Chapter 308: The Third Destroyed Bandit Yingdi — Joining the Team and Engaging the Magic Beast

Lanisha's eyes shifted beneath the faceplate of her Knight helmet, and she spoke: "You've got quite a bit of nerve. While these bandits hiding here deserve to die, we cannot let that Magic Beast devour them all so recklessly. Who knows what kind of bad changes might occur if a Magic Beast consumes too many Humans."

Jier asked tentatively: "Then, what should we do?"

Among the Hunters who had approached, an old Hunter coughed twice before speaking on behalf of Knight Lanisha: "We cannot let this Magic Beast keep devouring the bandits here. We must drive it away while simultaneously wiping out the bandits here first. We won't give that Magic Beast any bandits to eat."

Jier frowned: "I have two questions."

Knight Lanisha did not move, but a voice came from beneath her helmet: "What questions."

Jier looked at the group and then said: "By my estimation, there are at least several hundred bandits here. Especially the closer one gets to the center of the Forest, the more numerous and powerful the Bandit Groups are. Not to mention whether we can defeat those bandits first—after all, I don't even think that Magic Beast could necessarily win against a large number of bandits. Is there any problem with our strength?"

"Furthermore, even if we defeat the bandits, how should we deal with their corpses? The Magic Beast only needs to be full; it's freezing cold here, so leaving the killed bandits' corpses for a whole winter surely wouldn't be a problem for the Magic Beast."

Several old Hunters looked at each other, and Knight Lanisha took a step forward: "Leave the bandits to me. Although I do not wish to cause more slaughter, we must race against the Magic Beast now."

After the Knight finished speaking, the old Hunters spoke up: "As for the bandits' corpses, well, just chop down plenty of trees and burn them."

Jier slapped his forehead. Right, he could burn the dead corpses. If the corpses were burned to charcoal ash, the Magic Beast wouldn't be able to eat them.

By this point in the discussion, the two sides had reached a preliminary exchange and understanding.

Knight Lanisha no longer kept her hand on her waist; she walked over formally and invited Jier to join their team to crusade against the Magic Beast.

As for dealing with the bandits, that was just a matter of convenience. Whether they could wipe out the bandits in the Forest was not the point; defeating that Magic Beast was the goal of their group.

Although Jier's goal was the bandits' metal weapons and the scattered wealth on them, the situation was stronger than the man. Since Knight Lanisha, a powerful Knight, had issued an invitation, he had to agree, or he estimated the outcome would not be very good.

Because this was not a town or similar place, but a lawless land devoid of people. As a Knight, she represented the local ruling power; killing a fellow like Jier right here would be no problem, whether in terms of strength or reason.

Facing the Knight's invitation, Jier hurriedly nodded in agreement, accepting the offer from the female Knight who had approached him.

However, Jier still put forward a small request.

"What request? Do not be blinded by greed at such a young age; this is a piece of advice, I hope you remember it." An old Hunter in the team said to Jier.

Coughing twice, Jier hesitantly explained the reason for his request: "It is like this: as you can see, I have my own armor. After all, having been alone outside before, I place great importance on personal protection. Recently, the Hard Cowhide Armor on my body has become insufficient, so I planned to forge a set of iron armor with the new Armor Craftsman Ganna."

Jier's words attracted the Hunters' attention, while Lanisha, wearing steel full-body Knight armor, did not care much. After all, in her view, the armor on Jier was truly very ordinary, and she presumed the so-called newly forged iron armor wouldn't be of much quality either.

"I don't know if everyone is aware, but recently, scrap metal in Kendall City is no longer in circulation; you can't buy it even if you want to spend money. So I was thinking, could the broken weapons and damaged weapons in the hands of the bandits we defeat later be my share? Right, I don't want anything else, I only want those broken weapon spoils."

Hearing this request, the Hunters discussed it briefly, but ultimately it depended on Knight Lanisha's opinion.

Knight Lanisha waved her right hand and agreed to Jier's small request: "I agree to your request, but I also have a requirement. You must demonstrate a contribution that everyone recognizes in the upcoming battle. If you loiter and fail to perform during the fight, then don't expect to get a single thing."

After she finished speaking, she scanned the Bandit Yingdi that Jier had already searched once: "And you have already rummaged through the things in the previous two Bandit Camps. Don't worry, I don't care where those things are now; you found them yourself, so they should rightfully belong to you. But for everything from here on out, you need to earn it through battle. These bandits are not the trouble; since we know they hide here every year, we just need to notify the Militia later, and they will come to clear them out. Our true enemy is that Magic Beast that is constantly hunting Humans."

She paused and looked over the Hunters under her command and Jier: "That Magic Beast is the great scourge of Kendall County. Before, it only dared to prey on travelers resting on country roads, but now, after this slaughter of bandits, if it escapes our pursuit, it will certainly attack various Villages on a large scale. When that time comes, it won't be these bandits who deserve to die that will be killed. Those innocent people will all be devoured by it."

The Hunters spontaneously roared here, expressing that they would definitely defeat this Magic Beast and not let it have the chance to harm the people in the Villages later. After all, they were excellent Hunters who had come from various Villages in Kendall County, so naturally, they did not want their own families to be harmed by the Magic Beast.

Jier also shouted twice, indicating his unconditional support for the Knight's decision. Although joining the Hunter team led by Knight Lanisha was not the most profit-maximizing move for him, things had reached this point, and he had no other choice.

These people certainly would not give up on him as an added combat force, especially in this place far from towns; a warrior with a bit of a reputation like Jier was exactly the kind of added combat force they needed to face this complex situation.

He did not feel he had the strength or authority to refuse at this moment. In the wilderness, not joining meant death; he could still grasp this implicit situation.

The team did not stop, and under the lead of Knight Lanisha, they followed the tracks left by the Magic Beast to pursue it.

Although their group was several hours behind the Magic Beast, the Magic Beast did not move as well as Humans in the Forest, and it still had to fight the bandits.

Even if these bandits were no match for it due to fear, facing increasingly stubborn Bandit Groups, the Magic Beast still had to spend a large amount of time to wipe them out.

After killing the bandits, it still had to rummage out the Humans who had fled or hidden, spending a large amount of time to eat these Humans one by one.

After more than two hours of non-stop advancement, Jier's group finally caught up to the giant Magic Beast as it was devouring corpses in the next large Bandit Yingdi.

Perhaps because it was very full, the Magic Beast's strength was recovering rapidly. The White Mist that had disappeared when they first arrived here was once again wrapped around its body, making it look from a distance like a mass of moving white gas active close to the ground.

As soon as Knight Lanisha's group discovered the Magic Beast's tracks, the Magic Beast also discovered theirs.

It seemed startled; a surprised squeak came from the hazy white mist. The Magic Beast dropped the Human corpse it had been holding and moved its legs and feet, wanting to flee the scene.

But Knight Lanisha whipped her horse, accelerating to break away from the team as she rode her strong horse straight toward the Magic Beast that wanted to run.

As she crossed the ruined Bandit Yingdi, she leaned down, stretched out her arm, grabbed a sturdy Long Spear from the ground, and used the horse's momentum to crash directly toward the Magic Beast's rear.

Unlike Jier and the Hunters, who were ordinary Humans, after she approached the Magic Beast, she used her sensory ability—a glimpse of Magic Sight—to pierce through the visual obstruction of the mist and perceive the movements of the Magic Beast beneath it.

As she rapidly approached the side of the Magic Beast, she pulled on the Jiansheng of her beloved horse. The strong horse understood her intent, slightly veered its direction to avoid the legs and feet the Magic Beast had hastily used to block, and directly stabbed the Long Spear she had picked up into the bulging, soft body on the rear of the Magic Beast.

Although this part of the Magic Beast's body looked soft, it was still unexpectedly tough; ordinary attacks basically couldn't cause any damage there.

But this strike was a Knight Thrust performed by Knight Lanisha, who possessed Knight Rank strength, utilizing the powerful impact of both her and her horse being armored.

With a loud bang, Knight Lanisha's strike pierced into the Magic Beast's body in an instant, but the wooden shaft of the Long Spear in her hand could not withstand the recoil at the same time and shattered.

A large amount of Wooden Spike debris struck her and her horse, but aside from creating a burst of noise, it caused no extra damage.

As for the Magic Beast, the iron spearhead and half a meter of the spear shaft had all been thrust inside, and a large amount of translucent mucus immediately gushed out from the torn opening.

The Magic Beast let out a long squeal, and the legs and feet distributed around its body twitched, kicking and stretching wildly.

Knight Lanisha leaned down, and both she and her horse passed through the mist that had been obstructing their vision beside the Magic Beast.

Upon hearing the Magic Beast's pained cry, the Hunters and Jier hurriedly quickened their pace and rushed over. Everyone ignored the bandit corpses all over the ground, took out their weapons, and immediately launched an attack to cover Knight Lanisha, who had charged up alone.

The Hunters took the Bow and Arrow from the quiver on their backs, pulled out a sturdy Bowstring from their chest pockets in an instant, hooked it onto the top and bottom of the bow, and pressed it down to string the bow.

Those old Hunters were people who had touched bows their entire lives. Although their legs and feet were not as good as the young Hunters, their handiwork was incredibly fast. Just as the young Hunters were about to draw arrows from behind their waists, these old Hunters had already pulled and shot their second Arrow.

They could not see through the thick White Mist around the Magic Beast, but they had heard the description of the Magic Beast from Knight Lanisha and Jier, who had seen what it looked like on the road, so they shot their Bow and Arrow roughly toward the general torso of the Magic Beast.

Swish, swish, swish, swish.

A continuous stream of powerful arrows shot toward the Magic Beast from the direction of the ten Hunters like splashing water. Jier, meanwhile, mustered all his strength and charged toward the Magic Beast, carrying his axe in both hands.

Knight Lanisha was riding her horse, so she was fast. She made a small half-circle on horseback and returned to the rear of the Magic Beast: "Jier! Throw your Long Spear to me!"

Jier heard Knight Lanisha's command and paused for a moment, but still pulled out the Long Spear stuck to the Backpack on his back and threw it toward the side of Knight Lanisha, who had slowed her speed, using a throwing motion.

Without even looking, Knight Lanisha seemed to have eyes in the back of her head; she threw the Armor-piercing Rapier she held in her right hand to her left, then grabbed the air beside her with her right hand, catching Jier's Long Spear, which was flying over while spinning, perfectly in her hand.

Knight Lanisha glanced at this weapon of Jier's. Unlike the Long Spear with an iron spearhead she had just picked up from the ground that had been used by a bandit, Jier's Long Spear was a wide Double-edged Spear forged from steel, originally intended for ground combat and not primarily used for thrusting.

But for a Knight Rank powerhouse like Knight Lanisha, there was no major difference.

She gave the Long Spear in her right hand a shake, extending the spear tip forward while gripping the rear of the Long Spear with her right hand. She kicked her horse's belly hard with both legs, making her beloved horse accelerate into a sprint.

It was the same pattern as the previous attack; the Magic Beast sensed it through vibrations, but compared to the small and fast Knight, its massive body was simply not agile enough.

In a panic, it had no choice but to stop its crawling motion, drop its body to the ground, free up all five of its legs, and defend its soft belly behind it with all its might.

Knight Lanisha retracted the Armor-piercing Rapier in her left hand into the Sword Sheath at her waist, then used her freed left hand to grab the Jiansheng of her warhorse, precisely controlling the micro-adjustments of the warhorse's direction as it charged.

At the moment of approach, she dodged two of the Magic Beast's sharp legs that were striking at her, then used the tip of her Long Spear to stab into the third leg.

Without clashing head-on, Knight Lanisha slightly knocked aside the last leg the Magic Beast could use to attack her at that moment, then pressed down on the Long Spear, tucking the shaft under her right armpit, and delivered another direct thrust—gathering the impact force of both her and her armored warhorse—into the area right next to the wound she had just inflicted on the Magic Beast.

*Puchi! *

Just like piercing a Water Bag filled with water with a sharp Dagger, a massive amount of viscous fluid, dozens of times the volume of the translucent slime that had gushed out just before, poured out from the two consecutively pierced openings.

Just as before, this weapon of Jier's also had its wooden shaft shatter, leaving one-third of the spearhead and shaft inside the Magic Beast's body.

The Arrows shot rapidly by the Hunters fell *pit-a-pat* onto the Magic Beast; although they could not pierce the Magic Beast's tough hide, they still made the Magic Beast very panicked.

Jier ran quickly, and after approaching the White Mist around the Magic Beast, he lunged forward, dodging a cutting strike from a leg the Magic Beast had lashed out with in its panic.

The Magic Beast's strike missed and slammed into the ground; after Jier stood up, he twisted his waist with all his might and swung his arm with force, slamming the sharp, heavy blade of his axe into the broad side of the Magic Beast's leg.

It was as if a blacksmith were striking a blade placed on an anvil with a hammer, but the slight difference was that there was no anvil to absorb the force behind the Magic Beast's leg; therefore, when Jier's strike landed solidly, the place where the Magic Beast's leg was struck directly shattered and caved in significantly.

Jier landed the hit and was just about to go for another, but the Magic Beast, already feeling that its safety was in danger, could no longer be bothered to deal with these troublesome Humans; it scrambled, kicking its legs against the snow on the ground, and propelled its body to slide forward.

At the same time, it released a large amount of Mist, and in just the blink of an eye, it shrouded the entire relatively open Bandit Yingdi in thick Mist.

Jier and the Hunters instantly lost the general position of the Magic Beast. Knight Lanisha, however, was not hindered; she jumped off her horse, as the warhorse's line of sight was also blocked by the Mist, and its running speed was rapidly decreasing.

Not wanting to let the Magic Beast get away just like that, the female Knight jumped off her warhorse and took out the Single-handed Heavy Sword she rarely used from the box on her back.

*Thump. *

She jumped up from where she stood.

She leaped rapidly through the mist-filled air toward the fleeing Magic Beast; she knew that for a Magic Beast of this size, it was basically impossible to finish it off in one go. She did not have a specialized weapon to counter monsters of such massive size; the Single-handed Heavy Sword she usually practiced with was mainly intended for dealing with various enemies that were not significantly different in size from Humans.

Such as Wild Wolf packs.

But now, there was no time to worry about that. The two consecutive full-force charges with the Long Spear just now had produced unexpected results; although she guessed that the bulging soft sac behind the Magic Beast was not a vital point and would be difficult to deal a fatal blow to the Magic Beast, she knew that what followed would be a protracted pursuit. The Magic Beast, suffering from wounds that were difficult to heal, would continuously lose body tissue, and even if it ate as many Bandits as it wanted, it would be of no use.

And this was exactly what she had hoped for.

Knight Lanisha leaped over thirty meters from the air, and after landing, she followed up with two consecutive kicks off the ground, flying forward another twenty meters close to the ground, directly catching up to the Magic Beast that had already jumped into the Forest relying on the field of Mist.

Although the sight of the Magic Beast sliding forward by pressing its body against the snow-covered ground and kicking its legs was ridiculous, its speed was much faster than when it relied on its legs to lift its body and move forward.

Knight Lanisha kicked off the ground one last time to accelerate, flattened her entire body, gripped the hilt of the Single-handed Heavy Sword with both hands, and extended the Long Sword forward; she looked just like an Arrow shot through the air.

With a *whoosh*, she approached the rear of the Magic Beast's body, catching it by surprise.

Knight Lanisha specifically aimed for the opening she had pierced twice before; this time, she herself was like a third Long Spear, cutting through the air, and she crashed directly into the Magic Beast's rear soft sac.

"Squeak!!!!!" Even with the sound-absorbing Mist, Jier and the Hunters heard the scream emitted by the Magic Beast not far away that could shake the entire Forest.

For a moment, the snow on the branches of more than half the Forest was shaken off by this strange scream filled with rage and terror, falling in a scatter even denser than the snowflakes falling at that moment.

All the idle Bandits in the Bandit Yingdi stopped everything they were doing; they looked at each other with suspicious expressions, then all turned their heads toward the direction from which the strange scream came.

In the middle of the Forest, a group of well-equipped, tall, but few-in-number Bandits stopped their sparring and looked at the leader among them.

The elderly Old Bandit Leader smacked his lips over the dried meat in his mouth, closed his eyes to recall for a moment, and muttered with an ugly expression: "It's the cry of a Magic Beast. That's right, a cry of this intensity and filled with rage. It's a Magic Beast."

The young and sturdy Young Leader walked up brazenly and said: "Old man, so what if it's a Magic Beast? Didn't we beat back a bird-like Magic Beast three times the height of a man a few years ago? Listening to this sound, it's definitely not the previous Magic Beast. Let's beat it back again and let the trash who have been restless lately know who the real masters of this place are!"

After speaking, he slammed a Long-handled Round Hammer onto the ground, and the other young Bandits who had stopped sparring also slammed their respective weapons onto the ground, agreeing with their Young Leader.

The Old Bandit Leader nodded; he didn't feel there was anything wrong with what these young people said, only that when he was young and adventuring, he had heard people say that the vast majority of Magic Beasts had different abilities, and one could not look at a Magic Beast one had not yet seen using a single method, unless one possessed the solid strength to deal with all kinds of enemies.

He stood up, chewed and swallowed the dried meat in his mouth in a few bites, and issued an order loudly: "Good! Then let's get moving. Call over the two friendly groups nearby and let these two guys who think they are so outstanding see how we defeat the Magic Beast."

"Oh!!" This group of capable and strong Bandits all roared along.