Day two of collecting magic stones.
It was noisy from the morning. Not from inside the soundproof tent, nor from outside, but from above, I could hear multiple sounds like birds crying. Captain Dan said we had attracted the attention of Harpies. They’re quite diligent with their work so early in the morning, I know about Harpies.
They aren’t classified as demi-humans, but they have human faces, wings for arms, and bird legs. Their intelligence is bird-like? They aren’t small enough to descend into a forest like this. They should be content to watch from high up in the sky, with their fingers in their mouths.
“I’ll take care of them. Let’s move to the river.”
I thought he just told me to keep my fingers in my mouth. Apparently, they kept circling overhead and intimidating us, causing the monsters to flee and making it impossible to collect magic stones. Since Harpies themselves can be sold as materials, it’s a win-win situation.
The strategy is simple. We’ll send out a decoy, and when they get close, we’ll attack with magic. If we can take down two or three, the other Harpies will probably flee, according to him.
The problem is the decoy, and that would be me. If I were a Harpy, I’d want to attack Priscilla, but I’m a boy. How does it feel to be told you’re a “man” only when it’s convenient?
It’s fine to be the bait, it’s an easy win. We arrived at the river, lined with trees of considerable height. I danced on a conspicuously large rock on the riverbank as the bait. Coming from the height of the trees, they’d have to come from upstream or downstream along the river. They could only come from either the front or the back, and given the size of those Harpies, we wouldn’t lose sight of them. Maybe I could just take care of them myself.
After dancing on the large rock for a few minutes, I finished my routine, and as our positions were set, the Harpies began to circle overhead. Fried chicken it is for dinner.
With anticipation of fried chicken, the Harpies, now on a bombing run from upstream, stopped flapping their wings and spread them out as if gliding, closing in.
Stupid! To stop flapping and slow down, do they want to be targets? I drew my short sword and held my shield forward, waiting.
Should I just cut them down as they come? But I want to see their magic, and this could be a chance to get friendly with the White Rose Brigade’s mages and invite them to my bed. That’s the plan!
“Haaah!”
That was my shout. Those damn Harpies, they accelerated from their glide. No, it wasn’t just acceleration. It was enough to leave scratches on the large rock at my feet. A direct hit would hurt.
I’m not losing to them in speed, but my footing is bad. Hopping across rocks of various sizes would probably be Alana’s specialty. At my feet…
“Uoooh!”
I dodged the second bombing run and lost my balance. Where’s the bow, where’s the magic?! Rhys, who was holding his bow, looked at me and shrugged. Can’t hit them because they’re too fast. The mages… they just looked flustered.
The number of Harpies circling overhead is increasing. One or two are fine, I can handle them. Rose’s shout was heard, and Rhys drew his bow while the mages stepped forward and began chanting.
This time, please, hit them. Two bombers from upstream, and our anti-air defense is unreliable. I performed a fancy step on the large rock.
Anti-air defense, first strike. Rhys’s arrow, where is he even aiming? Anti-air defense, second strike. One of the mages launched a fireball. It had some homing capability, but it couldn’t catch up to the Harpies’ speed. Anti-air defense, third strike. A water wall.
A massive water wall appeared in the Harpies’ path. Even flying at high speed, they couldn’t avoid it and crashed into the wall, losing their balance and plummeting to the ground. I quickly held back the spurting blood and cut off the heads of two Harpies.
I was just as surprised as anyone to see a wall appear before me. Even with Godspeed, I couldn’t predict the trajectory of the Harpy in front of me. After passing through the wall and before crashing into the ground, my left foot was there.
It would have been better if they had just crashed into the ground and died without incident, but they managed to scratch my leg with their sharp talons. It’s not good to inconvenience others.
With two Harpies down, I hoped they would get scared and flee, saving my leg wound. Sophia healed my leg wound easily. She said she wanted to conserve her magic for our guard duty rather than use it for the soundproof tent.
While I’m grateful for the healing, I expected the Harpies to scatter, but they showed no signs of leaving and continued to circle overhead.
“Captain, the Harpies aren’t leaving.”
“Ah, this is troublesome. If we hunt a little more, they might leave…”
I guess so. If all the monsters are gone, we can’t collect anything, and two Harpies aren’t worth the trouble. I guess we’ll have to continue and drive the Harpies away.
That water wall is effective against Harpies. A wall of water suddenly appears before them, stripping them of their flight capability and sending them crashing to the ground; it’s an effective way to win with little effort. However, the bait’s chance of survival is high. Fishing is something where the bait dies, so it can’t be helped, but that’s easy to say when you’re not the bait.
A Harpy charging at full speed creates a water wall five to six meters in front of me, causing it to decelerate and crash. I maneuvered through the Harpy’s trajectory, which momentarily disappeared, using Godspeed and reflexes.
I’m confident in my reflexes, but can I dodge a Shinkansen train running at full speed from five meters away? It can’t be helped, but I’m the one with the highest chance of survival among us. It doesn’t mean I *want* to do it just because my chances are high.
I didn’t want to mention the Annihilation Brigade’s name because it would raise the stakes. With the hopes and anxieties of everyone on my back, I stood on the large rock. Because I’m annoyed, this time it’s “Awa Odori.”
“…Captain, it’s crowded.”
“Whoa! You startled me. Christine, the Harpies will be descending soon, so please go to everyone else.”
“…Damn it! How dare a bird like you wound Mikael…”
Whoa! She called me Mikael for the first time. She always calls me Captain. But that’s not important. Three Harpies are on a bombing run and accelerating!
“Christine, get down. No, maybe it’s too late…”
If it were one, I’d grab Christine and run. With three, I don’t know where they’ll fall. Come on! I’ll shoot them all down!
How much can I handle if a magical water wall is erected five meters in front of me? Can my reflexes be turned into Godspeed? In any case, I need to concentrate…
“…Die.”
A dark voice that seemed to pull my concentrated consciousness into itself. It’s scary. I’m too scared to look behind me. It’s many times scarier than the Harpies charging at me.
However, the Harpies didn’t even reach the water wall, and the more than ten Harpies circling overhead all fell.
Christine’s misfortune, even a heart attack, affects everyone who has a heart. I felt a cold sweat. I stood frozen, still holding my sword and shield.
“…Shall I kill those useless captains too?”
Christine said that while burying her face in my back. My heart was compressing too.
“They seem useful, so let’s refrain.”
I said, sheathing my sword, and Christine moved away, my heart easing its compression.
On the second day of collecting, we had a massive harvest of Harpies. The fighting styles of mercenaries and adventurers are quite different. Especially the dismemberment of Harpies with human faces, which is beyond me.
