"I need to deal with these Mabeasts in front of me as quickly as possible. Rem, Petra, and the others are cursed, their life force is constantly weakening, they need immediate rescue."
Natsuki Subaru's gaze quickly swept over Rem, Petra, and the others who were unconscious behind him. He then took out the sharp black dagger from his system inventory.
If he were only facing a few Mabeasts, Natsuki Subaru was confident he could handle it. After all, the black blade in his hand was extremely sharp, and with the Advanced Dagger Arts skill bestowed by the system, dealing with a few Mabeasts shouldn't be a problem.
But just then.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle—"
The surrounding bushes suddenly trembled violently, and dense branches and leaves were pushed down in swathes.
Accompanied by rising and falling roars, crimson beast eyes lit up in the darkness like a tide.
"This is..."
When the Mabeast horde fully revealed itself, Natsuki Subaru's breath suddenly hitched.
Dense, variously shaped Mabeasts gathered together, forming a terrifying, writhing wall of flesh and blood.
Among the Mabeast horde, some resembled giant wolves but lacked wolf tails, instead dragging scorpion-like, sharp, barbed tails behind them. Some Mabeasts had heads like lions, but their bodies were like those of enormous goats, their tails twisting like snakes.
There were also some bizarrely shaped Mabeasts, their appearances too strange to describe. They flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, exuding a chillingly dangerous aura.
It's important to know that in this world, all Mabeasts were the creations of Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony.
Generally, Mabeasts were much larger than ordinary wild animals, and their strength was also more formidable. Some of them could even cast dangerous magical attacks.
For ordinary humans, facing these Mabeasts was like ants facing giants, with no power to resist at all.
To deal with this group of Mabeasts, at least a sizable army would be needed to even have a chance.
Moreover, the three great calamity-level Mabeasts—the White Whale, the Great Rabbit, and the Black Serpent—were unimaginably powerful. For hundreds of years, no one had successfully eliminated them.
It was for this reason that Roswaal had expended enormous effort and resources to set up a powerful and tight barrier around the forest within his territory, to defend against these Mabeasts that could invade at any time.
The Mabeast horde before him alone was enough to destroy the entire Arlam Village.
"Are... are you kidding me..."
Looking at the scene before him, Natsuki Subaru's hair stood on end, and goosebumps uncontrollably rose all over his body.
The densely packed Mabeast horde was swarming from all directions, their numbers so overwhelming it made his scalp tingle.
The little confidence Natsuki Subaru had moments ago had now completely vanished.
Speaking of which, ever since Natsuki Subaru transmigrated to this world, he had always cherished his life.
People die when they are killed.
This was the most basic common sense.
Precisely because he knew the Natsuki Subaru in the original work had died countless times, after transmigrating into Natsuki Subaru, he had tried his best to avoid the death loops of the original work, and cherished his life even more.
In a sense, he was a person who was very afraid of death.
After all, a person who doesn't even cherish their own life, how can they understand how to cherish the lives of others?
But at this moment—
"Although I'm not sure if I have the ability of Return by Death..."
Natsuki Subaru's knuckles turned white from gripping the dagger too tightly, the black blade glinting with a cold light.
"But now, there's no other choice."
Just then, the system's voice suddenly sounded in his mind:
[Notification: Emergency Quest has appeared.]
"Emergency Quest?"
Natsuki Subaru's pupils contracted, and the system panel unfolded before his eyes:
[Emergency Quest: A Weakling's Courage.]
[Quest Objective: Single-handedly eliminate one hundred Mabeasts (0/100).]
[Quest Description: Prove your courage and determination in a desperate situation. You are not a weakling to be slaughtered at will.]
[Quest Restriction: Body status will not be restored upon leveling up.]
"One hundred Mabeasts? Quest restriction, and I have to fight without status recovery?" Natsuki Subaru's mouth twitched into a bitter smile, "This system really knows how to pick its moments to issue quests..."
"But still..."
Natsuki Subaru's peripheral vision scanned the figures behind him.
Rem's blue short hair was messily splayed across her pale cheeks, and beside her, Petra's small body was curled up, her red bow askew. Her once lively face was now contorted in pain.
"I absolutely cannot retreat!" Natsuki Subaru suddenly roared, flames igniting in his eyes, "Rem, Petra... I will protect everyone!"
"Come on, you beasts!"
Natsuki Subaru gripped the black dagger tightly and charged headfirst into the Mabeast horde in front of him.
"Roar—!"
The first to pounce was a wolf-like Mabeast. It kicked off with its hind legs, its three-meter-long body soaring through the air.
"Good one!"
Natsuki Subaru's eyes flashed. He quickly rolled to the side, and the black dagger sliced through the air in a perfect crescent arc.
Pfft!
The blade precisely cut into the Mabeast's throat, and foul-smelling black blood spurted out.
[Experience +98]
The system's notification sounded in his mind, but Natsuki Subaru had no time to pay attention.
Because from behind, a sharp sound of something cutting through the air came.
Swish!
Natsuki Subaru instinctively ducked. The claws of a hyena-like Mabeast grazed his scalp, and a few strands of black hair drifted down.
"Go to hell!"
In the instant they passed each other, Natsuki Subaru backhanded his dagger into the Mabeast's abdomen. A piercing howl instantly echoed through the forest.
However, the next moment.
Swoosh—!
A bone spike suddenly shot out from the tail of the lion-headed, horse-bodied Mabeast in front.
"Damn it!"
Natsuki Subaru's pupils suddenly contracted. He barely managed to dodge to the side, but the bone spike still grazed his left shoulder. The burning pain made him suck in a cold breath.
"The number of Mabeasts... is simply too many..."
Natsuki Subaru's breathing became increasingly heavy, and a layer of fine sweat beaded on his forehead, slowly trickling down his cheeks.
Just as he was distracted by the dense Mabeast horde before him.
A tiger-shaped Mabeast, the size of an elephant, suddenly pounced from the side.
"Clang—!"
At the last possible second, Natsuki Subaru hastily raised his black dagger to block. However, the Mabeast's claws struck with immense force, instantly producing a deafening sound of metal colliding.
This terrifying impact force surged towards him like a raging tide!
Natsuki Subaru was uncontrollably sent sliding back several meters, his shoe soles scraping violently against the ground, leaving two long tracks and kicking up a bit of dust.
"Ugh... Such powerful strength!"
Natsuki Subaru knelt on one knee, his eyes wide with disbelief.
His strength attribute had clearly been raised to 18 points, more than double that of an ordinary person, yet he was still being overwhelmed by the Mabeast so miserably.
In a short period, Natsuki Subaru had only managed to kill one Mabeast and severely injure another, while he himself was already covered in wounds.
Let alone dealing with the remaining 98 Mabeasts, the situation was anything but optimistic.
However, the Mabeasts paid no heed to Natsuki Subaru's current condition and continued their frenzied assault.
___
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