As soon as Zoe's wound was treated, they placed their attention on the thunder quail, seemingly obedient and curious. It flapped its wings, hovered around in Eric and eventually landed on Zoe's shoulder. It repeatedly chirped at her ear, and Eric stared at her with eyes full of inquisitiveness.
Zoe felt helpless and said in a downcast tone, "I don't know what he is saying, either."
It seemed the Thunder Quail understood that Zoe was not able to comprehend him. It turned to Eric and chirped at him, a bit loudly for him to understand. Eric kept nodding.
In fact, he just wanted to know if Zoe was able to communicate with the beast at the third mortal stage, but it appeared she was not able to do so. He, who was a Heavenly Sage and tamed thousands of monstrous beasts, easily understood the message of the Thunder Quail.
He smiled. "He is apologizing for attacking me. He explains that he is worried that my attack will reach their nest, so his actions are impulsive."
After informing Zoe, he leaned forward and petted the Thunder Quail's head with his finger and said, "Don't worry, little guy. By the way, do you want protection? I can protect you. As long as you became her tamed beast."
The Thunder Quail did not hesitate to reply, chirping, brightening Eric's smile.
Zoe, astonished and filled with questions, stared at Eric with eyes filled with desire to receive the Thunder Quails' response translation.
He said, "He agreed. In fact, he is worried about other zombies discovering his nest, where his wife and eggs stayed. Also, he wants to thank you for stopping him. He even said he lost his mind."
Zoe was stunned and giggled. She turned his head and petted the Thunder Quail and the latter liked it. After all, Zoe's aura was calming and comforting, in contrast with Eric, who seemed, despite trying to mask it, terrifying.
Perhaps, the Thunder Quail witnessed the destruction Eric caused, so the impression imprinted on his mind and emotion.
Since Zoe was with Eric, he would rather stay with Zoe. Eric did not mind, he already sensed the loyalty the Thunder Quail had on Zoe anyway. The Thunder Quail, based on his impression and what he learned from it, was family-oriented, so he was not worried it would cause a problem for his empire.
Furthermore, the idea of a massive flock of birds being under his control thrilled him. They would be useful for scouting and many other purposes, like what Yeobui had said.
He said, "We should go on your nests. Lead us and inform your wife first."
The Thunder Quail nodded heavily and flapped its wings, flying towards the nearest tree.
There were many trees on different sections, and on the street on the right side of the street they came from stood a rather bulky tree, making its crown difficult to peer through.
The Thunder Quail pierced through and disappeared on their line of vision. Zoe hurriedly ran on the trunk, so she was able to spot the Thunder Quail above. Eric followed him while sauntering, taking his time.
As soon as they spotted the Thunder Quail above them, they saw it was communicating with a bit round Thunder Quail, obviously his wife.
The female Thunder Quail's voice suddenly rose, and she spared a glance at Eric, quivering in fear. She turned to her husband and kept pecking him out of frustrations. The male Thunder Quail was helpless, chirping in pain.
After venting her frustrations, the Thunder Quail flapped her wings and flew towards Eric, bowing repeatedly while apologizing.
Zoe has a weird expression on her face as the female Thunder Quail apologized and thanked her.
Eric bursted into a hoot of laughter. He said while petting the head of the female Thunder Quail, "Don't worry, I'm fortunate enough not to be killed by him."
The female Thunder Quail was stunned. That should be sarcasm, right? Right???
She was filled with questions and nodded her head repeatedly, heaving a sigh of relief.
She then recalled her husband telling her she could communicate with the dangerous person and narrated to Eric what happened yesterday.
Apparently, they were mating on the tree. When she got pregnant, there was a sudden rough energy hitting her, causing her to lay eggs for dozens of seconds—typically, quail lay eggs one at a time, per day.
However, during her evolution—to which she described with her husband as maturing, for they perceived they got stronger—she successfully laid twelve eggs in less than a minute. They were worried at first if their eggs would die or if there were mutations, asking Eric about it.
Eric nodded. "Yes, there will be. But, it's not that bad. Have you not noticed you and your husband mutated, too?"
The female quail was stunned and nodded heavily. She heaved a sigh of relief and thanked Eric from the bottom of her heart.
She then told him she was willing to accept the proposal of her husband to be under Eric's protection, but she asked if she could find a perfect place for her nest and to incubate.
Eric, of course, nodded readily.
"That will not be a problem. Just promise me that you will be loyal to the Empire."
The female Thunder Quail was confused at first about the word, Empire, but then nodded in response. It flew towards the male Thunder Quail, scolded it once more, before returning to Eric.
She chirped at Eric once again, communicating with him.
"You want him alone to carry the nest? Alright, as long as he can do it. By the way, I have to inform you that you will be her tamed beast, so basically, you will be her pet. Whenever she calls you, please be obedient."
The female Thunder Quail was stunned, spared a glance at Zoe, having no bad impression of her. On the contrary, Zoe exuded a soothing aura that made her fond of her.
She nodded, hovered around Zoe on multiple rounds before landing on her shoulder, licking on her cheeks. Zoe giggled and petted her head.
The male Thunder Quail finally listed the nest three times his size on his back and flew towards them.
Eric smiled and nodded.
"Let's go, then."
They then set off to return to their temporary base…