When Shiba left the Beast Hunter Guild, he wanted to return to his house as fast as possible, but he noticed that he was being followed.
He didn't know if the ones pursuing them had bad intentions or just wanted to know where he lived because they were his fans, but remembering the advice he had just received, he tried to shake them off before returning to his house.
It was already dark when Shiba managed to reach his house again.
Once the sky darkened enough, he decided to use Wind Wings and return to his house flying.
The fact that he could fly hadn't been leaked since only those that were on the residence of the Lord of the town knew about it, so no one thought that he could escape flying.
"Shit! He really managed to escape. Such a fat sheep, we can't allow him to flee. Just that spatial ring is worthy of the danger."
Once Shiba had fled successfully, a man with a scar on his face spoke.
He was the strongest criminal of Border Town. When he was young, he was caught stealing some food to eat, and the shopkeeper punished him by cutting his face, leaving that scar there.
Later he was consumed by hatred and trained until murdering that shopkeeper. After that, he continued murdering others for pleasure and benefits.
He had a lot of followers. Virtually all the criminals of Border Town were his subordinates.
They didn't dare to act on the day, but once it was dark, they were unrestrained.
The only one known by the Lord of the town was the boss, who had a price for his head. The rest of the members were usually mixed with ordinary citizens and served to recollect information.
Those who followed Eini to kill her were also part of that group, but since they died, the group decided that it was better to wait for an opportunity to attack all at the same time since she was so strong or use some ploy to have Eini with her guard lowered.
Of course, they didn't know that with Lina being present, there was no way they could succeed, but ignorance was a blessing. If not, they would be hidden under their beds, fearing the moment when Lina would kill them all.
She didn't act because although those men were dangerous, they were also enemies of the town, so they couldn't act openly. Moreover, although there were Level 9 Mortals there, they were still a good source of training for Eini.
If they knew that they were alive only because they were good punchbags for Eini, they would die from depression.
For an organization that provoked fear in most people of the town to be treated as a mere source of training, it was too humiliating.
Anyway, Eini was already a Level 8 Mortal, and given the skills that she learned and her proficiency, she wasn't weaker than a Level 9 Mortal if she battled seriously. Thus, those weren't enemies that she would fear.
The next day, Shiba was wakened up by a loud voice that echoed the whole city.
"From this moment, all the gates are closed. It is forbidden to enter or leave the town. The guards in charge of the gates and the walls shall remain in position. Those not on work right now shall come to my residence as soon as possible."
That was the voice of the Lord of the town.
Shiba didn't know what happened to make the Lord of the town decide to close the whole town, but he was sure that it should be something serious.
"I should also go and check what is happening."
He felt that since the Lord of the town had been so kind to him, he should go and see if he could help him.
Shiba quickly put a set of clothes that he received after waking up after his slumber. Those clothes were made using the best materials in the town, so they were far more resistant than the other clothes he had. Given that there was an emergency, it seemed that the best option was using those clothes.
After that, he went to the residence of the Lord of the Town as fast as he could.
The guards on the door knew who Shiba was, so they didn't stop him.
The Lord of the town had gathered all the available guards on the training grounds.
"Shiba, you are also here. Great, we may need your help."
The Lord of the town was happy to see Shiba there.
"If I can help, I will do my utmost."
Shiba replied earnestly. The Lord of the town nodded satisfied.
"Everyone! Our town is facing a situation of great danger. If we don't manage it well, we may be wiped out."
Hearing someone who already reached Rank 2 speaking like that, was really scary for all those guards.
"In the arid zone, we noticed a flock of flying beasts. They are Soul-eating Eagles."
The faces of the guard changed when hearing that name. The guards had a vast knowledge about dangerous beasts, so there was no way they didn't recognize that name.
On the other hand, Shiba didn't know anything, but the part about soul-eating made them seem quite dangerous.
"I bet everyone has read about them. Soul-eating Eagles are strange beasts that had the capability to eat souls. Of course, they also eat the bodies, but it seems that the person who named them didn't consider that worthy of mention."
The damage to the souls was far more dangerous than the damage to the body.
Even someone like Master Liye was forced to reincarnate after having his soul extremely damaged, so it was easy to see how much effect it would have on people far weaker than him.
Thus, any beast with that capability was extremely dangerous.
Of course, that kind beast wasn't enough to harm a Law God, but most people of the town were at Mortal Rank, so it could be a huge calamity.
"Based on the news, they are currently Level 9 Beasts because they weren't born too long ago. However, you have heard the legends about Soul-eating eagles. They can reach Rank 9, Sage, after becoming adults. The level of danger is just too high."
Rank 9, Sage, was the last Rank before one could become a Law Master. It was also the level of the strongest being on that planet.
A group of flying beasts that would be comparable to the strongest experts on the planet wasn't something a small town like them could face.
"I have already reported this matter to the capital. They knew how serious the matter, so they agreed to send some experts to deal with them. Soul-eating Eagles aren't too fast on reaching adulthood, but it wouldn't be difficult for them to reach Rank 4, Expert in a month. There is no way we will be able to defend from their attack at that point. The reinforcements should be here in a couple of weeks. At that moment, the Soul-eating Eagles should have already reached Rank 3, Practitioner. As you know, I recently reached Rank 2, Apprentice, but this isn't enough to face them once they reached Rank 3. We need to survive these two weeks until the help is here."
Although the Soul-eating Eagles would need at least a hundred years to reach adulthood, the power they would have while maturing was still too dangerous.
Of course, all the Border Towns had reported the matter to their countries since no one knew what place they would attack. That level of danger wasn't limited to just one country.
Shiba was surprised that those beasts were that dangerous. He didn't know what he would be able to do to stop them, given his power.
"For now, our town isn't targeted by them, but we don't know when that could happen. We need to improve our defenses and surveillance to make sure we don't get caught off guard. Don't let anyone flee due to fear. The beasts outside the city are still dangerous enough even without the possibility of the Soul-eating Eagles leaving the arid zone."
It didn't matter that there was a huge gorge, those beasts could fly freely. Thus, fleeing through the other gate of the town wouldn't be any safer. Moreover, the chances of being attacked by other beasts would be too high.
"Shiba. I hope that you can help us with your flying skill to check if you can see the Soul-eating Eagles in the distance. If you see one, feel free to attack them from far away with your arrows. I know that this may be exhausting, but we will provide you pills to restore your energy, and I will pay you 1 gold coin each day."
Since Shiba could fly, he was the best candidate to check if the beasts were in the distance or not. At least, he would be able to check the area without being restrained.
It was possible to do it from the walls, but Shiba could reach a higher height, and in the worst situation, he could attack from far with arrows.
At that moment, the Soul-eating Beasts were still Level 9 Mortal, so if Shiba met them, he could still do some harm to them. Once they were weakened, it shouldn't be a problem for the Lord of the town to kill them.
If they could get the first hit, their chances of survival would be higher, but that was only considering that they were inside the town, on the arid lands, it would be too dangerous since there wasn't any place to hide.
Moreover, since the Lord of the town knew that there was a Law God behind Shiba, he didn't fear for his security. Even if the Soul-eating Eagles destroyed the town, at least he was sure that Shiba wouldn't die.
After all, being flying to scout the position of those eagles and attacking them in case, they go near the town would put Shiba in the most dangerous spot. The Lord of the town wouldn't dare to put a kid in that position if he weren't sure that he wouldn't receive any harm.