An angry roar broke the tranquility of the winter forest, and the strong sound waves shook the ice shards on the surrounding treetops and fell down.
"Bear Crossbow Team, withdraw!"
"Iron Lancers, prepare!"
Following a brief order, several stalwart men in leather armor quickly dragged away a nearly two-meter-long crossbow. Then several big men in high-end clothing came up with a two-meter-long gun.
A giant bear over four meters long chased out of the cave entrance. A large and thick crossbow arrow was inserted into the bear's back. Blood flowed out from the wound, dyeing half of the bear's body red.
"Don't stab it from the front, go around to the side!"
The giant bear covered in blood rushed out of the cave. It was so angry that it just wanted to tear the humans in front of it into pieces.
Unfortunately, this group of people were all skilled veterans. The iron gunmen went around the sides and behind the giant bear, trying their best to avoid a direct conflict with the giant bear. During the dodge, some people found opportunities to add a few more wounds to the giant bear.
"Don't fight, just follow it!"
The commander knows very well that the giant bear looks extremely fierce now, but it has been hit by a specially made bear-hunting crossbow, and the crossbow arrows have opened the health bar. Now as long as it is induced to use force randomly, the bear will lose too much blood and lose its power in a short time.
The ability to resist is not a wise choice to fight him head-on now.
"Little Pierre! Danger."
Unfortunately, in this forest, the relationships between hunters and hunters are constantly changing.
A young iron gunner thrust his spear in before he could retreat. The giant bear slapped the gun barrel with his palm, and the tough hemlock wooden barrel couldn't withstand the huge force and instantly broke into two pieces.
The young iron gunner also fell to the ground under the force.
The giant bear turned its head and pounced on the young man who fell to the ground amidst the exclamations of everyone.
Several iron spearmen around him rushed up to try to rescue him, but the giant bear was determined to kill the young soldier regardless of the many more holes in his body.
A young soldier named Pierre crawled backwards for two steps in the snow in an attempt to avoid it, but the giant bear had already pounced in front of him.
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Pierre became violent, picked up the half of the spear head that was broken on the ground, and headed towards the giant bear, preparing to die with dignity.
The huge palm raised by the giant bear was already in front of him, and Pierre raised half of the gun barrel in his hand to stop it in vain.
Facing the fear of death, Pierre closed his eyes unconsciously.
However, seconds passed and death did not come. Instead, there was a burst of cheers from around him.
"Long live Master Richard!"
Pierre opened his eyes slightly amid the cheers, and a figure wearing a white cloth mask appeared beside him.
A sharp knight's sword has been thrust straight into the giant bear's head from its eye socket.
"Thank you, thank you Master Richard."
Richard glanced at the soldier in front of him and nodded. He turned around and kicked the giant bear's body to pull out the sword fiercely.
"boom"
The bear carcass hit the ground, and the giant bear weighing a thousand kilograms left a mark on the snow.
Richard casually wiped off the blood on the sword and put the sword back to his waist.
"Carry the bear up, the harvest is good today, go back early."
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the horse not far away.
"Okay," several soldiers responded. They worked together to lift the bear corpse onto the wooden frame that had been prepared and began to follow Richard's pace.
This kind of forest giant bear has rough skin and thick flesh, and is extremely strong. Even an elite soldier wearing heavy armor will be flattened by a slap. Ordinary arrows cannot penetrate its thick fur. Hunters meet it
You can only walk around, if you are unlucky you will lose your life.
Only the bear hunting team led by Richard, with their specially made bear hunting crossbows, had a chance to cause greater damage to him.
…………
"Pierre, I will forfeit this month's salary and receive ten lashes upon my return to camp."
"Yes." Pierre escaped from death and just recovered. Master Richard's rule is strict and rewards and punishments are clear. He made a serious mistake just now and almost lost his life. However, Master Richard saved his life. Naturally, he didn't dare to do anything.
What a complaint.
…
The iron wood forest is completely filled with snow in winter. A small team is marching in an orderly manner in the forest. Richard is riding a horse in the middle of the team. Along the way, a team of more than 20 people must avoid mountain beasts.
There is no danger.
However, the entire team still strictly enforced the marching process and maintained a high degree of vigilance. Except for the friction of footsteps and armor and clothing, there was no other sound in the entire team.
When it was getting dark, a small city appeared in front of them. This was their home and the fiefdom of the Richard family - Ironwood City.
Richard led his team into the city gate in a swaggering manner. Several soldiers guarding the gate saluted him respectfully. People who were entering and exiting consciously moved out of the way to let the bear crossbows and the bear carcasses towed.
Several soldiers were able to enter.
"Master Richard actually led someone to hunt such a big bear again. It's amazing."
"That's because you don't come to Ironwood City often. The last time I met Master Richard, the bear carried by the bear trapping team was bigger than this one."
"Is it bigger than this? It's a forest giant bear that even would-be knights don't want to mess with easily. Master Richard can kill one every now and then. I'm afraid Master Richard is also a knight."
"I don't know if he is a knight, but he is definitely more than a quasi-knight."
"Tsk tsk, besides Lord Hunter, our Ironwood City needs another knight."
There was a sense of pride in the speaker's tone, as if he was the knight on the horse.
Richard sat on the horse, and his extraordinary hearing enabled him to completely hear the whispers of two villagers more than ten meters away.
Of course he is not a knight yet, but he is indeed stronger than most quasi-knights. Knights in this world are not just a profession or a title, but real power and the cornerstone of the kingdom's rule.
In this world, there are strict distinctions between ordinary soldiers, quasi-knights, and knights. The quality of ordinary soldiers varies from good to bad. There are elite off-the-job soldiers and conscripted peasant soldiers.
Quasi-knights have received strict training and used different breathing methods to continuously strengthen their bodies. When their physical fitness can reach three times that of ordinary adult men, they can be recognized by the lord as a quasi-knight. In the lord's army
Become a mini-boss.
The knight has risen to another level. This breakthrough is a promotion from many aspects such as life level and social class.
A would-be knight can try to break through to a knight after polishing his body to its peak. By sensing the qi between heaven and earth, he can introduce it into his body, withstand the energy of the qi with his own tough body, and finally use it for his own purposes, forming a knight's unique fighting spirit.
After being tamed, Qi will nourish itself, gradually resolve the hidden wounds left by knights when polishing their bodies, and delay aging. In this era when the average human age is 40 years old, knights can usually live over a hundred years old and maintain combat effectiveness for a long time.
Even a newly promoted knight can defeat a squadron of about fifty people head-on. These fifty people do not refer to the peasant soldiers who have just put down their hoes and picked up weapons, but well-equipped and well-trained off-the-job soldiers.
Professional soldier.
The laws of the kingdom also stipulate that all knights can automatically obtain the title of baronet, and those who perform meritorious service in battle can be granted the title of noble.
Nobles who already own a territory can only be inherited by their children who have become knights. If a lord of a certain place dies and there is no knight-level strongman among his children, a knight will be selected among his relatives from nearest to far according to the inheritance law.
If he cannot find a knight among his relatives, the kingdom will legally take back the fiefdom.
It can be said that becoming a knight means you are halfway out of the civilian class and into the nobility.
…………
Richard has good talent, and as the eldest son of Viscount Hunter, he has received good knight training since he was a child. His body has already reached the peak of quasi-knights, and his physical fitness has reached 5 times that of ordinary people. He is only one step away from being a knight.
Perhaps he will soon be promoted to an official knight, become a young talent in the kingdom, and then be spotted by the only daughter of a great nobleman, and then reach the pinnacle of life.
Shaking his head, Richard stopped his divergent thinking, rode his horse and led his soldiers towards the tall castle in the city.