CHAPTER 77: THE COLD BIRD QUEEN’S POWER!

Chapter 76

SWOOSH!

SWOOOP!

TWIP!

The air outside a tier 4 town reverberated violently as a certain hybrid tore through the skies, striking down beasts one after the other like a falcon on a relentless hunt.

"Ugh!" Lana groaned as she leaned backward in midair, narrowly avoiding a beast that lunged at her with terrifying speed, its massive sword aimed to smash her out of the skies.

She flapped her wings, ready to unleash a barrage of razor-sharp feathers, but before she could, another beast hurled its hammer with monstrous strength. The weapon spun through the air like a colossal battering ram, howling as it came for her chest.

Luckily, she shot higher into the sky just in time, the hammer missing her by inches before smashing into the earth below with earth-shattering force.

KABOOM!

The ground ruptured violently, splitting open and cratering as debris shot into the air. The shockwave rumbled across the battlefield, shaking even the corpses that littered the ground.

But Lana’s relief was short-lived.

Another ogre had already leaped into the air, its axe raised high. With a sickening grin etched across its face, it brought the blade swinging down with merciless strength.

"Crap!" she muttered under her breath. She hastily brought her wings in front of her, shielding her body with their metallic-like feathers.

BAM!

BOOM!

The air shook as the axe slammed into her wings with enough force to rattle her bones. Her eyes widened, blood spraying out of her mouth as she was hurled from the sky like a broken arrow.

"Ack!" she coughed, slamming into the ground and rolling violently. Dust and dirt scraped her skin until she dug her talons into the soil, forcing her battered body to a halt.

GROWL!

Twenty ogres growled in unison, the sound echoing like drums of war. Without a shred of hesitation, they charged, their stomps quaking the battlefield.

Seeing this, Lana shot upright to her feet—well, her talons—and prepared to leap back into the skies. But the beasts were faster. In the blink of an eye, they were upon her.

One ogre swung its axe horizontally at her neck, the steel whistling inches away from her throat. With a desperate flap, she darted sideways, her wings hardening into a blade-like edge. In one fluid motion, she sliced across its torso.

SLASH!

The ogre’s arms went flying, its body splitting in half before collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap.

But she had no time to breathe. Another ogre was already in her face, its hammer rushing down with deadly precision. Lana grit her teeth and braced, bringing her wings up to block.

BANG!

The hammer’s impact echoed like thunder, the force sending her skidding back, her talons carving trenches in the dirt. She steadied herself, only to feel a massive shadow looming overhead. Another ogre descended from above, its sword swinging down like the judgment of the heavens.

"Give me a break, damn it!" she roared. Her wings flared above her head, intercepting the sword just as it struck.

CLANG!

The ground beneath her cracked from the pressure, her knees trembling under the force. Still, she held on, her talons digging deep, refusing to buckle.

"Not today!" she snarled, slamming her wings downward with all her might.

The ogre was hurled into the ground with a sickening crash. Lana wasted no time. She swung her wing in an uppercut, slicing through the beast’s jaw and taking its head clean off. Blood sprayed across the dirt as the ogre’s body fell lifelessly.

But more were coming.

"Damn pests!" she hissed, wings spreading wide.

With one powerful flap, she created a gust so strong it clouded the entire area in swirling dust and debris. Feathers shot out in rapid succession, whistling as they streaked toward the beasts like arrows.

CLANG!

The ogres, learning from before, quickly raised their rusted weapons, blocking the incoming feathers. Sparks lit the air as steel clashed against enchanted quills.

"My chance," she whispered, eyes narrowing.

In an instant, she bolted upward, soaring into the sky while the beasts shielded themselves. This time, she didn’t dive back down immediately.

Instead, she rocketed higher and higher, breaking through the dust cloud and cutting through the skies like a living spear. Twenty meters above the battlefield, she stopped abruptly, hovering like a predator preparing for the kill.

Her eyes sharpened, her breath steady.

"Time for you all to go," she muttered coldly.

With that, she folded her wings and spun, plummeting toward the ground like a missile, the wind screaming around her as she descended with terrifying speed.

Her wings coiled tightly around her body instead of spreading apart, and now, she looked more like an arrow nosediving with lethal precision toward the ground.

The closer she got to the earth, the faster her momentum became. The wind howled violently in her ears, and soon her speed increased tremendously, to the point where she could clearly see the hulking ogres below scanning the battlefield in confusion as they searched for her presence.

"More!" she roared, her voice cutting through the chaos like thunder. With a powerful kick against the air itself, she propelled her body downward again, leaving behind a sonic boom that cracked like a whip across the sky. She rocketed toward the beasts, and the booming bangs drew their attention instantly. The ogres looked up just in time to see the very prey they were hunting descending upon them like divine retribution.

But by then, she was nothing more than a blur of motion. In a single blink, she was already hovering mere inches away from their massive frames. Then, without warning, her wings spread wide open with explosive force. Her body spun in a deadly rotation, and her sharpened wings became blades of destruction, slicing and dicing through the thick flesh of the beasts with terrifying ease. Gore and chunks of flesh rained down like crimson confetti, and the sound of tearing bodies filled the air before she finally landed with a heavy thud that cracked the ground beneath her boots.

The ogres’ diced bodies fell apart in grotesque heaps, their remains crashing from the sky like shards of shattered meteors, while the last flickers of their life drained away. To her, it almost looked as if the heavens themselves had dropped mana fragments to decorate the bloodstained field. Lana panted heavily, her chest heaving as she surveyed the carnage she had created, exhaustion evident in her trembling limbs.

Her wings suddenly folded with a violent snap and shot back into her body. The process was agonizing. Her eyes bulged with raw pain, and a strangled gasp escaped her lips. The talons that had extended from her feet also receded, their sharp edges scraping against her skin as they painfully reverted her legs back to their human form.

"Damn it... I’m out of energy!" she croaked hoarsely before collapsing onto her knees with a heavy thud. One fist pressed hard into the dirt as she coughed up a speck of blood, the metallic taste filling her mouth.

Even so, she didn’t allow herself the luxury of despair. Her sharp eyes darted across the battlefield, and she could see that the beasts were almost completely dealt with. Jake and Max were tearing through the remainder with frightening efficiency, their attacks carving through the monstrous horde like a storm of steel and flame.

Despite her drained state, her spirit as a hunter refused to bow. Even with energy running dangerously low, her instincts screamed at her to keep moving, to keep fighting. Gritting her teeth, she staggered to her feet and steadied her stance. A surge of stubborn determination coursed through her veins.

With one last roar of defiance, she darted forward, her body a blur once again as she hurled herself at the remaining beasts. Energy or not, pain or not, Lana would not allow herself to simply stand aside. She was a hunter, and a hunter’s duty was to bring down prey.