Chapter 296: [Chill Touch]

"Roar!!!"

A furious beast roar filled with warning erupted suddenly, and the high-pitched and loud volume almost formed a blurred sound wave in the air, causing the surrounding shrub branches and leaves to shake rustlingly.

A huge body nearly three meters tall stood upright; the twisted shadow it cast on the ground alone was enough to shroud an adult human; it was like a mountain covered in fur, and the thick brown fur stained with solidified pine resin and withered leaf debris was filled to the brim by the tight muscles and fat beneath it. Under the thick and pungent body odor, there was a wild aura radiating earth, wild beasts, and pure power.

The shoulder muscles bulged high, and one could clearly glimpse the muscles squirming and expanding beneath, accumulating majestic power enough to break steel, just like a shoulder armor made of flesh and fur; the mouth and nose part protruded forward, the nose was wide and moist, dark as leather, and the yellowish canine teeth refracted deadly dark light amidst the roar surging from the depths of the throat.

This was an adult Woodland Brown Bear!

After hundreds of millions of years of natural evolution, its structure as a carnivore, where everything served survival, made it the top predator among ordinary creatures in the forest.

Placed in an ordinary world without supernatural powers, it could even be said that this kind of creature had no natural enemies; as long as it lived to adulthood, wanting it to die for non-old-age reasons could only rely on some rare natural disasters like forest fires or floods, or accidents like diseases or falls.

All other creatures were on its "menu."

Even placed on the Aifala Continent, this kind of large creature growing under the catalysis of magic particles in the air possessed a challenge rating as high as "1."

In a state of rage, even a Hobgoblin without a handy weapon would not be its opponent.

Under normal circumstances, unless related to the mission target, ordinary adventurers rarely provoke this kind of troublesome creature.

But right now, clearly its opponent was not an "ordinary" adventurer squad in the conventional sense.

"Roar!"

Warm airflow carrying thick, stuffy, and smelly saliva sprayed out from between the sharp teeth, and the thick, sturdy forelimbs wrapped in heavy fat and skin and knotted with muscles fell violently!

The pitch-black hook claws like sickles appeared and disappeared in the rough and thick palm pads, radiating a dangerous aura, and the air made a shrill wail under the crushing pressure of the strong force.

There was no doubt that even if this slap was only lightly grazed, it would be enough to smash an adult human's head and leave deep marks on the surface of thick iron plates.

Bang—

It was the dull sound of flesh and metal colliding.

This blow, which the brown bear had pressed its entire body weight on and exerted all its strength, landed completely on the solid ground.

But there was no sound of broken bones or smashed flesh that should have followed.

The metal round shield engraved with a special emblem remained motionless, firmly blocking the slap from the brown bear that could push down a big tree.

All the strength seemed to sink into the sea, leaving only the swaying braided beards hanging on the chest, tipped with obsidian, and the short, thick legs deeply embedded in the mud beneath the round shield, which could be vaguely glimpsed.

An unprecedented sense of powerlessness made the brown bear, which had always relied on its own strength to hunt in the dense forest, fall into a momentary stagnation.

And it was precisely this moment of trance that was captured by this dangerous creature's opponent.

Hum—

The sharp dagger wrapped in dark shadow energy explored from the shadows in the blind spot of the brown bear's line of sight, stabbing lightly toward the brown bear's vital neck like a bee sting.

It separated upon contact.

The next second, a bloody hole appeared in the neck of the brown bear, which was piled with fat and flesh.

"Roar!"

The intense pain and the smell of death at the tip of its nose made this unlucky brown bear almost go crazy, and its two deep-set, dark brown, small eyes, like agate, were filled with a smear of bloodthirsty scarlet.

The huge claw palm that landed on the iron shield stepped down violently, causing the dwarf beneath it to sink even deeper, while its huge, fat body displayed an exaggerated explosive power.

Its waist and abdomen twisted, its mouthparts spraying with stench opened wide, and it bit toward the direction of the dagger on its side.

And just at this moment, the magic particles in the air were suddenly disturbed amidst the spell chanting coming from the shrubs nearby!

And in a fast and complex posture, they arranged and combined from a microscopic perspective.

Causing a dark green, atomized coldness to suddenly appear in the originally formless and colorless air.

Entangled and condensed.

Constructing a semi-transparent, ghostly skeletal palm made of pure mist.

Perhaps it was because the caster's skill was not refined, and the quality and storage of spiritual power were relatively average.

This dark green skeletal palm was extremely unstable; it was only slightly touched by the brown bear's huge body during its pounce, and it completely collapsed, turning into a dim energy flow that dissolved rapidly in the air.

But even just this contact of less than half a second was enough to activate the effect of this necromancy cantrip called 【Chill Touch】.

One could see that the brown bear, which was going crazy in rage and attacking the attacker, suddenly revealed a touch of human-like pain on its furry, hideous face, and its whole body paused in an instant.

And it was this tiny stiffness in the blink of an eye that allowed the tall and thin figure who had left a terrifying wound on its neck to retreat back into the safety of the shadows once again.

Allowing the sturdy figure who had been wandering around the brown bear since the beginning of the battle, waiting for an opportunity, to finally wait for the chance of a one-hit kill.

"Bang!"

It was the dull sound of leather boots stepping on the ground and mud splashing.

The dark golden braided hair swung violently behind her head, and the heroic wheat-colored face was filled with determination and killing intent.

The sharp sword blade flashing with cold light pierced through the air, and under the effect of the combat technique named "Straight Thrust," all her strength was gathered in one place, erupting suddenly in the forward step.

"Sshh."

Without the slightest obstruction, the sword tip crossed the barrier of space and instantly penetrated the side abdomen of the brown bear standing upright.

And with amazing precision, it sensitively captured the vital heart hidden deep in the muscles and diaphragm of the other party.

Penetrated.

Withdrew the sword.

Retreated.

The brown bear, whose life had entered a countdown, roared wildly, waving its claw palms in vain, hoping to take an enemy away in the last moment of its life.

Every strike was firmly blocked by the metal round shield.

The force became weaker and weaker, and the roar gradually became powerless.

Finally, with a whimper that was almost non-existent, it collapsed to the ground.

Revealing the only person on the field who was still standing beside the brown bear at the last moment, covered in leaf fragments and the enemy's blood after taking I don't know how many slaps—the sturdy dwarf.

"Pah!"

Spitting a mouthful of foam toward the messy ground.

Suoerding reached out to wipe the blood and sweat mixture on his cheeks, and with some difficulty, pulled his lower legs, which had been deeply embedded in the mud after hard-blocking dozens of brown bear smashes, out of the mud.

Panting heavily, he muttered:

"This beast, no brains, but the strength is quite big; ordinary adventurers really might not be able to hold on."

"Isn't recruiting you into the team just for this? And you're complaining?" The mean voice came from his ear as usual.

The tall and thin Rogue Shajin, holding a sharp dagger with residual blood, drifted out from the shadows in the forest leisurely. ===== CHAPTER 297 =====