Louis stood atop the mountain, looking down at the pack of Ice Armor Bears below.
Sunlight fell on their gray-white ice armor, its hexagonal crystalline scales reflecting a blinding glare.
Their forepaws bore claws as sharp as cold iron, and blue flames occasionally flashed as the ice armor on their backs opened and closed with their movements.
These Ice Armor Bears were enormous, and every low growl sounded like thunder shaking the earth.
Yet no matter how one looked at them, there was nothing remotely cute about these giants. They were ferocious creatures.
They roamed across the snow, searching for prey to fill their bellies.
Two children stood beside Louis: Lilia and Vale.
Of the eight Knight candidates, they were the only two who had awakened their Bloodlines and become Apprentice Knights.
Today, Louis had decided to bring them along to witness the hunt firsthand.
It was a reward for their hard work, a chance to escape their monotonous daily training.
Excitement sparkled in Lilia's eyes as she gripped a longsword nearly taller than she was, imitating the stance of an adult Knight.
Not to be outdone, Vale adjusted his equipment, then immediately straightened his back, trying his best to look like a real Knight.
"Stay beside me and protect me for now," Louis said quietly.
In truth, he was afraid the two little tykes would get carried away and charge down to fight the Ice Armor Bears to the death.
Protect the lord! What an important mission!
Lilia and Vale straightened even further, nodding with nervous excitement.
Once everything was ready, Louis waved a hand. "Get ready. Begin the bear hunt."
At his command, the commander in the distance waved a large flag, signaling the Knights and hunters to move silently from their ambush positions.
The hunters crept into the Ice Armor Bears' roaming grounds and carefully scattered urine from a female bear in heat.
This distinctive scent could quickly attract Ice Armor Bears, and the males were especially sensitive to it.
As the urine was scattered, the pack slowly gathered. Nine Ice Armor Bears gradually converged in one place and headed toward the gorge.
Meanwhile, another group of hunters hid on a distant ridge, making the sounds of tumbling rocks to successfully steer the pack into the designated gorge.
"They've entered the gorge. Everyone, follow the plan." The commander signaled with his flag.
In a low-lying stretch of the gorge, a row of sharp wooden stakes had been carefully concealed beneath the ground.
Guided by the hunters, the Ice Armor Bears entered the gorge.
Since their paws lacked thick armor, the stakes struck like vipers, swiftly piercing the paws of several bears at the front.
Agony shot through their bodies, and the Ice Armor Bears growled as they tried to pull out the deeply embedded stakes.
But their massive bodies and unwieldy strength prevented them from breaking free immediately.
The other Ice Armor Bears became trapped in the same predicament, throwing the entire pack into chaos.
Next, the hunters ignited the pine resin and fire oil accumulated along the rock walls. Flames instantly engulfed the cliffs.
With a roar, a fireball rolled off the cliff's edge and landed squarely in the middle of the pack.
Explosions and flames spread together, instantly swallowing the Ice Armor Bears pinned by the stakes.
Although the intense heat ignited their fur, their thick ice armor did not immediately collapse under the flames.
It merely left scorch marks on their hard scales, rather than dealing a fatal blow.
The searing flames hurt the bears, only making them more frenzied and chaotic.
The Ice Armor Bears crowded together, shoving and colliding with one another.
Weak points such as their eyes and necks were now exposed, but their thick ice armor still made it difficult for ordinary arrows to pierce those hard shells.
The archers hidden above the gorge began firing flaming arrows at the Ice Armor Bears.
The damage was negligible, but these arrows were not meant to penetrate. Their purpose was to wear down the bears' stamina and patience.
The flaming arrows struck the Ice Armor Bears' bodies, spreading fire across their thick armor.
Although the flames could not tear through the ice armor, their sustained burning steadily drained the bears' stamina, and the pack's movements noticeably slowed.
Though they remained powerful, cracks now covered their thick ice armor. Some sections had even melted in the intense heat, exposing skin beneath that was tough but no longer impenetrable.
At that moment, the Knights lying in ambush all around them moved.
"Now!" The commander's signal flag swept down.
The Knights raised their longswords and spears, gathering their Battle Aura as blazing red light ignited along their blades.
Crimson Battle Aura flowed along their weapons, its faint vibrations making even the air distort.
"Charge!"
The Knights' warhorses lunged forward. Their targets were clear: the Ice Armor Bears' weak points, including their joints, lower jaws, throats, and eyes.
The archers had already greatly weakened the defenses in those areas. The Knights' task was to finish them off.
An Elite Knight brandished his spear, Battle Aura gathering at its tip in a fierce radiance.
He targeted a slightly smaller Ice Armor Bear whose throat had already developed a narrow crack under the arrows.
The Knight's gaze was as keen as an eagle's as his warhorse galloped through the howling wind.
Battle Aura blazed along his spearhead as he drove it hard into that crack!
Squelch-
The spear plunged straight into the crack in the Ice Armor Bear's armor. Blood mingled with crimson Battle Aura, like scorching lava pouring into the bear's body and burning its flesh.
The Ice Armor Bear let out an earthshaking roar, its massive body trembling in agony, on the verge of collapse.
Watching the battle, Vale jumped up, his eyes shining with excitement. "We beat one! The Knights are so strong!"
"Don't celebrate too soon, Vale," Louis said calmly. "This is only the first stage."
Vale froze, puzzled. Wasn't that Ice Armor Bear about to fall?
Just then, the tottering Ice Armor Bear raised its head and roared in fury.
Violent cracks spread across its hard armor, and streams of icy flame unfurled like a demon's wings, rapidly spreading bone-chilling cold through the air!
The icy flames swiftly met the air, triggering a powerful blast of cold.
"Fall back!" The commander frantically waved his flag.
That freezing power swept through the surroundings, engulfing several Knights in icy flames before they could react.
Fortunately, their Battle Aura protected them. They could still move and quickly retreated.
Yet the Ice Armor Bear's attack did not end there.
As the Ice Armor Bear entered a full frenzy, three enormous crystalline spikes rose from its back.
The crystalline spikes continuously released shock waves charged with tremendous energy. Heat waves mingled with the roar of explosions, battering the nearby Knights until they could barely fight.
The surrounding air itself seemed to grow heavy, each violent tremor making it difficult to breathe.
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