He hastily prepared to flee.

But just as he turned around, he felt a pain in his chest and despairingly lowered his head. A black sword blade had pierced through his chest, with a large amount of blood slowly flowing down the tip. He continued to walk a few steps forward, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

Chen Shouyi stepped forward and gently pulled the sword out from the corpse.

He felt even hungrier.

...

The battle bird sensed Chen Shouyi approaching and began to struggle fiercely, its wings flapping desperately, causing a violent wind.

Only when up close to this battle bird could one truly feel its immense and incredible size. With its two wings spread wide, it nearly covered the entire road, comparable only to the Wind God Pterosaur of the Cretaceous Period.

The black wings shone with a metallic coldness, while its two gray claws, resembling old tree bark, were covered in interlocking scales, with sharp talons that curved like daggers, and a beak lined with serrated edges.

This battle bird was obviously not benign but a terrifying fierce bird.

With its intense struggle, blood spurted from a small bowl-sized wound on its abdomen, accumulating into a large pool beneath it. Such a wound would be fatal even for a creature of its size.

However, its vigorous vitality clearly prevented it from dying immediately.

Chen Shouyi stood about twenty meters away, hesitating and somewhat afraid to approach.

In his prime, facing a wounded fierce bird, he would have rushed forward without hesitation, but now he could barely walk steadily, with only a fraction of his former strength remaining. A single mistake could lead to dire consequences.

"Why not wait a bit longer? Perhaps in a few minutes, it will be dead," Chen Shouyi thought to himself, staring at the struggling, impressive battle bird while bracing against the strong wind.

But after waiting half a minute, Chen Shouyi gave up.

Too hungry!

Waiting a few more minutes, he didn't know if the battle bird would perish! But he knew by then he would be on the verge of collapse.

The healing speed of his wounds had already started to slow down, and at the same time, his body was growing weaker.

"Can't delay any longer!"

He gritted his teeth, dragged the long sword in his hand, his body swaying under the fierce wind, and stepped forward towards the battle bird.

"Sweetie, don't be afraid, calm down, I won't hurt you!" Chen Shouyi murmured to himself, squinting slightly.

The battle bird struggled even more fiercely, clearly recognizing Chen Shouyi as the one who had harmed it.

It emitted a sharp cry, causing Chen Shouyi's heart to tighten and his eardrums to throb. Under the flapping of its wings, countless stones scattered like bullets, sending sand and rocks flying.

But this violent struggle also accelerated its weakening and death. Compared to half a minute ago, it was greatly diminished, left only with death throes.

Chen Shouyi steeled his mind, braced against the gale, and endured the intense pain of his wounds. Using all his remaining strength, he quickly moved a few steps, barely dodged the weak pecking attack, and then, with his neck muscles bulging and a furious roar, he swung the sword at the opponent's slender neck.

The battle bird's head and neck were severed in one swift motion, spraying blood all over his face and head.

Chen Shouyi's legs went weak, and he sat down heavily on the ground, seeing stars before his eyes. It took him a while to recover. He looked at the large pool of blood on the ground and eagerly bent down to sip a few mouthfuls.

Still warm blood flowed into his stomach quickly, transforming into warmth and then turning to even greater hunger.

He spat out a few stones and shakily stood up, looking at the headless bird corpse still twitching, with eyes almost green from hunger, and quickly rushed over, embracing the bird's neck.

Though the neck of such a fierce bird was slender, that was relative, as it was as thick as an adult's thigh. He found the artery and gulped down the blood.

The strong stench of blood from this otherworldly bird stabbed his nostrils, causing nausea, yet at this moment, Chen Shouyi felt blissfully sweet.

When truly starving, blood was nothing. Even bark and dirt could be eaten without hesitation.

After gulping down a few large mouthfuls of blood, as his strength slightly recovered,

he began tearing into the flesh.

Blood ultimately does not satisfy hunger. It dissipates quickly after reaching the stomach, unlike meat.

The feathers on the bird's neck were roughly torn off by him, biting off a piece and swallowing it whole without chewing.

A few minutes later, he had gnawed the fierce bird's neck down to just a blood-soaked spine.

After consuming about six or seven pounds of meat, his body finally signaled that he was full.

Chen Shouyi exhaled deeply, feeling like he'd come back to life.

At this point, he noticed the itching sensation at the wound had disappeared unnoticed. He stood up, reaching out to peel the old scab that had started to fall off.

Feeling some blockage and itchiness in his trachea and lungs, he coughed forcefully a few times, immediately spitting out several mouthfuls of black clotted blood, with his nose similarly expelling quite a lot.

Once these blockages were cleared, he could breathe smoothly again.

"This time was really a narrow escape. Next time, I must carry food with me. If I had enough food, I wouldn't have been so desperate!" Chen Shouyi spat out saliva mixed with blood, feeling a slight nausea thinking about all the blood he had consumed earlier.

He looked up at the sky, seeing several battle birds circling and wailing endlessly. He couldn't tell if they were mourning their fallen comrade or lamenting for their owner.

Chen Shouyi withdrew his gaze, not daring to stay here long.

The barbarians he had fled from likely reported back to the city by now, and though he had just recovered from severe injuries, his strength was still quite diminished, with less than seventy percent of his former power remaining. Facing another battle like this, he would likely be doomed.

In fact, if another incident occurred, Chen Shouyi believed the forces dispatched by the God of Hunting Church would be even more formidable, even striking with overwhelming force.

He quickened his pace, swiftly moving towards the security room up ahead.

...

Under the cover of night, the group of three trudged along a rugged mountain path.

To avoid the barbarian battle birds searching for them, once the group had left the outskirts, Chen Shouyi chose the mountain path, as the trees provided the best cover and it was the quickest route to Ningzhou.

He led the way, clearing the road of thorns and shrubs with his sword, creating a path.

"Rustle!"

Chen Yuwei slipped, about to fall to the ground, but he quickly turned and stepped over, reaching out to steady her: "Sis, be careful!

Just hold on a bit longer, once we cross this mountain, we'll be safe."

Chen Yuwei panted, her chest heaving: "I'm fine, I just stepped on a loose stone and slipped."

Chen Shouyi noticed Aunt Qin's face had turned pale from exhaustion: "Aunt, should I carry you?"

"No, you're already tired enough. If we encounter danger, you'll need to fight. Don't wear yourself out any further. I can manage!" Aunt Qin promptly refused.

With that, she gritted her teeth and took the lead to continue walking.

...

During the journey, Chen Shouyi observed the battle birds flying over their heads several times and circling back. Each time this happened, the group hid under large trees or in dense grass, always avoiding detection.

As dawn broke, the forest echoed with various bird calls.

The group finally descended the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain lay a small village, but it was eerily empty.

Seeing this, Chen Shouyi was unexpectedly delighted.

This village had clearly been evacuated, and not far beyond, one could assume there was the military stationed.

Indeed, once they exited the village, he soon saw a familiar outpost in the distance: "Push a bit further, just ahead is the army. Once we're there, we'll be safe."

Having walked all night and nearly collapsing from exhaustion, Qin Shufen and Chen Yuwei lifted their spirits upon hearing this, with their fatigue seeming to lighten considerably. They then quickened their heavy steps.