On the edge of the forest, a group of people crouched down silently, watching a group of brown deer about two hundred meters away. The wild animals were a bit thin in the spring. After enduring the entire winter, they finally returned from the warm south, filling the human's recipe during this lean season.
"It's a bit far, what do you think? Do you have confidence?" Niemann patted Rodney on the shoulder. The Deli family were also cautiously approaching, but they didn't have an excellent marksman like Rodney, so they couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
Rodney shook his head. "Too far, my eyes and strength aren't what they used to be. I'm confident within 80 meters."
Hilton instinctively sniffed his nose. "Alright, let's go, the rest of us will get closer while Norfy stays here!"
After saying that, the three middle-aged, slightly overweight men crouched down in agreement and stealthily approached the distant prey.
However, just as they were about to get closer, a sound of a neighing horse suddenly came from the small grove. The deer grazing on the grass immediately perked up their ears, lifted their heads, and looked in the direction of the small grove, as if they had sensed a terrible danger and quickly scampered away.
Rodney stood up abruptly, pulling his bowstring taut in an instant and aiming at the panicked deer. The bowstring made a pleasant sound, and the arrow shot towards the group of deer like lightning, narrowly missing a running stag and sinking into the soft soil.
This result left everyone somewhat frustrated. Hilton patted Rodney's broad shoulder. "When you leaped like that, it reminded me of when we used to ambush savages on the southern grasslands. You really wouldn't have missed back then–."
Rodney shook his shoulder. "You're joking. I'm getting old. In the past, I could hit the eye of a grassland wolf from two hundred meters away. Now, I'm becoming useless."
Just as Rodney finished speaking, a series of neighing sounds came from the small grove again, which made Billy feel unhappy. It was embarrassing enough for the horse to be scared once, but now it was happening one after another. He was really irritated.
He was about to turn around and scold someone when he realized that the neighing sounds continued, as if the horse herd left in the small grove was under attack.
"What's going on? What happened over there?" Billy anxiously shouted.
"Go and take a look!" As soon as the words fell, a dozen frightened horses burst out of the small grove, followed by panicked servants running like they had seen a ghost.
"What's going on? What's happening?" Rodney no longer remained calm. Something must have happened in the small grove! But what could it be? Had they encountered a wolf pack? It had been over ten years since they had last seen one that had come out of the northern coniferous forest! Why did they happen to encounter it during the spring hunt?
Thinking of this, his hand involuntarily reached for the steel knife at his waist, and both Hilton and Niemann drew arrows from the quiver on their backs, nervously staring in the direction of the small grove.
A servant ran out in a panic, shouting fearfully, "Magical Beast!! There's a Magical Beast!!"
Upon hearing this, the hearts of the three veteran soldiers skipped a beat. They were no longer in the military, and the servants by their side were just a group of farmers who came out with sticks and machetes. It was already dangerous enough to encounter a wolf pack, let alone a Magical Beast that was ten times more dangerous than wolves!"What kind of Magical Beast is it! Did you see it clearly?" Rodney grabbed the bewildered servant and asked loudly. They had encountered Magical Beasts on the grassland before, such as a ferocious Shadow Wolf, the leader of a pack of wolves. It was the most difficult to deal with among the dark Magical Beasts and had killed over thirty of their comrades before being repelled by a mage.
But now, not to mention mages, there weren't even decent soldiers. When ordinary civilians encountered such danger, they would only run for their lives. There was no hope for organized counterattacks, which only encouraged the fierce tendencies of Magical Beasts.
"A, a giant bear! It has already killed several horses!" Rodney's remaining hope faded away when he heard this. Even defeating an ordinary brown bear would cost a life or two. If it had evolved into a Magical Beast, both families would likely meet their end today.
"Split up and run! Find the horses and run separately!!" Billy recovered and shouted. Anyone who had been in the North knew that humans couldn't outrun a wild bear. The only solution was to split up and run, leaving it to fate. In any case, whoever ran slower would be unlucky!
A terrifying roar echoed from the small grove, startling the birds in the forest completely. Then, a colossal beast, towering three meters tall, sprinted out, standing at the edge of the forest line with fresh blood staining its mouth.
"It has already killed several horses! It's not looking for food!! It's hunting!!" Niemann looked at the enormous Magical Beast, feeling somewhat panicked. The horses had long since disappeared, and the crowd scattered in all directions, making the scene chaotic.
The three veteran soldiers held bows and arrows, prepared for battle. But to their surprise, Norfy didn't panic and instead took out a strange crossbow contraption from his back, disassembled the arrow case, and the handle, as if replacing some parts.
"Run, Norfy! Don't stay here!" Rodney shouted, but still kept a close eye on the Magical Beast at the edge of the forest. If the brown bear started running, they wouldn't have much time to retaliate within a two-hundred-meter distance.
However, Norfy struggled to pull and adjust the modified handle while saying, "No! Dad! I can't run far! It's better to fight it!"
Rodney immediately became furious, "Nonsense! What do you have to fight it with!!! Run quickly!"
At that moment, Hilton urgently yelled, "It's charging! Rodney, shoot!"
While saying that, he had already shot an arrow, but it struck the bear's thick fur, as if a toothpick had been stuck in a pig. His full force shot probably couldn't even pierce the skin.
