The smallest struggle would have woken the bird. He had only one choice.
He moved his body millimeter by millimeter, each movement so slow that even he himself did not notice it.
Five seconds...
Ten seconds...
Twenty seconds...
Finally, his right shoulder came out from under the pressure, then his left arm, then his torso, and finally, his legs were also freed from under the wing.
Cold sweat covered his entire body, but he was still alive. Unfortunately, Abyss Veil only hides his presence and does not completely turn his physical body into a spiritual one.
He could still make contact with objects in his current state, and if not, if he completely merged with the shadows, it would have been much better.
Without even stopping for a moment, he moved again among the feathers.
A few minutes later, Lian passed through the last row of massive feathers.
In front of him was the back of the Giant Sky Bird’s neck, and it was only there that he truly understood the real dimensions of this monster.
Each feather on its neck was taller than a human’s stature, the distance between two feathers looked like a dark valley.
Beneath them, the bird’s black, scale-like skin could be seen; skin through which mana veins flowed like faint rivers.
The mana pressure of the monster’s body, even in sleep, weighed on Lian’s shoulders like a massive weight.
He calmly took out one of the bone hooks, carefully inserted it among several thick feathers, then passed the rope through its ring.
Just as he was about to tighten the knot, one of the neck feathers suddenly trembled.
Lian froze.
The bird... had felt an itch.
The Giant Sky Bird’s massive head moved slightly, a few seconds later, its giant beak rose from beside its neck.
Its shadow covered the entire space around Lian, he immediately threw himself into the gap between the feathers.
The black beak was only a few meters away from him, the sound of it hitting the bird’s skin was like a massive hammer striking.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
Every time the beak scratched the skin, hundreds of feathers around Lian shook violently.
His body was lifted off the ground several times, his fingers clung tightly to the roots of the feathers, if the beak had gone just a little deeper between the feathers... his body would have been crushed between that beak and the monster’s skin.
A few seconds later... the bird stopped scratching its neck and lowered its head again.
Lian waited a few more moments, and when he was sure the monster had calmed down again, he quietly let out his breath.
He tightened the main rope, then gently pulled it only once.
The signal.
The path was safe.
A few minutes later, Ravian was the first to enter the darkness under the wing, Root Grip was active on his hands, feet, and tail.
He moved among the feathers like a massive lizard, and whenever he felt the path was slippery, he stuck himself firmly to the surface.
After him came Sera, carefully carrying the ropes and harnesses.
The last one was Nemi, Quiet Pulse had spread around her body, the sound of all three people’s footsteps was largely faded in the surrounding space.
But the range of this skill was very limited, so they had to move almost stuck together.
Everything was going well... until suddenly...
Crack...
Nemi’s foot stepped on a piece of dry bone, the bone broke, and its sound, although weak, did not completely fade away.
Everyone froze at that same moment, and an ominous feeling of terror overwhelmed their entire being, they felt a bone-chilling cold run down their spines.
One of the Giant Sky Bird’s golden eyes slowly opened, Nemi froze right there among the feathers.
’Damn, damn, damn, damn.’ Her body was trembling with fear, so much so that she even lost the ability to breathe properly.
The bird raised its head slightly and sniffed the surrounding air. Lian could only watch from behind the neck, there was nothing he could do.
If he moved now, he himself would be the first to be killed.
Sera quietly took Nemi’s hand, she didn’t even dare to pull her.
A few seconds... which felt like hours for all four, finally... the bird lowered its head again.
The smell of its own saliva had completely covered their body odor, the disgusting idea that Lian had accepted had now saved their lives.
Everyone gathered behind the neck, Sera attached the harnesses to the main rope one by one.
Each person was placed between two rows of thick feathers, Lian specified everyone’s position.
Ravian at the front, near the head.
Sera in the center.
Nemi between them.
And himself at the back, but one problem still remained. If the bird dived during flight, all the pressure would be concentrated on one hook.
Everything might come loose. Lian took the second hook and placed it on the thick skin beneath the feathers.
"If it feels pain... it will wake up at that very moment." Ravian said quietly and cautiously.
If this comes loose, we all fall. We have to take the risk." His gaze fixed on the hook.
Nemi activated Quiet Pulse again, Lian held his breath and pushed the hook into the thick part of the skin with the calmest movement possible.
The Giant Sky Bird’s body suddenly tensed.
The four froze, the bird did not move for a few seconds, and then calmed down again.
The hook... stayed in place.
The next step... the egg.
They went for the healthiest egg. Contrary to Lian’s expectations, even four people could barely move it.
Its weight was unbelievable. They wrapped Thread Sap around the egg, the rope was stretched to the edge of the nest, the goal was not for the egg to fall at that moment.
It only had to reach the edge, the rope would do the rest. All four pushed with all their strength.
The egg moved forward a few meters, then... it got fucking stuck!
Ravian clenched his teeth, activated Root Grip, and applied more pressure.
Crack...
Suddenly, the branch beneath the egg broke, and everything went out of control!
"Damn it, stop it or we’re screwed!" The egg rolled toward the edge of the nest at high speed, Sera tried to hold the rope.
The rope was pulled violently through her palm, the skin of her hand split, blood dripped onto the Thread Sap fibers.
"Damn it, why is everything going like this?" Lian cursed and without thinking threw himself on the ground.
Both his hands grabbed the rope, the impact of the egg’s weight dragged him several meters on the branch’s surface.
His nails left marks on the wood, only a few meters away from falling.
Ravian immediately grabbed Lian’s ankle, Root Grip activated, and his tail also wrapped around the root of one of the feathers.
Sera threw the rope around a thick branch, and finally... the egg stopped right at the edge of the nest.
Half of it was hanging out, but... the sound of breaking was enough.
The Giant Sky Bird’s breathing suddenly stopped, the entire nest fell into silence.
Then one of the monster’s golden eyes opened