It Had No Objections

Trees toppled, and the ground trembled faintly.

The nearly seven-meter-tall Snow White Magic Bear slowly emerged from the Dark Forest.

Every step it took was like a heavy hammer striking the earth, producing a dull boom.

It was desperately hungry.

Its long hibernation had consumed nearly all the fat in its body.

Compared to before hibernation, its weight had dropped by nearly forty percent.

Beneath its majestic snow-white fur was actually a gaunt, feeble body.

It craved food, and it had caught the scent of food wafting from the village ahead.

This morning, it had enjoyed a hearty meal in that very village.

But to it, that had merely been an appetizer after waking from hibernation.

After sleeping, its stomach had become empty again.

Tonight, it was determined to feast until it had completely filled the bottomless hunger in its belly.

In truth, back when it had still been an ordinary brown bear, it had once been hunted by humans.

Several tall humans on horseback had pursued it through the forest for a long time.

It had luckily escaped, but two permanent arrow wounds had been left on its back.

From then on, it had begun to fear humans.

Though the scent of food drifting from human villages made it salivate wildly, it had only dared watch from afar within the forest, never daring to take a single step beyond it.

Until one silent night when even the stars had fallen asleep, it had suddenly gained boundless power.

From then on, every animal in the forest fled in all directions upon seeing it.

It had gradually grown accustomed to that power and had even taken its revenge, killing two humans who had once hunted it and absorbing them into its body.

Now, it had once again set foot in the human village it had only dared gaze at from afar, and it had eaten the sweetest food of its life.

There was nothing left to fear.

It believed it had become the one and only king of this land.

Whether the forest or human villages, all could only crawl beneath its magnificent body.

The scent of food drifted into its nostrils on the gentle evening breeze, making its blood surge.

It dropped to all fours and began accelerating into a run, fetid drool splattering along the way.

Soon, the village was right before its eyes.

It saw the farmhouse at the westernmost edge, the white smoke rising from its chimney, smelled the enticingly rank scent of livestock, and caught the presence of two humans inside.

Hah, humans.

They had once stood high above it, dreaming of ending its life.

And now, it would vent its boundless fury upon them!

"Roar!"

With an earth-shaking roar, the Snow White Magic Bear charged to the farmhouse and swung its right arm, drawing a white afterimage through the air.

The farmhouse's thatched roof flew off at once, landing directly in the open Strip Field dozens of meters away.

Its massive bear head appeared above the farmhouse. Its dark blue eyes burned like ghostly fire, radiating a terrifying aura that sent shivers down one's spine, like a giant's head peering over a city wall.

Its bear nose was as large as a washbasin. With a powerful inhale, it sucked in the surrounding air, producing a loud sound like a bellows.

In its imagination, the two pitiful humans in the farmhouse should have been terrified, leaping about and fleeing like fleas.

But to its surprise, what awaited it was not a delicious meal, but two crossbow bolts gleaming with cold light, along with two pairs of equally cold eyes.

"Here you are, little brother?"

The corners of Lynn's mouth curled slightly as he pulled the trigger hard.

Second Brother pulled his trigger at the same time. The two Refined Steel Heavy Crossbow bolts shot toward the Demon Bear's eyes like thunderbolts.

It sensed the danger rushing toward it and wanted to dodge.

But the instant that thought arose, the two pure iron bolts had already shot into its eye sockets with the force of wind and thunder.

Not even a giant bear could withstand two Heavy Crossbows with its flesh, much less Lynn, whose strength had reached B-rank.

The crossbow arms of these things were forged entirely from pure steel. Even D-rank strength could not draw their strings; a windlass was required to cock them. Within a hundred meters, they could easily pierce a knight in chainmail. They were the most terrifying weapons on the battlefield.

"Roar!" The Demon Bear felt agonizing pain in both eyes, and its vision instantly went black as it threw back its head and let out an earth-shaking wail.

Before its wail had ended, waves of pain came from its soft abdomen.

It was as though it had returned to that evening when humans had hunted it.

Once again, it felt the fear of being dominated by humans.

It finally realized that it had always been that weak little brown bear.

It had never changed in the slightest.

It turned and wanted to run, to flee back to the quiet forest that gave it a sense of safety.

But how could it possibly escape?

The Demon Bear's wail seemed to trigger some sort of switch.

In an instant, the entire village sprang into action.

To its sense of smell, countless humans carrying terrifying auras were rushing toward it, their dense footsteps like death knells.

The hunger in its stomach was filled with fear. It turned to flee, displaying none of a king's bearing.

But at that moment, an immense and inexplicable power suddenly rose within its chest.

That power then gave birth to endless courage.

It finally understood that if it chose to flee, it would have no chance of survival.

If it wanted to live, it had to fight back!

"Roar!"

It abruptly turned around, gathered all its strength, and swung both arms down in a savage strike.

The pair of massive bear paws were like hammers of the thunder god, utterly destroying the entire farmhouse.

Yet it could tell that it had not hit those two damned humans.

Then pain stabbed through its abdomen once again, and even more blood gushed out alongside its roars.

"Little brother, where are you hitting?"

Lynn had long anticipated every move the Demon Bear would make.

After firing the crossbow bolts, he thrust his spear twice in succession. The strikes pierced through the farmhouse wall and into the Demon Bear's relatively vulnerable abdomen, injuring its internal organs.

Then he swiftly retreated, evading the Demon Bear's strongest counterattack.

When the Demon Bear had exhausted its strength and had yet to recover, he attacked decisively again. Braving the clods of dirt flying through the air, he accurately struck the Demon Bear's abdomen once more.

To a warrior of his level, even the largest Magic Beast was no more than a toy.

By the time Lynn had injured the Demon Bear three times, Second Brother had only just thrust his spear for the first time.

Because his strength was insufficient, he had barely even scratched the Demon Bear's fur.

Second Brother stood on the Demon Bear's back, gripping his spear. He forcefully tapped the two glaring arrow wounds and said disdainfully, "Tch, this Demon Bear's hide isn't intact. It actually has two scars on its back. It'll probably sell for several fewer Northern Gold Shields."

After the battle, Second Brother ranked second in contribution.

That was only because he had followed Lynn and fired the blinding crossbow bolt.

At his level of strength, he would probably have needed to stab the same spot two or three times to break through the Demon Bear's defense.

As for the other Horse Bandits, they had basically surrounded it without attacking, all enjoying their boss's splendid performance.

Lao Liu stood beside the Demon Bear's corpse, looking it over and feeling it up as he muttered, "This beast probably weighs three or four thousand kilograms. How are we supposed to haul it back?"

Lynn pulled the two Refined Steel Heavy Crossbow bolts from the Demon Bear's eye sockets and wiped the filth from them with Linen Cloth. "Leave it here for now. When we return to town later, have Torima and those Carpenters make a large cart to transport it."

For him, killing this Demon Bear had not been difficult. It had merely been exhausting.

Its seven-meter-tall body, combined with the Magic Stone's enhancement, had given the Demon Bear an incredibly thick health bar.

Lynn had fought it all the way from the village to the edge of the forest before finally killing it.

Moreover, during the battle, he had never attacked the Demon Bear's most valuable back fur. Instead, he had focused on its abdomen, which had cost him even more time and effort.

But it had all been worth it.

The Demon Bear that had invaded the territory had been completely slain. The serfs on the territory could sleep peacefully, the horse bandit underlings had gained a valuable hide, and Lynn had taken a palm-sized, translucent Magic Stone from the Demon Bear's chest cavity.

Everyone had won. The only loser was this arrogant Demon Bear.

But it was already dead, so it would not have any objections.