Super Zoo-Chapter 792 - 771: Duel

"Boss, you better go take a look, your birds are fighting!"

Suming hadn't even left Yangchuan City when an incident occurred in the back mountain. A security guard patrolling on the Itchy Egg Car came rushing over in a hurry, one hand holding down his hat that the wind had blown askew, shouting anxiously.

Nowadays, the zoo rarely sets up special cages for flying birds; instead, all the birds are free to soar in the sky.

These creatures aren't foolish. Generally, they don't stray far and stay above the zoo, the back mountain, or within the boundary of the animal conservation area at most. Sometimes they venture deep into the Qinling Mountains, but after a few days, they return.

Spiritual power is their biggest attraction.

Because food is relatively abundant, birds in the sky don't habitually divide 'flight paths'. Conflicts are rare, and the most common disputes are probably between two parrots cursing at each other or teaming up to curse at other animals.

Today, however, there was an exception. For some unknown reason, Haidong Qing and the little Crested Ibis had a fierce fight in Savage Taoyuan.

Both are old-timers, and Suming personally supervised one of them; they are part of the direct troops. Their fight meant others couldn't intervene, and instead, it attracted many birds to gather as spectators.

The patrolling security guard spotted this scenario and immediately came to report it.

"How could the Crested Ibis and Haidong Qing fight?" Suming was startled, then waved his hand, "Let's go, take a look."

It's true that the Crested Ibis can fly, but strictly in terms of flight ability, it's far inferior to Haidong Qing. Plainly speaking, one is the king among eagles, and the other is the king among waterfowl. With just a casual flight, Haidong Qing could easily outpace the ibis. How could these two from entirely different leagues come into conflict?

From a distance, Savage Taoyuan looked like a bald mountain top scattered with weathered rocks, sandy stones all around, and the occasional cactus, standing alone yet tenaciously growing on the land.

However, when Suming arrived, what he saw was a scene brimming with vitality. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

The sky was darkened with thousands of various birds circling the mountain peak, at first glance resembling a shroud of dark clouds;

Many birds that couldn't fly or had relatively weak flying abilities perched on the ground and on rocks, forming a large circle, stretching their necks to look inside like curious onlookers at a spectacle.

The best spots in terms of terrain were filled with birds, and some even fought over them, with defeated birds falling from the front-row rocks like rain or being pushed off.

The air was filled with the sound of birds flapping their wings, and the cacophony of their chirping and tweeting.

No wonder the security guard who came to report looked pale; the scene was overwhelming. To the uninformed, it might seem like the end of the world had come.

"What are you all doing?!"

Suming shouted loudly, employing his spiritual power.

The sound wasn't very loud amid the flapping and chirping of thousands of large and small birds, but it instantly had an effect, and nearly all the birds turned their heads to look. The sight was rather spine-chilling.

The mass of dark birds parted to create a path for Suming to walk through. The security guard behind him was about to follow when the birds swiftly 'closed the door,' blocking him from entering.

"Damn it, why are you here too! It's none of your business when birds fight!"

Suming even spotted several vampire bats as large as kites hanging upside down from a withered tree branch. These bored, troublemaking creatures, who also belonged to the bird class, had come to watch the fight. But you bats, neither bird nor beast, what crowd did you intend to join to watch the excitement?

The vampire bats turned their heads and bared their teeth at Suming, their little eyes red.

By the time Suming got a clear view of everything, the fight at the mountain's peak had already ended.

The mighty Haidong Qing lay there as if it had been plucked by a novice feather-plucker, with sparse feathers and no fight left in it, lying on the ground with one wing twitching, and several noticeable wounds on its body;

The significantly smaller Crested Ibis stood proudly with one leg raised beside Haidong Qing, sporting an air of triumph, like a street thug who had just knocked out an opponent with a brick.

The lifting of one leg was a move learned from herons, but while it was an elegant gesture, when the little crested ibis did it, it came across as rascally.

Suming quickly checked with his spiritual power, and thankfully, the Haidong Qing wasn't seriously injured; its life wasn't in danger.

However, there was a hole pecked into its right wing... afraid it won't be able to fly for a while.

Using his spiritual power, he quickly treated the Haidong Qing and, with a stern face, asked the little crested ibis, "What happened!"

Upon seeing Suming, the little crested ibis immediately turned into an obedient baby, hopping over to Suming's side and tilting its head upward with flapping wings, putting on an innocent look as if to say 'nothing happened, I've been good'.

"You two explain," Suming said speechlessly, turning to ask the parrot sisters nearby. He knew that with such commotion, these two were definitely involved.

"Duel! Duel!" the elder parrot sister shouted.

"Silly bird! Silly bird!" the younger parrot sister called out to the Haidong Qing this time.

"Come on, birds are so opportunistic!" Suming smacked the younger parrot sister on the head. These two never dared to badmouth the Haidong Qing before; the moment it glared, they wisely kept silent. Now, one defeat and they were quick to turn with the wind.

After getting a brief understanding of the situation, it seemed just as the parrots said – the two birds were 'dueling', or to be more precise, engaging in single combat.

But why on earth would they duel? There was plenty of food in the back mountain; it couldn't be a fight over territory or provisions.

Could it be over a female?

That wouldn't do; you can't just grow a third leg and start bossing everyone around!

The outcome of the bout was unsurprising.

The Haidong Qing was a divine steed, nourished by spiritual power, no ordinary bird could rival it.

But the little crested ibis was an anomaly; its beak could even peck through steel plates, its lethality was astonishing.

In the legends, the Three-legged Divine Bird, Bi Fang, phoenixes, and the like, even the mightiest eagles couldn't outdo them.

The Haidong Qing too had met with an unexpected setback; if it had taken to the high skies, the little crested ibis probably wouldn't have stood a chance, as their flying skills weren't on the same level. The Haidong Qing could soar to a thousand meters, but the crested ibis simply couldn't do that.

On the ground, fighting like cockerels, who could stand a chance against this Three-legged Crested Ibis? Probably not even humans.

Suming held the Haidong Qing, continuously channeling spiritual power into it, hoping it would recover soon.

Given its current injuries, going to Romania seemed unlikely now. This protected species couldn't be shipped across national borders, it would rely on flying thousands of kilometers on its own.

"Goo goo goo..." The little crested ibis flapped its wings and waddled around Suming's feet like a duck.

"You want to go abroad with me?" Suming glared at it. "Is that why you two fought? Let me tell you, no way, your flying skills are simply not up to par!"

The little crested ibis wasn't having it. It turned its butt around, took to its ducky pigeon-toed stride, and ran off with its head down.

"I was talking about flying; what good is running fast..."

Before he could finish, the little crested ibis, in mid-dash, suddenly spread its wings and took to the air. Like a swift arrow, it shot towards the sky, leaving only a tiny black dot in the expanse above.

Its flying ability was actually on par with the Haidong Qing.