Chapter 160: Holding shadows

The cursed crow darted down towards Su, it's talons outstretched trying to scratch her exposed face. The speed it had was much faster than Su could dodge or block, her heart skipped. Her eyes closed as she expected the feelings of shadow chains pulling her down but instead a strong gust of wind blew past her. "Great shot Stella! Keep those softer wind blades coming to keep it off balance!" Elise was cheering on Stella who had descended down behind the crow while it focused on Su.

The cursed crow was pushed off target and forced to take a large arc around su. Recovered from her instability Su faced the cursed crow now standing in front of Remey acting as her shield. "get over here you good for nothing chicken!" The cursed crow may not have understood her words but the effect still took root. This was a challenge to its territory; it must defeat this enemy!

The crow's attack directed at Su, it sped towards her again, talons ready to strike. This time Su was completely prepared with her shield already in motion. Screeching metal filled her ears as the crow's talons scraped along, its momentum nearly stopped barely holding itself in the air. Flapping its wings had the cursed crow doubled its efforts attempting to break through her shield. Trusting her gear Su prepared for her counter attack.

Waiting until the cursed crow came at her again Su pushed forward into its attack. Taking the crow by surprise she reached it with a shield bash. She held back as not to harm the crow but the effects were perfect. Falling toward the ground the crow was stunned, "onyx now!" Signalling Onyx to move he sprung off her shoulders. Faster than expected he reached the crow spinning himself around it. The crow couldn't even take time to struggle as its own wings were forced close to its body. Onyx made sure not to continue to crush it but instead maintain a steady pressure.

Wiggling side to side the crust crow was red to stab at onyx with its beak but found Elise had closed its beach shut. Realizing its talons were its only choice it tried to move them but Su had already grasped them tightly. All three of them were pinning it down without fail. It was comical to see the three of them taking such effort to hold the bird but Remey didn't laugh at all.

Luckily Su could still utilize the party chat option in the system, thanking the world for giving him leadership skills she sent him a message.

Rustling sounds came from the grass around them, a group of small long rodent-like creatures sprinted past them. High pitched whines coming from their mouths as they ran toward the nest. They had been waiting.

….

Seeing Su's message through their system walker gave the signal that they didn't have to sneak anymore. Since Su had told them her group was entering the territory walker's group had begun to slowly creep toward the nest.

" Alright that was Su's message, We are good to move along. The faster we grab an egg and retreat the sooner the crow can be released." With a nod Gil stood tall and began moving quickly, midnight following up the rear.

Their increased pace quickly brought them to the nest. The open area had been cleared of snow which was pushed up into a bowl shape. The tall grass was noticeably cut down most likely by the cursed crows beak. The nest itself was made of the grass and some smaller twigs blown into the area most likely. Feathers and small animal bones were around the nest itself, obvious meals it had caught while protecting its territory.

Nestled in the middle of the nest partially covered by dried cut grass laid twenty two pale white eggs. Streaks of black trailed down the sides along with a slight shadowy aura.

"Does it matter which one I take? Should I grab more than one?" Gil was standing over the nest unsure of which was most important.

Walker wanted to get this done quick, he was worried the cursed crow would become too stressed by being bound for too long. "I'm not sure, I can try using my all around appraisal and hope that I get something interesting but they all might just be the same."

' cursed crow egg

The four week old egg of a cursed crow. It's nearing the hatching phase of its lifespan. Weak affinity to dark element.

cursed crow egg

The four week old egg of a cursed crow. It's nearing the hatching phase of its lifespan. Weak affinity to dark element.

cursed crow egg

The four week old egg of a cursed crow. It's nearing the hatching phase of its lifespan. Weak affinity to dark element.'

Walker read through the notifications as fast as he could looking for anything different. Only two stood out,

' large cursed crow egg

The four week old egg of a cursed crow. It's mother consumed large amounts of nutrition while it developed leading to its larger size. Nearing the hatching phase it will most likely be born stronger than its siblings. Very weak affinity for any elements.

Small cursed crow egg

The four week old egg of a cursed crow. It's sibling consumed most of the nutrition it was meant to have causing it to lack in size. Nearing the Hatchling phase of its lifespan. Extremely high affinity for darkness element. Weak affinity for wind element.'

Seeing that one would be born stronger it was obvious that one would be able to fight off its siblings and survive in the wild. However Elise had said she was after the cursed crows ability to incapacitate targets for a long time. Knowing the cursed crow used darkness to do so, Walker thought it better to choose the small egg. Not to mention it had a second affinity for the wind element, this would definitely show in its flying speed.

" grab the smaller egg, It looks the most promising." Gil gave Walker a funny look but started to bend down toward the egg nonetheless.

His fingers about to grasp the egg, a chorus of whines and chittering alerted them. The grass rustled as something moved within. Standing tall everyone had become tense and fell into ready positions. Midnight let out a soft growl, she was unsure what enemy was approaching but she planned to take it down.

In an instant six slender rodents flew from the tall grass aiming for the nest. These rodents were long grey haired pests. Gil recognized them from his childhood. Field rats. They would group you to steal grain, vegetables, small game, and even smoking meat if left unattended. They were a plague anywhere for anyone.

"Stop the field rats! They're after the eggs!" Gil screamed out the warning knowing that they would each take an egg and run. They must have been waiting for a moment when the mother crow was first racers to come in.

Using quick shot Gil was able to fire an arrow piercing one of the field rats heading toward the nest. The other five had been too fast each snapping up an egg in their mouth and rushing off. Walker had seen the small egg grabbed by one and immediately chased after it.

"Midnight get in front of that one! It has the egg we are after!" Walker was sprinting through the grass after the field rats with the small cursed crow egg in its mouth. Midnight sped forward trying to get ahead of it and cut it off. If walker could manage it he sure as steel would get Elise the best cursed crow egg he could.

Clenching his fists walker tried to gain momentum, if he could only get closer then he could manipulate the elements to trap it. However the field rat made up for what it lacked in attack and defensive power with speed. It was pushing faster and faster, extending the distance between walker and midnight.

The two pushed as hard as they could to catch the fueled rat but were only rewarded with more space. Gil had caught up to Walker and was trying to catch up but even he was outpaced by the field rats. These pests had always caused him frustration in life and he refused to give up until they were dead.

He had the advantage of firing arrows in front of it to direct it side to side. Using his quick shot skill he was able to push the field rat to the left but it still was yet to slow. Trying one more Gil landed an arrow directly in front of the field rat. His training was showing, his aim while moving and under pressure was much much better. However the field rat was a step ahead, as the arrow impeded its path it took a large leap passing over the arrow and continuing on its escape path.