Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Omen
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Kieeeek!
A bird with steel wings spread wide let out a roar. It was a horrific screech, like metal scraping and tearing against metal.
We all plugged our ears and grimaced.
Soon, the mechanical bird came waddling over on its two legs, wings spread, and swung them at me.
Whoosh.
Its sharp feathers seemed aimed right at my jar.
True to its name as the lake's guardian, it clearly had no intention of letting me take the black spring water and leave.
Whoosh, whoosh.
It swung its two wings like fans, attacking me relentlessly.
With the large, heavy jar on my back, dodging its strikes was no easy feat.
So instead of evading, I drew the club from my belt and smacked its wings away with all my might.
Clang!
A harsh metallic ring echoed as the bird monster staggered back, reeling.
"Hassan, I'll help!"
Seizing the opening, Luna pulled something from her bosom and hurled it at the bird. But even covered in steel, its reactions were as swift as any wild beast.
Pirruk!
It sliced Luna's projectile clean in two with its razor-sharp steel feathers.
Slink, slash.
The contents spilled out by inertia, coating its steel body.
"It's... it's on!"
Luna shouted brightly.
"It got hit with grease, so it'll be too slippery to move!"
"Grease? What's that?"
I had no idea what grease was, but whatever it was, it sure coated the mechanical bird's body, making it gleam slickly. The metallic friction sounds that had grated with every movement were now markedly quieter.
Kieeeek!
The thing shrieked high-pitched, as if furious at the weird liquid splashed on it. Then it leaped forward, swinging its wings like blades straight at Luna.
The steel-feathered wings slashed down at Luna's head like a guillotine.
Splat—crunch!
"Kyaaak!"
With the sound of a skull cracking, Luna let out a wretched scream and slowly collapsed to the ground.
Thud.
The mechanical bird's fluid motions were so artistically swift that Luna hadn't stood a chance to dodge.
"Luna! You okay!?"
"Urgh...."
There'd been a massive impact, but since she was groaning, she wasn't dead.
Still, seeing Luna hurt filled me with red-hot rage I couldn't contain. My grip tightened fiercely on the club.
"You fucking bird!"
I kicked off with my hind legs and charged. The jar on my back made jumping tough, but I had no time to care.
I swung the club I'd raised high overhead at it with everything I had.
Clang!
The distinct thud of striking metal jolted through my hands painfully.
Luckily, my enhanced strength made my bat swing effective—the mechanical contraption shook violently on its legs.
It teetered unsteadily, on the verge of toppling.
Geggek.
Clank, clunk.
Looks like most problems in this world get solved with a good swing of a bat or fist!
Shieeek!
Enraged, it counterattacked with its front claws and beak. The sharp steel gouged dreadful claw marks across the chest plate guarding my torso—drag, drag.
"You, you son of a bitch! Do you know how much this costs?!"
I kept hammering down at it. Boom, kwang, kwak—sounds like smashing scrap metal echoed loudly around us.
Sheeek, sheeek!
Its steel body began to dent and crumple bit by bit, gleaming feathers snapping off and rolling across the ground.
Kieeeek!
Another sky-shaking screech made me look up.
And there, flapping toward us, were more freakish birds just like the one I'd been beating the hell out of.
Shit, I could've handled one.
But four more? Is this a balance patch or what?
"We're screwed."
Despair slipped from my lips. Was this how it ended? Die without even spending the gold we'd scored?
That uneasy moment—
"...Do, do-ran do-ran stream water—. Little brook water—."
From somewhere, terrified tiny words burst out in a bizarre tune.
"Brook brook, brook water, little pondside. Rabbit deer fox sparrow, little nymph friends...."
It was some childish nursery rhyme-ish thing. The orange-haired nymph Paranoya, who'd been trembling face-down on the ground, had started singing!
Whoooosh.
As if reacting to the song, the bird under me suddenly went limp. Like a machine with its power cut.
Not just that—the flying birds overhead also lost power, slowing their wingbeats before crashing to the ground here and there.
Boom, kwakwang, boom.
"Hiiik!"
Paranoya shrieked, startled by a mechanical bird crashing beside her.
The moment she stopped singing, the birds started whirring—uuung—and creaking back to life.
"Hey, hey, keep singing! Sing!"
I urged her on like a boss drunk at an after-party. She trembled, face scrunched in tears.
"Th-the next lyrics... I can't remember...! It's a song my mom sang when I was little...."
"Anything! Just sing!"
"Oh, I got it! Cu, cute little nymph—. Watch out for deer. If you ride on its back, big trouble. Poor little nymph, watch out for swans—."
It was a ridiculous, weird song.
"Ku, kurrung, kurung thunder rumble, hide your head. Tiny little stream water, brook nymph—."
Singing to drive off the freak birds actually worked. The birds froze again at the bizarre ditty, stiff as cold statues.
"Hehe, take that, you bastards! Revenge for Sarah Conner, you shits."
I seized the chance to smash the downed mechanical birds' bodies with my club as hard as I could.
Bashing stationary machines was easy—I quickly crumpled and disassembled them all.
* * *
By the time we reached the base of the Black Rock Mountain, a golden sunset glowed in the sky.
Only after descending the sweltering volcano did I finally relax.
"Brother, we're safe now."
The mechanical birds—
Steam Phallos's falcons only chased people within that rocky domain, apparently.
"Hoo, damn, I really thought we were goners."
"Ah, aaah—. We don't need to sing anymore, right?"
Paranoya had sung nonstop the whole way down after coming to, so no extra birds tailed us, thankfully.
"I heard cultists often lurk near the rocky mountains, but luckily we didn't run into any."
"Guess they're busy. Whew. Anyway, we made it down safe. What a climb."
After loading the cart, just before the driver whipped the horses, I glanced around at the group—just in case.
"No one left anything? Check for injuries too."
"Ugh."
Luna slid off her helmet and touched her forehead. Lifting her bangs with her palm revealed a pretty big lump swollen there.
Probably from taking that direct wing hit to the head.
"I got a lump...."
The crack had sounded like her skull split, which worried me.
But thanks to her sturdy somer-bone helmet, it was just mild concussion symptoms and bruising from the swelling.
Without the bone helmet? Not a fun thought. That's why adventurers pick gear so carefully.
Without my chest plate, its beak might've punched a hole through my heart.
"I heard they're birds made sturdy under Vulcan's blessing, but I never thought you'd smash them like that. You've got a real knack for breaking things, brother! Even intact ones shatter in your hands!"
"Is that a compliment?"
"It is!"
Catching his breath, Malco praised the recent fight like it was epic.
"Honestly, this could make a song people might actually believe—no exaggerations needed."
I'd been too busy smashing to notice, but apparently those mechanical birds were intricately built and tough to destroy.
Thinking back, they were solid. Even the scrap parts were too heavy to haul.
I'd been pissed about Luna getting hurt, so I must've swung with double my usual strength. People tap superhuman power in extreme situations.
Suddenly, I felt like I got why famous adventurers like Hippolyte or Elfriede dove into danger.
They say the brain limits the body to safe exertion levels normally.
Maybe for those dancing on death's edge, that limit loosens over time.
That's how top adventurers gain insane strength or skills beyond normal imagination?
Just my theory, anyway. Plausible enough.
Or not.
We rolled the cart wheels for a few hours, admiring the sunset landscapes through fatigue.
Far off, smoke billowed lazily into the sky.
"Hey, Malco, isn't that toward Sodomora?"
"Looks like it. Smoke's rising. Roasting bird meat for a festival or something?"
Bird meat conjured images of juicy, glistening roast in my mind.
After steaming in that cauldron of a volcano, meat and booze would soak into me like rain on dry sand.
"Shit, sounds delicious. I'm starving—perfect."
"Bird meat...?"
Luna sniffed the air.
"Doesn't smell like bird meat. Burning smell. Wood burning, really strong...! Not grilling meat!"
Luna was spot on.
Closer to the city, we spotted thick black smoke shooting up everywhere.
The city—
The city was burning.
Or had been.
"What the hell? What's going on?"
I grabbed a running guard and asked. He tsked, sweat dripping under his helmet.
"Cultists showed up! Remember we caught those cult priests recently? The temple knights clashed with cult remnants while transferring them to Prison City—total chaos!"
Cult remnants, temple knights, transfer to Prison City.
Familiar keywords brought Pluto's cultists Skizo and Somnia to mind. Yeah, they'd mentioned hauling them to the massive Prison City.
"S-So what happened?"
Paranoya reacted strongly, having overheard. Being an ex-cultist herself, she was curious about her old pals' fate?
"What do you think? Temple knights, duh. They crushed 'em easy. Even found the remnants' mountain hideout. Subjugation force'll form soon—maybe today."
While we slaved in the hot volcano, Sodomora had been battling flames of its own.
Anyway, none of our business, so we headed to the Venus Temple to wrap the quest.
Cultists, temple knights—stuff way above bronze nobodies like us.
The Venus Temple in the central plaza looked as peaceful as yesterday: white birds fluttering, flowers blooming everywhere.
Guess even the cult raid and fights spared this place.
Fitting for a love goddess's temple. Is love stronger than violence?
"Wow, so pretty. So many roses."
Luna gawked around, mouth agape—her first time here, apparently.
The twilight garden must've tugged at the soft-hearted girl's heartstrings.
We entered the temple with our water jar. Unlike last time, the ornate interior felt eerily desolate.
Just the receptionist from before guarded it.
"The whole city's in uproar. The Saintess is in hiding. Come back next time for proper thanks and pay."
VIP target for raids, so bunkered down somewhere safe.
Excited to see what rewards that big shot coughs up.
"Anyway, let's grab food!"
We hit the inn as usual, ordering booze and meat to shake off the quest fatigue.
City burning from cult attacks? The slums' inn was packed with the usual red-faced drunks as ever.
And we were one of them.
"Quest from the Saintess, right? Wonder what we'll get? Gold like the advance?"
Luna's eyes sparkled at future loot, unfazed by several drinks.
Malco chugged beside her.
"Brother, we went from yanking goblin teeth to sell to this decent gig. Let's hit the rocks again sometime!"
"Fuck off, asshole—you passing out mid-fight nearly got us all killed. Without Paranoya, we'd be goners."
I recalled the dire moments. In hindsight, blacking-out terrifying.
Paranoya, MVP for stopping the birds, was out cold face-down over a beer—exhausted.
"Gold—. Lots of gold...."
Her drunken mumble of "gold" made my heart skip.
Scanning around lest anyone heard, Luna fished a carrot from the food and stuck it in Paranoya's mouth.
"Quiet, Paranoya."
Wise—no sleep-talking about "eating thief gold." Smart move.
....
A brief silence fell.
Bang. Step, step, clank.
Armored soldiers poured into the inn. Malco yelped in panic.
"I-I, Malco, know nothing!"
What the fuck, Malco? And why soldiers in an inn? Did they already sniff out the stolen gold?
The thieves' coins felt heavy in my pouch. But the soldiers ignored us, pasting small scrolls on the inn's pillars and walls.
A yellow-cloaked soldier bellowed at the baffled patrons.
"I'm Baroness's knight, Bayona! Those called, rise! First, men over twenty capable of bearing arms—stand!"
A drunk scowled.
"What's this about, rousing folks at rest?"
All eyes turned to the soldiers.
Sring.
Knight Bayona drew his sword and slammed it into a table, shouting.
"War! War! It's war!"
[Author's Note]
Today the novel's fully free to read ㅠㅠㅠ... Never thought an event like this would hit me...!!!
Thanks to readers who've stuck with me so far...!!!
New readers from the event and future ones—thanks and welcome...!!!
Please stick around long-term, sob ㅠㅠ!!