Raptor Hunter Chieftain

The frozen soil of Northern Frontier is swept by a biting wind.

Tap tap tap...

A rapid, thunderous sound of hooves filled the air as dozens of riders, led by three knights, galloped up to a high hilltop.

The three knights at the head of the group, one man and two women, were Bai Xiaowen, Cecilia, and Li Shuyi.

"Indeed, your Riding have improved considerably in just two days," Cecilia said with a smile. "Dio, if you hadn't become a wizard and had chosen the path of a knight, you would have achieved great things."

Bai Xiaowen smiled. On his own personal panel, an Advanced Specialty had been added: Riding. It was currently only level 1, but with the boost from the title of "Ultimate Academic Ace," it directly enjoyed the effect of level 2 Riding. For a beginner, this was still quite impressive.

Li Shuyi quietly pursed her lips.

Li Da Mei Nu's Riding level is Advanced Level 2, and this is a genuine Level 2, unlike Bai Xiaowen's Riding which is somewhat inflated. This is because Li Da Mei Nu is a melee class, with a high agility of 35 points, and her body coordination and flexibility are quite high, allowing her to master the skill faster than Bai Xiaowen.

However, Cecilia only praised Bai Xiaowen's progress, completely ignoring her equally excellent, or even better, performance.

The riders following the three were elites selected from the knights under both companies; each one was Elite Template.

Suddenly, a plume of yellow smoke shot into the sky from behind the mountains and forests to the northeast.

"The third team is in trouble! They've encountered enemy reconnaissance! Let's go!"

Bai Xiaowen took the lead, and the group sped towards the direction of the yellow fireworks.

In the open area beyond the mountains and forests, more than a dozen human cavalrymen fought and retreated, maneuvering against the enemy.

Their opponents were a troop of Trolls cavalry.

The Trolls cavalry rode unique mounts—neither horses nor the dire Direwolf common among Orcs, but Raptor!

Raptor are like miniature versions of Tyrannosaurus Rex, with short forelimbs and thick hind limbs and tails. They run on two legs like humans, but they are very fast. Moreover, their mouths are full of fine, sharp teeth, which shows that their diet is by no means that of a gentle herbivore.

It should be noted that Raptor do not belong to the "dragon species" and are completely different from other "False Dragons" and "Draconic Beasts". Their racial classification is "Beast Species" or "Terrestrial Beasts".

Raptor are more closely related to dinosaurs than to the dragons of Western Qihuan legends.

There were only seven Trolls cavalrymen, but their individual strength was undeniable. Although the human cavalry outnumbered them by more than half, they were still no match for them and could only fight and flee.

"Hold on! We've sent the signal, reinforcements will be here soon!" shouted a white-armored knight. He was one of Cecilia's knights and the captain of this small reconnaissance unit.

"Hoo la la la..."

A troll wielding a blood-red spear and sporting mohawk-like green hair suddenly drew a lasso from his waist, twirled it a few times, and then hurled it, ensnaring a human cavalryman by the neck. With a powerful pull, he sent the cavalryman flying backward.

Immediately following, the green-haired Mohican troll thrust his Bloodspear, accurately striking the human cavalryman in the back and killing him.

The green-haired mohawk troll did a somersault in mid-air, like a circus act, and sat back on his Raptor, a smug smile spreading across his greenish-blue face.

"Hooh!"

"Awooo!"

The other trolls cheered at the skill displayed in this bloody slaughter.

Suddenly, a rapid sound of horses' hooves, like raindrops, rang out from behind the mountains and forests.

"Enemy reinforcements!"

"These humans have reinforcements!"

The troll riders shouted loudly in their Remnant Tongue, which, of course, sounded like meaningless chatter to the human ears.

The green-haired mohawk troll's smile vanished instantly. He listened intently for a moment, then sneered, "Small cavalry, don't panic! The more human heads I cut off, the more I can demonstrate my bravery to my father. This is a good opportunity."

The sound of approaching hooves signaled the arrival of dozens of cavalrymen who split into two groups and flanked the enemy.

Cecilia and Li Shuyi, both dressed in military attire with their capes fluttering in the wind, displayed their beautiful figures on their galloping warhorses.

"Women?" The green-haired mohawk troll paused, then nodded and smiled with satisfaction. "Good prey. Take them back and make them my slave girls! Listen up, both of them, capture them alive!"

"Yes!" The other six Trolls riders, showing no sign of tension at being surrounded, laughed and agreed.

"Although I don't understand what you're saying... your expressions are really infuriating."

Bai Xiaowen appeared on horseback from the front, stabilizing the retreating Third Reconnaissance Team. He then cast an Insight, targeting the green-haired Mohican troll.

[Tedius (Level 6 Boss Tier)]

[Race: Human Species / Trolls]

[Occupation: Raptor Hunter Chieftain]

[Attributes: Strength 35, Agility 49, Constitution 30, Spirit 19]

[Skills: Lasso Strike, Leaping Charge, Bloodburst Assassination,???]

"Cecilia, leave this troll leader to me!" Bai Xiaowen specifically instructed, then called out, "... Charlotte, come here!"

Thankfully, I didn't call her by the wrong name; if I had called her "Shu Yi," I would have been exposed.

At this moment, the two flanking cavalry forces had merged. Li Shuyi agreed and spurred her horse towards the green-haired Mohican troll, Tedius.

Six trolls rushed to intercept, but Cecilia simply drew her bow and nocked an arrow. A flash of blazing white light appeared, and the arrow whistled out, piercing the back of a troll knight's neck. The powerful kinetic energy propelled the troll's body high into the air, where it spun dozens of times on the ground before coming to a stop, completely silent.

"Lord Cecilia's skill: Snipe activated!"

Vital Strike, instant kill!

The remaining five Elite Tier trolls felt a sense of fear. With this powerful ranged archer around, how could they dare to expose their backs? Before the green-haired mohawk troll Tedius could give an order, they turned the Raptor around and charged towards Cecilia.

Bai Xiaowen's eyes flashed with surprise; Cecilia's strength was actually greater than she had estimated.

Of course, this is also because Bai Xiaowen withdrew from the battlefield to set up an ambush during the vanguard battle and did not see Cecilia's battle; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so unexpected.

But this is a good thing.

The thought that Cecilia's Infatuation Level for him was already at the "heart-fluttering" level filled Bai Xiaowen with a sense of smug satisfaction. With Rageclaw killed and temporarily unable to be resurrected, having such a powerful character by his side undoubtedly strengthened Bai Xiaowen's side.

On the other side, the troll leader Tedius also determined that Bai Xiaowen was the commander, and immediately launched [Leaping Charge], his Raptor leaping forward, increasing its speed dramatically.

The [Leaping Charge] skill has two enhancements compared to the regular charge. First, it increases the chance of dodging, making it harder for enemy blocking spells and shots to hit you. Second, it can ignore some obstacles and terrain.

Dressed in Lord's Attire, Bai Xiaowen waited silently. Only when Tedius accelerated to his maximum speed did he suddenly spur his horse to dodge, activating his skill at the same time.

[Take this, I'll unleash Conqueror's Haki...]

A chilling Overawing Presence spread out, and Tedius was instantly plunged into Fear Status that lasted for 4 seconds! The other troll warriors were also controlled, and two troll warriors with Divine Might below 13 points (Bai Xiaowen's mental attribute reached 39 points after upgrading) were even stunned.

Once under control, Tedius couldn't adjust his angle or brake, and could only watch helplessly as he charged forward for dozens of meters before his Fear Status subsided. He suddenly pulled on the Raptor's reins, causing him to violently lean back and finally stop his forward momentum.

However, at this moment, Bai Xiaowen had already summoned the Elite Tier Stitched Monster Fatty, Fatty, and threw out his chains with a clang, piercing Tedius's shoulder blade, and then pulled him away with force!

The level 4 Fatty, with Bai Xiaowen's buff, has 21 points of strength. Although it's not as much as Tedius's 35 points of strength, Tedius is currently out of balance! The dragging judgment of the [Meat Hook] skill is successful!

Tedius was pulled over, tracing a large arc in the air.

Just as he was about to crash heavily to the ground, Tedius's attributes were indeed strong enough to completely Suppression Fatty. In the latter half of the flight, he adjusted his posture in the air, gripped the blood-red spear tightly, aimed at Bai Xiaowen next to Fatty, and thrust the spear through the air!

With Tedius's terrifying agility of nearly 50 points, Bai Xiaowen had no chance to dodge. He also did not expect Tedius to be able to turn the tables and was immediately hit by a spear.

"Success!" A gleam of triumph flashed through Tedius's mind.

However, as the spear pierced through, Tedius sensed something was wrong. Bai Xiaowen, who had taken the sharp spear, remained expressionless, simply reining in his horse and retreating.

If Tedius were an Awakened One, he would receive a combat information notification that Bai Xiaowen's Life Value had only decreased by... 28 points. On Bai Xiaowen and the Stitched Monster Fatty, there was a faint red line that was almost invisible to the naked eye. This was the effect of Bai Xiaowen's Class LV4 enhancement effect - Life Sharing.

Tedius's spear originally dealt a whopping 67 damage! However, 39 of those damage points were absorbed by Fatty. Bai Xiaowen and Fatty's Life Value remained at roughly the same level, close to 90%, making them quite safe.

Li Shuyi dismounted and thrust her twin swords forward. Both she and Tedius were Agility Specialty warriors, using speed to counter speed. Most of their attacks were Block by the crimson spears, causing relatively little damage.

Bai Xiaowen summoned three Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier to enter the field and help Li Shuyi defend. After no longer needing to consider defense and evasion, Li Shuyi's offensive efficiency improved significantly. Both of her passive abilities stacked simultaneously, and each Critical Hit added a layer of "Thunder Mark" to Tedius.

The Shadow Assassin appeared behind Tedius, unleashing an Assassination skill that dealt double damage to Vital Strike and inflicted Severe Bleeding!

Tedius roared in pain, swinging the long shaft of his Bloodspear backhand and sending the Shadow Assassin flying.

Li Shuyi activated the Demonfire Dance again, greatly increasing her damage. She quickly accumulated five Critical Hit and chose to detonate the Thunder Mark in her next attack, the Li Shuyi Sanction Dagger drawing a blood-red cross.

What was originally an ordinary skill left two gruesome wounds on Tedius's body, so deep that the bone was visible! Tedius's Life Value plummeted by more than seventy points from this single blow, a truly terrifying amount.

Bai Xiaowen calculated that Li Shuyi's Sanction Dagger, plus the additional fire damage from the two "Demonfire Dance" attacks, should only deal 30 points of initial damage under the BOSS's armor damage reduction. Therefore, the additional damage from detonating five stacks of Thunder Mark would be a whopping 40 points!

Although they temporarily lost their main damage dealer, Rageclaw, the team's overall damage output actually increased because Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi both leveled up to level 4, resulting in a qualitative change in their strength.

Of course, the inability to use Rageclaw's two major skills, "Howl" and "Suppression," is indeed a significant loss for the team. But regardless, at least dealing with Tedius, an agile level 6 boss, shouldn't be a problem.

In despair, Tedius raised his spear and thrust it at Li Shuyi, unleashing the monstrous skill "Bloodburst Assassination," intending to switch to another attack. As the Boss Tier, his Bloodburst Assassination was more powerful than that of other Elite Tier troll warriors, calculating damage based on "lost Life Value" without requiring additional health deduction, and it was executed quite abruptly.

However, Bai Xiaowen had already prepared a backup plan. The last Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier was summoned using the "Targeted Airdrop" skill and appeared in Tedius's attack path, blocking him for a moment. The Shadow Assassin pounced in time, knocking Li Shuyi away and taking the subsequent damage from the attack himself.

With a deafening roar, Li Shuyi unleashed the accumulated fire energy of "Demonfire Dance," blasting Tedius to death.

This level 6 Boss Tier only managed to kill one of Bai Xiaowen's Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier at most. As for the Shadow Assassin, it survived the Bloodburst Assassination thanks to its passive racial ability of "Formless Body," which reduces physical damage by 50%.

"I feel like we've definitely gotten stronger. If Rageclaw were here too, it would have been much easier, and we probably wouldn't have lost a single Skeleton Soldier," Li Shuyi said with a smile.

Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Now that we are Intermediate Awakened, it's inevitable that our strength will improve compared to Beginner Awakened."

On the other side, Cecilia led her reconnaissance team and captured the remaining five troll warriors alive, reducing their Life Value to less than ten points.

Li Shuyi was impressed by Cecilia. She wasn't surprised that Cecilia could kill the five troll warriors, but capturing them alive was much more difficult than killing them. These trolls were all very wild, valued honor, and were all tough guys who would rather die than surrender.

Bai Xiaowen put away the Golden Treasure Chest and reunited with Cecilia.

"Here, try your sorcery and see if you can get any information out of these trolls," Cecilia said. The reason she went to such lengths to capture these troll warriors alive was at Bai Xiaowen's request, to capture them as quickly as possible.