The leader of the flock glided beside Cain, making no move to attack.
Its eyes locked onto his visor with unsettling intelligence. The massive crane wasn't treating him as prey anymore.
It was a challenge now, a test to see who would survive the abominable trees up ahead.
Cain could tell what it was thinking. Beneath his protective helmet, a smirk crept across his face.
Gales howled between blade-like plumage and forged steel.
Below them, the landscape blurred, the towering chimeric predator trees loomed closer with every passing second.
"Report speed and altitude."
[Speed: 498 km/h]
[Altitude: 445 Meters]
The bark began to shift at the edges of their vision.
A soft rustle came from deep within, revealing clusters of cockroach-like eyes. They glittered, black and unblinking, hidden between warped wood and tangled branches.
Masses of diabolical wood groaned as the trees rose from the earth, each one shedding its indolent form.
As Cain and the flock closed in, the trunks split and the branches unfurled, eager to snatch anything bold enough to come close.
They stretched upward in silent worship, reaching for flesh as if drawn to a holy massacre.
Now towering hundreds of meters high, each tree began weaving nets across the sky.
Cain stayed calm and dove in first, arms tucked close as every part of the trees moved with a serpentine flow.
The branches came wave after wave, the once clear airspace now only having a couple of meters to a few feet in gap.
Looking back, tried to catch a glimpse of his pursuers behind him, but instead, he saw something far more disturbing.
The female birds were above, keeping a safer altitude, their instincts sharp enough to avoid the writhing mass of vines below.
But a few of the bolder males broke formation and dove after Cain, eager to earn a mate by bringing him down.
Just a dozen meters behind, the bird leader spun through the air, wings slicing through finger-thin branches with brutal ease.
It didn't screech nor caw, he gliding behind them as if watching something to happen.
A smaller bird shot through the trees with reckless speed, oblivious to the nearly invisible strands of sticky fiber stretched silently between the branches.
With a loud twang like a guitar string, one snapped taut across the bird's wing, halting its flight with a violent jolt.
It flailed in panic, but a swarm of branches closed in, wrapping tightly around its wings, legs, and neck.
As Cain and the filth-bird leader plunged deeper into the dense canopies, the landscape transformed.
More of the chimeric predator trees stirred, awakened by the rush of movement. Their branches stretched and creaked, groaning like beasts roused from slumber.
He was observing the unkempt creature from time to time, but when he caught the flock leader's expression, it struck him.
The leader looked calm. Almost pleased.
'Is… Is he removing the males on his own flock?'
Cain was amazed at how nature worked. He knew the leader was smart, but sacrificing his own just to claim all the females?
That was brutal.
Lost in the spectacle, he almost moved too late.
One jagged, bald trunk struck like a spear, missing by inches as Cain twisted his head hard to the right just in time.
Sweat drenched his back as he felt the rush of displaced air as it whizzed behind him, sharp enough to shear his flesh from the bone.
"Report speed."
[Speed: 389 km/h]
As he scanned the surroundings, something nearly escaped his notice.
Another filth bird approached from the left, nearly as large as the leader, slicing clean through a thick branch with its blade-like wings.
Its blade-like wings severed the branch without resistance. Above, the females observed intently, their eyes flickering with primal curiosity.
Seeing the attention, the male avian was elated, knowing he was getting into some action later.
Or so it thought.
As the bird lingered in false triumph, a hidden trunk burst forward and impaled it through the skull.
Spikes erupted from the pillaring stake and in mere seconds the bird shriveled, feathers dulled, and wings crumbled to dust.
Cain caught a flicker of raw emotion from the plant.
The tree shuddered, its bark rippling like flesh as new branches sprouted across its surface, every eye trembling in unison, as if caught in some twisted ecstasy.
Cain grimaced at the tree's unsightly behavior. Beside him, the bird leader flinched with equal revulsion.
Man and avian shared a glance, both feigning shock, each waiting for the other to blink.
They held onto the illusion of distraction, each waiting for the other to slip.
But as more and more birds were caught in the sea of insatiable trees, the leader's patience wore thin.
It still needed to put on a show, after all.
Without warning, it tucked its wings and spun, streaking through the air like a comet set to crash into Cain.
'What a sly old bird!'
He threw both blades up in a desperate cross, barely forming the block. Magicule barriers flared to life in a frantic rush, just in time to meet the impact.
Clang!
The blow hit hard, rattling his bones and nearly knocking him off balance mid-glide.
Cain gritted his teeth and forced himself back into form, eyes narrowing at the chaotic branches twisting below.
The flock leader charged again, but before it could close the gap, the barren ground ahead erupted in a storm of dust and debris.
Dozens of turrets burst from the earth, barrels spinning as targeting systems lit up in streaks of red and green.
Moments later, bullets ripped through the air, followed by heavy mortar bursts slamming into the thrashing vines below.
The trees hissed in fury, their branches curling as the purifying flames crackled with a light that burned deeper than heat alone.
The avian leader flared its wings, feathers hardening under a shimmer of primal energy that made the rain of ammunition bounce off, shielding its kin.
It refused to gamble its life against the storm of lead and fire.
With a final screech, it wheeled into the sky, vanishing into the upper altitudes.
But its eyes blazed with fury, etching Cain's face into memory.
Having escaped the predicament, he let out a shaky breath, the adrenaline slowly draining from his veins.
But what he saw on his chest made his blood run cold. Emerald lights dotted his body, laser targeting systems locking on.
'No shots yet. Either a human, someone looking for ransom... or maybe planning to make me a slave?'
Cain didn't flinch, he knew the turret's owner might still be reasoned with.
Raising his hands slowly, he opened his palms as a sign of peace, his voice calm and measured.
"Specialist, I apologize for intruding on your job."
His tone carried neither arrogance nor desperation, only a quiet acknowledgment of the situation.
He wasn't raised to flaunt his family name, even if the Roosevelts stood far above most.
For a moment, silence held.
The laser blinked once, then vanished. Turrets folded back into their hidden compartments, sinking into the earth like they had never existed.
As he lowered his arms, a crackle of static hissed from a nearby tower.
The voice that followed carried a thick Southern drawl, laced with rugged charm and just a hint of warning.
"Kid, daring to visit this old man, while y'all bringing worthless filth crane? Shucks. I'm speechless."