The bad news was that the moment the Rank 11 Chitinid arrived at F-268, it hijacked a Rank 4 female. There was no time to call for backup. To save her, Lucien, a level ten peak, had no choice but to have Silas force-boost his strength to Rank 11. The good news was that the Rank 11 Chitinid was dead, and the Rank 4 female was saved. The bad news hit again. Silas was already injured during the force-boosting of Lucien's strength, which led to something going catastrophically wrong. Lucien's ability control shattered, and the resulting blast sent every therian in the vicinity flying. In that last instant, all he could manage was to shield the female closest to the epicenter with a bubble of raw energy. Even so, she was severely wounded.Worse still, Lucien had completely exhausted his energy, and the backlash left him temporarily unable to revert to his true form. Instead, he was reduced to a common bird. The worst news was that Silas, with his lower strength level, had taken far more serious injuries and suffered an even more devastating backlash. He couldn't even maintain his true form and had shrunk to a small, black, pinky-sized twig—the kind no one would even bend down to pick up if they saw it on the ground. The bird chirped. Female, please, you have to wake up. The valley isn't safe. If a beast showed up, you're dead meat. … Who is it? Who's pecking me on the head? Emma forced her eyes open, her head throbbing like it was splitting in two. The first thing she saw was a chubby, pitch-black little bird with a head that looked like a poof of singed cotton candy. She must have pulled an all-nighter and woken up in a daze. This wasn't what a proper wake-up should feel like. Emma shut her eyes again. Lucien watched as the female he'd finally managed to rouse simply closed her eyes once more. Panic surged through his tiny bird body as he chirped. Female, wake up! You can't go back to sleep! You'll die! He could feel faint fluctuations of ability drawing closer. A low-tier beast was on its way. Emma, who had closed her eyes again, heard the frantic chirping. Suddenly, flashes of memory flickered through her mind. The next second, her eyes snapped open, and she shot upright. Her disorientation wasn't from a sleepless night or an awkward position. She'd been knocked out by a massive explosion and had nearly forgotten the feeling of being hurled through the air by that terrifying wave of energy. The sudden movement tore at her injuries, and she hissed, sucking in a sharp breath. Is this what it feels like to get run over by a truck? Her whole body felt like it had been blown apart. Emma scanned the valley, and her gaze suddenly darted to her storage band. Thank God! It's still there. She quickly pulled a healing potion from the band and downed it. Almost instantly, the searing pain began to fade, and she could feel her wounds starting to knit closed. Weakly, Emma staggered to her feet just as a beast that looked like a monstrous chicken came charging from the distance. She immediately flung the electric blade from her hand. A second later, the beast's head hit the dirt. That chicken-like beast was about the size of a newborn calf.Lucien, dragging Silas—still in the form of a twig—with his little claws, stared at her with wide, unblinking bird eyes. This female is ruthless! … After killing the low-tier beast, Emma walked over, expertly dug out its beast core, and slipped it into her band. She didn't bother with the carcass; its meat was so scant it wouldn't fetch many star coins, so she didn't want to waste time. She had no idea how long she'd been out. Edric, Damian, Laura, and the others… Are they okay? I have to find them fast. She pulled two Rank 5 beast cores from her band and quickly absorbed their energy. … Lucien was stunned, completely forgetting to react as he watched her rapidly absorb two beast cores that were a full rank higher than her own.With the restoration of her abilities, the debilitating weakness finally began to fade. Wasting no time, Emma turned to leave. She had to find Edric, Damian, Laura, and her mates. Seeing Emma about to leave, Lucien finally snapped out of his trance, chirping. He hopped to her feet and pecked frantically at her ankle. Female, I just saved your life! You can't just leave me and Silas here! Without his abilities, he and Silas were weaker than any ordinary wildlife. They'd never make it out of a forest crawling with beasts and predators on their own. The faint sting on her ankle made her pause. She looked down at the chubby, pitch-black bird flapping its wings furiously on the ground. She bent over, scooped up the chubby creature—blacker than a lump of coal—and examined it closely. There wasn't any trace of ability fluctuation. It had to be a normal bird."You want to come with me?" The moment she said it, the chubby black bird bobbed his head. Emma blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected a little bird to actually understand her. She'd never heard of a common bird being this smart. "Are you a therian?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing the chubby, pitch-black, slightly ridiculous-looking bird in her palm. Holy shit! Lucien gasped. In his panic to get Emma to take him and Silas along, he had nearly blown his cover. Until he found the mastermind who had set him up, he couldn't reveal his identity.