and as for who would get the remaining one, nobody knew, leaving everyone in eager suspense...