Liam let the other rank 3 naga guard the spatial channel and went to the village of Kira with the others.

The spatial channel was hidden in a small cave on the mountainside.

Almost no-one went there, so a single rank 3 was enough to stand guard. Sylvera and Liam led the way.

The slope was quite steep, but as long as they leaned forward, their serpentine bodies allowed them to climb almost vertically.

They gained time and ascended the steepest part of the mountain.

After several hundred meters of ascent, the slope began to flatten, and they reached a plateau.

There were about fifty small stone houses and several enclosures.

In some enclosures, there were large mountain goats with red fur and eight legs while in others, there was a kind of big ball of purple fur. The largest ones measured nearly a meter high.

Near an enclosure, a young Drakos held a large stick and watched over his livestock.

He suddenly saw movement in the corner of his eye and turned around.

"AHHHHHH!"

His eyes widened, and he screamed upon seeing the huge nagas.

His cry alerted the other Drakos in the village. They came out of the houses or rushed from the fields, waving pitchforks and wooden sticks.

Liam looked at the villagers.

There were about two hundred people ranging from mortals to apprentices. There were only two or three rank 2 individuals, and the village chief, an old Drakos with dark scales, was only an advanced warrior.

"No wonder they can't do anything against the vultures!" thought Liam.

The old Drakos seemed like he could fall at any moment but was held up by a broad stone cane that he held with his six hands.

He approached Liam, looking at the intruders with a cautious gaze.

"What can we do for you, stranger?"

He spoke in a hoarse and deep voice, as if he didn't speak for years.

As for why they spoke the same language, let's say it was part of the agreement between the world's will and the academy.

Liam glanced at Sylvera.

He understood the message and stepped forward.

"One of our young-ones was taken by the vultures while his mother had her back turned. We heard that you are also harassed by the vultures. We will wait for them to come and kill as many as possible, then we will follow them to their nest. Even if it is unlikely that he is still alive, we will do our best to find him."

Liam grimaced inwardly.

Everyone could see that it was a stretch.

The old Drakos looked at Sylvera and swore in his thoughts.

This group of strange snake-like men was not like them. They had real weapons, and most seemed to be earth-rank powerhouses (cf chapter 19), not to mention the two larger ones; he couldn't even gauge their strength.

However, could he refuse?

And the answer is: of course not!

It was just a small village, and there were thousands in the world. Even before the great war, the big cities didn't pay too much attention to them, let alone now when they are struggling to defend themselves against beasts and monsters.

The old man deliberated for a moment in his mind but could only sigh internally.

"Then welcome in the village of Kira, but we are only a small village, so we don't have much to offer you."

Sylvera shook her head.

"It's okay. We will hunt our own meals. By the way, do you have any idea when the vultures will return?"

The chief thought for a while.

"Well, they're not really regular, but they come every 10-15 days. The last time they came was four days ago. They took 2 Yeras and a dozen Palux."

The Yeras were the eight-legged goats and yhe Palux were the big balls of fur.

"In that case, we will stay around. If you detect anything, let us know, and we will come to help."

…

A few moments later, the old Drakos entered a slightly larger stone house, followed by one of the few rank 2 villagers.

"Dad, what was that?! Why do we have to let these weird guys come up here? And what was their lame excuse? Seriously, even a five-year-old could have come up with something better!"

The old Drakos sighed at his son's lack of brainpower. It seemed he had spoiled him too much.

"So tell me, what could I have done?"

His son crossed his two pairs of arms and sulked.

"Well, I don't know, maybe tell them to go to hell, for example."

The village chief remained speechless at his son's stupidity and angrily slammed his cane on the ground.

"Ryanold, can you use your damn brain once in your life?! What if they got angry and decided to wipe out the village, did you think about that? Not to mention the two big ones who are probably in the astral realm. Do you think you can handle even one of those snake men? Think, damn it, think."

The old Drakos walked out, slamming the door, feeling like he would lose brain cells if he stayed any longer.

…

In a somewhat remote corner of the village, a small naga and a young Drakos were busy with a female Yera.

The naga was one of the oldest in the clan but was still an advanced rank 1. It had been decades since her last breakthrough.

Even so, it didn't seem to bother her, and she milked the Yera, letting creamy milk fall into a stone bucket.

"Wow, Nevra, you learn really fast!"

Nevra smiled but didn't reply, lamenting in her heart that she couldn't be as adept in combat.

On the other hand, the young Drakos smiled innocently. Nevra was the only kind naga. All the others scared him and only thought about hunting and fighting.

Only Nevra was open-minded enough to talk to him and learn how to handle animals.

They filled an entire bucket and as the young Drakos brought a second one, a cry rang out in the village.

"The vultures are coming, prepare for battle!"

The warning echoed through the village, causing the residents to stir.

The villagers rushed into their houses, leaving only a few Drakos warriors armed with a few pitchforks and stakes.

On their side, the nagas, who were resting, picked up their spears and round shields, scattering throughout the village. Facing a flying but weaker enemy, it was better to disperse to avoid frightening them.

Sylvera and Liam positioned themselves near the center of the village, hidden near the chief's house.

The inhabitants watched them with a mix of distrust and hope.

They knew that those strange visitors may probably be their last hope to get rid of the vultures which terrorized their village.

Meanwhile, the nagas reached their respective positions and hid in the shadow of the buildings.

They set up their shields and planted their spears in the ground to retrieve the stakes they always carried, watching the large silhouettes approaching on the horizon.

They had no particular formation, but their size alone was enough to intimidate their enemies.

The sky darkened as the vulture group flew over the village at over five hundred meters high, searching for suitable prey.

Not all of them came. There was only the rank 3 vulture king, nearly twenty meters wingspan, and about a dozen rank 2 vultures with wingspans of twelve or thirteen meters.

Vultures had always been very smart birds of prey. They knew very well that they were invulnerable in the sky, but their advantage was their speed.

Once grounded, they were much weaker than another beast of the same rank.

The piercing cries of the birds of prey echoed in the mountains as they dove, blurring as they descended from the sky.

In a few seconds, they covered hundreds of meters and were dangerously close to the village.

"Now!"

Sylvera emerged from his hiding place and roared.

More than eighty armed nagas emerged from the shadows, targeting the approaching raptors.

The rank 3 vulture realized that there was a problem and let out a piercing cry as it straightened its descent curve, trying to escape.

The other vultures did the same, but it was already too late.

They were already less than a hundred meters high and within reach of the naga warriors.

"HAAA!"

Sylvera let out a roar and threw her weapon with all her strength.

The beast panicked as it saw the stake coming, but he could do nothing.

Puchi

The stake struck its abdomen and pierced through its body.

Almost every bird fell from the sky with several stakes planted in their bodies.

Only three survived, and before the nagas could grab another weapon, they flapped their wings with all their might and flew as far away as possible.

At the same time, the stakes that missed their target fell back, breaking a tree or making a crater in the ground.

Liam watched the scene and nodded.

Birds were generally weaker than terrestrial species. To be able to fly, they were often light and had hollow bones.

Even evolution couldn't compensate for that. Only spiritual energy could bring about any change, but for that, one often had to wait to become a spiritual beast.

Nevertheless, flying beasts often posed a much greater danger than terrestrial ones because their mobility and speed gave them enormous destructive power.

Fortunately, they were taken by surprise and the nagas dealt with them quickly without losing a single man.

Now, all that remained was to deal with the few other vultures left at the nest.

Liam's true body literally flew over the plane. So he had long since spotted the vultures' nest.

So then why didn't he directly attack the nest? Simply because the location of the nest was too well chosen.

They were at the top of a steep peak about ten kilometers away.

Even if the nagas attacked at night, the rank 3 vulture had very sharp senses and would detect the threat and escape before their arrival.

That's why they had to deal with it first. If it became vigilant, Sylvera and the nagas would never be able to corner it.

Now that the problem was solved, they would just wait the nightfall to finish the job.

Meanwhile, Sylvera organized the nagas to retrieve the scattered stakes and gather the corpses.

After some time, calm returned to the village of Kira as its inhabitants stared dumbfounded at the huge bodies of the raptors.

As they were about to leave, a young Drakos rushed at full speed, pulling two Yeras by a rope.

"Wait!"

Liam, Sylvera, the nagas... everyone looked at this strange boy running towards the nagas.

A naga warrior raised his spear, but was stopped by Sylvera.

To the Drakos, all nagas looked the same except for their gender and size, and the young Drakos took some time to find the one he was looking for.

"Here, Nevra, take these two Yeras! There is a male and a female, and the female is pregnant. Take them as a thank you for saving our village."

The chief's son wanted to intervene, but his old man hit him with his cane.

"But dad, these are the two best beasts in the village," he whispered.

However, the old Drakos shot him a dark glance that made him swallow what he was about to say.

As the nagas looked at Nevra with dumbfounded expressions, Liam paid real attention to this female for the first time.

"Damn it, I should have checked earlier. She's absolutely not made for being a warrior. She's a born mage!"

By sending a bit of faith energy into her body, he realized that she had a soul and a spiritual power immense; much stronger than the norm.

"That's probably why she's clumsy. Without proper technique, she can't control her body. In daily life, that's not a problem, but in the middle of a fight, her thoughts go faster than her limbs, making her completely clumsy."

Unaware of her hidden potential, Nevra stroked the young Drakos's head and took the rope, tears in her eyes. It was the first time ever that someone thanked her.

"Thank you so much, Flint. I'll keep them with me."

…

After goodbyes and farewells, the nagas finally left, taking the vulture corpses and the two eight-legged red goats.