Volume 1 Chapter 18 Quest： Prince Of The Sky III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The sky was as blue as the vast ocean.
There, a massive phantom beast with dark brown wings── a griffin── was soaring.
With the upper body of a hawk and the lower body of a lion.
it was a gigantic monster, 5 meters long (about 16 feet), and its wingspan easily stretched over ten meters (33 f) when fully spread.
A bear-like big guy named Robert, who had left his cart behind, readied his axe on his back.
”Damn it! It’s a male of the Franz Queen species! A vicious one that got separated from the pack! Be careful!”
”Eek!”
”Y-You got it, boss!”
”W-What the hell! This can’t be the griffin’s territory! Is this an irregular situation!?”
Funnelwing, drawing his sword, shouted.
His voice trembled slightly.
”Crap, we gotta do this. Franciska, magic!”
”B-But isn’t this kinda bad? Shouldn’t we run, Senior Rosen!?”
Right next to Kian, a cowardly priest and a flashy female magician were pulling out their weapons.
Serena stood beside Funnelwing, sword ready, gazing up at the sky.
(Were they drawn in by the smell of blood?)
Kian glanced at the corpse of a wild dog.
The laziness of Funnelwing and the others had manifested in the worst way.
’Are we really going to do this?’
(It’s dangerous to turn my back at this distance. We have no choice.)
He pulled a club from his waist.
It was a homemade weapon, a sturdy oak branch with stones and iron tied to it.
His gear consisted of this, a slingshot for throwing stones, and a wooden sword.
The slingshot and pebbles were on his right hip, while the wooden sword and a spare club were strapped to his back.
’You should’ve bought a decent longsword or something.’
(I didn’t have the money. Steel weapons and armor cost way more than food for maintenance and repairs.)
’Can you aim for its head with this club?’
(Difficult. But if I can cling to its back, there might be a chance.)
Kian kept his eyes locked on the griffin as he moved his feet sideways, distancing himself from the cart.
He quickly assessed the surrounding situation.
An open town street with no cover.
A cliff loomed in the back to his right.
To his left, green hills rolled like waves.
(The footing is good.)
As he kicks the ground with the tips of his boots, it’s making a clattering sound.
The ground is dry and easy to run on, thanks to the clear skies.
It’s a relatively easy place to fight, but the same goes for the griffin.
Without any trees or vines, it can easily perform its most powerful attack, a sudden aerial assault.
And with few blind spots, it’s also easy to avoid long-range attacks like slingshots, bows, and magic.
”Get back, clients!”
Kian shouted, stepping forward to protect Robert and the others.
But Robert pushed Kian aside and stepped even further forward.
”Hey, you guys fall back! I’m a former Rank 4 high-ranking adventurer! I’ll turn that bird bastard with its shit-colored feathers into tonight’s soup! ‘Falcon Brigade’! I’m joining the fight too!”
”Thank you! Ms. Serena, you and I will be the vanguard. Rosen, fall back and focus on healing!”
”Damn it! I wanna fight up front too!”
The delinquent priest clenched his mace and bared his teeth.
The handsome swordsman with cat-like hair held his sword in a middle guard position.
”I’ll let you fight up front next time, so focus on healing for now!”
”Damn it!”
”Hey, Fal-Fal, are you really gonna fight that thing? It looks dangerous, and it seems really angry…”
As soon as Robert finished speaking, the griffin let out another intimidating roar.
The air trembled with a buzzing sound.
The lion’s roar echoed like a hawk’s cry.
It was a terrifying sound with a majestic ring to it.
”Everyone, get ready!”
Funnelwing shouted.
In the next instant, the griffin flapped its tawny wings once, then spread them wide and glided down from above with great force.
A strange, loud whooshing sound filled the air as the griffin’s several-meter-long body flew towards them.
”Scatter!”
Robert shouted, but it was too late.
The griffin pounced, its claws slicing through the air, and slammed into the two employees hiding behind the cart.
The cart, made of wood, exploded into pieces, splitting in half like it was made of paper.
The large, sturdy wooden cart, big enough for 3 adults to lie down comfortably, was completely obliterated, leaving no trace.
”Waaaah!”
”Huh?”
Two guys, who pull the cart, seemed to have rolled away and escaped some trouble, but the griffin, having torn apart the cart, kicked off the ground and lunged at them.
Its yellow beak opened wide.
”Grrraaaaawwww-kaaaawwwrr!”
A destructive roar filled the air.
The lion and eagle’s growls echoed.
A red tongue flicked out, and drool splattered everywhere.
The griffin’s blue feathers scattered around like glitter.
The griffin spread its wings boldly, claws dancing in the air.
”S-stop it!”
”No wayyy!”
”You guys! UOOOOOOOOOORAAAAAA!”
A bear-like giant’s shout.
Right in front of Kian, who was shielding his face from the wood and dust, Robert raised his axe and swung it down onto the giant beast’s back.
It sounded less like a slash and more like a thud.
With a dull thud, Robert’s axe sank deep into the griffin’s side.
”ＧＹＡＹＹＹＹＹＮ.”
Blood sprayed.
Robert’s mouth curled into a smirk as the axe dug into the griffin’s side.
But it didn’t seem to be a fatal blow; the griffin twisted its body and swung its blade-like wings, sending the big guy flying.
”Ugh!”
”Franciska, start chanting something!”
”Uh, um! Something happen! Please, spirits!”
”Next, it’s my turn.”
Serena said that briefly and charged straight at the bloodshot-eyed griffin.
Black claws swiped at her, but she dodged skillfully and struck.
She tore into its chest and rolled away, slipping past it.
Standing up, she flicked the blood off her sword and pointed it at the beast.
”Come at me! I’m your opponent!”
(The best move is to support her. Of course, I’ll take the final blow.)
Kian moved in circles, distracting the griffin with stones from his slingshot.
A strong tail swung at him, but he jumped lightly to dodge it, and as he landed, he picked up another stone.
The griffin glanced at Kian, looking annoyed.
It wouldn’t let itself be drawn into an attack.
He kept changing positions, making sure the griffin couldn’t focus its claws on him.
The griffin barked in frustration at Kian, its attention fully on him.
Its side was wide open.
The ‘Falcon Brigade’ wasn’t gonna miss the big opening the monster showed.
The heavily armored Funnelwing kicked the ground hard and swung down from behind.
”I got it! Ooooooh!”
He let out a brave shout, but it seemed that his voice helped the griffin notice the surprise attack coming from behind.
It kicked up its back legs and slashed at his stomach with its sharp claws.
”Ughhh!?”
”Ugh!?”
Blood splattered everywhere, and the spray hit Serena’s face, freezing her in place.
The sturdy chainmail seemed useless against the beast’s strength, as the handsome cat-eyed swordsman rolled over, bleeding from his gut.
The party was made up of Rank 4 adventurers for the appropriate hunt.
This was probably a strong enemy that Funnelwing and the others had never faced before.
It was different from the weaklings they had fought until now.
They had relied on their natural strength and magic power, but this monster had muscle and speed that couldn’t be ignored.
”Funnelwing! Damn it!”
Rosen Pitt began to pray.
But the griffin knocked Serena aside and lunged at the now-fallen Funnelwing.
Fear showed on the handsome cat-eyed swordsman’s face.
”N-no! I can’t! Someone help meee!”
”Spirit, please!”
At Franciska’s call, the ground started to rise, and several large earth spears shot up toward the griffin.
One of them hit the side where it had been slashed earlier, causing the griffin to stagger.
That’s when Robert tackled it from the side.
The big guy aimed for the griffin’s feather-light neck.
For the first time, the monster let out a real scream as it stumbled.
”Ugh…”
Funnelwing rolled back.
The griffin, however, turned its claws toward Robert, not him.
”Whoa!?”
He deflected the claws with his axe held sideways.
But the griffin’s attack was still strong and heavy, even for a big guy like him.
The axe was knocked from his hands, clattering to the ground behind him.
”Damn it!”
Robert, the bear-like, who had lost his balance and landed on his butt, reached out for the axe that was rolling away as if he was clinging to it.
But before he could grab it, the griffin arched its back and roared at the sky, digging its claws into Robert’s back.
”Ughhh!?”
”…Ugh, …!”
Kian, who had reacted quickly, focused his energy and readied his club in a low stance.
(One of the basic techniques, ‘Shot’. It sends out magic power to deliver an impact…!)
But before he could swing the club, the griffin scooped up the big guy and kicked off the ground with its back legs, soaring into the sky.
A moment later, Serena’s sword swung through the air, missing completely.
”Whoa, whoaaa, let me go! You bastard!”
”Uncle Bear!!! We gotta do something, with magic, spirit!”
Franciska generated another spear of earth, but it was no use; the griffin was already over ten meters high, and the spear lost momentum halfway, crumbling into dust.
”Ah, no way…”
Franciska let out a voice full of despair.
This party’s weakness was clear.
There wasn’t a single specialist who could properly attack from a distance──no real magician or sharpshooter.
As Kian and the others stared up in shock, the griffin had snagged the tastiest-looking prey and was leisurely circling in the sky.
The monster then flew off over the cliff with Robert’s desperate curses trailing behind…
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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