After completing magical contracts with all the thunderbirds, William patted their leader with satisfaction. "Do you just need regular meat for food, or do you have to eat magical creatures?"
"Caw, caw, caw."
Through their telepathic exchange, William estimated that the thunderbirds consumed roughly one-tenth of their body weight in meat daily, and they didn't require magical creatures specifically.
That made sense—there was no way all magical creatures only survived by eating other magical beings. Since regular meat sufficed, providing for them would be simple.
Despite their impressive size—standing over three meters tall with a wingspan of about fifteen meters—thunderbirds, like all birds of prey, were deceptively light. Their weight was nowhere near that of land-based animals.
On average, an adult thunderbird weighed around 200 to 300 kilograms, meaning it only needed 25 kilograms of meat per day. With 76 thunderbirds, that added up to about 1,900 kilograms—less than two tons of meat daily.
Since they also ate animal organs, their daily food intake amounted to roughly six or seven fully grown cattle.
With 35,000 acres of land surrounding Oxford Castle, filled with pastures for cattle and sheep, maintaining a herd of ten thousand cows would be more than enough to sustain the thunderbirds.
And the cost of purchasing and maintaining those cows? Just a few million pounds—a trivial amount, equivalent to the yearly expenses of the prized Akhal-Teke horses in his castle stables. A couple of tons of gold could easily cover it.
The only real concern was that animals raised in captivity would gradually lose their wild instincts.
After a few generations, they might forget how to hunt altogether, potentially ending up like domesticated cats that fear mice.
But then again, William figured that by the time the thunderbirds' offspring grew up, it would be years, maybe decades down the line.
If necessary, he could always release the younger thunderbirds into this world or onto X-17 for a period, allowing them to hunt on their own.
And if their numbers grew too large, he could even let some settle permanently on X-17, turning them into part of his monstrous army.
Since they didn't necessarily have to follow him to England, William decided to ask the thunderbird leader directly. "Would you rather live on my territory or stay here and come when I summon you?"
"Caw, caw, caw."
He had expected the thunderbird leader to at least consider the question, but to his surprise, it agreed immediately—almost impatiently.
That made William happy, but it also made him realize that despite being apex predators, these thunderbirds didn't have an easy life in the dense forest.
The thick trees likely made hunting difficult for them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have resorted to stealing Kong's food.
Now that they had found a powerful master, they were eager to follow him.
"Good. Stay here and move freely for now. Once I've finished my other tasks, I'll summon you and take you with me."
"Caw, caw, caw!" The thunderbird leader nodded obediently. Then, to William's surprise, it called out to Kong, who had been quietly sitting by the cliff.
Had he not signed a magical contract with them, William might never have guessed that these birds would use their numbers to intimidate Kong into hunting for them.
Facing dozens of piercing eagle eyes, even the short-tempered Kong dared not resist. But realizing he wouldn't be harmed, he instead happily grunted in response.
Then, to William's utter disbelief, Kong dragged out a T-Rex from a hidden spot in the valley—one that it had seemingly knocked unconscious but failed to kill the previous day.
Damn. If Kong hadn't pulled the dinosaur out, William would've completely forgotten about it.
And Kong had apparently hidden it so well that even with all the thunderbirds flying around, none had noticed.
As Kong started tearing apart the T-Rex to feed the thunderbirds, William told their leader not to bully Kong, then took to the sky, heading in the direction Bell had fled, guided by Sunday's tracking.
With so many thunderbirds needing caretakers, William—who had never trusted humans—suddenly became interested in house-elves.
Even though he considered them ugly as hell, owning a dozen house-elves would be perfect for tending to his thunderbirds.
More importantly, William wanted to find out who this "Kristen" person Bell had mentioned really was.
To avoid alarming them, he didn't fly at full speed. Even so, it only took him half a minute to leave the forest and reach a valley over 300 kilometers away.
From a few hundred meters up, he surveyed the valley—lush with flowers and greenery—and asked, puzzled, "Are you sure this is the place?"
Sweeping the area with his mental scan, he found no suspicious activity, no humanoid creatures, no traces of settlements or footprints.
"Sir, you need to fly about one kilometer deeper into the valley."
Sunday's voice came through.
"The ship's scanners detected a faint energy signature—likely a cloaking barrier. However, the barrier seems to be near collapse, which is why Bell's tracking signal is still reaching me."
Flying a few hundred meters further, William's mental scan immediately detected a weak energy fluctuation.
But before he could determine if it was a cloaking shield or something else, a massive surge of magical energy erupted—
And dozens of spells shot out seemingly from nowhere, hurtling toward him.
These weren't instantaneous attacks—he could clearly see their trajectories, making them laughably easy to dodge at his speed of 100 kilometers per second.
But instead of dodging, William decided to make a statement—demonstrating the vast gap in power to avoid unnecessary casualties and make hiring these elves easier.
With a single thought, ten Sentinel suits—already enhanced by Snug's dragon magic—materialized in front of him.
The suits linked hands, forming a pale-gold energy wall that not only blocked every spell but also absorbed the elemental magic as energy.
As for solid attacks—like rock projectiles and ice spears—they shattered on impact, failing to even make the wall tremble.
Once all the spells were neutralized, the golden wall morphed under William's control into five towering, nearly three-meter-tall Sentinel robots, floating menacingly around him.
Then, he calmly addressed his attackers.
"I'm here for a house-elf named Bell. There seems to be a misunderstanding between us. Perhaps we can sit down and talk?"
Unfortunately, the only response he received was a second wave of even more intense magical attacks.
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