Chapter 82: They're Here, They're Here
Even the soldiers who had been carefully selected to carry out this mission couldn't help the slight trembling of their tense arms.
As for the caravan guards who were half-crouching behind the soldiers, aiming their crossbows through the gaps in the shields, they didn't even dare to take a deep breath.
Even the young and vigorous Sir Royce couldn't help but turn his head to look at Triss.
Perhaps hoping to gain courage from the sorceress.
Triss did not disappoint him.
The beautiful sorceress's expression remained unwavering.
And when she felt Sir Royce's gaze upon her, she met his eyes and gave him a reassuring smile.
The hesitation and panic in Sir Royce's heart instantly dissipated by more than half.
He loudly encouraged, "Soldiers, hold on! Fight for the King!"
The soldiers responded with equally loud roars.
The rustling sounds around them gradually lessened until they stopped completely.
But no one showed a relaxed expression.
Because they all knew.
This didn't mean that the mysterious presence in the forest had left, but rather that they had completed their encirclement.
What happened next also confirmed this.
"Merciful goddess Melitele, what in the world are those things?"
Along with Tyrion's exclamation of shock,
everyone finally saw clearly the figures emerging from the eerie gaps in the forest.
They were black wolves, one after another.
Or rather, creatures that had once been black wolves.
But now, their eyes were blood-red, their fur was filthy, and they had multiple lacerated wounds on their bodies.
The blood had long since dried up.
From their wounds, one could even see the bare white bones.
"What are you gawking at? Tyrion! Tell your men to shoot arrows! Kill those sons of bitches!"
Sir Royce's roar woke Tyrion from his daze.
The short merchant, who usually always had a smiling face, now rarely showed a fierce side. "Shoot! Free fire!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Sparse arrows shot towards the wolf pack.
But less than half of the arrows hit their targets, the rest missing.
And even the arrows that hit the dead wolves failed to kill them again.
Instead, they enraged them.
"Awooo—"
The wolf pack let out a series of howls, like a black tide, surging towards the group.
The momentum was truly astonishing.
"Addan quen spars-paerpe'tlon Vort!"
Along with the sorceress's incantation,
the end of her staff slammed down.
The defensive magic released instantly formed a large area of flame-like orange light on the ground where they stood. Then, this light rapidly rose from the muddy ground, forming a bowl-shaped magical barrier that seemed to be inverted on the ground, protecting everyone within.
The dead wolves, emitting a putrid stench, fiercely crashed into the magical barrier, causing ripples to spread across its surface.
But that was all.
The magical barrier was like a steadfast reef, standing firm against the onslaught of the black tide.
"Kill!" Sir Royce roared, bringing his longsword down and severing the head of a dead wolf in front of him.
Several black roots extended from the severed area, seemingly trying to retrieve the lost head.
But the extended black roots were cut off by Sir Royce, who then thrust his sword into the severed area.
The headless corpse of the dead wolf then turned into black ash at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Seeing this, Sir Royce couldn't help but feel a surge of morale. "Don't be afraid! They are not immortal! Cut off their heads and then sever the black roots inside their bodies to kill them!"
Inspired by Royce's bravery, the soldiers simply discarded their shields, held their swords with both hands, and roared as they slashed at the wolves constantly attacking the magical barrier.
For a time, roars echoed and blood rained down.
On the other side, the master-crafted silver sword drew an arc in Lynn's hand.
Several dead wolves howled as they were swept away by his blows.
Superior Thunderbolt potion was originally able to enhance a witcher's muscle strength.
And the "Mutation Enhancement" specialization further amplified the effects of Superior Thunderbolt, giving Lynn the illusion that he had activated a divine power-up.
Not a single dead wolf could withstand his strikes.
These evil creatures, with terrifying red light shining from their eyes and emitting a putrid stench, were as weak as cubs in front of Lynn.
Although these wolves were already dead, their thick fur was the perfect kindling. Master-level Igni sign easily ignited these dead wolves. And the spreading fire further hindered the wolves' attack.
The dead wolves could only passively take a beating, unable to harm the humans within the magical barrier in the slightest. This drove the wolf pack into a frenzy, and they launched even more frantic attacks.
But the dead wolves' attacks still couldn't break through the magical barrier.
The corpses piled up higher and higher around them.
If these wolves were still alive, the ground beneath everyone's feet would probably have been soaked with blood and become slippery long ago.
When the number of wolves was reduced to only a dozen or so, the remaining dead wolves seemed to finally realize something.
Like stray dogs, they whimpered and turned to flee back into the forest they had come from.
Witnessing the dead wolves fleeing in panic, no one chased after them. Everyone was exhausted and panting heavily.
And when they noticed that in the fierce battle just now, only the dead wolves had fallen, the relief of surviving a near-death experience was filled with the excitement and exhilaration of winning a great victory.
Seeing the remaining dead wolves flee, everyone ignored the filth on the ground and simply sat down.
There were only two exceptions: the witcher and the sorceress.
Triss continued to maintain the protective magic, preventing the dead wolves from returning.
Lynn did the same.
The battle, which was physically exhausting for others, only made him feel slightly tired.
He wiped the blood from his silver sword, his gaze warily scanning his surroundings.
Suddenly, the ground shook, and the leaves rustled.
"What was that?"
Everyone looked towards the depths of the forest with horrified expressions.
The commotion was so great that it sounded as if a large group of cavalry was approaching.
But no matter who it was, they all knew in their hearts that it could never be cavalry.
Cavalry was not suitable for moving in forest terrain.
In such a dense forest, the orderly formation of cavalry would be broken into pieces, and they would be easily defeated by the spearmen and archers lying in ambush.
In the medieval history of his home world, many battles where the few defeated the many and the weak defeated the strong were won by using terrain to restrain the enemy.
Besides, neither the northern nor the southern forests of Brokilon were within the sphere of influence of any human kingdom.
No king would send a cavalry force here.
Before everyone could think clearly…
They saw a huge black shadow crash down the trees along the way, rushing towards them with astonishing momentum!
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