Chapter 256: Winged Nomad 1
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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A friendly NPC stone dwarf mounted atop a named monster harpy.
"Hey, guys, looks like there''s actually a harpy route? We would''ve been in big trouble if we hadn''t cleared it with the admins."
-Why isn''t it a red harpy carrying us, but instead, a ck one?
-I thought they were like the Dkklfar[1] from Norse mythology.
-It turns out they''re just hermits who can''t be bothered to go outside.
-Why are they perfectly fine?
-Since the harpy race consists only of females, let''s throw Rnd at them and be allies.
Harpies attack adventurers andmanded monsters like the one-horned mountain goat and shadow leopard, even cutting off paths.
This shattered the stereotype, sparking a frenzy in the chat.
Our group, including me, was just as shocked.
We would have been less surprised if a giant harpy had spoken human words through an old woman''s mouth, but it was even more shocking to see it carrying a stone dwarf on its back.
It''smon for enemies to be allies, but it''s a different story when a monster we thought was an enemy is carrying an ally on its back.
"Getting here means you must be powerful squishies, right? Hey, wannae with me?"
"...Where to?"
The stone dwarf spoke atop a giant harpy, twice the size of other ck harpies and capable of grabbing an adult male with one foot, looking menacingly at us through the grimace of an old woman.
We quietly listened to the mysterious stone dwarf, who had suddenly appeared riding a harpy and asked us if we wanted to fly to the mountain top.
...Were we going to ride a giant harpy there?
"To the pper Queen!"
To the Harpy Queen at the top of that daunting mountain?
...Let''s go now!
"Could you exin what''s going on? And, what''s your name?"
"Ah! I''m Lili! Lili the Gem Cutter. And these ppers here are the good one. Up there on the mountain top is a big red Queen pper."
Might as well go for it, considering we can reset if things go wrong.
Excluding the old woman head, it was an opportunity to ride a giant eagle through the vast sky.
Both Han Se-ah and I were excited and wanted to immediately say yes, but Irene naturally intervened and started talking to stone dwarf Lili.
Lili the Gem Cutter was mentioned when we saw the ruins of the 42nd floor.
The dwarves and Old Bobo had murmured, "Isn''t this Lili''s city?"
We thought the city was destroyed by a giant monster underground along with its upants, but it seems the stone dwarf survivors had somehow escaped and survived by joining forces with the harpies.
It''s not so strange to think that the stone dwarves and the Harpy Queen would get along.
''After all, why would harpies attack the stone dwarves?''
Both the ck harpy with an eagle''s body and the head of an old woman and the red harpies with wings and eagle ws are carnivores.
They domesticate one-horned mountain goats, suggesting they might be nomadic.
If we set aside the fact that monsters inside the tower leave behind mana stones instead of meat, thinking of them as possible allies isn''t so far-fetched.
It''s like they''re nomads living on the outskirts.
If adventurers, foreigners to them, enter their mountains to pass through, it''s understandable that the newly appeared red harpies would be hostile.
Wasn''t the main pretext for the Imjin War[2] that the Japanese wanted to pass through Korea to get to China?
"So, Lili, if it''s not too much trouble, may I know why you''ve invited us?"
"You said you needed help, right? Something neither the stone dwarves nor the ppers can do."
If hundreds of armed soldiers suddenly tried to break through a nest where young ones are being raised, their hostile reaction is understandable.
Especially since something happened on the 45th floor, causing this mess, which supports my thoughts.
Being an adventurer isn''t exactly a profession that prides itself on morality and humanity.
A mad mage might have tampered with harpy eggs, or a lust-driven adventurer might have tried to assault a harpy.
Considering a senior adventurer was hanged in front of a temple after being infected by assaulting a doppelganger on the floor below...
"What should we do, Hanna?"
-Refuse, and we blow up the stream.
-If you don''t go see the Harpy Queen, the stream will die. Make sure to stream it clearly.
-Would you really pass up the chance to ride a Gigantamax[3] harpy through the sky in a virtual reality game?
-As if Han Se-ah would miss such an opportunity, lol.
-So, you''re going?
"Um, well... I think it''s best to go if they''re inviting us to talk."
"Hanna''s right."
"I think it''s best to avoid unnecessary battles if possible."
Grace and Katie nod in agreement to Han Se-ah''s opinion.
I too find no reason to disagree, and as I nod, several named harpiesnd in front of us, casting dark shadows.
They possess intelligence to understand our conversation and assess the situation, perhaps because they have the heads of old women.
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Raei Trantions
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As the dark wings p up and down, our view suddenly elevates.
As the dark wings pped up and down, our view suddenly elevated.
"Whoa, whoa-!"
"Wha- It''s shaking!"
"Holding onto the feathers tightly won''t hurt, right?"
Without saddles, we were just clinging to the back of a giant eagle, and each p of its wings made our view shake violently.
The flight of birds of prey is far from graceful.
Maybe because each was carrying a person on its back, it felt even more so.
Thanks to Rnd''s robust physique, I could look around, but the rest of the group could do nothing but cling tightly to the harpy, eyes shut tight.
The mountain range looked like dozens of cliffs bundled together by a giant, with no possible path for a person to climb on foot.
Sharp cliffs were everywhere, and harpies had built their nests on them, huddled inside.
There were hundreds of them, patrolling in groups, making it feel less like looking at eagle''s nests and more like observing a military camp filled with tents.
It suggested the Harpy Queen had considerable control and organization.
"Over here, squishies!"
Upon reaching the mountaintop, invisible even to a 5 archer''s eyes, we saw a pce.
Huh?
"Did the stone dwarves build this?"
"She did say she was a gem cutter but there could be other stone dwarves here."
A huge stone pce, carved out of the mountaintop, gave off a vibe of a temple from Greek or Roman mythology.
The pce, owned by harpies and not humans, had many pirs but no walls, making it look like an ancient temple ruin.
The design minimized walls and ceilings to allow harpies to fly in and out easily.
It took a moment for my thoughts to catch up, but Grace and Han Se-ah''s conversation made it clear.
The stone dwarves had been rescued and lived together with the harpies for more than just a day or two.
Fortunately, this story further increased our trust in the Harpy Queen, whom we''d never met.
It suggested that Lili the stone dwarf was not just simple bait.
Named harpies then flew us through the pir-filled, wall-less pce to the inside.
"Wee, humans. Reaching the depths of this rugged mountain range means you must possess significant abilities."
"Ah, hello?"
Greeting us in the pce, which resembled a temple with very few walls and ceilings but many pirs, was naturally the Queen of the harpies.
Both the named ck harpy and the queen herself showed that size matters in harpy society, as the queen''s size was enormous.
She was slightly smaller than an ogre, about 3.5 meters tall?
Unlike the simple red-feathered harpies, the queen had bright crimson hair, almost golden, cascading down her back, sitting on a throne carved from stone.
Her talons were entrusted to stone dwarves.
-Why doesn''t the Harpy Queen have any feathers on her body?
-Uh, the queen is quite big, in many ways. Her ambition seems grand, overflowing with maternal love. Maybe it''s because of the wing pping, but her pectoral muscles are well-developed.
-She''s crossing her legs, the camera angle seems a bit risky
-It looks good, that''s enough, right? Don''t tell me you guys prefer them small.
Wearing ornaments possibly given by the stone dwarves, she is still essentially nude.
This heated up the chat.
"I invited you to my pce because of an annoying issue underground."
"That''s right! Something strange suddenly appeared!"
"It even chewed up our city!"
"Haaah, my little stones. Am I not speaking?"
The Harpy Queen, unaware of the viewers getting heated up in the chat and getting moderated by A.I., cast an indifferent gaze towards us and began to speak.
Watching the stone dwarves throw in theirments while trimming her talons or tidying up the pirs and throne, the Harpy Queen''s heart was kinder and broader than expected.
She was generous in many ways.
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[1. raei: Dkklfar are dark elves in Norse mythology. They dwell within the earth.]
[2. raei: A war that took ce from 1592 to 1598]
[3. raei: pokemon term. me dunno pokemon but it''s like an enhanced ver. of pokemon?]Toggle New Ads
3/5 Enjoy the chappy!
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