Chapter 290 – The Red-Eyed Bird Flock

Chapter 290 – The Red-Eyed Bird Flock

“Alright! I’m really leaving this time, senior!”

Mo Lan said her goodbyes and set off on her journey once more, flying toward the mountain forests on the inner side of the marshlands.

The farther she flew, the more streams and rivers she saw.

The mountain forests on the inner side of the marshlands seemed to be influenced by the swamp itself—water resources were extremely abundant, and the vegetation consisted mostly of water-loving plants like banyan trees.

It was just a shame she hadn’t encountered another lake island like the one where Renée lived.

Moreover, the streams, rivers, and lakes she’d come across so far were all shallow—nowhere near deep enough to keep wild beasts at bay.

Still, there didn’t seem to be many large wild beasts in this stretch of forest to begin with. Mo Lan flew for several hours and covered roughly the entire forested area outside the northeastern corner of Green Marsh. The gray fog on her map had all cleared away, yet she hadn’t encountered a single one.

Birds, on the other hand, were especially plentiful in the forest. Flying overhead, she could see flocks rising and settling among the trees, accompanied by a chorus of chirping and chattering.

Mo Lan wasn’t worried, though. She had already learned from Lilith that there were no giant flying beasts in this stretch of forest.

At most, there were only some medium-sized flying beasts.

In fact, across all forested regions, giant flying beasts were uncommon, and ones that lived in large groups were virtually nonexistent.

Back when she first explored the Inner Region on her own and entered on her broomstick, she’d been warned to watch out for giant flying beasts that might damage her broom—yet another pitfall dug by the Headmistress.

Most young witches discovered after exploring for a while that encounters with large numbers of giant flying beasts were quite rare.

They mostly had their own territories and lived in small clusters at most.

Mo Lan had been so cautious about them only because she’d initially entered through Lone Peak Forest—the one place that actually had numerous giant flying beasts in residence.

Nowadays, when flying, she didn’t need to worry too much about encountering three or fewer giant flying beasts. She could maneuver on her broomstick and deal with them, let alone medium-sized flying beasts.

Wild beasts weren’t magical beasts—they relied entirely on physical attacks, and in many cases, larger size simply meant greater combat power.

Her shield could easily block medium-sized beasts. Even against a large group of them, she wasn’t particularly concerned.

Besides, most medium-sized flying beasts fed on plants, wild fruits, fish, or small animals, and posed no threat to Mo Lan.

So she explored this stretch of forest on her broomstick without worry.

Only areas she had clearly seen or passed through would have their gray fog cleared on the Academy map.

The vantage point from a broomstick was far superior, making exploration much more efficient than walking through the forest on foot.

She was currently still in the forested area on the eastern side of Green Marsh. It wasn’t close to Yellow Sands, and it was also quite a distance from Greengrass Plains.

In terms of location, it wasn’t suitable or convenient as a place to settle.

So in this area, Mo Lan spent most of her time searching for magical plants.

Whenever she found a magical plant that could be harvested multiple times, she would mark it on her map so she could return to pick more once it matured again.

Her progress in potion-brewing magic depended on these materials.

Mo Lan had just spotted a large patch of Dewdrop Flowers in their mature phase growing on a grassy clearing in the forest ahead. She was happily preparing to descend and gather them when, out of habit, she glanced at the surrounding woods—and locked eyes with a pair of crimson red ones.

The owner of those eyes let out a shrill cry. The next moment, a massive flock of black-feathered birds with red eyes, each the size of a young calf, burst from the trees.

There were a good twenty to thirty of them, blotting out the sky in a dark mass as they took flight.

Information about this species immediately surfaced in Mo Lan’s mind. “Red-Eyed Birds: medium-sized carnivorous flying beasts. They prefer to prey on creatures roughly their own size or slightly smaller. Stubborn by nature and relentless—once they’ve selected their prey, they rarely give up…”

Humans and witches fell right within the Red-Eyed Birds’ ideal hunting range.

Mo Lan immediately understood—she had been chosen as prey!

Yet another bird species that refused to give up easily. Even killing the leader would have little chance of scaring the rest into retreating. She needed to prepare herself to take out the entire flock.

Fighting on the ground carried the risk of other beasts lurking in the nearby forest. Better to fight in the air.

Mo Lan immediately turned her broomstick around and accelerated, pulling away from them.

She flew fast, but her heart remained calm.

The Red-Eyed Birds weren’t particularly fast fliers—she wasn’t the least bit worried about being caught.

As long as they couldn’t catch her, she could pick them off at her leisure.

After opening up sufficient distance, she paused briefly, turned around, and released three golden arrows.

Each one struck true, piercing the eyes of the three leading Red-Eyed Birds.

Then she immediately accelerated again, and once the gap widened, repeated the same tactic.

She kited the flock of Red-Eyed Birds for several kilometers, shooting down a few here and a few there.

Each cast of the Metal Arrow spell took the lives of three Red-Eyed Birds.

Her current skill levels across all schools of magic weren’t particularly high—not yet at the level of area-of-effect attacks. Only with this method could she safely and reliably eliminate them.

Metal magic was the first she’d learned, giving it the highest proficiency and level. The Metal Arrow spell was currently her most advanced spell in terms of level progression, yet even so, it could only produce a maximum of three arrows per cast.

It wasn’t until she flew over an enormous lake that Mo Lan finally dispatched the last three Red-Eyed Birds.

This time, when they were struck in the eyes and began to plummet, she caught their bodies with a Levitation Spell.

The ones she’d shot down earlier were scattered who-knows-where and might never be found again. She couldn’t let these last few go to waste.

She’d heard that Red-Eyed Bird wings, marinated in the sap of the ink-leaf trees where they commonly roosted and then roasted, were considered a rare delicacy.

They’d cost her so much time that she didn’t even know where she’d ended up by now. She absolutely had to try the flavor to make it worth the trouble.

As the Red-Eyed Bird carcasses floated upward, the lake below suddenly erupted with massive waves. A Giant Water Python burst from the surface and swallowed one whole in a single gulp.

Mo Lan’s three Red-Eyed Birds were instantly reduced to just one and a half.

But she had no time to think about roasted wings now—she immediately pulled her broomstick into a steep climb.

Sure enough, the Giant Water Python that had fallen back into the water leaped out again, its eyes brimming with hunger for both the Red-Eyed Birds and Mo Lan.

Mo Lan released the half-eaten Red-Eyed Bird, plugging the python’s mouth with it.

By the time it leaped once more, Mo Lan had already climbed high into the sky. No matter how hard the Giant Water Python thrashed upward, it couldn’t splash so much as a single drop of water on her.

Still shaken, Mo Lan hovered high in the air, levitated the last Red-Eyed Bird to her side, shrank it, and stowed it in her satchel. Then she flew toward dry land.

Thank goodness the Red-Eyed Bird carcasses had bought her a moment’s delay. Otherwise, with a Giant Water Python lurking beneath the surface suddenly lunging like that, her broomstick might well have been destroyed for real!

She’d had absolutely no idea that such a massive creature was hiding in the lake. Lilith hadn’t mentioned it either—perhaps she had simply never encountered it.

A lake capable of concealing a Giant Water Python of that size had to be a deep-water lake, quite different from the shallow ones she’d seen before.