Chapter 537

Chapter 537: The Screech of Stonetalon

Jesse didn’t know much about the Stonetalon area.

When playing games, he didn’t do many quests here, only later did achievements, open maps, come here for a while, but at that time, it was just for clearing tasks back and forth, so there weren’t many deep impressions.

His only impression of here was that the roads were difficult to travel, various small paths, forks, constantly traveling through the canyons, with various hostile factions lurking here, not knowing how they ended up dead.

Mosa led the way towards Stonetalon, the terrain became rougher and more hilly. They walked carefully, watching out for wild beasts or enemies that could be lurking on both sides. By nightfall, tall pine trees covered the surrounding hills.

In the middle of the night, a few people rested under a tree. According to Mosa, they should reach the Tauren village by the next morning.

Just as everyone was about to fall asleep, there was suddenly a flapping noise in the sky.

At first, Jesse thought it might be birds or Wyverns roosting in the mountains, as Stonetalon was full of flying creatures hiding everywhere, just like in games, not to mention the real Stonetalon is much larger.

Hearing the noise, Mosa became alert. She immediately stood up and looked towards the source of the sound, saying something to Vereesa.

Vereesa frowned after listening, seeming confused.

But Mosa quickly grabbed her arm, pointing urgently upwards and saying something. Without hesitation this time, Vereesa took out her bow, nocked an arrow, and drew it back…

Seeing the elf suddenly draw her bow, Greed and Jesse nervously stood up and looked in that direction. After aiming for a moment, Vereesa decisively let go of the arrow. It whizzed up into the air, followed by a piercing scream, like a woman’s voice.

Since Jesse and Greed had not expected the commotion after the flying creature was shot, they both jumped in shock at the ear-piercing sound.

But Jesse quickly realized what they were facing.

"Harpy," he said.

"Harpy?" the dwarf asked, and immediately something fell from the sky. Mosa caught it, but then another harpy came screaming and attacking, landing on top of the trees above the group.

A dark green giant bird-like monster lunged at Mosa, as Vereesa aimed her second arrow, and Greed’s hammer hit the monster’s back, crippling it. The harpy fell to the ground, writhing and screeching incomprehensible words.

Greed retrieved his hammer, walking closer, and his expression stiffened as he saw the monster’s face.

The creature had bird-like legs but the upper body was that of a naked elven woman, including her head.

With her spine broken, the harpy vomited blood, cursing at the dwarf in front of her. She tried to move her arms, or wings, to attack but only struggled briefly before stilling, leaving behind a terrifying yet beautiful face.

Indeed, this was a harpy, one of the natives of Stonetalon.

Jesse had never seen a harpy before. Unlike in games where they are modestly dressed, this harpy was naked, with only some bone and teeth jewelry hanging from her neck, arms, and waist providing minimal cover. She also wore a simple headpiece that likely indicated her status.

Not far away, there was a harpy rolling on the ground struggling. It was the one hit by Vereesa’s arrow. The harpy’s neck had been pierced, and it probably wouldn’t live much longer, as its struggling was getting weaker and slower.

At that moment, Mosa shouted from beside, and Vereesa immediately ran over to her. Mosa was holding something in her arms and calling out to it. Jesse noticed that it was a small Tauren, not much bigger than a dwarf.

The small Tauren hung its large head, covered in blood and dirt all over its fur and mouth. It didn’t respond to any calls, probably already dead.

"Mosa knows this child," Vereesa said. "They are from the village."

"Is the village in danger?" Jesse asked. "Are those two harpies flying towards the village?"

Vereesa quickly asked Mosa, who wiped away tears and nodded at Jesse.

Greed said, "Can we still rest here? Let’s hurry to the village and check it out! If it’s not too far, we should be able to reach there by morning, Jesse."

"Greed is right," Jesse agreed.

Vereesa said a few words to Mosa, who looked at the three of them and nodded firmly.

They reached an agreement, and everyone immediately packed up and set off on their journey.

Mosa wrapped the small Tauren’s body in her own cloak, tied it up and carried it on her back. She also brought along all the food and even most of Greed’s luggage. Despite carrying all these, she walked fast because she was eager to reach the village quickly, even faster than before, leaving the others struggling to keep up.

"Those harpies have a dark aura around them," Saenor reminded Jesse as he gripped his shoulder. "Be careful, they are much more dangerous than they appear!"

"Can you believe those female monsters enjoy capturing children?" Greed asked as he ran.

"It could be for some ritual, necromancy, or simply to intimidate other enemies with the children as trophies," Vereesa explained. "Have you forgotten about the bloodthirsty Amani Trolls in the Hinterlands?"

Jesse knew that harpies are known to capture outsiders as prisoners. The Tauren child may have tragically died in battle due to severe injuries, otherwise, his fate could have been much worse.

The group ran through the pine forest for some time, as the sky grew darker.

After crossing over a hill, Jesse noticed a flickering light in a valley ahead, along with distant roars and howls echoing between the mountains, though they were not clear from this distance.

Based on the geographic location of the village, the approximate distance to Stonetalon, and the landscape, Jesse believed that it must be Sun Rock Retreat up ahead.

Before the great Cataclysm caused by Deathwing, the Horde only had one decent settlement in Stonetalon, mainly defended and inhabited by Tauren.

Mosa pointed in the direction of the fire and said something that Jesse understood without needing Vereesa to translate – that’s where they needed to go.