Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

Inside the purple eggshell, a fuzzy pale-yellow bird head suddenly poked out, its beak clutching a small fragment of the broken shell. At first glance, the chick seemed no different from an ordinary baby chicken.

On seeing Lord Rein, the chick’s lively eyes curiously observed him, seemingly sensing no ill intent, it chirped clearly and cheerfully twice.

Rein smiled and approached, carefully picked up the fuzzy chick, and placed it on his palm, stroking it several times.

After a moment’s thought, Rein stepped outside and said to a guard nearby, “Please ask Miss Vinica to come here.”

“At once, Baron!”

Shortly, Vinica, clad in a light blue robe, came trotting into Rein’s resting room. Just as she was about to ask what was the matter, her beautiful eyes immediately focused on the newly hatched chick in Rein’s hand.

Vinica couldn’t help but pause, her mouth opening slightly before she extended her fair fingers, asking in surprise, “Lord Rein, is this the little creature that came out of the purple egg?”

“Yes, Miss Vinica, I asked you here to inquire if you can identify what kind of bird it is. Also, what would be appropriate to feed it?”

Vinica walked forward briskly, then pinched the chick’s beak and checked its claws before nodding, saying, “Lord Rein, although I cannot accurately identify this bird’s species yet, it certainly belongs to some kind of raptor.”

“For feeding, insects, beast meat, or fish should do, and seeing how strong it is at birth, it is very likely a naturally ferocious species. If you can feed it meat from ferocious creatures directly, that would be best.”

After hearing this, Rein nodded and said, “Thank you, Miss Vinica.”

This made things simple.

Ferocious beast meat was readily available for him; he still had plenty of bear meat left over from his training, which he could try feeding to the chick.

He walked over to a cabinet, took out a piece of raw bear meat, and tore off a small strip to offer to the chick. The anxious chick opened its mouth wide and gulped down the small piece of meat like a pelican, then chirped happily twice, as if to say, ‘Is there more? If there is, bring on some more.’

After watching for a while, Vinica reminded him, “Lord Rein, it seems it really likes the bear meat you fed it. However, many chicks have been known to overeat to death, so you’d better pay attention to the quantity of food.”

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At that moment, sounds of flapping wings came from outside the window, and a large white seagull landed on the windowsill, looking at Vinica.

Vinica’s face lit up with joy, and her twin ponytails swished energetically as she said, “Lord Rein, Master Annius has replied to my message; it seems we will soon know the answer.”

The girl quickly walked to the window, opened it, and began exchanging words with the seagull.

Seconds later, Vinica turned to Rein with a mix of surprise and a slight complaint, “Lord Rein, you’re really lucky, my mentor identified that it’s most likely an egg from a wandering Blood Feathered Horned Eagle.”

“I have been searching for so long; how come I’ve never been this lucky…”

“Blood Feathered Horned Eagle? Miss Vinica, could you give me a brief introduction?” asked Rein, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

He did not know what kind of bird it was.

“Of course, the Blood Feathered Horned Eagle is fierce by nature; a naturally aggressive species and unlike other raptor species, it’s not fast in flight. However, as an adult, its size approaches that of a horse with a wingspan of four to five meters, strong muscles, and it has a beak and talons as hard as steel, highly skilled at close combat,” explained Vinica.

“Moreover, the adult Blood Feathered Horned Eagle has a distinctive pair of antlers on its head.”

A raptor known for close combat?

Though it may not have the innate ability of casting that Rein expected of a raptor, who’s to say that formidable close combat prowess isn’t a talent in itself?

Rein nodded, yet slightly furrowed his brow and asked, “Then… Miss Vinica, why would an egg of the Blood Feathered Horned Eagle be found in the nest of an Iron-Beaked Sea Eagle?”

Vinica chuckled good-naturedly, her face blooming into a smile as she spoke, “That’s precisely what I wanted to address. The Blood Feathered Horned Eagle’s intimidation forces lower-tier raptors to abandon their nests. Then, the Blood Feathered Horned Eagle lays its eggs there, typically one or two at most.”

“Additionally, they release a special scent that makes other raptors believe the egg is theirs, even if the sizes of the eggs are vastly different.”

Rein nodded, beginning to understand.

“So, you’re suggesting that the Blood Feathered Horned Eagle is a type of raptor that practice brood parasitism?”

Vinica shook her head and replied, “Not exactly. According to my mentor, it’s very rare for Blood Feathered Horned Eagles to do so.”

“Usually, if their living environment is stable, they won’t resort to this behavior, only in certain extraordinary circumstances, such as battles, competition, and so on, would they turn to brood parasitism.”

“Therefore, as you’ve seen, their egg hasn’t hatched prematurely and it hasn’t pushed the sea eagle’s chick out of the nest.”

Now Rein understood a little better.

Seems like he was quite lucky this time, finding the egg of a naturally aggressive species.

“By the way, my mentor also suggested that since the growth cycle of the Blood Feathered Horned Eagle is longer than most birds and because their temperament becomes extremely ferocious as they grow, please use the bird transformation technique as soon as possible to make it familiar with you and to promote its growth,” Vinica stated.