Chapter 897: Jungle Fiesta
The heavy rain had washed away most of the blood smell from the jungle.
An ordinary hunter might have found the conditions nearly impossible. For Lorgar, the faint traces dissolved into the rainwater were more than sufficient.
She could distinguish, within the overlapping stenches, the gradations between fresh blood and the rancid sweetness of decay — which meant that several animals had died at the same location across different spans of time. The smell of small animals could not carry this far, and even if it did, it would not be this distinct. In other words: large animals, no smaller than bulls or horses, had been dragged to one spot.
A creature capable of moving such carcasses in bulk possessed real strength. Mass storing was a common habit among carnivorous predators.
Such places were often their nests.
Most importantly, Lorgar had caught something else entirely — a foul, indescribable reek layered beneath the blood stench. The particular smell of hybrid demonic beasts. Had she not shifted into wolf form, she would have detected only the surface odor. Only in her transformed state could she perceive the subtle distinctions threaded through the damp air.
There was magic power in that smell.
Not every demonic hybrid could absorb magic power. But this one had: its blood carried traces of it, which made the beast considerably more dangerous than an ordinary demonic beast.
It was one of the things she had refined over these months of jungle hunting.
If she had mastered this technique before the holy duel, the Four-winged Eagle that attacked from the air would never have been able to touch her.
The climate, the terrain, and the prey of the Barbarian Land were nothing like the desert — but the technique of hunting translated cleanly. In the end, wherever you hunted, the requirements were the same: caution, precision, and patience.
Lorgar’s current target was a large hybrid demonic bear.
Standing upright, it reached the height of three men stacked atop one another — a moving iron tower. She could not identify which demonic beast it had merged with to produce the result. Its hide was armor-thick; her sharpest fangs could not puncture it. Its head was stranger still: four eyes, two of them in the back of its skull, which rendered her usual surekill techniques — the ambush from behind, the throat bite — nearly useless.
Five days ago she had found it. After a savage exchange, she had broken two claws; the bear had lost half of a forefoot and fled with its stomach split open. Of everything Lorgar had hunted since arriving in the Barbarian Land, this bear-thing was the most difficult quarry. Its strength rivaled the legendary beasts of the desert. Had it been her first opponent here rather than one among many, she would have been the one running. But she was not the same hunter she had been. Dozens of demonic beasts had died before this one; she had earned the gap in skill that now existed between them.
Even so, this was a hunt — not a duel. She had brought the herbs Leaf had cultivated and the Cleansing Water Lily had prepared. Minor injuries were no longer her concern: her healing capacity in wolf form was exceptional. In the days since their first encounter, she had spent the time split between recovering and tracking the bear’s trail.
The smell was growing stronger.
The chase was ending. The victor would soon be decided.
She cleared a puddle with a light bound. Her paws pressed into the wet mud without sound. She had approached from downwind, making it difficult for the beast to catch her scent, and drew closer to the source of blood in small, deliberate increments. With her hearing she pinpointed the enemy’s exact position. She lifted the curtain of vines before her with one forepaw.
The hybrid demonic bear was there.
It had not sensed her arrival. It was working through a stout buck — blood glazing both cheeks, the broken bones of its wounded limbs laid bare in a sight that would have sickened most. An ordinary animal carrying wounds that severe would have gone to ground and waited. The bear seemed indifferent to its own damage; what it cared about was filling its stomach.
Lorgar tensed her haunches and settled into a prone position. This time, she intended to destroy all four eyes first, cutting off any chance of escape.
Then footsteps reached her — coming from deep in the jungle.
She froze.
Why are there such orderly footsteps in the depths of the Barbarian Land?
They were heavy and deliberate, entirely unconcerned with concealment. The alternating one-two cadence meant humans — more than one.
Had some hunters from Neverwinter gotten lost?
No. She dismissed this immediately. It was more than ten days’ travel from Graycastle’s border, and that was without accounting for the dense forest, the open grassland, the venomous snakes, the fierce beasts — and the hybrid demonic beasts that roamed the grounds around the Taquila ruins. No one who had simply lost their way would arrive here alive.
Which left only the other answer.
The one she had been waiting for.
The hair along her body rose. Her heart began hammering against her ribs, and even as the nervousness swept through her, her body had already shifted into a ready state, instinct moving ahead of conscious thought.
The hybrid bear noticed the sound too. It dropped the half-eaten deer leg, rose, and roared toward the source of the footsteps.
The brush shook. Branches were shoved apart. Two shapes emerged from the shadows — dark brown skin, thickly muscled arms, skull helmets, bone spears with an edge that meant business.
Exactly as Lightning had described—
Demons.
She had found them.
The moment they appeared, the hybrid bear attacked.
It lifted its still-intact foreleg and launched itself at the intruders at a speed that had no business belonging to something its size. Combined with the momentum of its whole body behind the charge, the blow was no less deadly than the Four-winged Eagle’s diving strike. Had it been Lorgar in its path, she would have evaded. She was no Extraordinary; blocking something like that carried a cost she could not easily afford.
The demons did not dodge.
One of them stepped forward. Its arm swelled rapidly — and it slammed directly against the bear’s giant paw.
A muffled crash.
Stalemate.
Neither the bear nor the demon could advance. But the demon was much shorter, which meant that if the standoff continued, the disadvantage was the demon’s.
Yet there was more than one.
The second Mad Demon had already taken up its bone spear and leveled it at the hybrid beast.
The fight was about to end. And Lorgar had only moments to act.
Leave or stay?
Lightning’s warning surfaced: “Although the tube on a demon’s back is its weakness, they are still difficult to deal with. If you meet the enemy, it is better to retreat immediately and report to His Majesty.”
Reason agreed. Retreat.
But her blood said otherwise, and the burning sensation spreading through her body was not something she needed to deliberate over.
This was what she came for, wasn’t it?
According to what she knew, a Mad Demon experienced a significant window of weakness after its arm had swelled. Even fighting two of them, she could exploit that window.
“Shoo—”
The bone spear cut through the air with a shrill note.
At the same moment, Lorgar lunged from the shadows and drove her teeth toward the demon still locked against the bear.
Chapter 897: Jungle Fiesta
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The heavy rain in the jungle had washed away most of the corpses’ bloody smell.
An ordinary hunter might have found it hard to search for his target under this kind of condition. But for Lorgar, the faint smells that were mixed with the rainwater were more than sufficient for her to hunt.
For example, she knew that a number of animals had died at the same spot. She could sense that the within the different smells of blood, some still smelled fresh, while others carried a rancid odor. This means that several animals had all died at the same place for some time.
It was unlikely for the smell of small animals such as rabbits, rats, and foxes to spread for so far, and even if it did, the smell shouldn’t have been so distinct. In other words, this scent most likely came from the carcasses of large animals no smaller than bulls or horses.
The creature that dragged all these large animal carcasses around must have possesed a certain level of strength. Mass storing food this way was also a frequent habit among the carnivorous predators.
Such places were often the nest of these predators.
Most importantly, Lorgar caught an indescribably foul smell within the stench of blood. This was the smell unique to those of hybrid demonic beasts. Had she not turned into a wolf, she would’ve been only able to smell some odor in the end. Only when she used her ability to transform could she detect the subtle differences in the damp air.
There was a hint of magic power in that smell.
Not every demonic hybrid could absorb magic power, but this one must be a demonic hybrid since its blood contained traces of magic power, making the beast much stronger than ordinary demonic beasts.
It was also one of the improvements she made through hunting in the jungle for these past few months.
If she could have mastered this technique before the holy duel, the Fourwinged Eagle that attacked her from the air wouldn’t have even been able to touch her.
Although the climate, the environment, and the preys in the Barbarian Land were far different from those in the desert, the technique for hunting was fairly similar. Basically, when it came to hunting, it was all down to being cautious, meticulous and patient no matter where he or she was.
Lorgar’s current target was a large demonic hybrid bear.
When it stood up, its height was as tall as three men standing atop one another, and it looked like a mobile iron tower. Lorgar could not tell which demonic beast it managed to integrate with. The monster’s skin was as thick as armor and could not be bitten through even by her sharp fangs. Its head looked even crazier. It had four eyes, two in the back, which made her surekill techniques such as a sneak attack from the back and biting the throat lose their usual effect.
Five days ago, Lorgar had encountered the demonic bear. After a harsh fight, she broke two claws while the bear lost half of its forefoot and ran away with its stomach cut open. This bear-like beast was probably the trickiest prey to deal with within the Barbarian Land ever since Lorgar had gotten there. It was just about as strong as the legendary beast of the desert. If this monstrosity were instead the first opponent that she had to face after arriving in the Barbarian Land, then she would have been the one running for her life. But now, things are different. She was able to get plenty of battle experience from all the other demonic beasts she had killed before this.
Nevertheless, it was a hunt. Not a duel. She brought herbs cultivated by Leaf and the Cleansing Water made by Lily for this trip. Also, she did not need to
worry about minor injuries as she had excellent healing ability after transforming into a wolf. During these days, apart from healing the wounds, she spent the rest of time searching for the demonic bear.
As the smell became stronger and stronger, Lorgar knew that the chase was about to come to an end, and the victor would soon be decided.
She lightly jumped across a puddle. Her paws sank into the wet mud without any sound. She chose to start her attack from a downwind position since this would make it difficult for the beast to detect her presence through smell. She approached the source of the bloody little by little, pinpointed the position of the enemy using her hearing, and slowly lifted the vines in front of her with her front paw.
The demonic hybrid bear then appeared in front of her.
It was not aware of her arrival as it was busily biting into a stout buck, with blood stains on both of its cheeks. The bear’s broken limbs that exposed the bones inside made the scene look even more appalling. For ordinary animals that suffered such severe wounds, they would typically opt to hide and recover first before doing anything else. But the bear seemed not to care about the wounds and instead acted as if nothing else mattered other than filling up its stomach.
The Wolf Girl tensed up her hind legs and went into a prone position. This time she intended to destroy its four eyes first so that it would have no chance to escape.
Just as she was ready to go, footsteps could be heard coming from the depths of the jungle.
Lorgar was stunned for a moment.
Why are there such orderly footsteps in the depths of the Barbarian Land?
The new group’s footsteps were very heavy and loud, and they apparently didn’t care about making their presence known. The alternating sounds of
one-two footsteps meant that they were humans, and there were more than one.
Did some hunters from Neverwinter lose their way?
“No…” She immediately rejected this idea. It would take over ten days to come here from the border of Graycastle. Considering the dense forest and wild grassland, it would take more time if they had to walk on land. Not to mention the fact that there were fierce beasts and snakes everywhere once you pass the grasslands. Moreover, hybrid demonic beats roam the grounds around the Taquila ruins. Even if someone had lost their way, they wouldn’t have been able to reach here alive.
Lorgar suddenly thought of an answer.
A seemingly reasonable answer, and one that was much-anticipated by her.
At that moment, she felt the hair on her body stand up straight, and her heart started to beat violently. Though she was extremely nervous, her body instantly entered a battle-ready state.
The demonic bear also noticed this unusual sound. It dropped the half-eaten deer leg, climbed up and roared toward the direction of the footsteps.
The bush shook, and the staggered branches were pushed open. Two ugly and ferocious monsters then emerged out of the shadows.
They had dark brown skin and muscled arms, and also wore skull helmets and held deadly-looking bone spears.
Exactly the same as Lightning had described—
They were the demons!
She had finally found them!
The moment the demons appeared, the demonic hybrid bear launched its attack.
It lifted its still-intact front paw and plunged toward the newcomers who dared disturb its feast at a speed which far exceeded that of which should be possible for something as large as itself.
In addition to the demonic bear’s power, the charge was further strengthened by the momentum of its entire body. This move was no less deadly than the Four-winged Eagle’s dive from the sky. If it were Lorgar facing the charge, she would definitely try to avoid it. After all, she was not an Extraordinary and would have to pay a huge price to block this strike.
But instead of dodging, one of the demons stepped forward, and one of its arms quickly swelled and clashed directly against the giant palm of the demonic beast. With a muffled sound, the two monsters crashed into each other!
It was a stalemate!
Neither the demonic bear nor the demon could push further. But the demon was much shorter than the bear, so it would be unfavorable for the demon if this had dragged on.
However, there was more than one demon!
Another Mad Demon had taken the bone spear and aimed it at the hybrid demonic beast.
The fight was going to end in a moment, and Lorgar had but moments to spare if she wished to take action.
Leave or stay?
“Although the tube on the back of the demon is its weakness, it is still difficult to deal with.” She suddenly recalled Lightning’s warning. “If you meet the enemies, you’d better immediately retreat and report it to His Majesty.”
Reason also told her that she needed to retreat, but her instincts were telling her otherwise as a burning sensation surged through her body.
No, this was not something that she needed to think about.
It was dangerous, but this was what she came for, wasn’t it?
According to the information, the Mad Demon would experience a significant period of weakness after its arms had swelled. Lorgar could take advantage of this even if she were fighting against two demons!
“Shoo—”
With a piercing sound, the bone spear shot through the air.
At the same time, Lorgar pounced out of the shadows and bit towards the demon which was still struggling against the bear.