Hunting Underway

Hunting Underway

The towering Blackleaf Forest Mountains gradually became gentler from west to east, except for East Sea Snow Mountain...

The tree canopies grew ever lusher. This boundless sea of forest was home to countless races and animals, including the most mysterious and prosperous Dark Night City, home of the Black Leaf Elven Royal Family and its people.

Of course, such a vast forest was bound to have Dragons, and quite a few of them at that.

William called the mountain range separating Border Town from the sea the Sea-Separating Mountain!

Because this not particularly tall mountain range blocked his path to the ocean, he casually bestowed a name upon it...

He knew what lay near the sea, and he knew even better that its waters contained countless mineral resources and "treasures." Although there were often some Murlocs near the shore, once they were dealt with, the coastal waters would bring him ample profits.

At the very least, they could enrich the food on the tables of the commoners in his territory.

There were some countries on the Eastern Continent near the ocean, but not many.

The south was basically blocked off by the Black Leaf Mountains, making it difficult to obtain goods from the sea. Only some countries in the east and west could reach the ocean.

But the vast majority of nations had no intention of living off the sea. In their minds, the land was where they competed for supremacy. They generally only used coastal waters and rivers to transport supplies.

Even in the eyes of many nobles,

everything in the ocean besides fish was far too terrifying. How could it possibly be eaten?

Ordinary fishermen, however, did not care about that. They even secretly cursed from the bottom of their hearts that it was best if those bastards did not eat it.

The morning sunlight shone through the forest, forming warm rays of light. The sunlight scattered across the fallen leaves was as alluring as lumps of gold.

All the Elves had returned safely. This was not the depths of the forest, so it was difficult to encounter powerful monsters. Finding a Frenzied Giant Bear here was already a coincidence.

William did not immediately lead his men to surround the giant bear.

Instead, they rested for five hours.

Only after finishing their dry rations did he lead the group toward the Iron Ore Vein.

After meeting the three Elven Rangers stationed there, William learned that the giant bear had not come out to hunt. It had been sleeping inside all along. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Lotner found the absurdly large footprints and pondered for two seconds. "We can't determine whether it's a Mid-Level Monster or a High-Level Monster yet. But as long as we prepare properly, we can definitely defeat it. There may just be some casualties."

"It's best to make absolutely sure. I don't want the Warriors to suffer any casualties!" William shook his head. The other Elven Warriors looked at him without saying anything.

"It's just the beginning of spring now, right?" he suddenly asked.

"That's right. Why?" Lotner replied.

William Blackleaf narrowed his eyes. "Then is it possible that the Frenzied Giant Bear is about to give birth? By rights, bears conceive in autumn and give birth in early spring, don't they?" (Gods Continent rules)

"Hiss, if that's the case, this will be much easier!" Lotner did not consider whether killing a pregnant mother bear was cruel, and neither did the other sharp-eyed Elves.

In this world, the strong preyed upon the weak. The Elves, who had ruled the continent in ancient times, had long understood this principle. They could be kind, even very kind, but the prerequisite was that their race was sufficiently safe.

It was precisely because of their excessive tolerance that other races had grown stronger, eventually forcing the Elves to completely withdraw from the continent. They remembered that all too clearly.

If this Frenzied Giant Bear truly gave birth, then once its strength recovered, Border Town would be in grave danger.

Besides, this was no ordinary bear. It was a monster!

Every monster was exceedingly vicious. Most could not coexist with others. Apart from a very few methods, these monsters would devour everything that was not of their own kind.

"Gather large quantities of Stupor Grass. Use it to make poison, or burn it and smoke the cave. Dig traps at least ten meters deep and five meters wide. Weave nets large enough to cover a five-meter-tall giant bear—at least three of them. Prepare everything else as well. We'll kill it without suffering so much as a scratch!" Lotner began issuing orders, and the other Elves efficiently went to prepare their assigned tasks.

The digging was not left solely to the Elven Hunters. One hundred and fifty Elven Warriors took over that task, because the Elven Hunters needed to weave the giant nets on site!

As for the Rangers, they spread out to search for Stupor Grass and other herbs that were not too poisonous. After all, monster meat was quite good.

For NPCs to grow stronger, besides fighting, they needed to eat foods or potions filled with magic. That would make them stronger (level up).

Players could also gain a considerable amount of experience by eating them, but the number of times each type of food could be consumed was limited.

William still remembered that in his previous life, a wealthy player had earned the title of God of Food through eating alone. He had even reached over level eighty just by eating, and until the middle stages of the game, he had never fallen behind the top-tier players.

But to obtain the God of Food title, one apparently had to eat more than a thousand types of monster meat and more than five types of Dragon meat. The difficulty was no less than becoming a legendary player—perhaps even more absurd.

Dragon meat, after all!

A single piece was truly worth a fortune. If an NPC slew a Dragon, then without an extraordinarily close connection, players would find it difficult to buy Dragon meat or Dragon Blood from him.

The busy work of digging the pits proceeded in an orderly fashion, undisturbed by the Frenzied Giant Bear.

William stared at the cave entrance. No one had entered it, so they did not know how deep it went.

But Lotner was certain of one thing: the Frenzied Giant Bear was definitely inside. He could sense its aura. Given its hearing, it should have noticed the disturbance outside the cave, yet it still had not emerged. That meant its problem was serious—and troublesome!

William Blackleaf could not help licking his lips. If it really was giving birth, he could wait. Perhaps he could even tame a Frenzied Giant Bear afterward. The help it would provide once it grew up would be enormous.

Forget riding a Dragon—riding a Mid-Level Monster like a Frenzied Giant Bear on the battlefield would be enough to dominate everything...

Although Knights had all manner of mounts, most still rode horses, at most ones with better bloodlines. The cost of forming a monster cavalry regiment was something even a duchy could not afford. Only a small number of nobles could obtain monster mounts.

As for players?

Don't even think about it in the early stages. Apart from Hunters and summoning Mages, other players could only own ordinary horses. If they managed to get a slightly higher-ranked mount, they would grin like idiots who had just bought a Porsche. What prospects could they possibly have...

As time passed,

the cave entrance was piled high with Stupor Grass, and the arrows of the others had also been coated with poison. Three enormous deep pits lay near the entrance.

The Elves carrying bows climbed into the trees one after another, awaiting orders.

The Magic Swordsmen, meanwhile, stood ready, prepared to unleash their fiercest attacks at any moment.

Battle Aura Slash!

This was the strongest ranged move obtained by level-ten Magic Swordsmen after changing classes, reaching around four meters in length!

Just as William hesitated!

A roar sounded from within the cave, mixed with emotions that could not be clearly identified.

He immediately shouted, "Light the Stupor Grass and fan the smoke into the cave! The moment you hear movement inside, retreat at once!"

But just as several Elves lit the fire and the Stupor Grass began releasing its bewildering smoke, tremors already ran through the ground!

"Retreat! Get out of there!" The moment Lotner spoke, the five Elves tending the fire had already fled. They were closest, so they had heard it sooner. If they had not run, would they not have been idiots?

Loyalty did not mean dying meaninglessly...

Then a massive creature burst out. It thundered from the cave, rose high onto its hind legs, and its glossy black-brown fur and eyes burning with rage made everyone look up in awe. The instant its violent aura surged into the sky!

Even the fearless Elven Warriors felt their hearts tremble.

Its pitch-black eyes swept over every living creature around it, then it slapped the fire out with its enormous paw!

William narrowed his eyes. "Fire!"

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