After Rezen treated Treen's injury, he planned on sleeping again since he hasn't slept much last night. However, before he could do so, the forest once again reminded Rezen how hard it is for humans to survive in this realm
He just finished sending Treen back to his own hut when he heard a tribesman shouting loudly
"Enemy! Enemy attack! It's the harpies! Prepare for battle!"
The moment that Rezen heard those words, he immediately went out of his hut and what he saw outside were humanoid beings flying in the air
This realm is not only the home of magic beasts and humans, there were also various races living in it
Aside from humans and magic beasts, there were also demihumans and the harpies fall under the category of demihumans
The harpies have almost the same physique as humans but their arms have black feathers in them, forming a pair of wings
Their hands were also pointy much like a bird's claw. Even their faces have some bird-like features
"Chirp chirp! Lowly humans, let us play!" One of the harpies in the sky said playfully
Harpies are playful creatures, they love messing with others and what they love the most is harassing their targets before killing them brutally
Also, just like how magic beasts kill humans for food and vice versa, the harpies are also part of the food chain
Harpies also kill humans not only for enjoyment but also to turn them into food
When it comes to physical attributes, harpies just like humans are weaker than magic beasts. Since that was the case, wouldn't it be better to hunt humans or other demihumans instead of the physically stronger magic beasts?
What was happening now is a testimony to that
"Ahh!! My child! Die, dirty birds!"
In the sky, one of the harpies claws penetrates a child's chest, sending blood flying around
The child's face was frozen in pain and shock. Even in death, he was not able to close his eyes
"[Water Stream!]"
The mother of the dead child controlled her Resonance Gem and it floated in front of her
Her mana was stirred aggressively as she raised her hand while conjuring a magic circle
A stream of watery energy was released by the magic circle, targeting the harpy that killed her child
"Chirp! Chirp! Too slow! Hahahaha!" The Harpy despite just brutally killing the child of a mother, still laughed heartily
She flapped her arms that were also her wings to dodge the stream spell and she was successful
It was hard for humans to fight harpies as the latter have the ability to fly while the former don't
Even a Junior Mage can't fly freely in the skies. They might be able to learn some spells that could make them fly but their spells' abilities would be limited
They cannot fly as freely as the harpies are doing. If their spells can't hit the target then their magic is useless no matter how powerful it was
"Die!"
Fortunately, although the tribe would find it hard to fight the harpies, it's not like they are completely powerless against them. If that were the case then the tribe would have ceased to exist already
On the ground, Stone Head could be seen. His muscular body was covered with a faint layer of mana as the veins on his legs popped
The ground beneath him cracked and he launch himself into the air
Rezen is still clueless about how the power of Junior Mages works but from the battle between Stone Head and Big Nose, he knew that those two rely on close combat
Their physical attributes for some reason reached beyond what a normal human could have. While they can use long-range attacks, that doesn't seem to be their forte, and attacking using their bodies resulted in more potent firepower
They are the exact opposite of the Chief that mostly attacked enemies from afar. She even always has a protective barrier to protect her body in case the enemies reached her
Stone Head flew in the air as he clenched his fist. With his manipulation, water covered his fist and he used that fist to attack the harpy that was caught off guard
As someone that loses his dear wife, Stone Head is painfully aware of how painful it was to lose someone that you love
As such, seeing that the child of a fellow tribesman was killed by the harpy filled Stone Head with rage
"Ahhh!!!"
Stone Head released a scream of fury as his fist made contact with the harpy
In terms of speed, harpies are superior but their bodies are fragile as if nature wanted to balance out things
As such, the punch that packed Stone Head's power cracked the harpy's skull. Her eyes rolled at the back of her bloody head and as death came to her, the child in her hand fell
Seeing that, Stone Head went to catch the child but the harpies are not forgiving creatures, in fact, they are even unreasonable as if there was something on their heads
"Aahhh!!! You killed Maywing! We only killed one useless child, why did you kill one of us??! Aahhh!!! I'll kill you!" The harpy shrieked as she dived down to attack Stone Head
The other harpies were also the same and Stone Head suddenly became everyone's target
Unfortunately, while Stone Head was able to catch the child's corpse, he doesn't have the ability to maneuver mid-air
He was free falling and although falling from this height wouldn't kill him, the harpies wouldn't let him fall unscathed
Stone Head could only hug the dead child's body as he exposed his back to the harpies in fear that even after death, the child's corpse would be sullied
A harpy was about to penetrate his back with her sharp claws when a small orb hit her face
The tribe doesn't only have one Junior Mage! The Chief is also present and her forte is even long-range attacks
She used her barrier orb to hit the harpy in the face. While it didn't kill her, the harpy was still sent flying and the others halted
Thanks to Stone Head's heavy mass, it didn't take that long before he landed on the ground that cracks because of the force
"My child! Huhuhu! Thank you! Thank you!" The tribesman went to collect her unfortunately dead child as she wailed
"I will not allow any more deaths!" Stone Head vowed with eyes reddened in rage
He completely lost all reason as he utilizes his mana. The faint blue glow on his body grew brighter as he once again jumped into the air
"Die! Die! Die!!" He screamed in rage as he punched another harpy to death
However, the harpies are also not some random weaklings
The harpies flew away before flapping their wings wildly. Almost instantly, sharp winds were generated that traveled in the air to harm Stone Head
"Aarrggh!!!"
Multiple cuts appeared on Stone Head's body. He tried to protect himself with mana but it was not enough
"Idiot! Calm down!" The Chief said as she waved her magic wand. The wand's tip glowed before a barrier formed around Stone Heaf
Unfortunately, while the Chief is a Junior Mage, the opposing side also has people at the same level
It didn't take that long before the Chief's barrier was broken down and Stone Head once again became the target of the sharp winds
"Ahhh!!! Noooo!!!"
Due to the range of the winds, it was not only Stone Head that was affected. The tribesmen near him were instantly shredded to death
Aside from Stone Head, only the Chief was at the Junior Mage rank. How could the other tribesmen resist such power that even Junior Mages find hard to resist
While the tribesmen isolated and didn't approach him these days, he knew the reason and understood it. No matter how much the tribesmen don't like someone, they definitely wouldn't kill him the way he did
He causes the death of not only a family member but also a valuable manpower of the tribe and Stone Head is aware of the consequences that it would have
As such, he wanted to devote himself and his life to the betterment of the tribe. He doesn't want to see his family shedding blood again!
"Stop! Stop!" He shouted while trying to resist the sharp winds but to no avail. The harpies don't plan on stopping any moment from now and all Stone Head could see was red
"I said... STOP!"
Woooossshhh!!!!
Stone Head's mana was stirred violently as a magic circle started to form on his feet
He stopped resisting the sharp winds and he let them cut his body so that he could cast a spell, a proper spell
Junior Mages could use magic without the aid of magic circles but their strongest magic would still be with the aid of magic circles
"This brat... when did he learn a magic spell?" The Chief thought in her mind while staring at Stone Head
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om