Chapter 274 – Rotting Meat, Grass Roots, and Cow Dung

The tabby lion pride—if they had been on the ground, dealing with them might have been somewhat tricky. But flying through the sky, the lions posed no threat whatsoever.

They even spectated from above as the lion pride hunted a herd of moo-moo cattle, watching the whole show before leisurely continuing on their way.

Ever since encountering the lion pride, carnivorous animals had been appearing more frequently.

Giant hyenas, cheetahs, packs of giant wolves… The grasslands were a stage where predators tore open the throats of the weak and gorged on flesh and blood at every moment. But none of it had anything to do with the three young witches flying through the sky on their broomsticks.

Even though Mo Lan had refused to believe the Academy would be so kind as to deliberately leave them a corridor with abundant food and safe flying passage straight into the depths of the Inner Region, after everything she had seen and heard over this long stretch, her conviction had begun to waver.

Perhaps cold was the only difficulty on this route.

As evening approached, they hunted several sheep, lit a campfire on the grass, and began roasting them.

Mo Lan produced a tent card and set it up nearby. “We’ll sleep here tonight. I’ll set up a constant-temperature magic circle so we can sleep more warmly!”

“I’ve prepared some beast-repelling potion. I’ll sprinkle some around the campsite later—it should keep most wild animals away,” Sylph said. “But someone still needs to keep watch at night. The beast-repelling potion isn’t completely reliable.”

“We’ll take turns! Two hours each. I have the best stamina and energy, so I’ll take the middle shift,” Vasida said.

The three of them set up camp together, arranged the overnight logistics, and the lamb was done roasting.

Mo Lan ate her lamb while reading the Grimoire, occasionally joining in on Sylph and Vasida’s conversation about their first night camping in the wild.

Everyone had relaxed.

She was just reading the section in Mo Lan was reading the section in Mo Lan was just reading the section in 《The Prophecy Witch’s Spellbook》 about weather prediction magic when she suddenly heard Vasida ask, “What’s that?”

Mo Lan looked up in the direction Vasida was pointing.

Far off in the sky, there were nine black dots growing larger and larger.

“Large flying beasts! Heading our way.”

Mo Lan immediately put away the Grimoire, grabbed her Wand, and stood up.

“Moira, the tent!” Sylph reminded her.

Mo Lan converted the tent back into a card to prevent it from being damaged in a fight.

Vasida picked up her broomstick. “I’ll lure them farther away and kill them there—let’s not ruin our roast lamb!”

“Wait!” Mo Lan stopped her. “Look at the tops of their heads—don’t they have no feathers there?”

Vasida and Sylph squinted to look. “It really does seem that way!”

Mo Lan relaxed instantly. “Birds with no feathers on top of their heads are all vulture types. Whether they’re wild beasts or magical beasts, vulture types are scavengers—they only eat rotting meat and don’t like killing. As long as you don’t attack them first, they generally won’t harm people.”

“Really? They won’t steal our roast lamb?” Vasida was very protective of her food.

“They won’t. They don’t like cooked meat either,” Mo Lan said.

Once they drew closer, she could see them more clearly.

“They’re giant long-necked vultures. Nothing to worry about. Some vultures, when they’re absolutely starving, might kill prey and let it rot before eating it. But this species has an extreme aversion to fresh blood. When they can’t find carrion and are desperate with hunger, they’d rather gnaw on grass roots or eat cow dung than hunt.”

Sylph frowned. “Rotting meat, grass roots, and cow dung? What kind of palate is that! It’s even more… baffling than what Vasida’s Devouring Stomach eats.”

The Devouring Stomach: “…”

Unable to feed itself and saddled with an unreliable owner—that was its eternal sorrow.

“They may eat disgusting things, but their bodies are immune to all poisons. Items made from their hides can resist most common toxins,” Mo Lan said.

Vasida’s eyes lit up. “Should we fight them?”

Mo Lan shook her head. “Nine is too many. Giant long-necked vultures just don’t like fighting—it’s not that they’re bad at it. They have no obvious weak points. Let’s not stir up unnecessary trouble. Besides…”

The flock of giant long-necked vultures flew up close, and Mo Lan swallowed the rest of her words.

The three of them gripped their Wands, watching the vultures approach intently.

Even knowing the vultures wouldn’t attack, having such enormous birds this close—practically flying right over their heads—still made them involuntarily tense.

But to their surprise, the vultures flew straight ahead, then suddenly let out a collective “Blegh~” before looking down with undisguised revulsion at them—especially at the roast lamb by the campfire—and abruptly veered away, flying around them in a wide arc.

“???” Vasida looked utterly shocked, grinding her teeth in a low voice. “Are they turning their noses up at our delicious roast lamb? A bunch of carrion-eaters and dung-chewers, looking down on our lamb?”

Honestly, Mo Lan hadn’t expected the vultures to be this comical either. “Maybe to their senses, our roast lamb smells absolutely unbearable!”

“Pfft~ That’s actually kind of funny!” Sylph laughed so hard her eyes crinkled into crescents.

Vasida had unilaterally developed a grudge against the vulture flock, though she no longer wanted their hides—she thought they’d stink.

“Since we entered the Greengrass Plains, we haven’t encountered a single challenging opponent! I think that vulture flock would be perfect for us to test our skills on.”

“I have no objections,” Sylph said. “But Moira, what were you about to say before the vultures arrived?”

“I feel like the concentration of water elemental force in the air is gradually increasing. It might rain,” Mo Lan said with a frown.

She wasn’t entirely certain, actually.

Some of Earth’s physical and natural phenomena were the same as Valen’s, while others were different.

Take clouds, for example—with elemental force at work, the clouds here were far more unpredictable than Earth’s.

It was very difficult to predict weather based on cloud formations alone.

Accurate weather prediction was something only Prophecy Magic could achieve.

Sylph and Vasida examined the energy traces in the air carefully. “You’re right!”

“You’ve got to be kidding! Are we really this unlucky? Rain on our very first day out?” Vasida said with a pained expression. “I really hate that damp, soggy feeling!”

“We forgot to cast a luck spell before we left!” Sylph exclaimed. “Would it still work if we cast one now? Oh well, doesn’t matter! Let me cast one first and see.”

She cast a luck spell on herself, then on Vasida and Mo Lan as well.

“It seems like there’s also thunder elemental force increasing!”

Mo Lan observed the sky carefully. Amid the blue water elemental force, there seemed to be a faint, intermittent hint of purple. She watched for a long while before confirming.

“That’s right. It’s thunder elemental force.”

After confirming the increase in thunder elemental force, Mo Lan’s heart sank.

“I have a bad feeling about this… Water elemental force and thunder elemental force gradually increasing as night falls—it reminds me of a particularly dangerous terrain found on the grasslands where the Orcs roam in the northern reaches of the Continent of Valen.”