The harpy people descended in waves, gliding silently through the thick air, their sharp eyes piercing the gloom of the forest floor that surrounded the yawning maw of the cave.

At first, there had been certainty among them—a predator’s confidence—as they believed they could easily snuff out the orcs and ogres who dared flee into the shadows. But that certainty had turned to frustration.

Each new trail they followed, every broken twig or overturned stone, led nowhere.

A sharp-eyed scout landed with a flurry of wings and hissed, “This makes no sense!”

He kicked a pile of disturbed stones scattered across the ground, sending pebbles skittering in every direction.

His talons clicked as he paced back and forth, his head twitching sharply as he scanned the surroundings. “They were here! I know they were here! Look at these marks!”

Another harpy landed nearby, folding her wings neatly against her back. Her voice was dripping with impatience. “Yes, we’ve been saying that for the last hour. So where are they now? If they were wounded, they couldn’t have moved quickly.”

“But the trails go everywhere!” snarled another scout, perching on a branch above them. He stabbed a clawed finger toward the ground below. “Here it looks like they doubled back. There it looks like they ran in circles. And that path over there? It just… stops. It stops like they vanished into thin air!”

Murmurs of discontent rippled through the harpies as they began to gather in groups, perched on branches or hovering just above the ground.

Frustration was written across their faces, and tension crackled like a storm ready to break. Talons clicked and flexed anxiously, wings beat the air in restless agitation.

“It’s like they’re playing with us!” another harpy shouted, her voice shrill as her wings flared open. “They’re mocking us! They’re laughing at us while we chase our own tails! Do you all not see how absurd this is?! We are harpies! Why are we flying in circles like crows scavenging scraps?”

The harpy leader stood to the side, watching his kin argue and bicker like children.

His keen eyes narrowed, taking in the chaotic scene before him.

The once-efficient hunting party had devolved into frustration, their confidence chipped away by the maddening complexity of the trails.

Every footstep they traced, every scuff of dirt they investigated, seemed deliberate yet meaningless.

One scout landed hard in front of him, his wings flaring wide as his chest heaved with barely contained rage.

“Leader, this is pointless! The orcs and ogres are stupid, yes, but even they could not have hidden so completely unless… unless they are dead! Maybe they killed each other or starved in the dark! We waste our time!”

The leader’s talons tapped rhythmically against the bark of a low tree branch as he considered the words.

His silence weighed heavily on the others, who waited with bated breath.

For a long while, the leader said nothing.

The only sounds were the rustling of wings, the whispering of the wind through the leaves, and the distant drip of water echoing from within the cave.

Another harpy broke the silence. “We’ve spent too much time chasing nothing! The ogres are clumsy and slow, the orcs reckless and obvious. They wouldn’t have the sense or skill to pull this off!”

“Exactly!” another chimed in, their wings snapping in irritation. “The trails are wrong! It’s like they were crafted just to confuse us. They would not have the time to do this unless they were desperate. Unless they—”

“ENOUGH.”

The leader’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

The forest fell silent in an instant, every harpy turning their gaze toward him. He stood tall, his wings partially spread, casting jagged shadows across the ground.

His golden eyes burned with a sharp, predatory gleam—a look that silenced any further protests.

“Desperation? You think this reeks of desperation? Of course it does. Look around you. Do you not see it? Do you not feel it?” The leader’s voice dropped to a low, dangerous tone. His words slithered like smoke, curling into the ears of those who listened.

“They are wounded. They are broken. And they are terrified. They have taken great pains to hide from us because they know they cannot fight us.

“Every false trail, every disturbed stone and misleading path—it reeks of fear. Desperate creatures will always go to great lengths to conceal their weakness. This cave is their last refuge.

“They think they can escape us in the dark, but they are fools. They crawl like rats into the shadows, hiding their wounds and broken pride. And we—we—will pull them into the light and rip them apart.”

The harpies began to murmur, their frustration giving way to a simmering excitement as the leader’s words took root in their minds.

“You say the trails are deliberate? Good. That means they still live. You say the trails are confusing? Even better. That means they are panicking.

“You think they’ve hidden themselves so completely because they are clever? No. It is because they are weak. Weak, wounded, and waiting to be finished.” Experience more tales on empire

The leader’s face twisted into a wicked smile, his sharp teeth gleaming as he spread his wings fully, casting his shadow across the entire clearing.

“We have them cornered. Their hiding tells me everything I need to know. They will die cowering in the dark, surrounded by their failures.

“They believe the shadows will save them, but the shadows will betray them. Now—keep moving! Follow every inch of that cave. Do not stop until we’ve dragged every last one of them into the open! Keep going! GO!”

The harpies let out a chorus of sharp cries, their wings snapping open in unison as they took to the air.

Frustration turned to bloodthirsty determination, their movements becoming a coordinated flurry of purpose.

They dove back toward the cave’s entrance, their sharp eyes narrowing as they scanned every crevice and every shadow for any sign of their prey.

And all the while, the leader remained behind, watching them go. His smile never faltered as his golden eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.

“Run deeper, little beasts,” he muttered under his breath. “Run as deep as you like. The dark will not save you from us.”

With that, he spread his wings and glided silently toward the cave entrance, his figure vanishing into the gloom. The hunt was far from over.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep