Chapter 616 - 613: "Arbitrary" Decision

Chapter 616: Chapter 613: "Arbitrary" Decision

This was, indeed, an extremely risky act.

No ear fly had ever thought of fighting a flock of Feeding Birds of Prey.

Ever since the Feeding Birds of Prey appeared, the ear flies could only run and run, migrating to other places before the predators arrived.

The migrations caused clans to fall apart and drove them far from their homes. Now, they no longer knew where home was, trapped in a state of constant, panicked fear.

To speak of resisting the Feeding Birds of Prey was even more of a fantasy. They barely had time to escape, so how could they possibly fight back?

The Tree Cave Clan Leader was, of course, extremely skeptical of this.

"Will the sounds we mimic really be effective against the Feeding Birds of Prey?"

"How can you be sure they won’t attack us first, instead of attacking the other Feeding Birds of Prey?"

In response to the leader’s questions, one of the pioneers explained his understanding.

"The Feeding Birds of Prey have only one criterion for judging a target—who has the most meat."

"Faced with a wild boar and an ear fly, they’ll attack the boar without hesitation."

"To them, even their own kind are just pieces of meat. The only difference is that this meat doesn’t run. They’ll attack the fleeing meat first before turning on the meat that stays put."

"If that piece of meat suddenly poses a threat, they’ll definitely prioritize attacking it. Between a Feeding Bird of Prey and a tiny ear fly, even if they spot us, they’ll still attack their own kind first."

"They really won’t attack us?" The Tree Cave Clan Leader was still doubtful.

"They won’t. In the eyes of a Feeding Bird of Prey, we’re too insignificant to be worth attacking..."

Hearing this somewhat despairing speculation, the Tree Cave Clan Leader fell silent once more.

He didn’t want to admit it, but it was indeed the truth.

The Feeding Birds of Prey paid no mind to the weak ear flies. Their simple passing and slaughtering were enough to deal a devastating blow to the ear fly clans.

Seeing the leader’s hesitation, the pioneers grew disheartened. In truth, they weren’t very confident in their own plan.

They hadn’t even had a chance to test if the mimicked sounds would be effective.

’What if the Feeding Birds of Prey act differently once their numbers dwindle?’

’Are they really as unintelligent as they seem?’

’Could mimicking their calls lead to other consequences?’

Everything was an unknown. They were the first group of ear flies to ever consider fighting the Feeding Birds of Prey. They had no predecessor’s experience to draw upon, no concrete tests—the entire plan was built on conjecture.

If their assumptions were wrong, the entire Tree Cave Clan would be doomed beyond recovery. They were gambling with the survival of their whole clan.

The pioneers were starting to have regrets.

’Maybe... we should just forget it...’

Just as the pioneers themselves were about to give up, the Tree Cave Clan Leader ordered all the ear flies of the Tree Cave Clan to assemble, and he told them the pioneers’ plan in its entirety.

"Do you hate the Feeding Birds of Prey?" the Tree Cave Clan Leader asked loudly.

"We do!"

"We’ve already sacrificed so many of our kin! Do you want to keep running?"

"No!"

"I know that as a clan leader, I shouldn’t make such a rash decision... but I want to try."

"If we succeed, we will never have to hide again, never have to live in constant fear. Our newborns will be able to grow up in peace..."

"They will be able to hear the crisp burble of streams, the whisper of wind through leaves, the snap of dry branches falling to the ground. They will hear the vibrant contest of life, the rise and fall of all creation. They will hear their elders calling softly at their side."

"Our generation, from the moment we were born, has lived under the noise of the Feeding Birds of Prey’s slaughter—the clash of beaks, the tearing of sharp claws, the shrill cries, the thrashing of flapping feathers... This is not the world’s true sound. It’s too cruel. I don’t want our next generation to live amid such cruel sounds..."

"If we succeed, they can surely live a better life..."

The Tree Cave Clan Leader’s words were filled with an inexpressible hope.

Every ear fly’s heart held the same yearning. Their pursuit of beautiful sounds had never vanished; it had merely been buried and suppressed deep within their hearts under the shadow of the Feeding Birds of Prey.

The leader’s words instantly struck a chord with them.

"But what if... what if we fail?" one ear fly asked fearfully.

The shadow looming over the clan was not so easily pierced. The long-standing terror had caused some ear flies to lose the very concept of "resistance." They had hidden until they were numb, fled until they were numb, but never once thought of thrusting a sword at the shadow that enveloped them.

This was a question they had to face: If they failed, what then?

To be devoured completely by the Feeding Birds of Prey. All their yearnings would become meaningless.

They would never hear a sound again, never experience the world again.

"If we fail?" the Tree Cave Clan Leader repeated, his voice distant.

Of course, he had considered such an outcome, but he didn’t believe that failure would be meaningless.

"If we fail, we let other ear flies know that this method cannot defeat the Feeding Birds of Prey. The next time they rise up to resist, they can rule out one possibility."

"If we fail, our research on the Feeding Birds of Prey will be passed down. Our battle against them will leave behind precious experience for future rebels. We will always stand with them in spirit."

"If we fail, the world will still hold the sounds of our battle. Those sounds won’t disappear. They will spread slowly among different clans, preserving our will for all time."

"If we fail, then we fail..."

"The Feeding Birds of Prey can devour our flesh and blood, but they cannot devour our sound. So what if we fail?"

"It will be but a single roar, a sound that strikes the very heavens!"

The Tree Cave Clan Leader slowly floated before the pioneers and said:

"Teach me the language of the Feeding Birds of Prey. Tell me what I must do."

The pioneers were still immersed in the leader’s words, unable to react immediately.

But the other ear flies began to crowd forward, one by one.

"Please, tell me! Count me in!"

"How do I make them kill each other?"

"Count me in!"

"Count me in!"

"Run if you want to! I’m not running! Count me in!"

The voices of the ear flies echoed within the tree cave. Their hatred for the Feeding Birds of Prey had been suppressed for too long. The leader’s speech was merely the spark; what truly made them decide was the inextinguishable yearning in their hearts.

For the ear flies, beautiful sounds were what they had always pursued.

From the moment they first began to dimly understand the world, their ears had been filled with the sounds of the Feeding Birds of Prey—noisy, chaotic sounds that masked the world’s inherent beauty.

Just as the Tree Cave Clan Leader had said, this was the fate of their generation, and they did not want the next one to grow up in the same environment.

’If they could listen to this beautiful world without a care, they would surely be so happy...’