The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Chapter 274 Rotting Flesh, Grass Roots, and Cow Dung

A pride of tigons might be a bit tricky to deal with on the ground, but they pose no threat whatsoever when they're flying in the air.

They even watched from the sky as the lion pride hunted the mooing cow before leisurely departing to continue their journey.

Since encountering the lion pride, the number of carnivores has increased.

Giant hyenas, cheetahs, packs of giant wolves... On the grasslands, predators are constantly tearing open the throats of the weak and devouring their flesh, but this has nothing to do with the three little witches riding flying broomsticks through the sky.

Even though Moran still refused to believe that the academy would be so kind as to leave them a passage with ample food and a safe flight path leading directly into the inner perimeter, what she had seen and heard over such a long period of time had begun to shake her resolve.

Perhaps the only difficulty on this road is the cold.

As evening approached, they hunted several sheep, lit a campfire on the grassland, and roasted them.

Moran took out a tent card and set it up to the side: "We'll sleep here tonight. I'll set up a temperature-regulating magic circle so we can sleep warmer!"

“I’ve made some beast-repelling potion. I’ll sprinkle some around the camp later to keep some wild animals away,” Sylph said. “But we still need someone to keep watch tonight; the beast-repelling potion isn’t completely foolproof.”

“Let’s take turns! Each of us will guard for two hours. I have the best physical strength and energy, so I’ll guard the middle one,” Vasida said.

The three of them set up camp together, arranged the overnight stay, and roasted the mutton.

Moran ate mutton while reading the Book of Witches, occasionally joining in on Sylph and Vasita's conversation about their first time spending time in the wild.

Everyone relaxed.

While reading the section on weather prediction in "The Book of Prophecy Witches," I suddenly heard Vasita ask, "What is that?"

Moran looked up in the direction Vasita was pointing.

In the distant sky, there were nine increasingly larger black dots.

"It's a large flying beast! It's coming this way."

Moran immediately put away the witch's book, picked up his wand, and stood up.

“Moran, the tent!” Sylph reminded her.

Moran converted the tent back into cards to prevent it from being damaged in the battle.

Vasita picked up her flying broom: "I'll lure it to a farther place and kill it, so it doesn't ruin our roast lamb!"

"Wait!" Moran stopped her. "Look at their heads, don't they have no fur?"

Vasita and Sylph looked closely: "It really does seem to be true!"

Moran relaxed instantly: "The birds without feathers on their heads are all vultures. Whether they are wild beasts or magical beasts, vultures are scavengers. They only like to eat carrion and do not like to kill. As long as they do not attack people, they generally will not hurt people."

"Really? They won't steal our roasted lamb?" Vasita was very possessive of her food.

“No. They don’t like cooked meat either,” Moran said.

As she got closer, she could see it more clearly:
"It's a giant long-necked vulture, no need to worry. Some vultures, if they're extremely hungry, might even kill their prey and let it rot before eating it."

These vultures have an extreme aversion to blood. When they can't find carrion and are extremely hungry, they'd rather gnaw on grass roots or eat cow dung than hunt.

Sylph frowned and said, "Rotten flesh, grass roots, cow dung? What kind of taste is this! It's even more... incomprehensible than what Vasida's Devouring Stomach ate." Devouring Stomach: "..."

Its inability to feed itself, coupled with an unreliable owner, is its eternal pain.

"Don't be fooled by their disgusting diet; they are immune to most poisons, and products made from their skin are resistant to most common toxins," Moran said.

Vasita's eyes lit up: "To fight or not to fight?"

Moran shook his head: "Nine are too many. The giant long-necked vultures just don't like to fight, not that they're bad at it. They don't have any obvious weaknesses. Let's not create any more trouble, and besides..."

A flock of giant long-necked vultures flew close, and Moran swallowed the rest of his words.

The three men, wands in hand, watched intently as the vultures flew in.

Although they knew the vultures wouldn't attack them, they still couldn't help feeling a little nervous because of how big the vultures were, so close they were practically flying over their heads.

Unexpectedly, the vultures flew straight ahead, then suddenly let out a collective "Ugh!" and looked down at them with disgust, especially at the roasted lamb by the campfire. They abruptly turned a corner, flew around them, and flew away.

"???" Vasita looked shocked and said through gritted teeth in a low voice, "Are they disgusted by our delicious roasted whole lamb? A bunch of rotten meat eaters and cow dung eaters who look down on our lamb?"

To be honest, Moran didn't expect these vultures to be so funny: "Perhaps our roasted mutton smells terrible to them!"

"Pfft~ That's quite interesting!" Sylph laughed until her eyes narrowed.

Vasita has come to hate the vultures, but she no longer wants their skins; she finds them repulsive.
"Since entering the grasslands, we haven't encountered any challenging opponents yet! I think this flock of vultures is quite good, perfect for us to test our skills."

“I have no objection,” Sylph said. “But Moran, what was it you didn’t finish saying before the vultures arrived?”

"I feel the concentration of water in the air is gradually increasing; it might rain," Moran said, frowning.

Actually, she wasn't entirely sure either.

The physical and natural phenomena of Earth are similar to those of Valen in some aspects, but different in others.

For example, these clouds, influenced by elemental forces, are far more varied and unpredictable than the clouds on Earth.

It is difficult to predict the weather based on cloud cover.

Accurate weather prediction is something only prophetic magic can do.

Sylph and Vasita examined the energy traces in the air closely: "It really is!"

"No way! Are we really that unlucky? It's raining on our first day out?" Vasita said with a pained expression. "I really don't like being wet!"

"I forgot to cast a Luck spell when I left!" Sylph exclaimed. "Will it still work if I cast it now? Oh well, never mind! I'll cast it first."

She cast a luck spell on herself, as well as on Vasita and Moran.

"It seems there's also lightning elemental power, which is increasing!"

Moran carefully observed the sky. Within the blue water elemental energy, there seemed to be a faint hint of purple. She stared at it for a while before she could make it out clearly:
"That's right, it's lightning elemental power."

After confirming the increase in lightning elemental power, Moran's heart sank:
"I have a bad feeling... As night falls, the increasing water and lightning elemental forces remind me of the particularly dangerous terrain on the northern grasslands where orcs roam."