Chapter 24

Even in the wilderness, there are paths.

Nomads don’t just wander aimlessly. Like kittens darting between cars to avoid people, they navigate narrow paths to escape the pervasive threats.

Normally, they select the safest routes based on the ‘forecasts’ issued once a year by the cities, but since we needed to catch up to the Talon School Caravan as quickly as possible, we couldn’t stick to only the safe paths.

And this is the result.

“Baek Jun-woo! Yuria! Circle wide to the right and cut off their retreat! Don’t let a single one escape!”

“Baek Ho-ryang and Temurin, to the left!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Racing at full speed, Teacher Sena shouted commands without pause.

After leaving the wilderness of sand, rocks, and small shrubs, we had arrived at a vast prairie filled with moss and grass.

There, we encountered chimeras, or as they’re called in the eastern lands, “Ijokg” (異族) – a wicked race. (TLN: I’ll keep “Ijokg” using Ijokg. If the Author didn’t mention about how in the “eastern lands” they call chimera, I’ll use “chimera”. But for now, I’ll keep using Ijokg. Basically, just keep in mind that “Ijokg” is chimera. I will also sometime remind you about this if an Ijokg appears if the Author have not yet describe that Ijokg = chimera. Anyway, moving on.)

Usually, when spotting Ijokg, you’d avoid that path and go elsewhere, but this time, they were blocking the very route we needed to take.

If we detoured around them, we’d have no chance of catching up to the Talon School Caravan.

After a night of discussion, the adults finally decided to break through them.

That’s why… we’re fighting now.

This isn’t my first time seeing Ijokg.

When I was younger? I’ve seen them about three times.

Back then, the adults fought the Ijokg… but this is my first time facing them directly.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The Ijokg we’re chasing are fake harpies.

Rather than looking human, they have small, shriveled bodies like hairless monkeys, with wings instead of arms. Their mouths are pointed like beaks.

They can run quite fast, flapping their wings as they go, and can jump about 4 or 5 meters into the air like chickens taking flight, but they can’t truly fly.

They dart around chaotically, slicing with their sharp beaks and claws, quickly leaving anyone in their path bloody. Yet their bodies are light and soft, so once caught, they can be twisted to death by hand.

The ‘Blade Beak Plains’ we had entered was teeming with fake harpy tribes that had recently migrated there.

We slaughtered them whenever we encountered them as we crossed the plains.

Slaughter.

It’s not that we’re particularly cruel – that’s just the standard way to deal with Ijokg.

Though it varies by species, those labeled as Ijokg possess a certain intelligence. If even one escapes and returns, you might next face an entire army of their kind.

That’s one reason for the total extermination, but… there’s an even worse reason.

Twang-!

Whizz-!

Yuria’s bow twanged continuously. With each shot, a fake harpy running at full speed crashed to the ground.

Hitting these wildly leaping fake harpies accurately while riding horseback?

Truly ghostly archery skills.

In an operation to surround and annihilate Ijokg, the most crucial role is on the right flank.

There’s a reason Yuria has taken that position, outranking even the adults, despite not being a Mana User.

She really is exceptional.

Whoosh-!

I also fired arrows continuously while riding. Though not as good as Yuria, I brought down one harpy for every two shots.

Being a Mana User with abundant strength, I occasionally pierced two of them with a single arrow. That would have been impossible with my original archery skills… but now it’s within my capability.

[Simulation]

Twang!

‘Missed… aim a little more to the right.’

[Simulation End]

Whizz!

Squeeeeek!

The harpy I shot with a slightly adjusted aim tumbled to the ground with a screech.

I practiced once with a simulation before each shot.

Even so, my accuracy was only hitting with every other arrow… which would be considered prodigious for my age. It’s just that Yuria is absurdly skilled.

‘But I can’t lose.’

If I’m only getting this accuracy despite using simulations each time, the efficiency is too poor.

I pulled out a spear that was tied to my saddle.

“I’m going ahead!”

Frrrrrr!

Heukseom whinnied and accelerated.

Slowly, my mana and Heukseom’s mana began to intertwine.

Though I still can’t achieve unity with a sword for the Mana Sword, harmonizing with Heukseom comes easily to me… I’m still better at horse magic than sword techniques!

[Simulation]

I ran a simulation with twenty fake harpies as conditions.

One fake harpy equals 0.2 Jun-woos in terms of condition burden. Twenty of them meant 4 Jun-woos.

Adding the terrain, Heukseom, and myself to the conditions brought it to 6 Jun-woos.

Throb!

Though I simulated less than 2 minutes, a pain like being pierced with an awl shot through my head.

As Teacher Sena suggested, I’ve been working to increase my simulation limits and have made some progress, but 6 Jun-woos is still too much strain.

However… I saw everything clearly!

Thud-thud-thud!!

Heukseom charged like a black storm, cutting diagonally through the fleeing fake harpies’ formation.

The optimal path to disrupt their course while inflicting maximum damage.

As I plunged in, the fake harpies scattered exactly as they had in the simulation.

‘I already saw it all!’

My spear flew through the air without the slightest hesitation.

Shrick!

Stabbing.

Bang!

Crushing with the shaft.

Swoosh!

Throwing a dagger.

Shrrrk!

Impaling two with one thrust.

Crack!

Trampling them with Heukseom’s full-speed charge.

Screeeech!

Shriiiiek!

With fluttering noises, the fake harpies scattered in all directions. They shrieked with hatred at me for killing their kin and charged.

I appreciate them coming to me.

I swung my spear. The way a Mana User wields a spear, with superhuman strength and speed, is far beyond what mere fake harpies can react to.

The sounds of flesh and bone being pierced continued without pause.

Blood,

more blood spurting and feathers scattering.

“Haaah…”

I exhaled deeply.

Suddenly, there were no more moving fake harpies.

The dozen or so that had charged at me were all reduced to bloody heaps, and those fleeing from me had been felled by the arrows of Yuria, Temurin, and my father who followed behind.

“Is this… what being a Mana User means…?”

Temurin stared at me with a stunned expression.

Of the approximately forty fake harpies, twenty-five died by my hand.

About twenty of those were slaughtered in less than 2 minutes.

Swoooosh!

The magical powers watching us surged wildly.

Five-colored magical powers rushed toward me in waves. It seems today’s battle satisfied the tastes of all five types of magical power.

My father, Baek Ho-ryang, absorbed about a quarter of what I’d absorbed.

Yuria took slightly less than that, and Temurin even less.

“Vanguard, rest! The rest check for survivors!”

Teacher Sena, who had arrived with the main group, issued orders.

Those of us who had fought hard took a breather while the remaining nomad members scattered to confirm kills.

They gathered the dead fake harpies and threw them into a pile after making sure they were truly dead.

But it seems one fake harpy had been alive, concealed under its mother’s body.

The baby harpy poked its head out and wailed toward the sky.

Screeeech!

It was an ominous cry.

The creature’s wail echoed through the empty air, traveling far… very far.

“Oh no…!”

The adults panicked.

Whoosh-!

My father’s quickly released arrow pierced the baby harpy’s head, but… it was already too late.

Grrrrrr!

As if answering that desperate cry… dark clouds gathered in the empty sky.

“Damn it…”

Teacher Sena’s face contorted in anger.

“Everyone! Full power to protective talismans! Escape this place at maximum speed!!”

Her voice was almost a scream.

Yes. This is the real reason why Ijokg must never be left alive.

The probability is low, but…

Sometimes, certain Ijokg can summon calamities.