Chapter 262: Harpy Kingdom Revival 2
Chapter 262: Harpy Kingdom Revival 2
Chapter 262: Harpy Kingdom Revival 2
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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As if to prove that worrying thoughts were just that, thoughts, the Harpy Kingdom and Granny Pipi's city were safe.
The only issue noticed on the way back was a couple of crumbled mountain peaks.
"Did you see, adventurers? The mountain, the mountain ahead has collapsed! ...But who is this tiny child you've brought here?"
"Whoa, why is it so big?!"
"How rude, little one!"
Fortunately, Granny Pipi's mountain was not on the creature's menu.
Instead, we encountered the Harpy Queen, her feathers bristled in shock, having found the patrol routes of her kingdom's harpies destroyed.
The collapse was massive, beyond a mere landslide.
Whole peaks had crumbled, erasing the upper parts of mountains, causing chaos even out of sight, with the rumbling noise stirring up a commotion.
Because of this, we had to cover the terrified harpy girl's face with a piece of cloth, carrying her like one might transport a frightened bird or parrot.
-Hey, covering her face with cloth really makes you look like a bunch of kidnappers, doesn't it?"
-The queen was startled by the scene of kidnapping one's own kind
-I mean, LOL, I get it's urgent, but are we really going to carry her into the royal palace?"
-Human Trafficking express delivery of a 'kidnapped' harpy, the kingdom's top beauty (pretty, young, can speak, expensive).
-Do harpies just sleep when their eyes are covered and it's dark? Are they chickens? These little guys don't go underground for some reason, hoxy[1]...?
In the midst of this unexpected comedy, the Harpy Queen continued the conversation with a serious face, regardless of the viewers' laughter.
She was concerned about the small, human-language speaking member of her species, but as a queen, the collapsed mountains was her priority.
It was like living in a shoddily constructed apartment and then seeing the apartment next door collapse, which naturally hurries anyone, whether human or harpy.
Although it was a harpy who went on a reconnaissance mission who found it, the sound of the entire mountain collapsing was heard by everything, from the 44th floor to the 43rd floor.
It probably echoed all the way to Granny Pipi's city underground beyond the Harpy Kingdom.
"The monster that caused the mountain to collapse was seen catching a mountain goat, which is why we brought the child."
"Is that so? I knew something was thumping around below the mountains, but I had no idea what it was moving. It would be good to hear the story."
Thankfully, upon our safe return with the small Harpy, and after verifying that the creature's path did not lead towards the kingdom, the Harpy Queen quickly calmed down.
Dealing with stone dwarves felt somewhat like being a kindergarten teacher overwhelmed by children, but seeing her quickly regain composure reminded me that a queen is indeed a queen.
After all, while other harpies formed villages, she alone had the leadership to establish a kingdom.
"Let's talk, little one."
"Talk? About what?"
As Irene gently set down the still snuggling child, the harpy girl turned her head with a look of disappointment, gazing up at her.
Standing before the queen, who was easily twice her size, the difference in their maturity was big.
3.5m to 1.6m not just double, but double plus an extra head.
Yet, their identical red feathers gave them a mother-daughter resemblance.
"It's about the monster that eats mountain goats. We need to gather information because these humans will hunt the monster, so tell us everything you know."
"Can they really catch such a big creature without wings?"
"The creature moves underground, so you don't need wings to catch it."
"Ah, I see!"
-Would it be rude to call them dumb and dumber?
-It seems like they understand each other, but something's off LOL. They talk cute though.
-Excluding the choice of words, their intellectual level seems almost on par with stone dwarves.
-Considering craftsmanship, stone dwarves might be smarter
-It's like comparing a pesky four-year-old with a pesky seven-year-old
As the somewhat awkward conversation among the harpies continued, I quietly stepped back, planning to call upon a larger harpy in advance, as we needed to gather stories not just from the Harpy Kingdom but also from Granny Pipi's city.
Grace quietly followed me out, similar to how one might call a taxi ahead of time to catch an appointment.
Han Se-ah was busy encouraging donations from viewers by magically fixing the camera on two harpies, while Katie and Irene were listening to the stories.
Katie found the tales of giant monsters thrilling, and Irene, being naturally kind, listened attentively.
"Where are you going, Roland?"
"After we hear everything from this girl, we need to visit Granny Pipi's city. With several mountains collapsed, the stone dwarves must have felt something too."
"That makes sense. A quake strong enough to collapse mountains must have affected the underground city as well."
Following the squawking conversation of the two harpies, we rode on a large black harpy down to the 43rd floor, where the underground city's situation was beyond chaotic.
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Raei Translations
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With intact mountains collapsing, the city of stone dwarves wouldn't have been left unscathed.
"Ah, have you arrived?"
"Here, squishies."
Leaving the Harpy Queen and the girl to their conversation, we descended down a cave, where familiar faces awaited us.
Among them was one of the 50 mages brought by Charlotte, and Old Bobo.
Should I say familiar voices instead of faces?
Ignoring such trivial thoughts, as I looked around, I noticed a pile of rubble.
It was a corner of the city that had collapsed, not from a fallen ceiling but crushed by something.
As our group's gaze turned towards the devastated city, Old Bobo quickly brought up the subject.
"Look here, squishies. What happened outside? Suddenly, the ground shook, and they swarmed in. Look at this!"
"Is this boss loot?"
"A big one led a bunch of minions straight into the city, from over there."
Pointing towards a dark, gaping hole in a corner of the crumbling city, Old Bobo presented a sharp, named-grade mana stone and a large bug's jaw.
While we were outside, the underground city was fervently fighting against an invasion led by a king worm and its wriggling minions.
Even the combined efforts of fifty intermediate mages and the stone dwarves' cannons couldn't fully stop the named monster, slightly breaching their defenses.
As we looked at the large tunnel the creatures had come through, Han Se-ah mumbled,
"Ah, looking at the minimap, they came from the direction of the collapsed mountain. Did they avoid the boss monster? Maybe these bugs swarmed here because they didn't want to be caught by the tentacles."
-Should we follow this tunnel to find the boss?
-We've got a harpy mess up top, and now we're focusing on earthworms and stone dwarves?
-Han Se-ah's really lost her touch, why are we ditching the Harpy Kingdom for some earthworm defense
-Drill through the worm tunnel and find it!
Viewers rushed to her murmurs, eager to push Han Se-ah into confronting the giant worm boss.
They were sending Han Se-ah down the worm tunnel.
Urged by the chat and donations to quickly share the information 'genius mage Han Se-ah' had discovered with the group, she reluctantly approached and tapped Roland and Grace on the sleeves.
"Roland? Grace?"
"What's up, Han Se-ah?"
Swallowing her saliva, Han Se-ah called us, prompting an immediate response from Katie.
Knowing she had a reason for calling the tank and scout first, Katie briskly approached with Irene to join the discussion.
With Katie and Irene, Old Bobo holding the loot, and the representative of the intermediate mages awkwardly lingering without further instructions from Charlotte, Han Se-ah began to speak under everyone's gaze.
"It looks like these creatures came to the city to avoid the giant creature that turned the city of the stone dwarves on floor 43 into ruins. From what we saw outside, mountains on floors 44 and 43 collapsed, and large tentacles emerged, capturing goats on the surface."
"So, that creature is roaming around here, huh?"
"It looks like we'll have to enter that tunnel to chase it."
Upon hearing Han Se-ah's words, both Old Bobo and the mages listening in turned visibly apprehensive.
Having struggled to fend off a wave of underground pests, the thought of stepping into the tunnel from which the creatures emerged was daunting.
Of course, Han Se-ah, having soaked up donations, was not inclined to lead all the stone dwarves and mage minions into the fray.
With the wave already passed, she probably thought the pursuit could be handled by our party alone.
I was thinking along similar lines.
Our party wouldn't likely be outmatched by slow-moving underground pests in a situation where there's nothing to defend.
However, if we start pursuing directly, things might change, but we should be fine.
"So, let the mages stay behind in case of emergencies to protect the city, and we'll move on our own. It's a bit much for dozens of people to crowd into the tunnel anyway."
"Katie's right. We might not sense any monsters right now, but moving all together would be inconvenient."
Grace and Katie, who have reached a higher level of expertise, shared this thought.
Having fifty mages is a solid backup force, but it's another thing to drag a crowd of merely intermediate-level individuals to hunt a boss.
With the two women confidently advocating this, due to their own advanced level and sense of duty as part of a hero's party, no mage insisted on following.
After all, they joined because of the benefits Charlotte promised, so it would be stranger if they were eager to risk their lives chasing monsters.
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[1. raei: hoxy was in english. apparently it's internet slang for a korean phrase meaning 'maybe'/'possibly, by any chance' but in english.]</div>
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