Battle

In wilderness adventures, the rule was to give it your all even when hunting a rabbit with a lion's strength. Not everyone could calmly face the death of comrades who had fought beside them.

So from the very beginning, the guard captain had gathered the elite personnel. Soren gave them a hurried glance and saw that nearly all of them were Tier 2 Warriors or above. Warriors were the easiest class to cultivate. Training other classes required enormous resources, especially all kinds of Wizards. Only Warriors could be trained as long as they had sufficient meat to replenish their nutrition and mastered the appropriate training techniques. However, high-level Warriors depended greatly on natural talent. Any Warrior who could raise their strength above Tier 3 was no simple person.

"Spread out!"

"Raise your shields!"

Soren took command of the group and said in a low voice, "Before a Bulette attacks, the ground beneath your feet will stir. Watch out for any strange sounds."

"Everyone, keep at least five paces apart."

"Don't try to take a Bulette's acid spray head-on. Dodge it whenever you can, and leave enough room between each other to Dodge."

"Don't use bows or crossbows."

"They won't be very effective against Bulettes unless one of you is an expert marksman!"

"Don't attack their backs." "A Bulette's belly has the weakest defense. Watch out for the claws on their limbs."

"These bugs are very strong."

"Remember to keep moving as you fight. Unless necessary, don't take their attacks head-on. They stand five meters tall and can dive down on you from above. Protect your heads."

"A Bulette's bite can snap through trees."

"If one tries to bite you, immediately Roll Dodge forward. That is a Bulette's blind spot. Its serrated teeth cannot attack within a range of one and a half meters directly in front of it."

Orders were issued one after another.

The other caravan guards could not help showing a trace of surprise, which gradually turned into respect.

It was respect for the strong.

Strength did not merely mean possessing astonishing power. Wisdom and experience were also part of one's strength!

Many times, experience and wisdom were more useful than brute force alone.

Soren seemed to have rediscovered the feeling of his old wilderness adventures, because after becoming Legendary, there had been very few wild creatures capable of threatening him.

He had not experienced a battle like this in a long time.

The two most important things when dealing with Bulettes were avoiding their acid spray and bite attacks. There was no need to say much about the acid spray. Their bites could snap through trees, so their destructive power was obvious. However, as arthropod-like creatures, Bulettes also had certain blind spots when attacking. For example, when biting, they could not bend their bodies to reach a point roughly one meter directly in front of themselves. Since half of their enormous ten-meter-long bodies remained underground, Bulettes were not very agile when moving. At such times, one only needed to watch out for the six to twelve leg-like limbs on their bodies.

Actually.

There was an even simpler way to deal with Bulettes.

That was to have the mysterious descendant of the Northern Witch take action. Spells were extremely powerful and could often achieve unexpected results.

But Wizards never acted lightly!

They had to save their Spells for the most critical moments, so Warriors remained the main force in wilderness adventures.

The number of Spells they could cast was limited.

Under normal circumstances, Spellcasters used ranged weapons such as Light Crossbows, shortbows, and slings to assist in battle, or helped out with staves and clubs. As long as they did not hit their own people, it was fine. Only when facing a large number of enemies or boss-level creatures would they cast Spells on a large scale without holding back.

A Tier 2 Wizard could only use a little over a dozen Spells per day.

Their destructive power was sufficient.

But their Endurance was not much to speak of!

"Dismount!"

Before they even got close, Soren had everyone dismount and proceed on foot.

Then he lay flat on the ground and listened for a moment before saying to the others, "Stomp your feet!"

"Keep the same rhythm."

"Stomp with all your strength, and watch your surroundings."

Bulettes possessed tremor sense and were highly sensitive to vibrations coming from the ground. This was the easiest way to alarm and enrage them.

Sure enough!

A faint sound came from underground, and the ground bulged slightly.

"They're below us."

Soren shouted and began retreating to the rear. He was still injured and was not suited for direct combat.

He could still deliver a finishing blow if necessary.

"Spread out!"

The guard captain roared. The muscles all over his body began to swell. The Northerner Barbarian's Rage ability was very special. Due to the tempering of severe cold and their unique training methods, they did not suffer a Weakness Period after entering Rage.

Its only flaw was that Rage did not last long.

Orc Berserkers and Barbarians could maintain Rage for fifteen minutes to half an hour. During that time, their stamina and explosive strength were enhanced several times over, turning them completely into Slaughter machines.

But Northerner Barbarians could only maintain it for a few minutes!

They were an advanced Warrior class and were not classified among Barbarians.

"Creak!"

A strange sound came from underground. Then a Bulette suddenly burst from the earth and sprayed a sheet of acid at the nearest Warrior.

He made an extremely miserable Roll Dodge.

The Warrior avoided half the attack, then covered himself with his shield at the critical moment.

Successful Dodge!

Most of the acid landed on the shield, and he suffered little injury.

"Kill it!"

The guard captain charged forward with a Longsword, while the caravan guards scattered nearby also began attacking.

Five Warriors circled around the Bulette, while the others remained scattered around them on guard. There were still movements underground. These bugs had not all emerged at once.

They were waiting for an opportunity!

Waiting for their enemies to be distracted, waiting for a chance to ambush someone alone.

"Damn it!"

Soren's expression suddenly changed drastically. He ran forward like mad while grabbing a shield.

A Bulette had targeted him!

Because he was near the rear and far from the battlefield by himself, he had become a "lone target" in the Bulette's eyes.

"Sizzle!"

A Bulette emerged behind Soren and immediately opened its mouth to spray a sheet of acid.

Roll Dodge.

Soren's 20 Dexterity saved his life at the last moment. He narrowly avoided the acid spray by a hair's breadth, then used his shield to block the splashing acid.

The last Bulette emerged as well!

But because of Soren's sudden predicament, the others were briefly distracted. One caravan guard was sprayed on the arm, and more than half the flesh on it was corroded away. That man was ruthless. He decisively chopped off his own arm, then covered the wound and gritted his teeth as he bandaged it.

The severed arm fell to the ground, and soon corroded enough to reveal stark white bone!

"Kossado!"

Another caravan guard shouted, seemingly intending to rush over and help him.

"Don't get distracted."

The caravan guard with the severed arm raised his hand to stop him, then retreated to the rear himself and said in a deep voice, "I'm fine."

"Kill them first!"

Warriors were injured as often as they ate, so they had great tolerance for pain. But that guard could endure the agony of losing an arm and still remain calm and composed, making Soren regard him more highly. This man's willpower was absolutely formidable. However, Northerners seemed to possess naturally high willpower. Perhaps the cold and brutal environment had tempered them since childhood.

He looked like a retired soldier!

Only soldiers accustomed to life and death could be so brave and decisive.

"Attack their lower limbs!"

Since he had already been marked as a target, Soren could no longer afford to hold back.

He gritted his teeth and drew his Scimitar, circling around the Bulette and striking whenever he caught it attacking someone else, leaving wound after wound in its weaker defenses. As for climbing onto the Bulette again to attack its head, that was clearly impossible now. The injury to his leg had affected his agility.

Such dangerous actions could only be attempted at full strength. Otherwise, he would be gambling with his life!

"Die!"

A dull roar echoed out.

The guard captain seized a fleeting opportunity and leaped into the air. Copying Soren's method from before, he thrust his Longsword directly through a gap in the carapace and into the Bulette's brain.

The first Bulette crashed to the ground!

The pressure on everyone else eased. Soren seized the chance to withdraw from the battlefield, searching for an opportunity to kill with one blow.

The chance came quickly.

When a Bulette prepared to bite at its target, he took a deep breath and started running. Then he leaped up fiercely and swung his Scimitar sideways at the side of the Bulette's skull.

A spray of dark green fluid splattered out!

The Bulette's body stiffened for a moment before it collapsed weakly.

Only the last one remained.

Just as the others prepared to kill the final Bulette, the heavily injured creature suddenly let out a shriek and frantically waved its limbs as it burrowed into the earth.

It was trying to escape!

Soren did not hesitate in the slightest. He took a breath to steady his heartbeat, then shouted at another Warrior, "Give me a javelin!"

A spear was thrown over.

Soren caught the spear, spun it around, and pointed its tip downward. Then he jumped fiercely, rising a full four or five meters into the air. With a roar, he gripped the shaft with both hands and stabbed it down into the earth.

Squelch!

Dark green blood sprayed out.

A piercing shriek came from underground. The soil trembled and churned as Soren held the spear down tightly, using all his strength to drive it inch by inch into the ground.

Finally.

The ground gradually calmed, and the battle ended.

: They possessed unique Rage techniques. During training, they immersed their entire bodies in ice water. The cold suppressed the power of their Rage, preventing them from increasing their strength as drastically as Barbarians, but it also reduced the drain Rage placed on their physical potential. At the same time, they retained their sanity, allowing them to maintain considerable combat power even after Rage.)

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