Chapter 126: Queen of the Desert

Condor, Eagle, Hawk, Falcon.

They are all similar birds of prey in appearance. Many people may not be able to distinguish one from the other when they are shown side by side in a photograph.

But there are several ways to tell them apart, such as anatomical skeletal structures and differences in the way they fly... but the easiest way to tell them apart is by their size.

Condor is the world's largest bird of prey. Eagle and Hawk, in that order, are smaller. And the smallest is Falcon.

The small size of the Falcon makes it more agile, and it is said to be the world's fastest bird in terms of vertical descent speed when it captures its prey... Anyway, Falcon is small. As a bird of prey, it is supposed to be small.

"And yet... it's crazy how big it is. It must be a naming error by the staff."

The sight of a huge falcon—'Falcon Pharaoh'—predating on Death Scorpion from a short distance away made me feel an intense sense of unreasonableness.

A huge bird of prey monster descended from the sky. Like 'Gigant Mithril,' which I had once fought, it is a dangerous pop monster.

It is an extremely dangerous monster that appears in dungeons with a 0.01% probability, and has a fighting ability equal to or greater than that of the boss monster.

"What a nuisance monster, showing up at a troublesome time...! I'm going to hide in the sand hill over there!"

I lead Urza and Levienna to the shadow of the sand hill and try to stay low to let Falcon pass by.

Fortunately, Falcon's goal is to prey on the scorpions, and it is not looking at us. If we continue to hide behind the sand hill, we can avoid a fight.

"Bocchama, do you know that monster?"

Levienna asks me in a whisper as she hides herself behind me.

"...Yes, it's a monstrous bird called the 'Queen of the Desert'. In addition to being as big as you can see, it flies very fast. It's on the ground now, but there's no way we can attack it if it flies in the sky."

"...Well, it seems dangerous to fight with this party without any magician or archer..."

"That's right... At all, it seems that some of us are having a hell of a lot of bad luck."

Our guide leads us to the sand bandits, and just when we think we've defeated them, we run into the most alarming monster in the desert. What kind of bad luck is this?

"But... it didn't notice us. That's the only lucky thing. If we just wait for this guy to finish the meal..."

"Damn... Damn itttttttt!?"

"What?"

Suddenly, a scream echoes through the air. I looked toward the voice and saw the Sand Bandit leader holding a staff in his hand and pointing it at Falcon.

"I-I'm a Monster Tamer! No monster can escape my command! Listen to me and become my slave—Monster Time!"

"What the hell... is that idiot doing?"

A black fuzzy thing shoots out from the staff held by the sand bandit leader.

The fuzzy thing wraps around Falcon, who is eating a scorpion, and tries to take away its freedom... but the Falcon shakes its head in annoyance and it easily dissipates.

"No way... My power doesn't work...!?"

'Monster Tamer' is a special job that allowed the tamer to control monsters and use them as his or her companions. However, it was not effective against boss monsters.

And now, the leader of the sand bandits who had failed to cast the Falcon stood aghast, his shoulders shaking with fear as he saw that his power was not effective against his enemies.

"Does he want to die, that bastard... Don't do anything stupid, run away!"

I yelled at the shocked leader.

Maybe he was trying to make the best of a bad situation.

After all, even though he could have escaped from Falcon's eyes if he had stayed hidden like we did. But the death scorpion he was using, however, was used as bait for the monster birds, and the sand bandit leader, having lost all his men and demons, was captured by us. Then, once we reach the town and hand him over to the authorities, he will be enslaved at best, and hanged at worst.

So, perhaps, he thought of a reversal of fortune to ensure his survival... and that's why he tried to control the Falcon Pharaoh.

"Pyuiiiiiiiii!"

Falcon, having finished eating most of Death Scorpion, turns to the sand bandit leader. It glares at the insolent Monster Tamer who tried to control it and failed, and quickly pulls its head back.

"Damn... I knew it!"

I shout, and jump out of the pile of sand.

That's a preliminary move for a beak attack. Soon its sharp beak will pierce the sand bandit leader.

"Dark Flare!"

"Pyuiii!?"

Before the giant bird can attack, I hit it with my dark magic.

The dark flame hits Falcon's head from a blind spot, and part of the huge head is engulfed in black flames. Falcon hurriedly rubs its head against the ground to put out the flames.

"Who's going to operate the dragon carriage if you're going to die! We're stuck in the middle of the desert with no way out!"

Of course, I'm not trying to help the sand bandits out of the kindness of my heart.

If the leader of the sand bandits were to die, there would be no one to guide us and we would never be able to reach the capital.

"Just go back to sleep, you bastard!"

"Guhe!?"

I kick the sand bandit leader unconscious with a leaping kick and kick him into the far side. Now he won't interfere with the battle by doing something unnecessary.

"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

The bird cries and points its beak skyward. The black flames on its head had already disappeared.

Falcon Pharaoh then completely locked on to me as an enemy with its earlier attack. It is quite unwilling, but I suppose a fight is inevitable.

"It's really not my lucky day... to have to fight against a superior enemy to save a scum like this!"

I spit out disgustedly and holds up my sword.

Falcon Pharaoh. Queen of the Desert.

The battle against the biggest monster bird in [DunBrave] has just begun.