“I didn't expect to lose to the exact same move twice. I have let you down, Lord Zoe.”
Dark Wolf, who was currently receiving treatment from the deerman elder, spoke in a tone full of shame.
“Puji.”
【You did an excellent job. You showed your true strength.】
Zoe did not want to discourage Dark Wolf too much, lest the wolf give up on combat training with him entirely.
Combat training allowed Zoe to rapidly increase his skill masteries and Experience.
Therefore, in addition to his daily skill training, he had added combat training to his routine.
However, Dark Wolf was just as eager to grow stronger. Thus, even if it meant getting hurt, it still trained with Zoe every day.
Combat yielded much more Experience for Zoe, and the same held true for other monsters.
The only issue was that it was very difficult for monsters living in the wild to find opponents against whom they could fight with all their might.
Furthermore, they had no way to quickly heal themselves if they were injured. So, even though wild monsters knew that combat could help them gain power rapidly, they had no way of putting it into practice.
'This is highly efficient.'
Looking at Dark Wolf before him, Zoe was very satisfied with the combat training he had added.
Not only did it allow Zoe and Dark Wolf to quickly increase their strength, but it also let the deerman elder practice his healing abilities.
If only their food supply were sufficient, he would truly love to keep training like this indefinitely.
However...
“Puji.”
【Have you still not found any trace of the monsters?】
By now, Zoe's body color had shifted from translucent to deep purple. He popped up a text box and asked the pigman elder, who was standing by.
He could change his body into various colors, but deep purple was his natural state. Maintaining other colors would continuously drain his mana.
“Yes. It is already near the end of the Month of Melting Snow, yet the number of monsters in the forest remains very sparse,” the pigman elder replied.
“On the other hand, the number of ordinary animals has not changed, which is enough to satisfy the territory's hunting needs.”
“I have let you down by failing to complete your hunting assignment.”
Zoe had already delegated the responsibility of gathering his daily monster food consumption to the monsters under his command. This allowed the white dragon to free up her time to practice her breath attacks and combat.
'What could be the reason? Surely it isn't because I had the white dragon hunt too much last year?'
Zoe felt that this possibility was highly unlikely.
His Slime Territory was not small; it was actually quite vast. The hunting zone encompassed half of the Great Hera Forest's southern border.
It was impossible for him to eat the monsters into extinction within just a few years.
This situation was highly unusual, reminding Zoe of some information the pigman elder had mentioned before.
“Lord, I suspect that the decrease in the monster population is related to those humans who control monsters and destroyed my former tribe,” the pigman elder said.
“Moreover, among the intelligent monsters who have recently fled to our territory, an increasing number of them come from destroyed tribes.”
“Those humans who control monsters are extremely dangerous, and their motives are unclear. Even you, Lord, must not let down your guard.”
“Puji.”
【I understand.】
A sense of crisis washed over Zoe. Some entity was brewing something within the Great Hera Forest.
Zoe had already maxed out his daily skill training.
Under this sense of crisis, he wished he could split a single day into two.
'In the worst-case scenario, my only option would be to take these monsters, migrate to the west, and leave the Great Hera Forest.'
Zoe made a firm resolution in his heart.
Right at that moment, the pigman elder, who had just headed down the mountain, scrambled back up with even hastier steps.
“Lord! A warning has come from the eastern outpost! It seems a battle has broken out in the eastern part of our territory!”
Following the pigman elder's voice, a flash of golden light surged through the forest in the eastern part of the territory.
“Puji.”
【I will go check out the situation first. It might be a goblin attack. Assemble the territory's forces and have them on standby, ready to deploy at any moment.】
Zoe dragged a goblin priest out from his cave and devoured it into his belly.
A diminutive creature like a goblin could be digested rapidly, replenishing a vast amount of mana.
To Zoe, it was practically a high-speed mana potion.
“Puji.”
【Dark Wolf, approach from the ground. Focus on concealing yourself. Do not expose yourself until I launch an attack.】
【Vera, carry me and approach from the air. We will observe the initial situation.】
Zoe swiftly issued orders to the two strongest combatants of his territory, jumped onto Vera's back, and flew toward the center of the battle.
The endless forest rapidly swept past beneath them, and in no time at all, they caught sight of the scene at the center of the conflict.
“Are those humans?”
As a dragon, Vera's eyesight was far superior to Zoe's, allowing her to see the battle scene first.
As the flying distance closed, Zoe was also able to clearly see the battlefield.
Contrary to his expectations, both sides engaged in the battle were human.
One side consisted of two individuals who radiated the magical aura of the Mid-tier rank. The other side consisted of four individuals who exuded the magical aura of the Low-tier rank.
However, the group of four was controlling a massive number of Low-tier Monsters.
The sinister aura exposed in the heat of battle, which could not be concealed, was all too familiar to Zoe.
It was the Headhunter Cult!
How did the Headhunter Cult possess the ability to control monsters? Was it bestowed upon them by an evil god?
The Headhunter Cultists were clearly trying to harvest the heads of these two individuals.
Zoe looked at the two who were under siege. Both wore masks. One was a Magic Swordsman, an exceptionally rare and powerful class.
The other was... a legendary [Sacred Circle Knight].
Was that the person from before?
'But if this is supposed to be headhunting...'
'The four from the Headhunter Cult are completely on the defensive.'
The disparity in strength when it came to a Mid-tier was simply not something numbers could bridge.
This was especially true given that they were two Mid-tiers with such powerful classes.
At this moment, although the four Headhunter Cultists were using the Low-tier Monsters to launch coordinated attacks, they were still firmly suppressed by the two. They were already searching for an opportunity to escape.
It seemed that instead of the Headhunter Cult hunting heads, they had been tracked down by that Sacred Circle Knight.
“Puji.”
【Let's head down for a sneak attack. Try to capture one alive.】
Zoe popped up a text box for Vera.
As a dragon, Vera no longer felt that launching a sneak attack was shameful at all. Upon hearing the suggestion, her draconic eyes lit up with excitement. Eager to try, she locked her gaze onto the battlefield, searching for an opening.
Then, whoosh, she dove!
A powerful gust of wind rushed past. Seizing the momentum, Zoe fully charged his corrosive gas.
Corrosive Gas Slash!
The moment Vera neared the ground, Zoe spat out a Corrosive Gas Slash!
In an instant, the sharp strike sliced three monsters guarding the Headhunter Cultists clean in half.
“What?!”
The Headhunter Cultists stared wide-eyed at the descending white dragon and Zoe.
“It's that High Slime! This is that High Slime's territory. We've drawn his attention!”
“Damn it, why is he only attacking us?!”
One of the Headhunter Cultists quickly raised their head, a crimson light hurtling toward Zoe.
“In the name of the Sacred Circle—Sacred Circle Protection! Purify!”
Kicking aside a charging tusk boar, the Sacred Circle Knight, Evelyn, landed on the ground and swung the longsword in her hand.
A golden circular light rippled outward like waves, instantly purifying the evil god-attributed attack unleashed by the Headhunter Cultist.
“Why is your chant so short?!”
“O fire gathered here, steel forged from this crucible, I call for your response, pray for your blessing, and bind you within this steel, as if gathered in the forge.”
“With mana as kindling, gather your blazing heat here.”
“With mana as kindling, gather your flow of flames here.”
“Spirit Flame Enchantment!”
Flora could not help but speak with envy. She then pulled back some distance, initiating her lengthy chant to enchant her blade while maintaining her agile footwork. She dodged the monsters' attacks and kicked away their claws and fangs to complete the casting of this D-grade Magic Swordsman technique.
Crimson flames converged from the void, wrapping around the blade.
The silver blade was dyed an orange-red.
With a swing of her sword, the fire flowed through the air like liquid, slicing a monster in half in an instant.
After cutting down the monster, Flora did not stop. Gripping her sword with both hands, the fire rampaged from her blade and wrapped around her body, keeping the monsters at bay as she pierced straight through another beast blocking her path.
She then charged at high speed toward the nearest Headhunter Cultist.
The Headhunter Cultist stared in horror at the unstoppable Flora, who resembled a beast of flames. They extended a bone-carved wand to block her, only to be sliced in half along with the wand.
Stepping onto a tree trunk mid-sprint, the flames wrapping Flora's body pooled beneath her feet and exploded.
Whoosh!
The instantaneous burst of speed sent Flora streaking through the air like a line of crimson fire, her sharp, shoulder-length hair fluttering behind her head.
Two more monsters were hacked into pieces.
Rate on N.U.
