After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

The night was deep and all was quiet.

At the edge of the Radel Forest, a striking limestone hill rises abruptly.

This is Radel's "backbone," a key stronghold for the Harpy to redevelop after their migration.

Standing on the slope, the harpies could look down at the winding trade route below.

That dirt road winds through the jungle, connecting the core area to the outside world, and is also the "business opportunity" on which the harpies depend for their livelihood.

now.

Inside the stronghold, countless eyes, burning with greed, stared at someone.

An Xiao had to find a way to escape from here immediately.

-

"Those beasts, you resurrected them, didn't you?"

It was different from what I expected.

Ms. Salo Windcutter's tone was surprisingly polite.

It's not the process you might imagine: "catch it, eat it at zero frames, it's delicious, keep eating, and let your subordinates eat it after you're done."

Realizing that this was a rational humanoid creature, An Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes."

"Very good. My subordinates have surely explained why I 'invited' you here."

"That's right."

An Xiao nodded. "Miss Salo hopes that I can cooperate with your village to ensure the continuation of the tribe's heritage."

"You are very smart."

The harpy chieftain nodded in satisfaction. "You must understand, our tribe highly reveres high-level magic."

"Yes."

"And the resurrection spell you possess is something that even the shamans of our tribe have never heard of before. We all agree that it is top-tier magic."

"..."

An Xiao remained noncommittal.

"Since it is top-tier magic, we should imprint it into the genes of our offspring, striving to give birth to magical seeds with the same talent in the future, so as to carry forward the glory of our people and strive for a wider living space."

Saroo Windcutter was unusually calm and reasonable.

She explained in a gentle and detailed manner why she was going to eat you next, making it a logical and well-founded explanation.

An Xiao certainly thought there was no problem. After all, according to the lady's logic, what was wrong with seeking benefits for one's offspring?

The only problem is...

I don't want to become a human corpse.

"Ms. Salo, please listen to me."

After a moment of hesitation, he spoke.

"Um?"

The harpy's sharp gaze was like a scimitar pressed against his neck.

An Xiao mustered her courage and remained calm and fearless:

"Your intention to pass on my magic to your offspring through genetic inheritance is good. But frankly, the chances of success are very low."

"Why is it low?"

Saroo didn't understand.

"Because you see, genetic inheritance can only give your descendants the possibility of awakening a certain magical attribute, not the direct mastery of a specific 'spell'. To put it another way, my resurrection spell is probably something that no one else in the world besides me can completely replicate."

Even if offspring possess "Shadow magic" or "Deathrattle talent," it doesn't guarantee they can cast the conditional "Resurrection" spell.

"What do you mean?"

With a flap of its wings, Salo Windcutter appeared three inches in front of An Xiao in the blink of an eye.

He swept his handsome face with a dangerous gaze, his nose almost touching his forehead, and he could even smell his breath.

"What I mean is, giving birth to a child—raising them successfully—and awakening their talent takes a very long time, and the probability of successfully mastering the resurrection spell is so low as to be negligible. But the person who can actually use the resurrection spell is standing right in front of you, so why would you risk letting them die to postpone enjoying the 'resurrection spell'?"

「!?」

Upon hearing this, Saroo Windcutter's narrow eyes immediately froze.

She wasn't stupid; of course she understood what An Xiao meant.

If he lets his tribe eat it, he might die.

Once you die, there's no resurrection spell available.

But if you don't feed him, let him live well, and the resurrection spell can be used immediately.

There is no need to lay eggs, nor is there a need to wait for the tribe to raise the children; there is no long wait in between.

In fact, the harpy tribe suffered heavy casualties in previous battles with various forces, especially in the battle against the mad birds.

Now, if An Xiao is willing to offer magical assistance, then he can boldly send his clansmen on more risky missions to bring more benefits to the stronghold.

"You mean, as long as I spare your life, you can continuously cast resurrection spells for my race?"

Saroo didn't have a clear understanding of his magic, but a hint of greed flashed in his eyes as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, madam, but you are proficient in lightning magic, so you should know that in the realm of magic, skills like Resurrection cannot be without any restrictions."

"State your limitations."

"One time, one person. Cooldown time: 3 days. Duration: 15 days."

The prerequisite is complete rest, and I must not be disturbed by any external factors.

Another point is that when I, the caster, can no longer cast the "Life Extension Spell," it means that the previously resurrected creation will die again, irreversibly.

Looking at Salona's beautiful wings, An Xiao explained the framework of the spell word by word.

Unsurprisingly.

She started to frown.

The nearby harpies couldn't contain themselves any longer and began chattering amongst themselves—

"Isn't it too short?"

"Only half a month... and it's just one person. How can that possibly meet the needs of our tribe?"

"Yes, yes, if his energy is limited, then his spells can only be used on the most important people. Once he's used them up, he'll get tired and need to rest, and then we won't be able to eat!"

"Yes! We absolutely cannot let him be idle!"

"We need to cast spells and then reproduce! We can't just do nothing!"

The harpies were indeed insatiable, their voices of wanting more and more drowning out everything else, and of course, they reached Saroo's ears as well.

Ms. Salo's eyes narrowed slightly, and her thoughtful expression was unsettling.

Nearby.

Hela, Xinuo, and the others were also worried for An Xiao.

Although they were not harmed, it was impossible for them not to be nervous when they were in the harpy's stronghold.

The complete annihilation of the army is a minor matter; if An Xiaozhen is completely devoured, then that's truly the end for her.

The crowd seemed to be awaiting a verdict.

After an unknown amount of time, the tense atmosphere subsided, and Saroo finally spoke slowly.

"I've considered your magical limitations. I believe that the help you can personally bring to our tribe is limited; it's more crucial for you to produce offspring."

You should be able to hear the voices of your people. If I really only entrust you with the task of resurrecting those who died in battle while ignoring everything else, then I think it would be a waste of your abilities.

She was clearly not satisfied with An Xiao's "efficacy".

An Xiao could, of course, guess her reaction.

"Ms. Salo, wait a minute."

Seeing her spread her wings, it seemed she wanted to grab him and take him into her nest to play with him.

An Xiao suppressed her fear, raised her finger, and pointed in a certain direction behind her.

"Don't you want to lead your people back to their original territory?"

"?"

"Don't you hope that one day even the Empire's dragoons will be ridden by harpies?"

"What do you mean by this?"

Saroo Windcutter paused slightly, then turned to look in the direction of his gaze.

An Xiao was pointing at the corpse of the dead pterosaur on a haystack not far away.

"Miss Salo, give me time. I may be able to resurrect higher-ranking creatures, including but not limited to pterosaurs and true dragons."

"..."

"And imagine if your tribe were to lead a true dragon into battle in the future. Wouldn't those foreign tribes that once looked down on you, those humans who have humiliated you, all pay a heavy price?"

"ah…"

"If you can even command real dragons, does that mean the harpy tribe has become a race that surpasses the dragon race, and under your leadership, the harpies have truly transcended the legends?"

"hiss……"

An Xiao's words were very persuasive, and in a daze, the images were already appearing in the minds of the little harpies nearby.

"Indeed."

Thinking of surpassing the dragon, Saro's ample chest began to heave, clearly moved.

What the leader cares about most is leading his people to glory.

These are truly tempting conditions.

"Then I suggest you don't waste sustainable resources. How about you consider letting me upgrade the level of the Resurrection spell, and then use that to benefit the nobles? That way, I can gift you a pterosaur, or even a true dragon. What do you say?"

An Xiao offered her bargaining chips.

"very good."

Ms. Salo immediately nodded, thinking it was a very good idea.

"Your ideas are indeed far-sighted."

I've changed my mind. I don't intend to let my sisters in the same tribe inherit your genes. I won't let you die.

"Ah, that's wonderful..."

【call…】

An Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

He believed that it was indeed his own memories of the humanoid creatures that saved him.

I thought I had escaped a disaster.

But in the next second, I felt a sudden dizziness.

The cold, resolute determination of Ms. Salo echoed in my ears:

"I'll just taste it myself."

……

……