Getting Faster

In the Chip's simulation space, Green was enjoying the battle. Three Mountain Berserker Bears surrounded him. Under the Chip's simulation, the three bears vaguely displayed teamwork. If an ordinary squad faced these three Mountain Berserker Bears, they would be lucky if one or two people escaped. Total annihilation was the most likely outcome.

Sweat poured down Green's face, but his expression was filled with excitement.

"Roar!" The three Mountain Berserker Bears attacked Green at the same time.

Watching the three bears charge at him, Green rushed forward as well. Blue data flickered in his eyes, and the gaps between the three bears rapidly entered his mind. At the instant both sides were about to collide, the three Mountain Berserker Bears chose different methods of attack.

One swung its left forepaw, another swung its right forepaw, while the one in the middle charged straight at Green. Their triangular attack sealed off his left, right, and front. An ordinary knight facing such an attack could only be beheaded.

But Green saw things differently. He pushed off hard with his left foot, accelerating once more. Just as they were about to make contact, he drove off with both feet and spiraled into the air, passing precisely through the gap between the three bears. The longsword in his hand skimmed along his body and sliced across one bear's forelimb.

"Slash!" A bear claw fell away.

Three intact bears had been unable to defeat Green, much less when one had already lost its fighting strength. Fresh wounds continuously appeared on the three bears. Like the Mountain Berserker Bears Green had killed in reality, they ultimately died at his hands from severe injuries and excessive blood loss.

[Huff... huff... huff...]

After defeating the three black bears, Green collapsed directly onto the ground, greedily drawing in fresh air. Enhanced by the Chip, these berserk bears could use tactics, continuously compressing Green's room to evade and even fighting by trading injury for injury.

[Detecting physical condition]

[Left arm missing]

[Blood loss exceeds 1500 ml]

[Severe tearing injury to left shoulder]

"Hiss..." As the simulated adrenaline faded, intense pain surged from his wounds, and Green could not help sucking in a cold breath. If he had not dealt with them before the adrenaline ran out, then once the severe pain hit, he would have been the one to die.

Looking at his severed left arm, Green could not help feeling a lingering fear. The final berserk bear had traded its life for an injury, taking Green's sword through its heart before fiercely delivering one last blow. It broke Green's left arm and tore away most of the flesh from his left shoulder with its claws.

"Good thing this is a virtual space. In the real world, injuries like these would be fatal even for a Knight Apprentice." Looking at his left shoulder, now reduced to mangled flesh, Green's eyes were filled with fear.

"I need to take the dying counterattacks of living creatures more seriously. Who knows what kind of power they can unleash in their final moment?"

With Green's physical body, even taking a direct blow from a berserk bear should not have resulted in such severe injuries. Yet that final attack had clearly surpassed its usual limit of strength and had nearly killed Green outright.

That was enough. Training ends here for today. Feeling the excruciating pain from his severed arm, Green chose to end today's training.

[Exit training]

Green, who had been lying on the ground, only felt his vision blur as the surrounding environment became pixelated. The castle's original ceiling came into view. Knowing that he had returned to reality, Green, mentally exhausted from the simulated training, quickly fell asleep.

In a lush forest stood a handsome young man of no more than seventeen or eighteen. He had short black hair. He could not be called exceptionally handsome, but the confident air he exuded was irresistibly captivating. Sharp light shone from his brown eyes, like a drawn sword displaying its edge.

The young man held a longbow. Under the sunlight, the bow, forged from a special metal, had been drawn into a full arc by his pull. One glance at the metal arrowhead was enough to make one shiver, even beneath the warmth of the sun.

"Whoosh!"

The white-feathered arrow, like Death's reaping scythe, pierced straight through its prey's brain. A Mountain Berserker Bear fell stiffly to the ground. Even in death, it did not understand what had happened.

The young man who had killed his prey in a single blow showed no joy. Instead, his expression grew increasingly grim, and the gloom between his brows deepened.

That young man was Green.

Ten days had passed since Green completed the hunt for the pig bear. Every day afterward, Green had gone into the forest to hunt. As the number of hunts increased, he discovered an abnormal situation.

The powerful beasts in the forests of the Annabur Mountains had begun moving toward the forest's outskirts. Combined with the rumors from the Saladin Kingdom, this was not a good sign.

There had to be a reason for the beasts' migration. If food was not scarce, then a powerful creature must have occupied their territory, forcing the beasts to move outward.

Deep within the Annabur Mountains lived Berserk Mountain Giant Bears at the Grand Knight level. For even such apex creatures to be forced to relocate, only an operation on the scale of a human army could make them abandon their territory and retreat.

"There isn't much time left. The Saladin Kingdom is moving faster than anyone imagined."

[Establishing analysis model. Estimating the time of the Saladin Kingdom's attack.]

Blue data began constantly refreshing. One piece of data after another was added to the model as it began analyzing the situation between the Saladin Kingdom and the Lodin Kingdom. Economic conditions, domestic affairs, geographical environment, and the speed of beast migration in the Annabur Mountains were all incorporated into the model.

[Estimated time: 90–150 days]

So soon? Green's heart tightened at that estimate. He hurriedly examined the Chip's analysis results.

[Economic conditions: The Saladin Kingdom's tax revenue doubled last year, but the overall wealth of its nobility showed no significant changes. The destination of large sums of money is unknown. Grain trading at White Oak Port in the Maas Alliance has increased and is estimated to be for war use.]

[Domestic affairs: The Lodin Kingdom's internal situation is unpredictable. Baron Kluo has sent the information to Grand Duke Lothan, yet there has been no discussion within the kingdom. The information is estimated to have been blocked. The Lodin Kingdom's high-ranking nobles are engaged in brutal internal conflict and can no longer concern themselves with the outside world.]

[The migration speed of beasts in the Annabur Mountains is increasing. The density of knight-level beasts is continuously rising, and the physiques of encountered beasts are steadily improving, already nearing the limits of the knight level. According to normal distribution analysis, Grand Knight-level beasts will soon appear.]

Green's face had turned livid. It was getting faster every time. Each time Green used the Chip to calculate, the estimated date of the Saladin Kingdom's invasion shortened.

There were still too few sources of data. The Chip did not possess an omniscient perspective and could only calculate based on the current circumstances. Inaccurate results were only natural.

Green sighed inwardly. Then, after sweeping his gaze across the surroundings and ensuring the Chip had finished recording, he dragged the Mountain Berserker Bear's corpse and headed for the castle without looking back.