Chapter 71: Killing the blue beaked hawk

I was stuck on this side, fighting near the fire mages.

Flames, sand, water, dust and strong winds filled the environment as various mages used their elements to fight the beast monsters.

Damon and I exchanged looks.

This was really happening. The castle we all believed was to some degree impregnable was now being attacked. Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

What would happen if they broke in? I wondered.

Would the emperor be forced to use his powers to defeat them?

This attack was not just a fight, it was a statement to the empire.

If they could break into the castle, even if the emperor defeated them, it would show that nowhere in the empire was safe.

Citizens would be thrown into unrest.

The mages had to find a way to kill all the beasts and prevent them from breaching the wall.

At all costs, me inclusive.

Damon was the first to break of the trance and he rushed towards the fight.

"Wait, you can't pass through the battle!" I shouted after him but he paid me no heed as he continued running off.

I shook my head. It seemed the prince had forgotten all his pretense to be my friend.

I saw now why Bruno told me too be wary of them.

If they were all like Damon then you couldn't trust them fully.

Or else one day there will be an instance where they would betray you in the most unexpected manner possible.

I shrugged and brought out my fans and coated them in mana.

I didn't have time to think about betrayal and other sentimental stuff, there was a fight to be won.

As I got close to the fray, I heard a loud screech above me.

I looked up in surprise. I'd barely even announced my presence and I was already being attacked.

A large hawk flapped it's wings above me.

It was a rather normal looking bird save for its beak that was painted completely blue.

Also it was quite large but hawks were known to reach huge sizes sometimes.

Screeechh~

The blue beaked hawk screeched again and studied me with sharp eyes.

It seemed to be examining me, gauging me, trying to see if I had any weaknesses or weak points it could attack.

I immediately knew this was not going to be an easy opponent to fight.

I studied it closely. It's feet were long and majestic looking. They were topped off by sharp talons that looked like they could dig deep beyond skin into bone.

It's wings were spread to an impressive width and it's head was crowned with sharp eyes that picked up the slightest of movements and then a long blue beak that gleamed in the sun.

The hawk seemed to have studied me enough and it dove in a sharp arc towards me.

I was anticipating it's movement.

One directional wind slam. I shouted and sent a strong gust of wind at the bird.

The hawk felt the ripples of the blast before the air even reached it.

It ducked under the gust, avoiding being hit but the ripple of the wind still made it falter slightly and it seemed like it was going to fall.

Screeech~

It screeched as it struggled to regain its balance.

However the hawk recovered itself quickly and flapped its wind at me.

Screech~

It screeched angrily and it glared at me.

I didn't even know a bird could glare and for a second I was dumbfounded.

I saw the blast of air coming at me and realized it had sent a one directional wind attack of its own.

Luckily master Jared had taught us some basic defensive lessons and I knew how to handle situations like this.

I waited till the blast of wind was near me before I quickly faced the mana coated side of my fans towards it.

As the blast of air got close to me, I deflected it up with my fan, sending it away from me.

All around me, there were cries and screeches as mages and beasts alike got injured.

I could taste dust in my mouth and my eyes watered but I couldn't afford to shut them, not when I had a deadly hawk ready to take my life.

I sent another one directional wind slam but the hawk dodged it again.

It moved fluidly, avoiding my attacks with ease.

It definitely wasn't a level one beast, probably a level two or higher.

This didn't mean it was impossible to kill.

It just meant I had to push myself a little.

I decided if I couldn't defeat the hawk with raw powers, I had to think intelligently and outsmart it.

The hawk was still floating above me. It flapped its wings in a regular rythmn as it plotted its next move.

I was going to let it have time to think however, I formed a quick plan in my head and weighed the odds that it would succeed.

It wasn't very high but low odds were better than low odds anyway.

"One directional wind slam". I yelled and sent a blast of wind towards the hawk.

As expected, it was very quick and it moved to dodge the attack.

However this was what I was hoping for.

As soon as I released the one directional windslam, I quickly transferred the mama to the edge of my fan and aimed it at the hawk.

"Vortex". I said and built a whirlpool of wind from the edge of my fan.

I didn't aim it at the bird, that would have been too predictable.

Instead I watched as the bird dragged its body upwards to avoid the wind slam and flyover it.

I predicted where it was going to be by the time I fired.

When I was sure I had gotten the coordinates, I fired the vortex.

It travelled from my fan and flew upwards and hit the hawk as it flew.

It met the hawk and twisted it in a violent spiral.

When it passed, the hawk fell to the ground, lifeless.

[1 beast monster killed, +10 mana points]