The cavernous wilderness.
Orange-red flames surged incessantly as Chen Yu sat on a piece of wood, warming himself by the fire. Beside him, several shrieking chickens were bound by their legs with sturdy ropes.
Despair, fear.
They were clearly visible in their eyes.
Chen Yu remained silent, and they dared not make any sound, only occasionally stealing glances at Chen Yu, their eyes still filled with terror.
"What do you plan to do with these shrieking chickens?"
The demon girl glanced sideways.
"Hiss, I want to take them back," Chen Yu said softly. "Do these things lay eggs? Can I take them back to lay eggs for me?"
Farming.
This was Chen Yu's idea.
He had been in the caves for a while and had started developing agriculture, but animal husbandry had not yet seen any movement.
It wasn't that Chen Yu didn't want to.
He hadn't encountered any.
The wilderness of the caves was occupied by wild beasts. The only creature he suspected could be domesticated was the scaled ox, but after knocking it out with a single punch, he never encountered another of its kind.
Livestock was rare.
He had encountered many wild boars, but he couldn't possibly pen them up, could he?
Those things were ferocious.
Even a slight misstep, and he feared the wild boars would break out and bite the citizens of the city to death.
However—
Chen Yu felt that the shrieking chickens before him were a good target. kanδん
They posed no threat.
Taking these shrieking chickens back to lay eggs seemed like a good idea.
"Huh?!"
Unexpectedly, the demon girl's eyes widened upon hearing this.
"You want them to lay eggs for you? You want to domesticate them?"
"Ah~"
Was there a problem with that?
Looking at the demon girl's surprised expression, Chen Yu was utterly confused.
Domestication.
Did it not exist in the caves?
"You actually want to domesticate demonic creatures? Even I didn't do such a thing back then," the demon girl said softly, blinking.
"Huh?!"
Now it was Chen Yu's turn to be shocked.
Demonic, demonic creatures?
These chickens were demonic creatures?
It was absurd.
Such seemingly harmless little fowls were actually demonic creatures?
"These chickens are demonic creatures?"
"Human, you are too arrogant!" Suddenly, a furious voice erupted from among the bound shrieking chickens. "You'd better be respectful. We are not chickens, we are shrieking chickens."
Eh?!
Hearing this cry, Chen Yu turned his head.
So brave.
He hadn't expected such a warrior among the many shrieking chickens to dare to boss him around.
Chen Yu looked around.
The leading shrieking chicken, with its wings scorched, was cowering and shrinking its neck.
"Our ancestors possessed the bloodline of a quarter phoenix. Even among demonic creatures, we are of noble bloodline. You actually want to domesticate us and have us lay eggs for you. What are you dreaming about?"
Nani?
Phoenix bloodline? These chicks were descendants of divine beasts?
That was too far-fetched.
With suspicion, Chen Yu glanced at the demon girl and Sona, only to find them both nodding slightly, confirming what the shrieking chicken had said.
Instantly, Chen Yu was dumbfounded.
"These chicks, claiming a phoenix bloodline?" Chen Yu's eyes were filled with disbelief. Sona gently spread her hands. "Although it's indeed incredible, what they're saying is true. In terms of bloodline, shrieking chickens possess the bloodline of the divine beast phoenix. It's just that through generations of breeding, the bloodline has become very thin. But, they are indeed descendants of the phoenix."
Gulp.
Chen Yu swallowed slightly.
This was possible?
"Hiss, then if they are descendants of the phoenix, why are they still so afraid of fire?" Chen Yu's eyes were filled with confusion. "Isn't the phoenix a fire element in the caves?"
"I'm not sure."
Sona spread her hands slightly.
"According to records, shrieking chickens are the offspring of a phoenix and a falling-tail chicken. Perhaps they inherited the genes of the falling-tail chicken and did not inherit the phoenix's fire bloodline."
"Silence! I will not allow you to belittle our ancestors. Our ancestors were the Falling-Tail Phoenix."
"Aren't they chickens?" Sona blinked.
"Phoenix!"
The shrieking chicken shouted loudly. Seeing its state, Sona didn't argue further. Chen Yu also smiled slightly, watching this courageous shrieking chicken.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Kuruuta. I am the deputy captain of the fourth squad, sixth team, third company of the Shrieking Tribe. You ask who I am, but who are you?"
The deputy captain's eyes were filled with coldness.
"Deputy captain? The one who got beaten earlier?" Chen Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, then looked at the leader. "Was that him you were hitting earlier?"
"Yes~"
"Give him another slap."
"Ah?"
"I told you to slap him."
Bang!
Without thinking, the leading shrieking chicken raised its wing and slapped the deputy captain on the head.
"I'm quite surprised. You didn't dare to speak when you were beaten before. I thought you were a useless weakling. I didn't expect you to be so brave and dare to yell at me," Chen Yu said, looking sideways.
"Why should I be afraid of you!"
Kuruuta glared, then looked at the leading shrieking chicken again.
"Captain, why are you afraid of him? Why should we shrieking chickens bow to humans? Have you forgotten how humans treated us?"
"Stop talking," the leading shrieking chicken said in a low voice.
"Coward!"
Kuruuta glared, spat fiercely at the leading shrieking chicken, then stretched his neck and stared intently at Chen Yu.
"They fear you, but I don't. If you want me to lay eggs for you, don't even think about it. If you're unhappy, just kill me. I will never yield to you, even in death."
Wow, so brave.
Chen Yu looked at the shrieking chicken before him with great surprise.
Honestly—
He didn't dislike such a resolute personality.
"You, named Kuruuta."
"Yes."
"Good. You have guts, and I don't dislike you," Chen Yu said with a smile in his eyes. "I've always liked people with backbone like you. Are you interested in working with me?"
"Heh~"
Kuruuta sneered.
Seeing his disdainful expression, Chen Yu took a slight breath.
"If you follow me, your future will be boundless. In the future, all shrieking chickens can be under your command. You are a deputy captain now, but in the future, you might become the chief of the Shrieking Tribe," Chen Yu said with a smile in his eyes. "How about it? Are you interested in considering it?"
"To betray your tribe for a bit of status? Impossible!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Not only can I make you the chief of the shrieking chicken race, but in the future, I can hand over all poultry-like creatures to you to manage. I can even grant you your ancestors' bloodline, allowing you to become a phoenix again. Are you sure you won't consider it?"
"Are you taking me for an idiot?"
Kuruuta sneered upon hearing this.
"If you truly had that ability, would you be standing here? Why don't you go be the king of a kingdom? And you want me to become a phoenix? I might as well say I can make you the Human Emperor. Who can't brag?" kΑnshu伍.ξà
"Wow, interesting. The more you're like this, the more I want you to work with me."
So interesting.
Both his personality and temper suited Chen Yu's taste perfectly.
"Go dream. Go take a look at yourself in the mirror. What kind of character are you? You..." Just as Kuruuta was about to sneer, he saw Chen Yu lean down and whisper in his ear, "I am your father~"
This sudden personal insult stunned Kuruuta for a full half-minute.
Then—
He saw Chen Yu gently raise his hand, and the Skeleton Warrior and Meteoric Iron Guard appeared on either side of him. Chen Yu also raised his arms and shouted.
"Class is in session!"