CHAPTER 45: A TAKEOVER (2)

Is Ash lying?

Can I really do that...?

No... He won’t do something like that.

But...Will eating as much meat as possible really make me big and strong!?

I really hope it does, though. I even forced myself to eat those disgusting green creatures’ meat!

Even mother never ate them if there were other options! And there are always better options!

But... For the sake of becoming the strongest creature with wings, I will do everything...

Even if it means eating more disgusting green creatures!

Just wait, you damn overgrown bird... I will eat you whole in a single bite when I get strong enough and make you pay for what you did...

Oh, wait, right, I need to tell Ash where these humans went to. I also need their meat to get big.

"Ash! Over here!"

The three thugs ran in different directions before. Splitting up to make sure their pursuer couldn’t catch up to all of them.

Then they would meet up after making sure they weren’t being followed.

And after making sure Ash or anyone wasn’t on their tails, the three thugs met up in an abandoned alleyway where even the people of the slums didn’t gather despite the limited space.

"You! You almost got us killed!" The mage thug shouted. Pointing at the first man who talked to Ash.

"Shut up! How the hell can we know he was a mid tier 2 awakened!? Nobody that strong comes in here looking like a refugee!"

The two continued bickering. Blaming each other for even suggesting coming close to someone who could easily end their lives.

"Stop it, you two. We need to report this. Someone that strong had come to the slums. The boss needed to know this. We might have a new rival gang soon if they do nothing about him."

The second man with the telekinesis ability spoke. Finally, ceasing the fight between the mage and the loud guy.

The two of them nodded their heads as the group covertly continued deeper into the alleyways.

Alas, none of them could escape the sight of a certain growth-deprived raven above the sky.

Even if its eyes couldn’t see them, the raven had echolocation into its body, making it near impossible to hide from it with ordinary means.

The three thugs soon arrived at their destination.

An unassuming two-floor building near the outskirts of the slums.

It looked empty like the other buildings near it.

However, everybody living long enough in the slums and, of course, the thugs, knew that wasn’t the case.

Many of the buildings near the outskirts of the slums belonged to the local gangs.

And this particular building, which was larger than the buildings around it belonged to a mid-sized gang, the strong arm.

The three knocked on the door three times, stopped for three seconds, then knocked three more times in a certain rhythm.

Without anyone speaking anything, the door opened, and the three thugs entered the building.

Caw. Caw.

A faint sound of caws was heard as the three thugs kneeled on the floor, facing a hugely built man sitting on a wooden throne.

"So, you’re saying a mid tier 2 awakened is looking for a place to stay in the slums?"

"Yes, S-" The mage was about to speak, but the knife guy cut him off.

"You are correct, sir. We met him ourselves and talked to him. He said he was looking for some empty space here.

With that kind of strength, yet he chose the slums instead of the city, he must be some guy from another group in other cities trying to spread their web here..."

The man who sat on the throne finally sat properly on his throne.

He himself was a high tier 2 awakened, he could deal with a mid tier 2 awakened himself.

But if the knife guy’s guess was true, then it wouldn’t simply end with him beating up the guy.

’For a gang to dare expand their reach to other cities could only mean they had monopolized the whole city, or they were losing their footing there.

It would be very different depending on which of the two reasons they decided to send out a guy here.

We need to find out.’

Caw. Caw.

The sound of a bird cawing was still heard above the sky.

The gang leader made his decision.

"Invite the guy here to talk. Don’t do anything stupid. We shouldn’t poke a tiger’s eye without realizing it was a tiger."

"Right away si-"

This time, the mage guy was the one who cut the knife guy’s words.

"Sir, Tom here had provoked the guy. He drew his knife and tried to mug him. That’s why he knew the guy was a mid tier 2 awakened."

The room fell into dead silence.

Other than the killing stare Tom had given the mage guy, nobody else dared to do anything else.

But the sound of the boss’s sigh broke the silence.

"There’s nothing else we can do. Bring him here. Depending on the circumstances, we might not be able to let the guy leave here alive."

The boss spoke, his eyes never leaving Tom as the latter began sweating buckets behind his back.

"Yes, sir!"

Caw.

This time, the caw was louder, clearer than ever. It was as if the bird was perched right on top of their base.

The telekinesis guy suddenly recalled a certain raven that was perched on the mysterious man they had attacked previously.

The caw of a bird was unique depending on the bird.

But the telekinesis guy swore that he knew that this particular caw belonged to a certain race of a bird with black feathers from head to toe.

’Could it be...’

Just when the telekinesis guy thought that it was all a coincidence and it could just be any other random crow or raven in the area, a sound shocked everybody in the room.

A resounding boom traveled through the walls, assaulting the eardrums of everybody inside.

The boss stood, and all the other members looked at the door.

"Go check it out!" The boss commanded as the two underlings ran towards the door.

However, a voice from outside the room stopped them in their tracks.

"Don’t stand behind the door if you don’t want to accidentally become bird feed! I have a young, healthy, slightly insecure, growing bird!"