Lara's POV;
The battle was in full swing when we caught up with Mad. He had discarded his hoe and was now using a sword to fight. The village militia and even the normal villagers were all aiding in the fight, while those too old, young or weak were running towards a single fortified building.
“Don't let these birds get close to the town hall!” Shouted a man who stood at the forefront of the battle. He wore leather armour and had the highest quality weapon, he also looked to be the strongest of the group. He and three others were fighting the only two chickens of the group.
“This is so crazy,” mumbled Nami. She was watching in awe how a good hundred men and women were in a fierce battle with twenty to thirty birds. However, the birds were clearly stronger and only the numbers of the humans stopped them from overwhelming them.
There two chickens, blackbirds, a few robins, different parrots and even two peacocks. But other than their general looks they had nothing in common with a normal bird. These animals were all at least two or three times the size of their normal counterpart.
They all were attacking with Armament enhanced wings, beaks and claws. Their speed was high enough to create clouds of dust. And their attacks left deep marks in the earth. The peacocks were even able to shoot their feathers off, all of their feathers were enhanced by Haki and sharp enough to pierce through wood.
One such peacock has spotted us and made his feathers fan out. They rustled and then half a dozen of them were flying at us.
I quickly grabbed my shield and jumped in front of our group. The feathers hit my shield with loud clanking sounds but were not able to penetrate through. The force was still so strong that I had to brace myself, or else I would have been pushed back. “Nojiko, give cover fire!” I barked out while advancing forward.
Nojiko stepped behind me and used me as cover to let a hail of bullets rain down on the peacock. The bird jumped to the side, twisted and then used his large fan of tail feathers to block the bullets. Another turn sent more feathered projectiles our way. They were aimed in such a way that I wouldn't be able to protect myself and Nojiko fully.
Thankfully Lia was also present. She waved her hand down and the feathers pierced into the ground, where they made football sized craters.
“Lia, protect Nami. She won't be able to evade their attack. Nojiko and I got it,” I called over my shoulder and then to Nojiko. “On three I will sprint forward and take that peacock out. Help these villagers. 1...2...3!” I raised my shield and sprinted forward. The Soru brought me into reach in under a second. However, the peacock was defended by a robin.
The pug sized bird with red feathers on its chest jumped into the way and brought both wings at me. They crashed into my raised shield and stopped my advance. Still, I was now close to an enemy and had every intention of using that.
My right arm swung down and the flat side of my hammer came down on the Haki using bird. The peacock tried to stop me by firing more feathers, but they either harmlessly pinged off or got slightly stuck in my own Haki enhanced armour.
It still was enough of a hindrance to slow my hammer down. The robin managed to evade by flapping its wings and generating a backwards thrust, before then flapping its wings once more. This time it shot back forward, beak blackened with Haki and aimed at my stomach.
I raised my knee, enhanced the metal kneecap with Haki and added a layer of tremor power. I could not see any shock in the robin's eyes. No worry, shock, fear or even anger. Mrs Chicken Wing's eyes were always showing strong emotions. It's why I can understand her without truly knowing what she says.
My kneecap crashed into the underside of its beak and overcame the defensive properties of its Haki within a split second. A crack and then crunch followed, the beak got pulverised by the tremor power.
A loud screech showed that these birds still feel pain, but before I could follow up with another strike I got attacked by a second robin and a volley of peacock feathers.
I evaded the wing strike with a backwards Kami-e and raised my shield to deflect the projectiles, before coming back up and sending a Strom Kick at the annoying peacock. It splashed harmlessly against its tail feather protection.
The second robin has used the short window to grab his wounded comrade and both retreated back to the peacock. All three starred at me and I was just about to advance on them when a loud cockcrow rung through the village.
The still fighting birds all jumped or flew away from their fights and retreated back out of the village. The robin I was fighting needed to be carried by his friend.
I lowered my hammer and looked around. The villagers were celebrating their victory. None of them has died, but quite a few were wounded in some way or another. They will be grounded down if these attacks are frequent. At some point, they won't be able to fight anymore.
Without the danger of a battle, I could also better inspect them. Those people were wearing clothes that were meant to endure the weather, not to look good. The militia all had leather armour, made out of some animal I don't know. It was not patch up work, a skilled craftsman has made those. They will give good protection against slashes, the most common kind of attack.
Nojiko was still close to Nami and Lia. All three were coming over to me. While Mad and the leader of the militia also came over.
Mad had a lightly bleeding gash on his arm but looked fine otherwise. They reached me first. “Greetings and thank you for the help. My name is Ortang, Mad said you came out of the jungle?” Ortang was a man in his thirties and had brown hair. His face showed scars he got from either one of the birds or another animal with claws.
“Yes, we anchored a bit to the west and were inspecting the island when we found your little village,” I replied, now also putting the hammer and shield away. “Any wounds?” I then asked Nojiko, who has reached us in the meantime.
She shook her head in denial. “No, they didn't come close enough to attack. But they all are fairly good at evading my bullets. Some even deflected them with their wings. I think I'll need the black dial if I want to hit them.”
I nodded. The speed of the robin was clearly above that of a normal bullet. They would have little trouble seeing her normal cloud bullets. After all, those were only a little bit faster than a normal bullet.
I turned back to Ortang and asked him what all four of us were wondering. “So, why are they attacking you anyway?”
“Well, you have to ask one of the elders. They might know why we first started to hunt the birds. For me, they always were the hardest game to hunt. But these attacks on our village are more recent. A few weeks ago they weren't even attacking our village, only our hunters in the jungle,” answered the man with a thoughtful expression.
“Could we speak to one of these elders? I'd like to learn more about the island and these strange birds. You can't find them on any other island we have visited so far,” I requested with a disarming smile.
He blushed and nodded quickly. “Sure, Mad, would you bring them to elder Timothy? He is the oldest with the most experience. I have to organise the cleanup. They should still be inside the town hall.” Mad nodded and gestured for us to follow him before he walked over to the fortified house I have seen before.
“Thanks again for helping us. You two alone were able to keep five of them busy. You've said you are adventurers, any great tales to tell?” Spoke Mad while we had to walk.
“Well, we once rode up a river to the top of a mountain. Helped to save a countries princess from an evil pirate. There was also that one time where we were in the sky,” began Nojiko. The time we spent together was starting to look more and more like a fiction. Her reason for coming with us were exactly these adventures. Who else could say that they live on a flying ship?
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Mad laughed, but more in an amused way and not in disbelieve. “You're exaggerating,” he was silent for a moment, before he mumbled, that he wished he too could have seen those things. I took it that not everyone is happy to live on this island.
But I wasn't going to offer them a voyage to the Grand Line. These people don't concern me and it's still questionable if we're going to help them with the birds.
The door to the town hall was already opened again and the villagers were coming out. A group of five elderly people was arguing with a larger group of youngsters. We waited for them to finish up, but my keen ears made it easy to listen in.
“But Elder Wollo, these birds need to be pushed back. Every time they attack we risk loosing one of our own and they will overwhelm us if these attacks keep coming. We can't only defend, we have to fight back!” Argued the leader of the youngsters.
He was one of the defenders. A boy, almost man, in his late teens. He had the body of a fighter and from what little I could see was also the strongest of his generation. His followers nodded in agreement.
However, the elderly man was not. “Listen Chrol, we have not enough fighters to start a counter attack. A group that large would gain too much attention and other animals will attack before we even have the chance of reaching bird territory. We would be tired from all the fighting before and then slaughtered when they fall over us in numbers.” Countered this man, Wollo.
Chrol huffed and stormed off. Wollo sighed in disappointment and shook his head. One old woman laid a hand on his shoulder in comfort.
“Elder Timothy,” called Mad out to one of the five. He, with us following him, was now going over to the group.
One especially old man, probably close to a hundred years or even older, looked up and smiled at Mad in a grandfatherly way. “Mad, it is good to see that you are well. Whom do you have with you?”
Mad answered with enthusiasm and obvious awe to our strength in his voice. “These are Lara, Lia, Nami and Nojiko. They are adventurers that came to explore. I met them in the fields and they helped us in defending against the birds. You should have seen them fight.
Lara alone could fight against a robin and peacock and even when a second robin came to help it wasn't enough. And Nojiko has a weapon that shoots bullets almost as fast as the feathers of a peacock.”
Timothy smiled like any old grandparent that listens to the happy rambling of a grandchild before he inspected us. He stopped when he saw Lia and my ears, but that was usual. He nodded as if he agreed with what he saw and then bowed slightly in thanks. “Well then, let me thank you in the name of our village. We can't give you much, but we would like to share our bread with you. There will be a large feast at today's evening.”
“I'm sorry, but we have to decline. Our friends will wait for us and we have to get back to our ship. But before we leave we wanted to ask a few questions,” declined Nojiko for all of us. She is usually the one who declines offers such as these. Her tone is more fitting. I was told that I came over as bored or rude, while Lia simply does not want to speak too much.
He nodded, not offended. “Then ask away, I am probably the oldest person on this island and have seen quite a few things over the many years I am now living.”
“Could you tell us about your village? Is there a reason for you to live out here in the Calm Belt? Does this island have any old ruins or mysterious treasures?” Asked Nami excitedly.
“Also, could you please tell us why you are in a small war with these birds? Are there more of them on the island, are there stronger animals or other things we have to look out for?” I added to her list.
Timothy laughed in amusement over Nami's eagerness. “I'm sorry to disappoint you, young Miss. But I have not heard of any treasure, hidden or not, on this island. Still, there might be some deep inside the forest. We never travelled too far into it. The animals there are too dangerous.
My grandfather was of the first generation to live here. Their story is quite simple, nothing mysterious or such thing. They were on a journey with their ship, a large galleon. More than a hundred people were on it, of all kinds of occupations. I think to remember that grandfather said they were fleeing from some war. Or was it a famine? Maybe a draught? I'm sure it was a cruel king, or did he say it was a sickness..,” One of his fellow elders coughed. He stopped, chuckled in embarrassment and continued.
“Sorry, I blame my age. Anyway, during their voyage, they came into a massive storm and their ship got pushed off course. When the storm calmed down they were already in unknown waters, worse, the storm has pushed them onto the calm belt.
But the captain and his crew were strong, they managed to either evade or fight those sea kings that came up to take a look. And yet, they still knew that finding a way back onto the Grand Line, or one of the Blues, would be nigh to impossible. So when they spotted an island on the horizon they took the chance and anchored. At first only to resupply, but it was decided that they would stay forever.
Building a village wasn't hard for them. They wanted to do so anyway, it was just never planned to happen in the Calm Belt. They had the knowledge, muscle power and will to carve themselves a new beginning.
Grandfather said that when they came to this islands the birds were already present. They didn't fight them then. The first few years the birds stayed in their jungle and us in our village. But then a famine destroyed our fields and we had to go out to hunt. Most times it were some of the weaker animals, still strong and dangerous, but nothing like those that live in the middle of the island.
But during these hunts, we have noticed that eating the animals would make us stronger. Their meat is saturated with Haki and quickens the development of our own proficiency. Those who eat it and then train will become stronger quicker. A few hunters decided that the birds, while strong, are not above them.
A few were hunted and their meat proved to be the best for strengthening our bodies. Like most animals on this island, these birds are also more intelligent than their normal counterpart. They quickly learned that we were out to hunt and ambushed our hunting groups.
Hunting became more dangerous, but not impossible. We began to take a large bow around their territory and began to hunt other animals. Those who are less likely to band together.
Then, a few weeks ago, a group of pirates arrived. They claimed they were part of a crew called the 100 Beast Pirates. I have not heard of those pirates, but that is nothing strange, there are no newspapers in these parts of the sea.
They weren't hostile, only arrogant, so we warned them about the dangers of the island, especially about the birds. They tend to flock together if they feel endangered and a large flock of birds is impossible to defeat.
They, however, in their arrogance ignored our warnings and claimed that they had someone in their crew that would be able to control these birds. Boldly and while laughing they left and were never since seen.
I think they were foolish enough to invade the bird territory and were eaten. We don't know, but whatever they have done has given the birds reason to attack. They attack every other day, not in large numbers and rarely to the bitter end.
But I fear that they might be able to wither us down if nothing happens soon. The animals on the island heal quicker than us humans and while we have a larger number, they are individually stronger than us.” His fellow elders nodded sadly. They all were worried about their people.
I thought about his story. The more he said the less sure I was about the birds. It makes no sense that they are attacking them now. Not when they haven't done so before. They would have destroyed the village long ago if the hunts were the reason.
The 100 Beast Pirates can be at fault, it started when they came. It is almost assuredly their fault, but the question is why? Are the birds attacking on their own or are they led by someone? Timothy said that one of them claimed to have control over birds.
We should not allow Mrs Chicken Wing or Herbert out then, who knows how much credit due to the claims of this man.
My thoughts were interrupted, however, when a loud screeching sound came from the village gate. We all turned to see what was attacking now, only to stare at the largest bird I have ever seen.
Only its head was visible, the rest was hidden behind the palisade. Still, that alone was enough to know that it was large. The palisade was as high as a normal house.
The next thing I noticed was that this was no normal bird. A massive beak, large enough to eat a horse and looking powerful enough to crush stone, was attached to a way smaller head. “That looks like a terror bird,” said Lia in wonder.
The rest looked at her in confusion, so she explained. “Terror birds are birds thought to be extinct. They are large, meat-eating birds. Incapable of flight, but fast on their feet and equipped with a powerful beak and razor-sharp claws.
Its said that they stand at 3 meters with a beak the length of over half a meter. This one is clearly bigger and not extinct.”
The bird let out another loud cry before it kicked the palisade. The walls were shaking and its wood made dangerous cracking sounds. They won't hold much more than this. The defenders were throwing spears or shooting arrows at it, doing a good job of not archiving anything.
A glance at the five elders told me that they too have come to the same conclusion. One of them, a man, was clearly not good at keeping calm. “What are we going to do Wollo? We can't fight one of them, it's the sole reason why we have not expanded further inland. That's one of the birds who live close to the centre of the island!”
Wollo, the only one who had stayed totally calm, by outward appearance, looked at the only possible chance of their survival, namely us. He too has heard Mad's claims of our strength.
He turned to us and bowed as deeply as his old body allowed him to. “Please, please help us. We can't survive an attack from a bird like this. I know it is risky and we don't have much, but please help us. They will kill all of us if we can't stop them. We have over twenty children who can't fight back.”
Were Lia and I alone we would have declined. These people may or may not have caused this on their own, but I am more aligned to help Mrs Chicken Wing's people, who these birds clearly were. At least in some kind.
However, we weren't alone. Nojiko, who might agree with me, and Nami were also present. And the look on Nami told me that she would blame Nojiko if we do nothing, who in return would nag me.
Sometimes it was hard to be friends with people.