Chapter 980.: Beginning termination
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---Unclaimed Mountains, about 1 Month Later---
A giant body crashed into the mountainside, setting off a snowstorm and a small avalanche as it slid into the valley. Buckled wings, broken bones, cut tubes, bent metal, this bundle of broken parts of the corpse of the hashing bird.
The cat beastman that had been riding the corpse on its slide down, sat on it, fatigued. It was the eight hashing birds Mike met since they separated from Lydia and Ray, and the second he defeated alone.
When they started going north, aiming for the route that would lead to the mine of , these things appeared more and more often. After they were attacked by three at once, they suspected that they were after Ceres, because he had killed one at Morranto. Since Ceres could not protect him when there were more than two, they decided to separate.
Yet, despite Ceres leaving his side with Blotches, Mike kept running into these things, leading him to the conclusion that these things were not just after Ceres, but more numerous in this region in general...bad news in and of itself. Was he getting closer to their place of origin?
A single of these owls was no problem for Mike, the Chosen of Maahes, but if he had to fight two it would become problematic. Mike was not specialized in ranged attacks or aerial battles, which made such fights dangerous and tiresome. But meeting them more often was not the only thing.
The trade route that led to the Border Storm was supposed to have around ten smaller and bigger settlements. After two months, Mike had crossed a little more than half the route but only come through one that had people inside. It was a town called Sventin. Inc Town at the very beginning of this broken road. This begged to question: What were these birds doing with the people?
Another question was: What were they doing with the monsters? Mike had also met next to no beast on his way. The only creatures he found in these mountains were stealth hunters, with incredible camouflage skills. He had lost his Alpeka to one, four weeks ago. Assuming this lack of normal beasts was also the doing of the hashing birds was only reasonable.
Since then, his speed had significantly slowed down and he started to worry about his rations. When he separated with Lydia, he still had two fully stacked item slots with ordinary rations, and three not fully stacked ones with Link's meals. The ordinary rations had halved, and he started eating buff-meals to improve his stamina on the journey, as he didn't know when he would have to fight.
The two of the open doors Mike checked led into the smelting facility which he didn't check further since he was looking for food. The third led into a building with many rooms, the living quarters. It was almost weird how nothing here seemed out of order, except for the cold that had permeated the whole place. After realizing these were just the private rooms of the former residents without any kitchens or the like, Mike left.
The last two doors led to the joined building that held the storage and a cafeteria. There was nobody here either, however, the kitchen and the food storage behind it showed clear signs of being searched and emptied. Nothing else looked like people had left in a hast, but this was a clear sign that at least somebody took the food with them.
It was Mike's curiosity that made him stay, after seeing that there was nothing here for him. What had happened to the people and where were they? They private quarters were untouched, so they had not fled. Even in a haste, one would take some of their private things before fleeing, right?
The only places he had not checked were the blast door that led to the mine and the last, smaller complex. Before he left, he wanted to check them, starting with the smaller complex. The blast doors could only be manually opened and closed from the inside. In case there was a reason these doors were shut, Mike opted to enter a different way.
Jumping up agilely, he held onto the window sill of the row of small windows, roughly four meters above ground. Looking into the complex, Mike found that it was a wide hall, filled with excavation machines. The inside was dark, with no sign of people being inside.
After a moment, he decided to enter. If this was the vehicle fleet of the mining outpost, then he might be able to get a new ride for his journey here. Although Mike had not formally learned the rules of the street, the others in Minas Mar had shown him how to drive. At least he knew how to operate a car.
The windows were thick, something Seth had would have called armored glass, but still much more vulnerable than the blast doors. With a strike of the flaming sword in his hand, Mike easily opened one of them he used to get in.
Only the dim light from the row of windows illuminated the wide hangar. But as a cat beastman with extremely good night vision, the lack of light could not faze him. There were a lot of big machines Mike didn't know about but had seen in movies and TV. The slow and heavy machinery was not what he was looking for. As he looked for something fast, he heard a scuttling in the darkness.
"New target located. Beginning termination," a mechanical voice said from above.
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---Unclaimed Mountains, about 1 Month Later---
A giant body crashed into the mountainside, setting off a snowstorm and a small avalanche as it slid into the valley. Buckled wings, broken bones, cut tubes, bent metal, this bundle of broken parts of the corpse of the hashing bird.
The cat beastman that had been riding the corpse on its slide down, sat on it, fatigued. It was the eight hashing birds Mike met since they separated from Lydia and Ray, and the second he defeated alone.
When they started going north, aiming for the route that would lead to the mine of , these things appeared more and more often. After they were attacked by three at once, they suspected that they were after Ceres, because he had killed one at Morranto. Since Ceres could not protect him when there were more than two, they decided to separate.
Yet, despite Ceres leaving his side with Blotches, Mike kept running into these things, leading him to the conclusion that these things were not just after Ceres, but more numerous in this region in general...bad news in and of itself. Was he getting closer to their place of origin?
A single of these owls was no problem for Mike, the Chosen of Maahes, but if he had to fight two it would become problematic. Mike was not specialized in ranged attacks or aerial battles, which made such fights dangerous and tiresome. But meeting them more often was not the only thing.
The trade route that led to the Border Storm was supposed to have around ten smaller and bigger settlements. After two months, Mike had crossed a little more than half the route but only come through one that had people inside. It was a town called Sventin. Inc Town at the very beginning of this broken road. This begged to question: What were these birds doing with the people?
Another question was: What were they doing with the monsters? Mike had also met next to no beast on his way. The only creatures he found in these mountains were stealth hunters, with incredible camouflage skills. He had lost his Alpeka to one, four weeks ago. Assuming this lack of normal beasts was also the doing of the hashing birds was only reasonable.
Since then, his speed had significantly slowed down and he started to worry about his rations. When he separated with Lydia, he still had two fully stacked item slots with ordinary rations, and three not fully stacked ones with Link's meals. The ordinary rations had halved, and he started eating buff-meals to improve his stamina on the journey, as he didn't know when he would have to fight.
The two of the open doors Mike checked led into the smelting facility which he didn't check further since he was looking for food. The third led into a building with many rooms, the living quarters. It was almost weird how nothing here seemed out of order, except for the cold that had permeated the whole place. After realizing these were just the private rooms of the former residents without any kitchens or the like, Mike left.
The last two doors led to the joined building that held the storage and a cafeteria. There was nobody here either, however, the kitchen and the food storage behind it showed clear signs of being searched and emptied. Nothing else looked like people had left in a hast, but this was a clear sign that at least somebody took the food with them.
It was Mike's curiosity that made him stay, after seeing that there was nothing here for him. What had happened to the people and where were they? They private quarters were untouched, so they had not fled. Even in a haste, one would take some of their private things before fleeing, right?
The only places he had not checked were the blast door that led to the mine and the last, smaller complex. Before he left, he wanted to check them, starting with the smaller complex. The blast doors could only be manually opened and closed from the inside. In case there was a reason these doors were shut, Mike opted to enter a different way.
Jumping up agilely, he held onto the window sill of the row of small windows, roughly four meters above ground. Looking into the complex, Mike found that it was a wide hall, filled with excavation machines. The inside was dark, with no sign of people being inside.
After a moment, he decided to enter. If this was the vehicle fleet of the mining outpost, then he might be able to get a new ride for his journey here. Although Mike had not formally learned the rules of the street, the others in Minas Mar had shown him how to drive. At least he knew how to operate a car.
The windows were thick, something Seth had would have called armored glass, but still much more vulnerable than the blast doors. With a strike of the flaming sword in his hand, Mike easily opened one of them he used to get in.
Only the dim light from the row of windows illuminated the wide hangar. But as a cat beastman with extremely good night vision, the lack of light could not faze him. There were a lot of big machines Mike didn't know about but had seen in movies and TV. The slow and heavy machinery was not what he was looking for. As he looked for something fast, he heard a scuttling in the darkness.
"New target located. Beginning termination," a mechanical voice said from above.
---Unclaimed Mountains, about 1 Month Later---A giant body crashed into the mountainside, setting off a snowstorm and a small avalanche as it slid into the valley. Buckled wings, broken bones, cut tubes, bent metal, this bundle of broken parts of the corpse of the hashing bird.The cat beastman that had been riding the corpse on its slide down, sat on it, fatigued. It was the eight hashing birds Mike met since they separated from Lydia and Ray, and the second he defeated alone.When they started going north, aiming for the route that would lead to the mine of , these things appeared more and more often. After they were attacked by three at once, they suspected that they were after Ceres, because he had killed one at Morranto. Since Ceres could not protect him when there were more than two, they decided to separate.Yet, despite Ceres leaving his side with Blotches, Mike kept running into these things, leading him to the conclusion that these things were not just after Ceres, but more numerous in this region in general...bad news in and of itself. Was he getting closer to their place of origin?A single of these owls was no problem for Mike, the Chosen of Maahes, but if he had to fight two it would become problematic. Mike was not specialized in ranged attacks or aerial battles, which made such fights dangerous and tiresome. But meeting them more often was not the only thing.The trade route that led to the Border Storm was supposed to have around ten smaller and bigger settlements. After two months, Mike had crossed a little more than half the route but only come through one that had people inside. It was a town called Sventin. Inc Town at the very beginning of this broken road. This begged to question: What were these birds doing with the people?Another question was: What were they doing with the monsters? Mike had also met next to no beast on his way. The only creatures he found in these mountains were stealth hunters, with incredible camouflage skills. He had lost his Alpeka to one, four weeks ago. Assuming this lack of normal beasts was also the doing of the hashing birds was only reasonable.Since then, his speed had significantly slowed down and he started to worry about his rations. When he separated with Lydia, he still had two fully stacked item slots with ordinary rations, and three not fully stacked ones with Link's meals. The ordinary rations had halved, and he started eating buff-meals to improve his stamina on the journey, as he didn't know when he would have to fight.The two of the open doors Mike checked led into the smelting facility which he didn't check further since he was looking for food. The third led into a building with many rooms, the living quarters. It was almost weird how nothing here seemed out of order, except for the cold that had permeated the whole place. After realizing these were just the private rooms of the former residents without any kitchens or the like, Mike left.The last two doors led to the joined building that held the storage and a cafeteria. There was nobody here either, however, the kitchen and the food storage behind it showed clear signs of being searched and emptied. Nothing else looked like people had left in a hast, but this was a clear sign that at least somebody took the food with them.It was Mike's curiosity that made him stay, after seeing that there was nothing here for him. What had happened to the people and where were they? They private quarters were untouched, so they had not fled. Even in a haste, one would take some of their private things before fleeing, right?The only places he had not checked were the blast door that led to the mine and the last, smaller complex. Before he left, he wanted to check them, starting with the smaller complex. The blast doors could only be manually opened and closed from the inside. In case there was a reason these doors were shut, Mike opted to enter a different way.Jumping up agilely, he held onto the window sill of the row of small windows, roughly four meters above ground. Looking into the complex, Mike found that it was a wide hall, filled with excavation machines. The inside was dark, with no sign of people being inside.After a moment, he decided to enter. If this was the vehicle fleet of the mining outpost, then he might be able to get a new ride for his journey here. Although Mike had not formally learned the rules of the street, the others in Minas Mar had shown him how to drive. At least he knew how to operate a car.The windows were thick, something Seth had would have called armored glass, but still much more vulnerable than the blast doors. With a strike of the flaming sword in his hand, Mike easily opened one of them he used to get in.Only the dim light from the row of windows illuminated the wide hangar. But as a cat beastman with extremely good night vision, the lack of light could not faze him. There were a lot of big machines Mike didn't know about but had seen in movies and TV. The slow and heavy machinery was not what he was looking for. As he looked for something fast, he heard a scuttling in the darkness."New target located. Beginning termination," a mechanical voice said from above.
