Assassin Crow Evolution

A sphere of fire beamed above Jimmy’s head. Its intensity could set the air on fire!

Virena was giving it her best against the stump-like frog, within the same battle that Jimmy had to leave behind.

He didn’t bother to turn his head back and have a look, because he knew that even if his brother couldn’t hold his own against the frog, Virena was there to help him, and she never missed.

His best guess was that her Fire Sphere had torn through the frog with ease, and had traveled after him, looking for a hard surface to put its momentum to a halt.

Incidentally, the sphere tore through a few branches, setting several trees on fire, before it bashed a hole in a thick tree ahead, dissipating within it.

Everything happened in an instant!

Jimmy tried to avoid getting distracted, and focused on his own target. It was a bit difficult to do so, on account that he had to avoid raging flames from the burning trees, but he felt prepared to meet his target.

The bug head he saw turned into a poorly camouflaged mantis, several meters ahead.

The mantis was giant. As tall as a human. Hard to miss.

It threw another fireball at him, fueling the fires that had initially scorched the ground.

Jimmy blocked the giant fireball with another set of two shields, and within a second, he clashed with the giant mantis!

He did so head-first, pummeling through the target like a raging bull.

The mantis may be bigger than him, but its body was light. It couldn’t withstand the blow from a fat, hard-skulled crow!

Jimmy circled back to the mantis, grabbed its thin neck with his left claw, and raised his hammer with his right one, ready to break the mantis’ head upon the slightest rebellious movement.

F-shhh!

Tick Tick!

Jimmy spoke to the mantis. He was confident. He had his superiorly larger opponent pinned down, and wanted to get some information out of him before he landed the killing blow.

His question roughly translated to, "Why the fuck did you attack me, you lanky, moss-fart bastard!?"

"How are you talking to me, bird?" The mantis asked, "Were you an insect when you were born?"

"No I was not," He grunted, "Answer my question, or else you’ll be my lunch today."

"I was just following orders!" The mantis exclaimed, and tried to excuse himself.

Within a blink, another fireball broke out. The green shades of the fireball easily pointed out who the attacker was.

The pinned down mantis tried to fry the crow whole, but once more, its attack was in vain. Two shields fought, and even pushed away a third of the flames!

As a result, the misdirected fireball bounced back, and hit the mantis’ face, torching through the entirety of its upper body!

"You fucking moron!" He exclaimed, "What, you thought that would work out for you? Third time’s the charm?"

Ruugeez!

The mantis tried to speak, but with half of its face melted off, the sounds it forced out of its body came out as gibberish.

Jimmy couldn’t understand a thing. He may know thirty million insect languages, but he could not pick up on gibberish no matter how hard he tried.

"Fucking idiot, oh my god!" He grunted, and let go of the mantis, "Orders from who? Who the hell’s hunting us?"

Jimmy flew back to his friends asking that question. He didn’t give the mantis the sweet relief of a quick death, and left the thing to suffer its own consequences.

Just as he suspected, Virena had killed the stump-like frog. There was a huge hole in its chest.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked. "You didn’t get stomped on, did you?"

"No, we’re fine." Vorin said, and then he asked, "How about you, brother? Did you get burned?"

"No, I have a very good elemental shield, but that’s besides the point." He followed along, "We’re being hunted by what I assume to be an organized team."

"Organized team?" Vorin parroted, "What, like the humans? Guards?"

"Guards... that’s the word I was looking for, yes." He moved around frantically, "The mantis I killed said that he was only following orders. Someone gave it the order to hunt us, and we were almost burned alive. I think the frog was a distraction."

"I don’t think the frog was a distraction." Vorin said, "I think it was just trying to eat us. It wasn’t guarding shit."

Jimmy thought about the matter for a moment, and figured that what his brother said made sense. He was impressed with his brother for once, and took comfort in the fact that he didn’t have to do all the thinking by himself.

"Okay then, I think it’s time we hit the sky." Jimmy said, "We’re not safe down here, and if that mantis was a guard, then whatever they’re protecting must be worth something. The sky is our shortcut towards the top of the mountain."

The three of them hit the sky. They didn’t even bother to nibble on the giant frog that Virena killed, as they felt that their pocket of time was limited. Down in the forest, they could be attacked at any time.

A minute after they became airborne, the system confirmed the kill.

[+750 system points]

[Total points: 11,750]

The giant mantis that he left for dead, finally succumbed to its self-inflicted wounds.

Jimmy didn’t care about the points, not even one bit. He was more focused on the organized team that supposedly hunted him and his friends. He felt as if his brain was spinning in his head the more he thought about the matter.

"Maybe we’ll find a magical feather at the top," Vorin pointed out as they flew, "I mean, if there’s something weird and important at the top, I have a feeling that we’ll see a feather or two."

"Where did you get that idea?" Jimmy asked.

"We’re chasing after weird shit," Vorin said, "You didn’t tell me much, but I’m guessing that you believe that weird shit would be attracted to other weird shit?"

"Correct," Jimmy nodded, impressed with his brother once more. "You’re doing well, Vorin. Keep this up, and I’ll make sure to help you evolve into something useful."