Free Web NovelChapter 460: Chapter-460
One of the largest serpents—a monster easily sixty feet long with scales that shimmered like oil in the dappled sunlight—suddenly coiled its body and launched itself upward. It rose like a striking cobra, its massive head reaching an impossible height, jaws opening to reveal fangs as long as daggers.
It snapped at the air where Veer had been just moments before.
Kaya felt the rush of displaced air as they barely evaded the strike. Veer spiraled upward, gaining altitude, his wings working frantically to put distance between them and the reaching serpents.
"How long can you keep this up?" Kaya asked, feeling the strain in Veer’s body, the way his breathing had become more labored.
"Long enough," was his only reply, but she could hear the uncertainty beneath the words.
Below them, the forest continued to writhe and twist as the snake horde pursued relentlessly. The sound of their movement was now a constant presence—a rushing, slithering cacophony that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Kaya gritted her teeth harder, her mind racing. They needed a plan. They couldn’t just fly forever, and these creatures clearly weren’t going to give up easily.
She looked ahead, scanning the horizon for anything that might offer advantage or escape, while behind them, the serpentine tide continued its inexorable pursuit, flowing through the forest like a living nightmare, determined to bring down its fleeing prey.
Suddenly, an idea hit Kaya.
If she wasn’t remembering wrong, she had leaned close to Veer’s ear—close enough that he could hear her over the rushing wind while they were flying—and said, "Hey, the voice is getting slightly louder. If I’m not wrong, there’s a mongoose tribe nearby, right?"
Hearing that, Veer had paused mid-flight, his wings steadying for just a moment. "It’s about five kilometers from here," he’d said.
Kaya had nodded, her mind already racing ahead. "How much time will it take you to get there?"
"About twenty minutes," Veer had replied. Then, after a pause, he’d corrected himself. "Ten minutes, if I push it."
Hearing that, Kaya had smiled—a sharp, determined expression that Veer probably couldn’t see but could definitely feel in the way she shifted her weight. "Good. Fly faster. Raise the speed."
Veer had hesitated. "I could raise it, but the problem is you. You’d have to hold on tightly. When I’m flying at my fastest speed, it could be dangerous for you."
Kaya had bitten her lip, considering. Then she’d said firmly, "No, fly faster. I’ll take care of myself."
With that, she’d immediately grabbed Cutie—who had been clinging to her side, looking increasingly alarmed—and carefully but quickly stuffed him into her backpack. His muffled protest of "Wait, what—?!" was cut off as she zipped it most of the way shut, leaving just enough air.
"You stay right there," she’d told the backpack firmly.
Then she’d taken the pack, which had been loosely hanging from one shoulder, and bound it tightly across her body—strapping it down with the extra ties until it was secured like a second skin, impossible to shake loose even in a storm.
Finally, she’d grabbed Veer’s neck with both hands, fingers digging into the feathers there, her arms locked in place. Her legs pressed tight against his sides.
"Do it," she’d ordered.
And God, Veer’s flying speed had been like a rocket launched.
Not an actual rocket launch—not the kind that breaks the sound barrier and tears into space. No, this was like the rockets you launched at festivals. Fireworks. The ones that shot up into the sky so fast your eyes could barely track them, trailing sparks and color and chaos, the kind that made you flinch and laugh and wonder if they were going to explode too soon.
That kind of fast.
The change was immediate and overwhelming.
Earlier, the air had been passing by quickly, tugging at her hair and clothes, whistling in her ears. But now? Now the air was a ’wall’—a solid, relentless force slamming directly into her face like she’d stuck her head out of a speeding vehicle on a highway.
Kaya squeezed her eyes shut completely, her face pressing into the space between Veer’s shoulder blades, using his body as a shield against the brutal wind. Her fingers ached from how hard she was gripping, her knuckles white, her arms trembling with effort.
Her hair whipped wildly behind her, tangling and snapping in the gale. The backpack dug into her ribs, but she didn’t dare loosen it. Inside, she could faintly feel Cutie shifting—probably terrified, definitely confused—but there was no time to reassure him. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
The world below blurred into streaks of green and brown and shadow. Trees became smudges. The ground became a rushing river of color. The wind roared in her ears, drowning out everything else.
Her stomach lurched as Veer banked sharply to the left, adjusting his trajectory, and Kaya’s grip tightened even more. Her thighs clamped down against his sides, her whole body locked in survival mode.
"Are you okay?!" Veer’s voice barely cut through the chaos, but she caught the edge of concern in it.
Kaya couldn’t answer. Speaking would mean opening her mouth, and opening her mouth would mean choking on wind. So instead, she just tapped his shoulder twice with one finger—a silent signal that she was still conscious, still holding on.
She felt Veer’s body shift slightly, adjusting, compensating for her weight and the drag she was creating. His wings beat with mechanical precision, each stroke powerful and calculated, driving them forward at a speed that felt utterly inhuman. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Or, well, utterly ’un-human’. Because this was very much beastman speed.
Kaya’s mind raced even as her body focused purely on not falling off.
The mongoose tribe. They had to be close to the settlement, maybe even part of the same general region. If the voice—the one calling her ’wife,’ the one that had been haunting her since she woke up—was getting louder, then whoever or ’whatever’ was making that sound had to be nearby.
And if the old man’s stories were true...
No. She wasn’t going to think about that right now. Right now, she just had to survive this flight.
The wind pressure was insane. Her eyes watered behind her closed lids. Her lungs felt compressed, each breath a fight. But she held on, because what other choice did she have?
And then—just when she thought her arms might give out—the pressure eased.
Not disappeared. But eased.
Veer was slowing down.
Kaya risked cracking one eye open, squinting against the wind, and saw that the landscape below was changing. The dense forest was thinning out, giving way to rockier terrain—cliffs, boulders, scattered trees clinging to hillsides.
"We’re almost there!" Veer shouted, his voice clearer now that the wind wasn’t quite so deafening. "I’m going to descend!"
Kaya tapped his shoulder again—acknowledgment.
Even though Veer had told her that he was about to descend, he did not completely come down. The snake tribe following them was still in the air behind them, and for good reason.
The reason was clear: just like the serpent tribe, this mongoose tribe was a ’beast’ tribe. Vicious. Territorial. Dangerous.
They were so aggressive that Veer didn’t dare to land here—not even for a second longer than necessary. And the only reason he was even hovering here at all was strategic: to lead the snake tribe directly into mongoose territory.
Because the snake tribe, in their rush and rage, wouldn’t notice where they were going.
Not until it was too late.
Slowly, the mongoose tribe emerged.
They came from the rocks, from the cliffs, from the shadows between boulders—dozens of them, already in their beast forms. Their bodies were sleek and powerful, low to the ground, with fur that bristled and eyes that gleamed with predatory intelligence.
And Kaya had to say: this was now the second tribe she absolutely hated.
The mongoose tribe was a ’beast’ tribe through and through. Just looking at their faces—at the way their lips curled back to show sharp teeth, at the cold calculation in their eyes—you could tell exactly what type of vicious creatures they were.
Hunters. Killers. Born to fight serpents.
"Don’t let go of my shoulders!" Veer shouted suddenly, his voice tight with urgency.
Kaya barely had time to process the warning before one of the mongooses ’launched’ itself at them—a blur of fur and fangs, leaping impossibly high, claws extended.
Veer took off.
Not gradually. Not with a running start.
He ’exploded’ upward at his fastest speed, wings snapping open and beating with explosive force.
And God, if Kaya hadn’t grabbed him tightly—if she hadn’t already been clinging to him with every ounce of strength she had—she would have fallen.
Straight down.
To her death.
Her stomach lurched violently as they shot into the sky, the sudden acceleration pressing her flat against Veer’s back. The wind hit her like a physical blow, stealing her breath, making her eyes water instantly.
But she held on.
Her fingers dug into Veer’s shoulders, her legs locked around his sides, her entire body pressed as close to him as physically possible.
