Powerful Monster

"Leave this place at once!"

Roy pondered briefly before speaking decisively.

He realized that his group's good luck had completely run out. They had somehow stumbled into the monster's habitat.

The others had the same idea. For safety's sake, they had deliberately chosen a route through the part of Great Wind Land Hills closest to the mountains.

The Witch Tower taught knowledge of all kinds of magical beasts and otherworldly creatures. Mermen, being common low-level magical monsters, were something even Low-level Apprentices could study.

They all knew that these monsters were relatively short compared to humans and were unsuited to running long distances on land. They therefore never moved inland.

Unless they were migrating along a river.

Heading toward the mountains was the wiser choice.

However, just as they had traveled several thousand meters east and were about to move away from the river, a hideous figure suddenly appeared on a high slope ahead, overlooking a small valley.

Close behind it came more than a dozen Elite Warrior mutant mermen with brilliantly mottled scales.

Roy's Spiritual Power was stronger than the others', and he immediately sensed a horrifying concentration of magical power. High-voltage currents surged ahead.

The hair on his entire body stood on end. "Why isn't that monster staying by the river? Why did it run up the slope?"

They had fled this way precisely to avoid it. Who would have thought they would walk right into its trap instead?

Without hesitation, he tugged on the reins. At the same time, he grabbed Nia, who was a little slower to react, and pulled her around as well, turning away at top speed.

The others came to their senses and hurriedly turned around.

But Chad and Shan Lu were a step too slow, leaving them within the area struck by the Lightning Bolt.

The crackling of electricity rang out. Thick white streaks tore through the air like blades and pierced their bodies.

Powerful magic spread in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the skin of both men had charred black and smoked as they collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The Necromancer Warhorses beneath them also lost the Witchcraft Energy sustaining their movement and collapsed instantly.

"Help... help me!"

Thomas avoided the first attack, but he was also paralyzed by the surging current and fell behind the others.

More than ten bone spears whistled through the air, piercing him amid sharp sounds of tearing wind.

His body stiffened. Blood spilled from his mouth, and soon he fell silent as well.

"Save me!"

Andov and Tigro fled in panic, wailing like ghosts.

Fortunately, the merman warlock needed time between spells, allowing them to escape.

"How could there have been mermen lying in ambush here? We didn't notice anything before!"

Roy's heart pounded like a drum. He spurred his mount toward the slope on the other side with all his strength. Only after he felt they had opened a considerable distance did he dare look back.

The sight of that hideous figure instantly made him hold his breath.

"That monster... it really is a Lord-level magical creature. It's not something an ordinary Advanced Apprentice can deal with!"

The opponent was several times larger than an ordinary merman. Its entire body was golden blue, its scales seemingly cast from Exotic Copper, while spikes as sharp as shark teeth covered its back.

Even more eye-catching was the red, glaring eyeball embedded in the palm of that Merman Lord. It gave off a distinctly sinister feeling.

Lightning coiled around it. The hair-raising Lightning Bolt from before had been unleashed from that very eye.

Seeing this, Roy froze slightly, feeling a faint sting between his brows.

But he had no time to think about it. He hurriedly called out to Nia and the surviving members to keep fleeing.

"Don't go back to the river we passed earlier. We'll go over this small slope and get out that way. It'll be faster!

I remember there's another exit over there. Once we make it outside, we'll be safe!"

At the critical moment, Roy felt that his thoughts were still clear.

At least...

He hadn't gotten lost!

"Aimo! Aimo, run!"

Suddenly, Tigro sensed that something was wrong. He turned around and shouted in alarm.

Everyone looked back and discovered that Aimo had fallen behind at the critical moment.

He had been so nervous that, while turning around and fleeing earlier, he had failed to control the Necromancer Warhorse beneath him. He had actually been thrown from the saddle!

The mermen behind them had caught up.

There was nothing the others could do. They could only watch helplessly as several Elite Warriors surrounded him.

Aimo roared and began fighting like a trapped beast, but he could never break free from the Elite Warriors' entanglement.

"We can't save him. Go!"

Roy shouted in a low voice and decisively left.

Not long afterward, everyone reached the top of an open slope and finally made it to safety.

Looking back, they saw that Aimo had been killed. The mutant Lord-level magical monster was angrily baring its teeth and clawing at them, seemingly frustrated that it had let them escape.

"This monster! Damn it!"

Tigro trembled with rage.

He had lost Aimo, a close companion, here.

As for Chad and the other two, they had been completely wiped out.

Roy could only express his helplessness over it.

At the critical moment, he could only pull Nia along beside him. He could not worry about Chad, Aimo, and the others as well.

That was the difference between those close to you and those who were not.

"We absolutely can't stay here any longer. We'll take a detour around the other side and hurry back.

Great Wind Land Hills has always been a place with many dangerous quests. We must stay alert and guard against attacks from other magical creatures, or even Wizard Apprentices!"

Reminded by him, everyone could only suppress their grief and shock, put on cold and solemn expressions, and leave the area.

"We're finally back!"

"I'm exhausted..."

Two days later, everyone returned to the Witch Tower. Only then did they finally relax and let out long sighs of relief.

During that time, they had indeed encountered other teams adventuring in Great Wind Land Hills, as well as ill-intentioned people who had tried to sound them out.

Fortunately, Roy was a genuine Advanced Apprentice with considerable deterrent power.

With the others gathered around him, they also looked like an elite force. No one dared to attack them.

"Everyone, come to my place. As promised, I'll distribute the spoils we obtained this time."

Roy looked around and found everyone beside him looking as miserable as frostbitten eggplants. He decided to say something everyone would enjoy hearing and raise their spirits.

Upon hearing this, their expressions finally improved somewhat.

Only six people remained in the team. Roy simply waved his hand and divided the five warlock Fish Pearls equally among everyone except Sailen. As for the other spoils, he did his best to favor the injured, ensuring that everyone received a share.

Sailen's identity was special, and she had little need for quest quotas or promotion materials, so he compensated her with some magic stones.

Even so, each person still received gains worth at least 2,000 magic stones.

Roy himself obtained various materials worth more than 5,000 magic stones!

Although they had already predicted on the way that this Adventure Quest would yield a good harvest, once the spoils were truly in their hands, everyone still felt dazed.

So having fewer people share the spoils really did mean getting that much more in the end?

The divisor became smaller, and the quotient became larger...

A simple math problem was also a life-or-death problem!

For a moment, no one knew whether to call this fortunate or unfortunate.