Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 983 - 100: Fula’s Animal Partner

Chapter 983: Chapter 100: Fula’s Animal Partner

Chapter One Hundred: Fula’s Animal Partner

The Horned Eagle Beasts were beautiful, their bodies resembling a magnified eagle, with a pair of sharp claws perched on the deck, the deep black talons gleaming as they lightly rested on the surface, leaving small indentations. Above the formidable claws were sturdy legs, the muscles beneath the fluffy feathers bulging as hard as stone. Although the muscles were rock-hard, the downy feathers underneath were warm and soft to the touch, smooth as silk, and when someone pressed their face against it, it felt like the comfiest down pillow, especially the fluff on the inside of the wings that felt like one’s body could melt into the clouds. While the feathers on the underside were smooth and comfortable, the dark green feathers on the top were as tough as metal, especially the feathers at the tips of the wings and tail, their edges sharp enough to resemble blades, with the tips shimmering with an ominous cold light, leaving no doubt that a mere wave of its wings could easily slice a person in two. The heads of the creatures varied between sexes; females had two short protrusions, while males had antler-like branching horns, which they used in less lethal battles for mates during mating season.

Catherine stood before a female Horned Eagle Beast and looked up at the magical beast that would soon become her temporary partner. She slowly raised her hand, cradling a piece of meat weighing two kilograms. The Horned Eagle Beast eyed the girl below with its glossy, pitch-black eyes, and after a moment of hesitation, snatched the beef from the girl’s hand with its beak, its barbed bill swallowing the meat in a few gulps. The taste of the beef seemed to satisfy it, and so it affectionately rubbed its neck against the girl’s face, causing an itchy sensation and making her burst into laughter.

"You’re going to work hard for me, thank you," the girl said, patting the Horned Eagle Beast’s neck. She then mounted the bird saddle on its back, which was designed so comfortably and stably that it did not hinder the beast’s flight. The Horned Eagle Beast seemed to have no objections to its rider, merely shuffling its body slightly before nonchalantly resuming its squatting posture.

Even though the Horned Eagle Beasts could be domesticated and appeared very docile, in the Forest of Death they were among the top predators. Even the sovereigns of the skies would choose to temporarily avoid a Horned Eagle Beast on the hunt, as these magical beasts, whose strength lay between the Gold and Legendary Ranks, were gregarious, often tens or even hundreds strong, and when they set out to hunt, they rose en masse, a dark, overwhelming swarm.

"How do they hunt?" Catherine asked from atop the bird saddle, turning to Pannis, who was on another mount, "Considering their size, with a wingspan of at least ten meters, they wouldn’t be able to fly in such a dense forest, would they?"

"They don’t enter the forest," said Fula, who had delegated the task of assigning mounts and was leisurely waiting to one side like a bystander, and thus had the leisure to answer for Pannis, "They prey on several types, aside from the birds in the sky above the forest and the daring magical beasts and wild animals that appear atop the trees, the third type is the ones that fly out of the forest to hunt on the plains, filling up before bringing back a large amount of prey for the young in the group. This is why they have such large bodies."

"Hmm, it looks like the creatures in the forest are just as I thought," Catherine mused, nodding, "When I was researching earlier, I noticed from the descriptions that the known magical beasts in the forest aren’t very large; even the big ones are usually only three to four meters long, as too large a magical beast wouldn’t be able to move around in a forest this dense, right?"

"Yes, they would be quite clumsy in movement, which wouldn’t be to their advantage, neither in hunting nor in living," Pannis replied, "It’s not that the bigger the size, the stronger the power. There’s no necessary correlation between size and strength, and more importantly, the really fearsome ones are often the smaller magical beasts. Given equal strength, the bigger ones tend to be less of a threat."

"Is there no threat?" Catherine asked with confusion, "Why does a smaller size equate to a bigger threat? If their strengths are the same, shouldn’t the threat be about the same?"

"Well, let me give you an example. Let’s say I’m adventuring in the forest and I encounter a Demigod Rank giant magical beast preparing to attack me," Pannis countered, "What do you think I should do?"

"Of course, you should first prepare your defense, and when it launches an attack, rely on the strength of your defense to deplete the opponent’s energy," Catherine said without hesitation. "Even though they are both at Demigod Rank, I wouldn’t fear them, but in an adventure, it’s always best to fight in the most energy-efficient way so that you can maintain enough stamina to deal with sudden situations that arise later."

"That’s correct," Pannis applauded in agreement. "That’s the best way to respond. So, what if the attacker is changed to a smaller Demigod magical beast, like Fula’s Black Panther?"

"Is that also a Demigod magical beast?" The girls all looked at the Black Panther basking in the sun on the deck, surprised. The Black Panther flicked its tail, yawned in a disdainful manner in response to the girls’ gazes, and lazily rolled over to expose its fuzzy belly to the warm sun. The Black Panther’s arrogant posture made the girls laugh and cry at the same time, and Catherine said helplessly, "Hm, we didn’t notice at all; it just looks like a big black cat. And, do Demigod magical beasts also serve as mounts for other intelligent beings?"

"That’s no ordinary Demigod magical beast; that’s Fula’s animal partner," Pannis explained. "Among the Elves, there are a rare few with a special talent that allows them to communicate simply with the magical beasts of the Lost Forest. Some Elves with this talent make requests to powerful magical beasts using their gift, and if the beasts agree, they entrust their offspring to the Elves to raise. So, these offspring are raised from birth by the Elves’ side, becoming attuned to their caretaker’s heart and mind, making them the best battle partners and also one of their closest friends."

"There’s actually a talent like that?" Catherine exclaimed, "I’ve never seen this mentioned in the Guild records."

"Because many Elves who have the talent eventually choose not to use it after a few years," Pannis sighed, shaking his head, "So, Elves with animal partners are very rare, and it’s quite normal that it’s not recorded."

"Why is that?" The one with the question was Lina, the curious priestess girl, who looked puzzled as she stared with a pair of shining big eyes, asking, "Why wouldn’t they want to use such good partners?"

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommended votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)