Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Harpies
One-minute countdown.
[The third round has begun!]
Zhao Chi warned, "The third wave of enemies is coming, be ready!"
The white mist swirled.
Ahead, there was no sign of any enemy.
’The enemies aren’t here?’
The Female Soldiers looked left and right, but even after the mist completely dissipated, they saw no trace of the enemy.
Gu Qing’s brow furrowed.
She seemed to hear an unusual gust of wind.
Her Intelligence was 7, so her base Perception was very high.
Her sight and hearing were both sharp.
"They’re above us! Everyone, be careful! The enemies are Flying Magical Beasts!"
Gu Qing followed the sound and pointed to the sky.
Everyone looked up.
They saw a dark, oppressive flock of strange birds circling constantly overhead.
No one knew when they had flown up there.
After observing for a moment, Zhao Chi ordered:
"They’re Harpies. Everyone spread out a bit, about a meter apart, or else they won’t dare to come down."
"The Craftsmen don’t need to spread out. You don’t have Armor; just provide support.
"Everyone, watch out for their talons. They’re extremely sharp.
"Especially when they Dive down—they’re very fast, and that high speed will multiply the Damage they do."
Gu Qing and the Female Soldiers immediately dispersed.
Sure enough, as the Female Soldiers spread out, several Harpies immediately shot down, heading straight for the soldiers on the perimeter.
Their silhouettes were very much like eagles.
But they had the faces of women.
Instead of hair, their heads were covered in brown feathers, and their arms were outspread wings.
However, their shoulders, necks, chests, and waists were those of a woman.
They had no sense of shame; only their backs were covered in feathers, while their chests and abdomens were brazenly bare.
But no one would mistake them for Human.
Their lower bodies reverted to avian features.
Their legs were bent, ending not in feet but in a pair of incomparably sharp talons.
"CAW-HAHAHA!"
"CAW CAW! KILL KILL KILL!"
The Harpies dove swiftly toward their targets.
Zhao Chi shouted, "Shields up, protect your heads!"
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!
Six Harpies charged down, bringing a gale with them.
They were like cannonballs flying at high speed.
Forget their talons; even a direct collision would likely cause injury.
The Female Soldiers were completely Fearless.
Their eyes were fixed on the sky above.
The moment the creatures charged down, they raised their Shields and thrust their spears.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
The Shields shuddered violently.
Through their Shields, the Female Soldiers felt a slight pain in their arms.
Several deep, metallic scratches appeared on the Iron Shields.
PFFT PFFT PFFT PFFT!
But at the same time, the Female Soldiers’ Iron Spears lanced out, wounding four Harpies.
They crashed to the ground, flapping their wings violently.
But they could no longer fly.
Two of them, though not yet dead, were powerless to fight back.
"CAW CAW! LET GO!"
A shrill cry came from the side.
Gu Qing had grabbed a Harpy, her hands gripping its wings tightly. It struggled furiously, but couldn’t break free from her delicate-looking hands.
Gu Qing quickly untied a length of rope from her waist, deftly wrapped it around the Harpy’s wings several times, and tied it securely.
Seeing Zhao Chi looking at her, Gu Qing asked, "We get more points for capturing these things, right?"
Zhao Chi replied, "You do, but it’s dangerous. Be extremely careful. Don’t take risks just to capture them."
Gu Qing smiled. "Understood."
Tang Ruan warned, "Careful, all the Harpies are diving now."
In the sky, the remaining 24 Harpies saw the miserable state of their companions and grew furious.
"KILL KILL CAW CAW KILL!"
"Humans scattered! Charge together, caw!"
"Caw caw! Together, caw!"
All the Harpies circling in the air swooped down.
Zhao Chi shouted, "The trees nearby will interfere with their Dive! Everyone, get your backs to the trees and prepare to counter-Attack!"
"Understood!"
The Female Soldiers all moved to the large trees nearby, their eyes fixed upward.
The Lush and Thriving leaves would obstruct the Harpies’ Dive.
Just now, they had to stand in a relatively open area to lure them down. Now that the Harpies were enraged, they could afford to take a step back.
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!
From all directions.
Twenty-four enraged Harpies charged down.
For a moment, the air was filled with the piercing screech of metal being clawed.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The Female Soldiers’ bodies bent slightly under the powerful Impact Force.
But after the Impact, the Harpies’ speed was drastically reduced.
They all flapped their wings, trying to use the momentum to fly away.
’In their dreams.’
"Now! Throw!"
Zhao Chi commanded loudly.
All the women threw their Wooden Spears at once.
Seventy-seven Wooden Spears crisscrossed in the air.
"We’re firing too!" the hunter Yang Lu ordered at the same time.
Five Arrows flew out, shooting toward the sky through the gaps between the Wooden Spears.
It was only a few seconds.
Blood, feathers, and screams were everywhere.
FLAP, WHUMP, THUD THUD THUD!
One by one, the Harpies hit the ground.
"Tie them up!"
Without waiting for Zhao Chi’s order, the Female Soldiers and female Craftsmen all rushed forward, scrambling to tie them up.
Suddenly, faint glows appeared on the women’s glistening skin.
They leveled up!
Everyone leveled up.
Zhao Chi also reached Level 4.
A system notification appeared:
[Third Round Passed]
[Defeated]30 Harpies
[Time]5 minutes 17 seconds
[Score]68 Points
[Total Score]163 Points
[Rank]39th
They passed smoothly. This time, their rank rose again, reaching 39th place.
"Sir, these three are too heavily injured. They’re about to die. Should we save them?"
Gu Qing pointed at three of them under a tree.
Zhao Chi nodded. "Don’t use your Skills. Feed them these Basic Pills of mine."
The last time he opened a Treasure Chest, Zhao Chi got 5 Bottles of Basic Life Potion and 5 bottles of Basic Life Pills.
He now had 200 High Level Life Pills, so he could spare these Basic ones for them.
After all, the price for Harpies wasn’t low—at least higher than for Goblins.
Besides, Zhao Chi didn’t have to sell them; he could take his time and tame them completely.
Then he could have them patrol and stand guard in the air, which would be a lot better than those two mutts.
This time, they had killed 16 and captured 14.
Unlike Goblins, you had to take advantage of their brief moment of rage to go for an all-out kill.
Otherwise, once they calmed down and realized they were at a disadvantage, they would flee.
Catching them then would be difficult.
Zhao Chi was already very satisfied with catching 14 of them this time.
"Everyone, pick up the Wooden Spears and take them to Li Zhu’s group for repairs," Gu Qing ordered.
"Just put them on the ground over here," said Li Zhu.
Tang Ruan led the Female Soldiers to collect the Wooden Spears.
Although the Wooden Spears were Weapons,
their tips would quickly become blunt after an Attack, drastically reducing their Attack Power. They needed timely maintenance.
Zhao Chi helped everyone allocate their points.
He followed the usual pattern.
The Female Soldiers received Defense Enhancement, the female Craftsmen received Enhanced Efficiency, and the female hunters received Enhanced Movement Speed.
"Good. Is anyone injured?" Zhao Chi asked.
The women all shook their heads.
Gu Qing replied, "Only the Iron Shields were partially damaged, and some of the Female Soldiers’ Leather Armor have claw marks, but no one was injured."
Zhao Chi nodded. "That’s good. These Magical Beasts are getting stronger. Our guess was probably right—the next wave should have 40 enemies. Everyone rest up now. There’s another battle coming soon."
The women all sat down to recover their Physical Strength.
All except for Li Zhu and her 10 Carpenters.
