Black-Feathered Sparrows

Shrill cries kept ringing out across the hazy, overcast sky. Harsh and hoarse, they sounded like two sharp pebbles scraping against each other, unsettling anyone who heard them and making their stomachs churn.

Beyond that, the entire sky seemed to reek of decay. The overpowering stench was like the half-dried, half-rotted feathers on a dead bird, like stale ink mixed with blood and dry bones. It made the knights covering their ears look even more anguished. Some had already collapsed halfway to the ground, their eyes rolling and mouths foaming, utterly engulfed in terror.

Only then could many of them truly make out the black specks drifting through the sky. They were Black-Feathered Sparrows.

Black-Feathered Sparrows were vicious birds with dark red eyes, black plumage, and yellowish claws. They resembled crows, but unlike crows, they had no fear of people. These aggressive carnivorous birds ate both carrion and fresh meat, making them savage and cold-blooded by nature, unafraid of strangers. They often roamed in flocks, and even apex predators such as lions and tigers were frequent prey. Sometimes they hunted living people. Anyone engulfed by a flock met a miserable, tragic end, and most of the time, not even fragments of bone remained.

Fortunately, Black-Feathered Sparrows were nocturnal. They usually hid in dark mountain caves and almost only emerged to hunt at night. Before going to bed, people would shut their doors and windows tight and light a coil of wood incense indoors to confuse the birds' sense of smell, preventing any Black-Feathered Sparrows passing overhead from descending.

But anyone with even a little experience knew that the appearance of a flock this large would spell disaster.

Once the flock reached the skies above Sand City, the "black cloud" stopped moving. Black specks shrieked through the cloud on foul-smelling gusts, diving like cold arrows in the night straight at the knights below.

In an instant, sparks flew everywhere. The entire square blossomed with dazzling showers of gold and silver light. Noise erupted on all sides, the thunderous clang of a smith's hammer ringing out from every knight's body.

The pointed beaks of Black-Feathered Sparrows were as hard as black iron. Some knights who had fought in the earlier battle and had yet to replace their damaged armor suffered for it.

The Black-Feathered Sparrows darted like venomous snakes into holes in their damaged armor, piercing skin in an instant. Half of each palm-sized bird plunged into a body. As their wings beat violently, their beaks bored deeper like drill bits, destroying flesh and blood vessels.

"Aah!"

Agonized screams and wails rose from every direction. Under such excruciating pain, the wounded knights could muster no strength in their hands. They could only sink to their knees as hot blood sprayed and the piercing agony intensified.

But only some of the knights suffered this fate. Most were swinging their sharp swords, fighting off and cutting down the deadly black specks descending from the sky.

Whoosh! The silver sword in Kanni's hand danced as though it had come alive, slicing any Black-Feathered Sparrow that dared come within a foot of him in half as easily as paper.

Back to back with him, Zeng Mu wielded the Bronze Sword against the attacking Black-Feathered Sparrows, matching his speed. The blade whistled through the air, and any bird that so much as touched its edge was instantly cleaved in two.

"Damn it! Why did such a huge flock of Black-Feathered Sparrows suddenly show up?" Kanni muttered a curse as he fought back fiercely.

Although Black-Feathered Sparrows often traveled in flocks, their numbers generally ranged from a hundred to a thousand, and flocks of more than two hundred were rare. Perhaps they themselves knew that too many companions would expose their presence too soon, giving prey or humans advance warning. That would lower their hunting success rate and increase casualties, while making it difficult to ensure that everyone ate their fill. They might not even replenish the energy spent flying there and back.

Yet as Kanni looked at the ink-black sky, he could clearly estimate that this flock numbered over twenty thousand. It was practically every Black-Feathered Sparrow from the caves of several mountains. That meant each of Sand City's two thousand-odd knights would have to kill ten birds to quell the attack, and the price would be heavier than ever before.

Such a situation was exceedingly rare, and he had never seen anything like it in his life. It was nothing short of a disaster.

Black-Feathered Sparrows kept swooping in as thick as rain. Even though the swords in Kanni's and Zeng Mu's hands were heating up and turning red, cutting through iron like mud, they could not halt the frenzied flock.

"Damn it! Have these things all gone mad?!" The relentless assault drove many knights to curse.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Zeng Mu spoke first. "This won't work. There's no end to them. We have to retreat for now and get out of their concentrated attacks, or we'll soon exhaust ourselves."

Kanni agreed. "Right. We need to cut our way through and fall back into a stone house."

With their escape route decided, the two immediately set off. They moved cautiously while swinging their swords even faster, slicing any Black-Feathered Sparrow that dared approach in half.

Black-Feathered Sparrows owed their name not only to their ink-black feathers, but also in part to their dark red blood, which had a pale gray tinge.

The knights throughout the square, including Kanni and Zeng Mu, now had faces stained completely red. Sour, foul blood and black feathers covered their bodies. Beneath their feet were no longer paving stones, but soft heaps of dead Black-Feathered Sparrows, with no clear space left to step. The bodies squeaked underfoot, as though the entire square had been covered in a carpet of Black-Feathered Sparrows.

Kanni and Zeng Mu fought their way across this "carpet" toward a stone house at the edge of the square. Meanwhile, the other knights belatedly caught on and began seeking shelter, hoping to avoid being riddled with holes by countless sharp beaks.

When they came within ten paces of the stone house, Kanni felt a faint ache in the wrist he had been swinging without a moment's rest.

Fortunately, thanks to their excellent swordsmanship and exceptional armor, neither he nor Zeng Mu had suffered any injuries. Their hair was merely soaked with sweat, leaving them looking somewhat disheveled.

Whoosh! As another blindingly fast slash fell, Zeng Mu backed against the door and kicked it hard with his heel. It did not open. Clearly, someone had already locked the wooden door from inside.

"Is anyone there? We need shelter! Please open the door!"

After several short seconds and dozens more sword strokes, a delicate voice called from inside. "When I count down to one, get in quickly, or the Black-Feathered Sparrows will swarm in."

"Understood! Do it!" Kanni shouted, almost roaring.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

With a bang, the wooden door swung open, swallowing the two as they hurried backward inside, then slammed shut again in the blink of an eye.

But even in that brief instant, many Black-Feathered Sparrows seized the chance to squeeze through the gap.

Hissing shrieks echoed through the stone house. Furiously beating wings nearly knocked over the slender figure behind the door. Fortunately, Kanni and Zeng Mu reacted swiftly, cutting down all the birds that had forced their way inside with a few quick strikes.

"Are you two all right? What's happening outside?" the slender figure behind them asked gently.

Only when they turned did they see who she was: the Elemental Healer, Ma Linya.

Unlike before, she now wore a white silk scarf over her face, clearly to keep out the stench of the Black-Feathered Sparrows outside.

"We're fine. What about you? Were you attacked?" Zeng Mu asked, putting away the Bronze Sword.

Ma Linya shook her head. "I'm fine. I only returned from the wounded camp half an hour ago. I was here preparing the medicinal solution for tomorrow, but I never expected to see a flock of Black-Feathered Sparrows flying over. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to shout a warning, so I could only lock the door and stay here for now."

"Is anyone there?!"

"We need help!" Suddenly, two more voices called from outside.

Ma Linya hurriedly turned and squinted through the crack in the door. She could just make out two people running toward them.

Their heads were bloodied, and their armor was drenched. Several small holes pierced the greaves on their lower legs, with five or six Black-Feathered Sparrows visible inside, their tails wriggling amid torn skin and flowing blood. It was a horrifying sight.

"Hurry over!" Ma Linya called.

Kanni and Zeng Mu immediately took positions behind the door, watching outside as they placed their hands on the latch.

"What a shame. Those two won't make it," Kanni suddenly said with a quiet sigh.

"Damn those Black-Feathered Sparrows," Zeng Mu lamented with a sigh of his own.

"Aah!" With two anguished screams, the knights outside lost their footing and collapsed three meters from the wooden door.

Once they lost their balance, the iron swords in their hands became useless. They could no longer offer even a final, feeble resistance.

Pff! Pff! Flying black shadows plunged into their eyes like stones dropping into water, greedily drinking their precious fluids like summer cicadas sucking lush sap from trees.

The gruesome sight made the three avert their eyes, but before they had time to grieve, more cries came from outside.

This time, five knights approached. Judging by their faces, they were only in their twenties. Wriggling Black-Feathered Sparrows clung to their bodies like maggots burrowing into bone, causing unbearable, piercing pain. Yet the fierce attacks around them left them no opening to deal with the birds embedded in their flesh.

All five were heading in the same direction, presumably hoping to seek temporary shelter in this stone house.

Ma Linya was just about to call out when the five fell one after another, coming to rest forever two meters from the wooden door.

"Damn it! I'm going out to save them!" she shouted, turning to grab an iron sword and head outside.

Zeng Mu immediately stretched out an arm to stop her, urgently warning, "Calm down, Ma Linya! Going out like this won't save them. You'll only get yourself killed too!"

"He's right. Those Black-Feathered Sparrows are attacking so fiercely that even we can barely hold them off," Kanni told her firmly.

"Vile creatures!" Her face flushed with anger, Ma Linya flung the sword hard. It buried itself deep in a gap between the stone bricks opposite her, humming.

Perhaps the bodies outside blocked any chance of reaching the door, for no more knights stopped there. The three inside heard no further calls for help, but agonized screams, metallic clashes, and the thunder of footsteps still filled their ears.

"I wonder how Lord Yetos and the other three lords are doing," Zeng Mu said worriedly.

Kanni rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Lord Yetos is an Elementalist, and the other Knight Commanders have fought for years. No matter how many of these little Black-Feathered Sparrows there are, they won't hurt those four."

"We have to do something. We can't just stay here and ignore everyone else," Ma Linya said through clenched teeth.

"Oh? Do you have a way?" the two asked in unison, both turning to look at her.

Ma Linya nodded. "Yes. There's a medicinal solution that can drive away Black-Feathered Sparrows."