Chapter 78

The wind-cutting magic Monta released was as powerful as a human's magic, but the formed air blade was small. Monta was imagining the size of the blade based on his own size.

"Amazing, Monta!"

When Ricardo praised him, Monta ran over and climbed onto Ricardo's body, hugging his head.

"Thanks to Rika, I love it so much."

At that moment, Serge and Pamela ran over.

"That's not fair. Only Monta can use magic."

"That's not fair, Brother Ricardo. Teach me magic too."

Ricardo intended to teach Serge and Pamela magic and other studies, but he planned to start with reading and writing first.

"Magic, after you can read and write."

"Aw..."

Serge had just turned six. He and his mother and brother had discussed starting his reading and writing lessons soon.

In this world, reading and writing were taught either by family members or by hiring a tutor. The Royal Bizer Academy's elementary school in the capital city only accepted students who could already read and write, so they did not teach reading and writing.

The scene with Ricardo and the others indicated that the capital city was peaceful. That was until—

Immediately after, a huge shadow crossed the capital city. Many citizens witnessed the appearance of a giant strange bird. General Samuele, who was training the royal guards at the training ground, was one of them. Realizing that the bird circling above the capital was a bear-eating eagle, the general ordered the soldiers in the watchtower to ring the emergency alarm bell.

There were several ways to ring the emergency alarm bell, and the bell at that time was the one that meant "take shelter indoors."

When the officials heard the bell, they came out to see what was happening.

"Fools, take shelter inside!"

General Samuele's loud voice echoed. In response, the bear-eating eagle began a steep dive.

"Get down!"

A few of the officials followed the general's orders, but most stood there, not understanding what was happening.

The giant strange bird plunged its massive claws into one of the standing officials and tore him apart. The official fell, splattering blood. The officials who were drenched in the scattered blood let out loud screams. The area became a chaotic scene of terror.

General Samuele pulled out a wind magic color gun from his holster and fired. The shockwave hit the giant strange bird's face directly.

The shockwave, which could instantly kill a horn wolf, did little damage to the bear-eating eagle, which only seemed slightly annoyed and took off. It then flew into the watchtower, destroying the roof and killing all the soldiers inside. The bear-eating eagle spread its wings on the watchtower and let out a chilling screech.

General Samuele assessed the situation.

"You, take the injured to the castle. I will go see the head court magician."

After watching the guards run off, the general headed to the corner of the castle where the court magicians were stationed. On the way, he encountered a group of court magicians trying to go outside.

"General, what happened?"

Vittorio, the head court magician, asked General Samuele.

"A bear-eating eagle has appeared, and some officials and soldiers have died."

Vittorio ordered a few court magicians to bring catalysts from the supply room.

"Where is the bear-eating eagle now?"

"The watchtower."

The court magicians moved to the window and looked up at the watchtower.

"How big it is."

One of the court magicians exclaimed, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Lord Vittorio, I will report to His Majesty. I leave the bear-eating eagle to you."

"Hmph, it's an enemy that swords and spears can't reach. The guards can just watch."

The general, who was the commander of the royal guards, was irritated by Vittorio's tone but did not show it.

"No, I will have my subordinates attack it with ballistae."

"It's not necessary."

The court magicians left, leaving General Samuele behind.

The general went to King Althibald and explained the situation.

"Let's hope it's not like last spring."

The king seemed worried about the possibility of assassins infiltrating the castle.

"The underground passages have been sealed by the royal guards, so there's no need to worry."

"You mean there's no need to worry about assassins?"

"This time, the magic beast is a bear-eating eagle that flew in from the Beluka Mountains, not a summoned creature, so the possibility of assassination is low."

"Hmm, so the problem is just the magic beast. Can the court magicians defeat it?"

"Since it's a flying monster, I can't guarantee we can defeat it, but we can probably drive it away."

Defeating a powerful flying magic beast was extremely difficult. Especially with a magic beast as powerful as a bear-eating eagle, there were limited magic spells that could kill it in one hit.

Baron Alfred, a close advisor, asked King Althibald to take shelter in the underground shelter.

"No, if the king is the first to take shelter, it would set a bad example. General, please take the queen and the princesses to safety."

King Althibald was an average king, but he had the spirit of a king. General Samuele gave orders to the maids and attendants to evacuate the women living in the castle to the underground shelter. After giving these orders, he stayed with his subordinates to protect the king while watching the battle between the bear-eating eagle and the court magicians.

The court magicians deployed around the watchtower tried to knock the bear-eating eagle off the tower with magic. However, the magic was blocked by the wind created by the bear-eating eagle's flapping wings, and most of it missed. The bear-eating eagle seemed to have learned from the repeated attacks by humans.

"Those wings are troublesome."

Vittorio muttered. He realized that the wind created by the bear-eating eagle's flapping wings contained magic power leaking from its wings, which it used for defense. The court magicians were confused by this unprecedented situation.

Impatient, Vittorio said,

"Melro, Mondelo, Nesta, use your advanced magic!"

Advanced magic often had a short range. They had been using mid-level magic with a longer range, but Vittorio decided to use advanced magic in a desperate attempt.

The three of them approached the watchtower and began preparing their magic. Nesta was the first to cast advanced magic. He approached the watchtower and released the advanced wind magic, "Nine Heaven Rending Wind."

The wind blades created by "Nine Heaven Rending Wind" were deflected by the wind caused by the bear-eating eagle's flapping wings and hit the castle wall instead. As a result, several large cracks appeared in the castle wall.

"Oh, no."

Nesta turned pale.

Next, Melro cast the advanced fire magic, "Flame Steel Spear."

"Flame Steel Spear" was a magic that threw a huge spear of fire. It had one of the highest powers among lower-level advanced magic, but its flying speed was slow, making it easy to dodge.

As expected, the bear-eating eagle, noticing the approaching huge spear of fire, dove from the top of the tower to the ground to dodge it. The huge spear of fire hit the watchtower, destroying the upper part. A powerful explosion blew the court magicians away, and Vittorio and the others crouched down.

At that moment, the bear-eating eagle, which had dived to the ground, tore Nesta apart with its massive claws.

"Hurry, Mondelo."

Vittorio, seeing the bear-eating eagle on the ground, realized it was a chance and urged Mondelo to hurry with his magic.

Mondelo cast the advanced water magic, "Dragon Claw Slash," at the giant strange bird that was tearing apart his companion. "Dragon Claw Slash" was a magic that sent four consecutive water blades like dragon claws. Its power was so great that it could even cut through rock.

The first and second strikes missed the bear-eating eagle, but the third and fourth strikes slashed its chest and legs, dealing significant damage.

The damaged bear-eating eagle let out a screech that hurt the ears.

"Now, all at once, cast your magic!"

The court magicians cast their respective magic. However, the bear-eating eagle was still alive. It flapped its wings on the ground, creating wind to deflect the magic.

As a result, some of the deflected magic headed towards the castle.

Inside the castle, General Samuele and the king, who were watching the battle, noticed the stray magic heading towards them and panicked.

"Dangerous!"

The general grabbed the king and flew to the side. Immediately after, a ball of fire flew through the window and exploded in the room.

Vittorio, realizing the explosion, panicked and ordered the court magicians to stop attacking.

Vittorio's judgment was wrong. The bear-eating eagle was damaged and it was a chance to finish it off.

Taking advantage of the pause in attacks, the bear-eating eagle took off into the sky. The court magicians braced themselves, expecting it to attack again. However, the giant strange bird simply flew away. The damage to the bear-eating eagle was greater than Vittorio and the others had thought.

"Did it escape?"

Vittorio muttered and then remembered the serious situation. He rushed into the castle to the king's room. There, he found the king receiving treatment for his injuries.

"Your Majesty, are you injured?"

King Althibald nodded with a displeased expression.

"I only have a scratch on my arm from the explosion, no need to worry. What about the monster?"

"Our magic frightened it, and it fled."

Hearing this, General Samuele almost groaned.

"This is a serious situation. Send out a search immediately."

Hearing the king's order, General Samuele left the room and arranged for a search for the bear-eating eagle.

Meanwhile, the bear-eating eagle, which had taken off from Bizer Castle, was flying over the coast. On the sea, a small boat was floating, and a person was doing something on it. The bear-eating eagle, having missed its prey in the castle, thought this time it would succeed and began a steep dive.

"Dario, start the outboard motor. Full speed."

Ricardo, who was harvesting kelp on the boat, noticed the bear-eating eagle flying overhead and gave instructions to Dario, Erik, and Fred, who were with him.

The small boat started moving, creating waves on the sea.

"Ah, it's so big!"

Erik, panicking, crouched down and shouted.

Ricardo, judging that he didn't have time to prepare magic, took out a ground magic rifle and fired at the bear-eating eagle. A shockwave was released with a whirring sound and hit the bear-eating eagle's head.

The impact deflected the bear-eating eagle's dive, and it passed by the boat and flew back up.

"Phew, that was close."

Ricardo felt a chill of fear and cold sweat on his back. He realized that if the shockwave had missed, one of the four would have been torn apart by the giant claws.

Realizing that the bear-eating eagle was not giving up, Ricardo took out a death prod and a catalyst.

He channeled magic power into the rod and scattered the catalyst.

The bear-eating eagle was about to dive again.

Ricardo, aiming the tip of the death prod at the bear-eating eagle, activated his strongest magic, "Sun Flame Bullet." A superheated ball of light formed at the tip of the rod and flew towards the attacking giant bird.

The ball of light hit the bear-eating eagle's head. The enormous heat from the Sun Flame Bullet penetrated and burned the bear-eating eagle's brain.

The bear-eating eagle fell into the sea and struggled for a while. But gradually, its movements became smaller and it became still.

"Did you kill it?"

Fred asked hesitantly.

Ricardo nodded.

"Dario, bring the boat closer to it."

When the boat approached, Ricardo hit the floating bear-eating eagle with the death prod. There was no reaction. It seemed to be truly dead.

Ricardo put the bear-eating eagle into a storage crystal and had the boat return to the kelp-covered rocks.

"Let's continue."

"Aw, after almost dying, you're going to continue kelp harvesting?"

"Of course. We haven't reached today's target yet."

Ricardo and the others continued kelp harvesting for a while before returning to the breeding grounds.

Antonio, who was waiting at the breeding grounds, asked,

"How was it? Did Dario and the others learn to handle the boat?"

"Yes, they seem to have gotten used to it."

Ricardo had been on the boat with Dario and the others to teach them how to handle the outboard motor and kelp harvesting.

"More importantly, we were attacked by a huge bird while harvesting kelp."

Fred, excited, reported to Antonio.

"Really? What happened?"

"Lord Ricardo killed it."

"Typical of Ricardo. What kind of creature was it?"

Ricardo took out the bear-eating eagle from the storage crystal, and Antonio was speechless. He hadn't expected such a large bird.

After staring at the giant eagle for a while, Antonio asked,

"Is this a magic beast?"

"Yes, I think it's probably the rumored bear-eating eagle."

"Wow... Shouldn't we inform the defense force or someone in the castle?"

"Yes, I think so."

Ricardo decided to inform General Samuele.