"Clansmen, it has been three years since Chief Morgan led all our able-bodied warriors to the Vastsea Forest to join the war summoned by the Thunder Titan."
"They have not returned to this day—doubtless, their bones now lie buried in the yellow sands!"
"You... you all know this in your hearts."
The elder eagle-man's words tore open old scars, making the tribesmen bow their heads in silence.
Before long, Mike heard muffled sobs rising around him.
The eagle-man warriors had been too weak—possessing nothing but their flight, utterly useless.
On that colossal battlefield, they'd been mere cannon fodder, perishing in droves from the slightest brush with true power.
"Yet fortune smiles—after three years, some of our children have grown strong enough to hunt alongside their mothers. Especially Mike... he's even gained the strength to slay forest wolves alone."
The elder continued.
Half a year prior, Mike had single-handedly killed a lone wolf.
"Every wolf pack has its alpha, and every tribe needs its chief."
"I propose that Mike inherit Morgan's position—that he become the new chief of our High Savage Mountain tribe!"
At last, the elder revealed his purpose.
He was too old, the tribe too depleted—only Mike could shoulder this duty. Though still a youth, he already matched grown warriors.
As the elder's words faded, the first voices of support came from Mike's fellow young eagle-men.
They had grown up with Mike and had long been won over by his abilities.
With the youths in agreement, their mothers naturally raised no objections. Thus, nearly half the tribe voiced their support for Mike to become the new chief.
As for the rest—though silent—not a single voice of dissent was heard.
And so, the matter was settled!
The elder eagle-man smiled in relief and walked up to Mike, asking warmly,
"Mike, are you willing to shoulder the future of the High Savage Mountain eagle-man tribe?"
As he spoke, he observed Mike's calm expression and nodded inwardly.
Without hesitation, Mike gave a solemn nod.
"Elder, I am willing to become chief."
The primordial wilderness was fraught with danger at every turn. Without supernatural power, survival depended on the strength of the tribe.
He was no longer a player now—he had but one life.
Becoming tribal chief was also something he desired in his heart.
Three years of living side by side—he was no unfeeling stone. How could he not care?
"At the very least, I must change the fate of my eagle-man kin."
Mike vowed silently.
...
Late at night.
Moonlight spilled across the land.
Mike lay on his back atop a large bluestone at the cliff's edge, bathed in the starlit wind.
"After much deliberation..."
"The old turtle's quest never mentioned how to avoid being burned by Titan's blood."
"But if he was truly just an ordinary turtle back then, he couldn't have been far from the battlefield when he bathed in it!"
At this realization, Mike's eyes lit up!
"During the early rise of the Human Empire, the old turtle became renowned for his mastery of thunder—meaning he likely bathed in the blood of the Thunder Titan!"
"And the Thunder Titan is the very master of our eagle-man race."
"Turtles love water. The secret to surviving Titan's blood must lie in water!"
"As for where—it can only be the Vastsea Forest!"
"The only force capable of making the Thunder Titan bleed would be his mortal enemy—the Azure Dragon King, Alilotus!"
"Only their life-and-death battle could spill enough Titan blood to drench the forest... and the old turtle beneath it."
"So the answer is clear. I just need to find the stream or pond where the turtle dwelled, locate him, and uncover how he survived the Titan's blood."
"Then... I can awaken supernatural power!"
Mike's mind cleared like a fog lifting. He pressed further:
"But the Vastsea Forest isn't a place anyone can enter. It's the border between Titan and Dragon territories, guarded by powerful vassal races from both sides."
"Countless supernatural beings roam there!"
"If I go recklessly, I'll be killed on sight!"
"No one cares about an eagle-man's life—not even our Titan 'masters'."
"There's only one way in: answer the Eagle King's conscription like my father did three years ago—enter as a soldier!"
"I just need to move fast once the summons comes, reaching the forest ahead of the main force."
"Eagle-men serve as scouts. If I arrive early, I'll likely be assigned to a reconnaissance unit. That's when I can search for the turtle's hiding place."
As the plan crystallized, a roadmap took shape in Mike's mind.
"The Eagle King conscripts warriors from every tribe roughly once a decade."
"Which means... in seven years, I must seize my chance!"
Eagle-men dwell peak to peak, generation after generation clinging to cliffs—their hearts bound to the high places.
They dwell around mountain peaks, carving caves into the stone with primitive tools for shelter.
The High Savage Mountain is but an ordinary peak in the primordial world of Ferland, insignificant among countless others.
The legendary Eagle King's Court, however, resides upon the towering Celestial Peak - a majestic mountain where tens of thousands of eagle-men nest. This is the ancestral heart of all eagle-kind, the origin from which even our High Savage tribe traces its lineage.
As chieftain, Mike began transforming his tribe's living conditions.
Though the stone caves provided safety, generations of use had left them foul-smelling and unsanitary.
The First Year
He crafted stone axes and led his people in felling trees. Within a year, dozens of wooden houses with proper beds stood where only caves had been. The original caverns, now fitted with wooden doors, became storage spaces.
These eagle-man dwellings featured two entrances - one atop the roof, another facing the cliffside, allowing easy aerial access.
After completing the houses, Mike organized the digging of a central reservoir for drinking water, establishing a rotation system for maintenance.
Finally, he enclosed the settlement with a wooden palisade. Where primitive caves once stood now stood a proper village.
Though perhaps less defensible than mountain caverns, as Mike surveyed the orderly village, he felt something long absent in this savage world - the breath of civilization.
Here, at last, was home.
Winter, The Second Year
Winter
Mike led the young eagle-men to hunt and kill several hibernating black bears in Whisperwood during heavy snowfall.
His strength and skills improved, and he dressed himself in bear fur.
Very warm.
The Third Year
Mike discovered a magical beast in the eastern part of Whisperwood.
Fortunately, it was a deer-type magical beast. Though powerful, it was relatively docile and remained within its own territory, putting Mike and the others at ease.
But his desire to obtain supernatural power grew even stronger.
The Fourth Year
While leading a hunting party, Mike chased wild buffalo and flew an extra three kilometers westward.
There, he found an exposed copper deposit!
It filled him with immense excitement!
Copper!
This was what could advance them from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. With bronze tools, the strength of the High Savage Mountain tribe could greatly improve.
But soon, a young eagle-man scout flew in from farther away and warned him: A serpent-folk tribe lived nearby.
The serpent-folk were also a vassal race of the Titans.
However, they had been mortal enemies of the eagle-men for generations, their territories overlapping—natural foes since ancient times.
In ancient times, before the four-legged eagles evolved into eagle-men, they often preyed upon the ancestors of serpent-folk - the two-legged snakes.
But after both races nearly simultaneously received the Titans' gifts and evolved into intelligent species, the eagle-men's dominance over serpent-folk disappeared.
The serpent-folk possessed greater reproductive capabilities and excelled in archery.
Though eagle-men had the advantage of flight, their sharp talons were ill-suited for drawing bows. Otherwise, an aerial archer force—even without supernatural abilities—would have been a formidable advantage.
After brief consideration, Mike's desire for copper outweighed his wariness of the serpent-folk tribe.
"How many serpent-folk are in that tribe, Oliver?" he asked thoughtfully. "Are there any supernatural ones among them?"
"Chief, I didn't get a close look," Oliver admitted sheepishly, scratching his head.
"No matter. We'll just take another look," Mike replied without blame. After all, it was impressive enough that the young eagle-man had spotted the settlement at all.
Leading a team of young eagle-men, Mike took flight. After crossing several miles, they indeed found a small serpent-folk tribe by a narrow river.
Circling above, Mike observed that this minor tribe was in circumstances similar to their own—years of war had drained their vitality, leaving mostly the elderly, weak, women, and children.
It made sense. On the battlefield, serpent-folk had even lower survival rates than eagle-men—they were cannon fodder among cannon fodder!