The Crow-Headed Monsters
The monsters were creatures I was intimately familiar with, yet they were something entirely different. "They look a lot like harpies." If harpies had a male form, they would surely look like this. My subordinates and I held our breath, quietly observing them.
"Does anyone know what those are?"
"......"
No one answered. The beast-kin hunters and Ryun, and even Eila, seemed to be seeing them for the first time. In the end, none of us knew the true identity of these monsters. "Bird-brained humans." That was the only way to describe them. From the neck up, they looked like oversized crow heads, but below that, they had human bodies. "How do they not even have wings?" Since they were naked humans with bird heads, I briefly wondered if they were wearing masks, but I changed my mind when they started moving the beaks attached to their mouths.
"There will be humans in the land soon, Las."
"We raid as soon as the boss returns, Las."
"...Why do those bastards talk like that?"
Were they crazy, or was it a racial trait? Aside from their strange verbal tic, the bird-brains were clearly having a normal conversation.
"I'm going to confess to the boss later, Las."
"You'll get rejected anyway, but I'll cheer for you, Las."
"What a bunch of idiots."
"Master, they'll hear you...!"
Ryun warned me instead. But I was just so dumbfounded that the bird-brains could talk.
"Those things right now-"
"They're coming."
We held our breath. From the path below, a bird-brained monster appeared, flying horizontally about 50cm above the ground. Tiny wings were flapping on its back.
"No, seriously."
The bird-brains were avian monsters just like harpies. But while harpies had human appearances with only different arms and legs, these things had human bodies with bird heads.
"Is everyone gathered, Las?"
The one presumed to be the boss appeared. Her body, without a single stitch of clothing, had small breasts, but the line from her waist to her pelvis curved into a distinct S-shape. Even if her head was a bird's.
"Boss, we're ready, Las."
"Then prepare to move, Las. The humans in the village are already all dead, Las."
"Ugh."
One of the beast-kin hunters covered his mouth. We warned him, and the bird-brained Las creatures looked toward us for a moment before starting to talk among themselves again.
"Must be wild animals, Las."
"I was scared for nothing, Las."
"We're hungry, so we have to move quickly, Las."
"Seriously, I want to rip those beaks off."
"Shall I shoot?"
Ryun raised her bow. The beast-kin hunters also carefully raised the bows they had looted from the village.
"No. As much as I want to shove an arrow into their heads right now, let's wait."
"Are you planning to follow them?"
"Yeah."
They already killed all the humans. They're hungry. That meant they were monsters who would just slaughter and eat humans.
"Let's see how many other monsters there are. By following them."
"Your insight is profound."
"Archers, prepare to fire at any moment."
I also rubbed the tattoo on my finger, preparing to strengthen my body. We carefully followed the trail of the creatures we had temporarily named.
Sniff, sniff.
The further we went, the more the thick smell of blood, which made my head ache, stung my nose. The hunter who had covered his mouth earlier—the man who had been the first to ejaculate into the harpies and fathered three—opened his mouth to me carefully.
"...Master. There was another slash-and-burn village ahead of here."
"And now?"
"...Until a week ago, about 20 people were living there."
A week. That meant something could have happened in that time. I sensed that something terrible had definitely occurred.
"Never let them notice us."
I didn't know what kind of enemy we would be fighting, but there was no benefit in provoking them prematurely.
A moment later, we lay on a hill of considerable height and looked down. There, monsters were squatting in front of human corpses, bobbing their heads and hitting the ground.
"This is awful..."
Eila frowned deeply and growled. I was very curious about their true identity, but seeing them chewing and swallowing humans, I realized that these bird-brained Las creatures were by no means friendly to humans.
Crunch, munch!
The bird-brains were squatting in front of the human corpses, burying their heads and tearing them apart with their beaks. It was the same for the ones we had followed.
"Ugh."
I couldn't see well from far away. I narrowed my eyes slightly and looked down at them from a distance to grasp their status. If only I knew their rank-
Target Identified: Andras (v.20, ★★☆)
"Oh, ho."
It was too far to see well, but I had enough information. The bird-brained creatures with red blood on their beaks still didn't know we were there.
"Eila, guard this place. Archers, start firing as soon as I go down."
"Master?"
"I'm going to ambush them as I descend."
When we raided the human village, I had to roll down the cliff with my body, but it was different now. I wiped my finger over the tattoo and took a deep breath. 'Muscle reinforcement, blood flow acceleration.' Strength and speed. I gained the confidence to run down the cliff. My target was the female bird-brained creature called the boss. I gulped and threw my body toward the cliff.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The arrows from Ryun and the hunters grazed over my head. Two arrows aimed precisely at the bird-brain's back hit their mark, and two others stuck into the dirt.
"What is this, Las!"
"It's an enemy, Las!"
The bird-brains noticed our presence immediately. But by the time they hastily turned their heads, I had already descended the cliff.
"Muuuuaaaah!"
With a short shout, I grabbed the beak of the female bird-brain that was thrusting toward me with both fists and slammed it down.
CRACK!!
The bird-brain's beak shattered into pieces. The monster had a look of utter disbelief that its beak could be broken.
Thud!
I used the recoil of landing on the ground to leap forward. My kick was aimed at the bird-brain's abdomen, and her waist folded in an instant.
"Guh, ugh."
"Don't you guys scream 'Las' when you're in pain?"
I stomped on the back of the boss-level entity that had fallen to the ground. The other bird-brains hesitated and pulled their beaks away from the human corpses.
"Kk, kkkkeeeeeek!!"
As expected of bird-brains, they couldn't recognize the strong. They all glared at me and rushed in, as if they had no idea of the strength that had killed their boss.
Crunch, crunch.
So I kicked their shins. Even if their heads were avian, their joints were no different from humans, so the bird-brains soon collapsed, hands on the ground.
"Run away, Las!"
One bird-brain hastily turned to escape the village. But a wind arrow was already chasing it from behind.
Whoosh, whoosh!
"Ugh."
The bird-brain with a wind-hole in the back of its head collapsed forward and died. Ryun's shot had pierced it precisely, and the other beast-kin hunters also sniped them with fairly accurate shots.
Thwack.
The bird-brain that had been rolling on the ground after being kicked by me was hit in the knee by an arrow and let out a silent scream. Before it could scream, I lifted my leg and stomped on the feathery area presumed to be its neck.
Andras were not very strong monsters. But I was bothered by the fact that there were mysterious monsters we didn't know about. Swoosh! A wind arrow grazed my head and pierced an Andras's beak. The Andras that had been rushing toward me with its beak open collapsed to the ground and died instantly. Their mouths were filled with the foul smell of blood and the pungent scent of entrails.
"These monsters...."
"Master, this is...."
"They raided the slash-and-burn village and ate the villagers."
The circumstances were clear. The village where about 20 people lived had been devastated by the Andras's raid, and there were no survivors.
"Weren't there any strong hunters here?"
"...No, this was a place where people who lived by cultivating fields gathered."
The beast-kin hunter pointed to the village residents with a heavy face. There were only 7 houses, and very small vegetable gardens were struggling to sprout around the village.
"They were struck by a bolt from the blue."
The village had been attacked by monsters called Andras. That was the information immediately visible. 'To check where they came from, I have to go back the way they came.' The path below the hill. The place where the Andras had walked one by one. Perhaps their nest was in there.
"Ryun. Can you kill them?"
"Of course."
Ryun showed more enthusiasm than ever. When we first fired, it was Ryun who had made a wind-hole in the Andras's head.
"Good. Then let's do some work before we go."
I gathered the Andras's corpses in one place. And I took out a shovel from the village and dug a pit.
"Master, what are you doing now?"
"Bait."
I dug a suitable pit with the shovel.
"I'm making bait that other Andras will definitely run to if they see it."
I picked up the Andras with the broken beak. Thud.
"It's strange, Las."
One Andras tilted its head. Another Andras, who had been moving human corpses nearby, tilted its head along with it.
"Why is it strange, Las?"
"They haven't returned, Las."
"A lot of time has passed since they raided the village, but they still haven't returned, Las."
The Andras clicked their beaks and expressed concern. They had already arrived at the entrance of the cave, walking down the slope.
"If you're that worried, go back and check, Las."
"I don't think the Master will allow it, Las."
"What?"
A woman with wings on her back appeared behind the Andras. The woman, who looked like she was wearing crow-shaped pajamas, had eyes stained red.
"Ma, Master."
"Why haven't they returned?"
"Th, that is…."
The Andras couldn't answer, stammering. But when the crow woman glared at them, they hastily bowed their heads.
"The young ones haven't returned yet, Las!"
"The young ones? Hmm.... Is it their first time eating humans?"
"Yes, it is, Las."
The woman sighed as if she had no choice and took the human corpses from the Andras. Their bellies were bleeding profusely; it looked like their entrails had been pecked out by the Andras.
"Bring the kids back safely. Once you get a taste of humans, you can lose your mind."
"Understood, Las."
"Sigh, don't go wandering off anywhere, okay?"
The woman allowed the Andras to go bring the children. The Andras bowed their heads and turned around.
"I'm glad the Master allowed it, Las."
"The Master is an Andras too, so that's why, Las."
"Isn't our race named after the Master anyway, Las?"
"That's true, Las. I want to evolve quickly and get rid of this 'Las' ending, Las."
The two Andras chatted as they returned along the path they had brought the humans from. And their mouths dropped open at the shocking sight in the human village.
"Screeeeeech?!"
"What kind of disaster is this, Las?!"
The young Andras, who had been preoccupied with eating humans, were all lying there with their heads stuck in the ground. Their legs were bent forward or backward, and their bodies were all twisted like reeds.
"Ugh!"
The Andras felt dizzy at the sight of the bloodstains around them. Had they been attacked by humans? The Andras approached the young ones urgently.
"Is this... an arrow?"
Arrow marks were embedded in the young Andras's bodies. And the building right next to where they were in confusion—
BOOM!
The mud wall collapsed, and a green monster wearing a robe appeared. The Andras were startled and raised their fists, but the monster spread its arms toward them and smiled broadly.
"Welcome, Las!"
"?!!?"
"Now die, Las!"
BOOM!
The monster swung its fist toward the Andras's heads. The Andras tried to block it, but their consciousness blurred before the monster's fist, which was imbued with a green aura. Meanwhile, the pot-bellied Orc brushed off his hands and mocked the Andras.
"Doesn't it embarrass you to say 'Las' all the time?"
The Andras were resentful but couldn't refute it. And then, they lost consciousness.
A moment later. I won the gamble I had made using the bait. Leaving behind the Andras that had been strangely weak, slightly stronger Andras had returned to the village.
Andras. Lv.28. ★★☆. Thanks to catching them so easily, I could understand the opponent's characteristics well. A 1-star was just an Andras, and as they evolved, more was added to the name Andras.
"Hey, wake up."
I put the beak aside and poked the unconscious Andras with my foot to wake it up. The Andras was groggy, and I grabbed its beak and shook it.
"I have something I'm really curious about, so could you answer me?"
"...What is it, Las."
"This is what I'm curious about, Las."
I stomped on the Andras's breasts. Even though its head was a monster, its torso had the perfect shape of a woman.
"The one who is your boss or chief, the strongest one, is she a woman?"
The Andras sneered at me with a look of disbelief.
"Hmph, she is a woman with outstanding beauty that cannot be compared to a monster like you, Las."
"Then that's good."
I patted the Andras's shoulder.
"I guess I can go eat her now."
Swoosh. A wind arrow pierced the Andras's throat.