Chapter 160: Undying Flametail (1/2)

From time immemorial, once one wielded the high ground, it’s over. Especially when said person was flying.

The Abaddon Rodents had no ranged capabilities to speak of and neither could they fly though their wall climbing was nothing to scoff at either.

Unfortunately for them, these harpies were simply too agile for them to hit even if they scaled the maze walls. Using the time-honored strategy of kiting, these bird women managed to dodge the majority of their pounces. From time to time, a few lucky rats were able to catch a harpy. However, before they were even able to clip their wings, they were promptly tossed to the ground by the harpy’s comrades.

Speaking of which, eagles had always been the natural predator of rats…let alone my eagle ladies who could toss javelins…

With the completion of another volley, the ratmen lost another pack of rats. Even so, there was nothing they could do to remedy this situation. Even when they tried to stack up like totem poles, the harpies were able to evade their frantics swipes with a mere dodge backwards. As long as my air squadron still had javelins to throw, they were basically untouchable.

By the time our javelins were used up, the battlefield was littered with rat corpses and maimed rats. In total, there were at least 3000 dead or maimed and another 4000 lightly injured rodents.

As for our side, the number of harpies lost just hit the two digit range!

Having run out of ammunition, I immediately ordered Numila and Elena to lure the rodents to the designated spot, under no circumstances were they to allow their kinsharpies to land and engage in melee.

Glancing back at the scattered corpses, I couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. Truthfully, I was initially concerned that the casualties would actually scare off these ratmen, who knew that the ratman leader was so incensed that he actually tried to chase down the harpies instead. Seeing the hail of javelins stop, it probably thought that their chance for revenge had come so the ratman leader immediately gave the order to chase.

Naturally, there were some cowardly rodents who were terrified by the carnage they witnessed but the moment they tried to run, these poor souls were promptly executed to set an example for the rest. Truth be told, I had to thank the rat leader for his rash decision. It was precisely this decision that allowed my following plans to work.

With the advent of these fearless fools, it was time for our hidden medusas to make their appearance.

With their attention fixed squarely on their aerial targets, the rodents didn’t even bother to look at what was in front of them. By the time they came to a T-junction, they were still chasing after the harpies like a bunch of possessed fools.

Yet, just when they were about to catch up to the harpies, death descended upon them.

Suddenly, the rats at the forefront felt a disturbance behind them. Turning around, they got the shock of their furry lives. The entire rat army had been cut in half by the medusas!

The medusas had always been the natural predators of these rodents so the moment they noticed the medusas, they faces contorted with disbelief and terror.

Because the medusas weren’t present in the initial clash, the ratman leader made the foolish assumption that they had left the battlefield temporarily or perhaps they weren’t there at all for some reason or another. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that they would suddenly descend upon them at this crucial moment…did this guy think that their appearance was merely a coincidence?

The existence of the medusas immediately had a suppressive effect on their prey, throwing the entire army into disarray with their mere presence.

Having split up the rat army, the 500 over medusas proceeded to lay down a toxic trap, though could it really be considered a trap if you set up it in front of your opponents?

Every strand of hair on a medusa’s head was an independent snake that could spit venom.

However, instead of launching a volley of toxic attacks, Manasha had her kinsnakes lay down a carpet of venom on the bony ground which covered an area 10 meters long after merely 10 seconds.

With the way blocked off by a toxic zone, the rodents started scaling the walls in order to proceed. However, Manasha had already predicted this move and swiftly instructed her medusas to lay down a venom field on the wall sections connected to the ground. By now, the only safe zone was the ceiling yet there was no way the rodents could climb that high…

Given that the toxic zone was 10 meters long, even the elites of the ratmen couldn’t jump over it. The only rodent who could do so was the ratman leader but doing so was the same committing suicide!

Thanks to that, we managed to successfully cut off reinforcements to one half of the rat army. With only 3000 rodents in the front half of the army, the medusas could easily slaughter these rats.

Now that the plan had been enacted, Numila, Elena and the other harpies rapidly turned around and dived on the unfortunate rats who got caught in our trap. With nearly 4000 harpies descending at once, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they blotted out the sky (ceiling) with one dive. The effect was, to say the least, terrifying.