44 Besieged

It wasn't hard for Lorian to get back on the deck with his skills.

When he got back up, the gory sight greeted him.

The dismembered corpses of the sailors were sprawled all over the floor. The picture of scattered innards and bloody bits and pieces was nightmarish and unsightly. It was a wonder since when did he grow numb to such sights, or was he innately uncaring and detached...

His only concern was the wellbeing of Elaine.

Lorian quickly scanned the deck. Except for the dead, others should have found the temporary refugee inside the ship. However, not everyone has fled.

The captain, for example, had regained his cool and despite the wounds accumulated on his body, was swinging the jagged sword, hacking through Harpies' waists.

Another valiant sailor with bulky build and headwear was swinging the wooden log, smashing the birdmen around with beastly shouts.

The deck was thoroughly wrecked with pieces of wood and barrels scattered around. There were less powerful sailors, who hadn't fled yet and were hiding in the advantageous terrain, between broken down areas, dealing with 1-2 Harpies at a time.

The nerdy guy from before appeared wounded but was still shooting out bolts from time to time. The electric sphere around his body was fluctuating, appearing weak.

It wasn't surprising. Although the lightning attribute had great destructive power, the mana consumption for casting was just as high.

Lorian quickly noticed the presence of Elaine. She was cooperating with the nerdy guy, slitting throats of the zapped Harpies. She was also small and quite agile, having no trouble evading the birdmen's assault.

Seeing her fine, he silently heaved a sigh of relief.

*Crunch

The sound of bone-crushing rang from nearby. Lorian turned his head and saw the crouching Harpy feasting upon dead sailor's corpse. Its mouth was covered in blood and flesh pieces. The way it crushed the dead sailor's bones with teeth spoke of its sharpness.

The Harpy raised its head and gave a low pitched hoarse sound.

Lorian jumped up a bit, then glided down, his silhouette blurry.

- Force step!

Before the Harpy could react, Lorian's leg was just inches away from its face.

*Bang

Caught off guard, the kick sunk the Harpy's face and the burst impact made the birdman hurl backward. The Harpy heavily bounced off the wooden floor while rolling, then crashed into the edge of the deck. Its bloodied body no longer moved and lied motionless.

- 78

The distinct skull cracking sound rang. The Harpie's life force was about 150, but receiving a critical hit worth more than half of its life force on the head was more than deadly enough. Besides, Lorian's kick was enforced with force step, which was burst type skill usable not only for quick movement but offense too.

Lorian backflipped and safely landed on the ground.

[ +1 Battle Exp ]

...

''Seems killing the small fries is no longer an efficient way to progress.''

Lorian sighed helplessly.

If he wanted to get stronger at a decent pace, he would have to kill 1-star warrior level monsters at a minimum, which wasn't that impossible now since his power level dramatically increased.

Now his life force was about 350, while his raw attack power was at 35.

This meant, his fist's strength was about 160 kg and kick strength about 20% higher - 190 kg.

On earth, such level of fitness would put him near the top, but here, it was merely average.

Of course, adding his skills to the picture could make a huge difference.

As for life force, it wasn't too dependable to count on. True, he wouldn't die from wounds that could be considered mortal for a normal person and his resilience was on the whole new level, but attack in critical areas could cause instant death.

After the fast inner monologue, Lorian quickly returned to reality. The matter at hand wasn't so easy to deal with. There were simply too many Harpies flying around the ship like flies.

''Are they merely a ragtag bunch? If not, where's their leader?

It was an unspoken rule of the war, killing the commander was equal to half-winning the war.

The problem was, he couldn't find one.

- You're back so early? What about the sirens?

The nerdy guy spoke with concern while sweating, seeing Lorian kicking his way in. He either killed on his way or was limping forward with a calm face.

*Screech!

The Harpie struggled under Lorian's feet, but...

*Pew, Pew, Pew, Pew, Pew~

Lorian mercilessly stoned it with ice bullets to the face.

- All clear.

An astonishment flashed past Aaron's eyes, then doubt surfaced on his face, but seeing Lorian's calm expression, he somehow believed it and sighed in relief.

Lorian slowly made his way to the duo.

- Are you alright, little one?

He asked concernedly.

Elaine finished backstabbing the Harpie from her side, then reappeared from stealth, nodding her head.

- Aaron's been a great help.

She stared at the nerdy guy with secret admiration in her eyes. Her face was deadpan as always though.

''So Aaron's his name? I didn't have the time to ask.''

Lorian mused while looking up Aaron from top to bottom. No matter how you looked at him, he was physically weak, but volatile fluctuation around his body was enough to give one fright.

- Any long-term solutions for this mess?

Lorian inquired while dragging down two Harpies and smashing their heads at each other.

Aaron fixed his glasses, pointed his finger in the air and said.

- Look at that cluster of Harpies.

- Hmm?

Lorian's eyes shone. Strangely, there were a lot of Harpies gathered around at that place. Putting two and two together, Lorian realized a commander level Harpy must be there.

Aaron guessed his thoughts from his expression and added.

- It's more complicated. I've caught the sight of their leader. It's not what you'd expect.

*Bzzt

The bolt electrocuted the diving Harpie, which followingly fell in Elaine's hands.

*Screech! Screech! ~

- What do you mean?

Lorian asked with a bit of impatience.

- Fledgling, that's who they follow. I guess even if we kill it, the Harpies won't be demoralized but enraged instead.

Lorian's expression changed as he guessed his meaning.

- Fuck, so it's a talented one of their species out for experience? Damn, that's more troublesome than I thought. Hey, can't we just drag things out?

Lorian was lacking in real-life experience and wisdom.

Aaron shook his head solemnly.

- They will harass us to no end, so we'll have to stagnate here, unable to progress in our travels. The rations are limited. They won't let us fish either. There are many examples of ships meeting tragical ends in harpies' treacherous hands.

- How about the hit and run tactics? It won't be tough for us to slowly grind them to oblivion.

Aaron looked at him with disdain.

- These birds aren't as simple as they look. The sky is their domain. We are at a disadvantage. Mind you, humans aren't the only ones who learn from mistakes.

Listening to the answer, Lorian felt annoyed and conflicted at the same time.

- What do we do, then? Just wait for our deaths?

It was understandable. There were hundreds of Harpies scattered all around in the sky. They didn't seem to be taking things seriously as only the weaker ones were sent down, which was more than enough to deal with the majority of the ship's travelers and the sailors.

The way they treated their kin as cannon fodders spoke of their harsh nature.

Aaron didn't speak for a long while, then finally broke the cacophony of fighting noises.

- Don't expect some genius plan. We don't have an option. Let's go back to cabins and recover. Guerilla warfare is our best option.

- Hey, didn't you turn down that idea of mine just now?

Lorian sounded a bit annoyed.

Aaron fixed his glasses.

- You don't understand. I feel the strong ones nearby, but they're not making their move. That means the fledgling is playing the game with us, the general being her and pawns - her army. All we have to do is amuse the fledgling and give her some challenge. Then, she won't easily get bored and just order everyone to just overwhelm us with numbers, in which case, we won't have a chance at all.

Lorian's eyes lit up in understanding. He looked at the nerdy guy with newfound respect.

- Good, you're not as useless as you look.

Lorian grinned, wanting to see the always calm Aaron lose his cool.

- What was that?

Aaron gave him an unhappy look.

- I said look at how useless these birds are.

Lorian feigned ignorance.

- Father, you are excited.

Elaine commented in a monotone voice.

Lorian grinned.

Right, he was a bit excited. It's been a while since he felt challenged.

''Wait, father? Ah, right, she started calling me that a while ago. It feels strange, but I don't mind. As long as she feels happy...She's really like a family to me now, and only one at that. She's the only one I can unconditionally trust my back with.''

- Captain, order everyone to return to the cabins. Any more manpower can't be lost!

Aaron suddenly yelled. His voice woke up the butchering captain.

''The ship's not made of such fickle materials. It will hold out for a while and probably a couple of weeks if these hateful birds don't go all out...We'll be screwed in the end, but oh well, a day longer to live is better than dying earlier.''

Having made up his mind, he ordered in a loud voice.

- Everyone, we withdraw to the cabins.

- Boss, we're stuck here.

- Yeah, we can't leave. Help us out, please, captain.

Seeing some of his men in the perilous situation the captain yelled.

- Brendan, you go help the duo, I'll help the others. Don't let there be any more casualties. We'll come back to avenge our fallen brothers.

Seeing their lifelong comrades dying with incomplete corpses, they were naturally furious, but trading their lives with the stupid birds wasn't clever either.

Seeing the captain do the right thing, Aaron felt relieved.

- Huff, I'm out of mana. I'll be leaving first.

Lorian nodded.

- Elaine, you rest too. I'll be back in a while.

Elaine nodded.

- Don't overdo it. We'll have to surprise the fledgling tonight and you can't be missing.

Aaron reminded. Lorian just waved his hand. Aaron sighed and made a tactical retreat along with Elaine.

- Fledgling, huh? Know your enemy, know yourself. I need to find you.

Lorian laughed and continued slaughtering the Harpies while making his way closer to the cluster of Harpies.

His perception was locked on that place and soon noticed a different Harpy among the flock.

[ Novice Harpy Commander, Engel (Elite)

★ Warrior (2000/50000)

★ Mage ( 8000/50000)

Skills: ???

Spells: ???

✠ 650/650

⚔ 13-78 ]

She looked very delicate, a little shorter than other Harpies. The glossy white wings sprouting from her shoulders made her look like an angel. Her face was also pretty with white hair reaching down her shoulders. And...her naked body was like a piece of art, able to mesmerize every man.

- Damn, what a hottie. The bird's legs below knees kill the mood though, but not by much. Hehehe, so we are at your mercy then?

The gaze of the two met. A slight smile hung on her face, while her eyes revealed a curious glint.

- Not killing us while still can, what an idiot. I shall exact retribution for your wild curiosity.

Lorian smiled under the mask and departed while limping. The courageous Harpies blocking his path met their maker at his hands.