This is a forest full of chirping insects and buzzing insects. Tall trees with leafy branches and thorny shrubs can be seen everywhere.
The bright sunlight shines through all kinds of strange tree branches and green leaves, eventually reflecting strangely shaped dazzling spots on the grass still hanging with dewdrops.
Next to one of the irregular triangular spots of light was a shocking skeleton of a bovine monster.
Judging from the white ribs of the skeleton that are still stained with fresh blood, as well as the deep claw marks and horn marks on the surrounding thick trees.
Not long ago, a hunt among monsters apparently took place here.
The breeze blew by, causing the surrounding vegetation to sway.
Following a burst of cautious footsteps, five human figures of different heights gradually became clearer and appeared not far from the skeleton.
The person walking at the front was a strong, middle-aged man with a steady pace. He was holding a giant metal square shield in one hand and a shiny dagger in the other.
On both sides of the team were an agile young male ranger holding a short bow, and a middle-aged male swordsman holding a broad-bladed sword with sharp eyes.
Protected by the three people in the middle, there was an elderly male magician with a peaceful face and a long wooden staff, and a young female priest who looked extremely nervous and was wearing a white priest's robe.
There is no doubt that this is obviously a standard mercenary team, both in terms of personnel configuration and the various equipment on each person.
"The smell of blood is so strong, it's almost suffocating..."
A clear and deliberately low voice sounded, and the young female priest in the middle of the team was seen holding the short metal staff in her hand tightly, with a nervous look on her face.
Immediately afterwards, when she had just walked around the big tree covered with traces of battle, she saw the almost devoured skeleton of a bovine monster without any precautions. She couldn't help but pause in her steps and said, "Yeah."
cried out.
"Ouch! It hurts!"
Also wailing at the same time was the young male ranger beside him.
At this time, his instep was being stepped hard by the female priest's low-heeled leather boots.
The shouts of the two young mercenaries made the three other mercenaries, who were obviously much older, look stern and immediately assumed a fighting posture.
However, after looking around, the three old mercenaries found out speechlessly.
The strange thing just now was just two young rookies in the team pecking each other.
"Bonnie, what did you find?"
Shaking his head helplessly, the middle-aged male swordsman put down the raised broad-bladed sword and asked.
"Sorry, Captain, I found that..."
I saw the young female priest adjusting her white priest robe in shock while pointing at the corpse of the bovine monster with a red face.
"I see, is that the corpse of a hexagonal earth cow? Although the strength of this kind of monster is only about five stars in the first level, its rough skin and thick flesh are almost comparable to that of a black steel spider, coupled with its powerful impact
And the six horns on its head, its overall strength is comparable to that of an ordinary first-order peak monster."
An old and hoarse voice sounded, and the old magician walked forward slowly and squatted in front of the bloody corpse.
Squinting his cloudy old eyes, after some observation, the old magician said thoughtfully: "Most of the corpse has been eaten, and only the head and tail are left. Judging from the claw marks and vague footprints on the trunk, it should be
It was a pack of Rockhorn Wolves that did it.”
"A pack of rockhorn wolves?!"
Hearing this, the young female priest named Bonnie and the young ranger couldn't help but swallow.
You must know that the strength of the Rock Horn Wolf is around the first level of eight stars. Not only is it fast and agile, it is also extremely ferocious. It can be said to be very difficult to deal with.
The most important thing is that this is a kind of social monster. The smallest group is more than twenty...
"It's indeed a pack of rockhorn wolves, but don't worry."
The old magician gently stroked his long gray beard and said with a smile: "Don't forget, our captain and vanguard Teshan are both second-level strong men who have experienced hundreds of battles, plus our three first-level peak powerhouses,
It is naturally more than enough to deal with a group of rock-horned wolves."
"Master Alva is right."
The sound of urns sounded, and the big man at the front of the team holding a metal square shield said: "You two rookies, just hide behind me."
"Bonnie, I know you just came out of the Temple of Light not long ago. After a while, you will gradually adapt to this kind of mercenary life."
The middle-aged mercenary captain looked helpless and nodded to the young female priest.
Then, he frowned at the young ranger on the side and said: "As for you, Gard, you have been with us for three months, and you are still making such a fuss. As a punishment, you are not allowed to drink ale for three days."
"Captain, you might as well just knock me to death with the hilt of your sword."
The young ranger named Gad, whose dark face immediately shrank into a ball of bitterness, said dejectedly.
"Okay, let's move on. Our goal for this mission is to go to the lake in the center of the forest and pick up a bag of pebbles."
He placed the polished broad-edged sword across his chest again, the middle-aged mercenary captain's eyes were bright, and he took his steps again.
The five-member mercenary team started to move forward cautiously in the forest again.
I saw Bonnie, a rookie mercenary, tilting her head and asking doubtfully: "Captain, are mercenary missions always so strange? Why does the employer want the pebbles by the lake in the center of the forest?"
"The commission I received this time is really puzzling."
After lowering his head and pondering for a moment, the mercenary captain's resolute eyes also showed a hint of confusion.
Then, he shrugged slightly and said: "That's all, the commission this time is quite generous, and it's not a sinister commission, so don't think too much about it."
"The captain is right, you are a fool not to take advantage of it. If you pick up a few broken rocks, you can get a lot of commissions. Why wouldn't we do it?"
On the other side, the young ranger Gard held a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth and echoed: "There is simply no more perfect mission than this!"
"But, I always feel like something is wrong..."
Holding the short metal staff in her hand tightly, Bonnie frowned slightly and murmured to herself in a low voice.
At this time, through the gaps between the lush leaves, the sunlight occasionally projected over the heads of the five people was still bright and bright, shining warmly on their bodies.
But Bonnie's slender body, covered by a loose priest's robe, felt an icy coldness that made her hair stand on end for no reason.
"May the Holy Light protect us, and hope everything goes well."
After praying in her heart, Bonnie's eyes were firm and she focused her attention on the surrounding forest scene again.
Next, after walking for a while in the dense and dangerous forest, this group of mercenaries discovered something unexpectedly.
Along the way, several fresh monster corpses appeared one after another, with almost only their bones left.
The surroundings of each corpse were almost the same as those of the six-pointed cow at the beginning, and they had obviously been eaten up not long ago.
"Did the Rockhorn Wolf do it again..."
After lowering his head to inspect another corpse filled with bloody monsters, the old magician Alva frowned with his gray eyebrows. A look of confusion appeared on his old face and he said: "I have never seen the Rock Horn Wolf Pack in a short period of time.
Attacked so many monsters in succession."
"Master Alva, is this situation strange?"
Blinking her clear starry eyes, Bonnie clasped her hands together, praying in her heart for the dead monster in front of her, and asked.
"It's definitely something unusual."
The middle-aged mercenary captain, who was carefully examining the claw marks on the tree trunk, took over the conversation and responded: "Although the explosive power of the Rockhorn Wolf is very impressive, its endurance is the weaker type among wolf monsters. Logically speaking, it cannot survive.
Continuous hunting in a short period of time.”
"Could it be that there are a lot of Rockhorn Wolves in this area?"
With the sound of "boom", Teshan stood the heavy metal shield in front of him and said with the same frown.
"It's unlikely. The Rockhorn Wolf is a monster with a strong sense of territory. Different ethnic groups will never coexist harmoniously."
The old voice responded, and the old magician stood up with his staff, shook his head and said: "What's even more strange is that some of the footprints of these rock-horned wolves seem to have been covered up.
"
"The traces that were covered up?"
The young ranger Gard, who had already had his arrow in his bow, spat out the dogtail grass in his mouth and said nervously: "How is this possible? As far as I know, the Rockhorn Wolf is not a monster that is good at covering its tracks."
"This is exactly what I don't understand."
The old magician used the end of his wooden staff to draw a circle on the dirt under a tree trunk, and then said solemnly: "For example, this place is definitely not a normal land."
After listening to the old magician's solemn words, Bonnie looked at the circle of mud that was obviously much softer than the surroundings. Her uneasiness became more obvious on her fair face.
Then he said: "This place is really weird, why don't we leave quickly."
"However, the surrounding moisture is getting thicker and thicker, and not far ahead there should be a lake in the center of the forest."
Young Ranger Gard gritted his teeth reluctantly and said, "If we leave now, wouldn't all our previous efforts be wasted?"
Listening to the discussion between the two mercenary rookies, the middle-aged mercenary captain began to slow down.
He pondered for a while and then made the decision to evacuate.
However, just when he was about to give the order, something happened.
Ouch! Ouch!
The shrill and sharp wolf howl suddenly sounded from all directions around the five people.
Immediately afterwards, the originally calm vegetation around them began to become windless, and even the energy particles floating in the air became much more chaotic.
For a moment, a chilling air suddenly spread around the team.
There was no doubt that they were surrounded.
"Reorganize your formation and prepare to fight!"
The middle-aged mercenary captain was the first to react. With a low roar, he directed the team to move quickly to a towering tree with a complicated terrain.
Facing a swarm of powerful wolf monsters, using the surrounding environment as an obstacle to reduce the opponent's sprint speed is naturally a battle experience that every veteran mercenary knows.
Upon hearing the sound, the other four people, including the two rookie mercenaries, reacted very quickly and immediately relied on the big tree to set up an attack formation.
The people standing at the front of the team were naturally the mercenary captain and Te Shan, two second-level powerhouses.
The old magician, Bonnie and Gard clung to the big tree. In this way, at least they would not leave their backs to the evil wolf.
However, the combination of two melee and three long-range weapons has limitations after all.
Even with the support of big trees, there was still quite a bit of space on both sides of the back row of the team.
"Earth Wall!"
The old and hoarse chanting ended, followed by the wooden staff in the old magician's hand hitting the ground heavily.
As the earth trembled, two thick mud walls more than 2 meters high slowly rose from the ground, blocking the space on both sides of the back row.
"Guardian of Holy Light!"
At the same moment, the crisp chanting just ended, and Bonnie used the short staff with the golden light in her hand to draw a beautiful arc in the air.
The next second, the bodies of the five mercenaries, including herself, were instantly enveloped in a layer of faint golden light, shining brightly under the shadow of the big tree.
This is a defensive auxiliary magic that can only be mastered by Holy Light Priests who have come out of the Temple of Light.
The effect is to reduce the damage suffered by the target itself within a certain period of time.
Its defensive function is essentially similar to an energy shield that can only be used by strong men above level three.
As for how much buffering effect it can have, it depends on the strength of the caster.
Just as Bonnie's crisp voice fell, on the other side, the grass not far away from the five people suddenly trembled rapidly from far to near, making a series of rustling sounds.
Immediately afterwards, a wolf-like monster with an earth-yellow body and sharp horns on its head jumped out of the grass with a roar, carrying broken leaves that were broken by the impact.
At the same time, low roars filled with murderous intent reached the ears of the five people.
Needless to say, these sudden monsters are the rock-horned wolves mentioned by the five people before.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty rock-horned wolves with strength around the first-order and eight-star ranks were constantly roaming around, tightly surrounding the five people.
The sound of the scraping of fangs, the sound of wolf claws scratching across the quicksand on the ground, and even the sound of breathing coming from the nose and mouth of the huge wolf head began to fill the air.
Seeing this scene, the faces of the five mercenaries couldn't help but show a solemn expression. The hands of each of them holding the weapon were completely white.
Among them, the mercenary captain is at the second-level three-star level, Teshan is at the second-level two-star level, and the other three are at the peak of the first-level level. In terms of combat power, they are almost on the same level as their opponents.
In other words, this is a 50-50 battle, and if one is not careful, it is very likely to lead to catastrophe.
"Spear of Earth!"
"Penetrating Arrow!"
"Holy Light Bullet!"
Without hesitation, under the command of the mercenary captain, the convoluted chanting ended, and the mercenaries who had prepared in advance immediately launched the first wave of attacks.
For a moment, the radiance of magic intersected with the speeding arrows.
The three rock-horned wolves at the front, with their khaki fur covered in blood and flesh, whimpered and fell down one after another.
Seeing the impressive effect of the first wave of attacks, the spirits of all the mercenaries were lifted up.
But just as the two magic mercenaries continued to sing attentively, the ranger mercenary had just taken out the second arrow from his quiver.
On the other side, the remaining seventeen or eighteen rock-horned wolves were already glaring with bright red eyes, roaring and charging forward together.
