Two days later, at Great Wind Land Hills.
Roy and the others rode their Necromancer Warhorses across the open wilderness.
The slightly damp sea breeze howled past them. The rolling hills resembled waves across the earth, stretching all the way to the horizon.
Before long, they arrived at a small hill they had previously selected, climbed to the top, and gazed into the distance through their telescopes.
Soon, they saw the scene of the demonic beast war that had once appeared in the painting.
"They've been fighting for so many days in a row, and they still haven't stopped!"
Before their eyes, great swarms of Merman Warriors surged forward and clashed with their enemies.
The giants living here were humanoid giant creatures. Like nomads, they made their living herding mammoths and yaks.
They stood over three meters tall, with massive builds, immense strength, and fierce, fearless natures.
They wielded huge bone clubs made from the leg bones of their own kind or wooden clubs carved from small trees. Often, a single strike could smash a small merman into a pulp.
The merfolk had crude weapons and little strength. Even when they gave it their all, it was difficult for them to drive their bone spears into the giants' rough skin.
But even an army of ants could bring down an elephant. Through their endless attacks, they still managed to injure the giants.
"I never thought even mermen would be this fearless of death!"
"This clearly isn't how ordinary demonic beasts behave. They're being influenced by some mysterious factor."
The group discussed and sighed over the sight.
There was no need to ask. It was certainly the result of the radiation pollution from Chalk Country.
"Someone's over there!"
Suddenly, several Tower Apprentices appeared in their field of vision.
They moved around the edge of the battlefield like hyenas, occasionally rushing in to snatch whatever they could.
Whether it was the giants' hearts and blood or the mermen's Fish Pearls,
everything was turned into spoils of war.
"Those bastards made several hundred magic stones from that one haul alone!"
"The bone marrow and blood of these giants can also be used to refine Bloodline Potions. Their hearts can be made into Enchanted Items. They're worth at least five hundred magic stones!"
Renion and the others were all envious, wishing they could take their place.
Roy, however, was concerned about something else. "Where is that Merman Lord?"
He searched the battlefield below through his telescope for a long time but saw no sign of it.
"We didn't see it either," Renion and the others hurriedly replied.
"Why don't we just ask those people?" Tigro suggested.
Roy readily agreed. He quietly circled around to the other side, then called out to the scavengers from a distance as they headed back, making them stop.
At first, those people failed to notice Roy and the others and were badly startled. Only after realizing that the newcomers were not there to rob them did they relax somewhat.
They did not dare refuse to answer Roy's question and hurriedly said, "My lord, we didn't see that monster either...
"But according to the people who came earlier, it seemed to be injured and fled toward the river."
"Let's go and try our luck!
"But this time, we have to be extremely careful. We mustn't repeat our previous mistake."
Roy did not completely believe what they had said.
Still, he remained rather bothered by having been ambushed by that monster. He had come out this time specifically to hunt it down.
He called out to the others, and they immediately hurried over.
Several hours later.
The group reached the riverbank but temporarily found no trace of anything.
Roy looked at Sailen. "It's your turn to shine."
Sailen nodded, undid the pack on her back, and took out a lifelike bird puppet.
It was the bird puppet she had purchased with the spoils from last time. Shaped like an eagle, it flapped its wings once and soared into the sky.
Sailen covered her left eye. Mental Strength surged through her body as she quietly sensed the surroundings through the Mental Connection with the puppet bird.
A short while later, her expression changed slightly. "I see it!
"That monster... is resting beside a bend in the river upstream!"
It was also a matter of luck. Even with such a convenient reconnaissance method, finding the target so easily was far from guaranteed.
They had only spotted it at once because it happened to be nearby.
What delighted Roy even more was that Sailen then reported another piece of good news. "That monster seems to be seriously injured—more severely than those people said!"
The group pursued it upstream and soon understood what had happened.
Several charred apprentice corpses lay fallen along the way. Among them was even an Advanced Apprentice Roy recognized but could not name.
He had only recently advanced and possessed no deep reserves.
Yet his battle blade was stained with blood, and the corpses of numerous mutated Elite Warriors lay scattered around him, including a warlock leader.
It was clear that he had fought a bloody battle and inflicted considerable damage on the enemy.
"Fortune has finally turned in our favor. This time, it's our turn to reap the benefits!"
The group was both shocked and delighted. They searched the bodies without hesitation, then continued onward.
During this time, Roy immediately noticed that the power of the Merman Lord's Lightning Bolt had clearly diminished. Even the corpses were no longer burned into such a charred mess.
"We finally found it!"
After crossing mountains and hills again and circling through a valley to reach the place where they had discovered the enemy, the group was astonished to find that the terrain looked inexplicably similar to the place where their previous team had suffered heavy losses.
The low hills of the rolling terrain rose and fell in much the same way everywhere.
But this time, they were in the position of the ambushers and had seized the initiative completely!
Roy seized the opportunity, took out the few Alchemical Bombs he had left, and distributed them among the group.
"Take aim... one, two, three... throw!"
Next came various Elemental Potions and similar consumables, including Orchard's Bane, which had hallucinogenic effects!
Using the terrain, the items traced long arcs through the air and landed accurately among the Demonic Beast Swarm one after another.
In the blink of an eye, explosions thundered all around, blasting several warlocks and Elite Warriors beside the Merman Lord into critical condition.
"Kill!"
The group mounted their horses and charged downhill.
At the crucial moment, Roy charged at the front. He drank the prepared Mild Lightning Resistance Potion, and just as lightning began to glow around the enemy, his hair suddenly grew wildly, forming a massive metal cage.
After the electric light swept over him, his entire body went numb and stiff.
Yet, miraculously, he did not fall. He had not even suffered much damage.
"It worked! The resistance potion, the Lightning Amulet, and my hair... Combining these methods really can effectively increase my lightning resistance!"
Roy retracted his hair, injected himself with a shot of adrenaline, and then roared. An aura comparable to that of an Advanced Knight surged from him.
Under Charge Strike, the bodies of several Elite Warriors along the way split apart like paper.
With hot blood surging through his veins, he charged before the Merman Lord and thrust out his longsword.
An extraordinary resistance came from the other's body. Though it was made of flesh and blood like his own, its skin was as tough as old tree bark, while its scales seemed forged from refined gold.
It was natural armor with formidable defensive power.
But Roy's assault was exceptionally swift and fierce. It still cut through everything in its path, piercing straight through the creature!
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