Shakus lowers his arm and stands, turning to look at the Great Elder and saying calmly.
"Great Elder, the battle's over!"
Great Elder Stehlkai's throat makes a gulping sound, like he just swallowed something.
Great Elder Stehlkai turns his head, staring at Shakus in a daze, then looks back toward the Ground Fire Lizard.
Right now, the Ground Fire Lizard is sprawled on the ground, completely lifeless.
In the Ground Fire Lizard's mouth, a spear has pierced through its throat and completely penetrated its head—a killing blow.
"Advanced Spear Throwing?"
Shakus nods, a surge of pride rising from the corner of his mouth.
For other people, Ground Fire Lizards have three weak spots, but for Shakus, there are many more.
Compared to other trolls his age whose weapon mastery is still stuck at intermediate level, Shakus's advanced spear skills are already way ahead of the pack.
"Good! Way to go!"
Great Elder Stehlkai extends his massive hand and vigorously pats Shakus's shoulder, with a kind of proud, satisfied emotion radiating out.
Just then, the surrounding troll tribesmen and Lander, who's finished his battle, also snap back to reality and turn to look at Shakus.
Shakus stands on the big rock with a slight smile, his expression completely calm and steady.
"Hahaha... did everyone see that?"
"This is our bloodline warrior, spearman Shakus!"
At the same time, Great Elder Stehlkai extends his right hand, raises Shakus's left hand high, and shouts again.
"Spearman Shakus!"
This gesture from Great Elder Stehlkai makes the surrounding tribesmen's eyes light up, and they all raise their weapons and cheer.
"Shakus!"
"Shakus!"
"..."
This is the hunting party's ritual for welcoming new members, and it's also the process Shakus had to go through to get his strength recognized by everyone.
Great Elder Stehlkai lowers his hand and joins the tribesmen in looking at Shakus.
Shakus takes a deep breath, then slowly exhales.
Then, Shakus raises his right hand gripping the spear and shouts.
"Hurrah!"
The next moment, the troll tribesmen all respond to Shakus, also raising their hands and cheering.
"Hurrah!"
"Hurrah!"
"..."
In the distance, Lander standing next to the Ground Fire Lizard envies Shakus a little.
Lander never expected that when he was in danger, Shakus would save him with one strike.
At the same time, it also made Shakus's reputation—getting everyone to recognize him and making him a true warrior.
Still, Lander is really happy—at least he survived.
"Hurrah!"
Lander raises his battle axe high and joins the tribesmen in cheering for Shakus.
Shakus lowers his spear, and the tribesmen's cheering immediately stops.
Shakus doesn't continue speaking, and he doesn't use this opportunity to build up his reputation.
He knows clearly in his heart that he's not the squad leader yet—he can't overstep his bounds.
Shakus looks toward Great Elder Stehlkai, giving him a respectful and questioning look.
"You little brats, your cheering scared away all the prey in the area!"
"Looks like everyone's going to bed hungry again tonight!"
Hearing this, the troll tribesmen all start laughing heartily.
"Well then, the hunt continues!"
Great Elder Stehlkai's tone shifts to serious, and the team immediately goes quiet.
So once again, the Darklands Forest welcomes silence.
...
Time flies by, and as the sun is about to set and night is about to fall, the trolls searching for prey in the jungle have to find a safe place to camp.
Great Elder Stehlkai already has this arranged.
Under the Great Elder's leadership, all the trolls are carefully sneaking toward the territory of a level 5 magical beast—the Black Iron Snake.
Shakus has never seen a Black Iron Snake, so he doesn't know how strong it is.
Apparently, among the team, only Great Elder Stehlkai can fight it.
With assistance from the other tribesmen, Great Elder Stehlkai is confident he can kill the magical beast Black Iron Snake, so everyone can have a good meal tonight.
Also, a level 5 magical beast can help the tribe stock up some dried meat for winter.
Hiss hiss hiss...
Just as Shakus is lost in thought, an absolutely bone-chilling hissing sound suddenly echoes around them.
At this moment, all the troll warriors simultaneously stop moving forward, standing in place holding their weapons and carefully staying alert.
Only the powerfully built Great Elder Stehlkai shoulders his giant mace and creeps toward where the sound is coming from.
Shakus doesn't dare move either, afraid of making even the slightest noise that might attract the magical beast Black Iron Snake.
BANG!
Hissss...
In about three minutes, a huge crash comes from the dense forest ahead, accompanied by endless roaring sounds.
The trolls who had been frozen in place finally dare to move. They all grab their weapons and rush straight toward the battle zone.
Shakus rushes very fast—he's one of the first few to reach the battlefield.
The scene that appears before Shakus's eyes completely shocks him.
Trees within a hundred-meter radius have all collapsed. In the center of the battlefield, Great Elder Stehlkai and the Black Iron Snake are still fighting fiercely, with no clear winner yet.
Looking at the level 5 magical beast Black Iron Snake with its head reared high and a total body length of about a hundred feet, Shakus can't help but gasp.
"So huge!"
Shakus can be certain that the level 5 magical beast Black Iron Snake definitely exceeds the elite monster category.
"Could it be a hero template magical beast?"
After common template comes elite template, and after elite template comes hero template.
The magical beast in front of him most likely has a hero template—a hero-level magical beast.
Of course, the hero template is Shakus's own understanding.
Shakus narrows his eyes, staring intently at the Black Iron Snake whose tail keeps alternating in battle with Great Elder Stehlkai.
The magical beasts here only have universal level classifications, from level 1 to level 9, with strength gradually increasing.
"Being able to go toe-to-toe with the Black Iron Snake means the Great Elder should also be hero template!"
Having this thought, Shakus gets a clear understanding of the gap between himself and the elders in the tribe.
"Hurrah!"
Just as Shakus is lost in wild thoughts, the tribesmen who arrived start pulling out their weapons and joining the assault.
Shakus doesn't want to be left behind either. He steps forward and joins the battle.
However, Shakus doesn't get in close—instead, he stays on the outside throwing spears to cover his tribesmen.
When fighting this kind of giant magical beast, battle axes and maces are the most suitable combat weapons.
As for the spear in Shakus's hands, it's just not quite right for this.
ROAR!
In the center of the battlefield, the Black Iron Snake, now a cornered beast, thrashes its entire body with increasing intensity, and its hissing becomes more and more piercing.
SMACK!
A troll tribesman gets hit by the massive snake tail and flies right out of the battlefield, crashing into the dense forest undergrowth.
Great Elder Stehlkai seizes this opportunity, rushes to the Black Iron Snake's heart area, and swings his mace down hard.
The Black Iron Snake reacts quickly—its head turns and comes biting.
Watching this scene from the battle's perimeter, Shakus instantly seizes the opportunity.
Whoosh...
Shakus puts all his strength into throwing his spear, sending it whistling straight toward the Black Iron Snake's upper jaw.
SQUELCH!
Hissss...
BANG!
The sound of the spear piercing through bone, the Black Iron Snake's agonized hissing, and the sound of the mace smashing into the Black Iron Snake's body all ring out together.
THUD!
After this moment, the Black Iron Snake's raised upper body crashes down, while the lower half of its body still writhes slightly.
The battle is over!
Great Elder Stehlkai, carrying his mace, walks up to the snake's head, kicks it with his foot, somewhat annoyed.
"Bah... damn snake, almost didn't catch that opening!"
But with just that kick from the Great Elder, the snake head flips over, and Great Elder Stehlkai immediately sees the spear that pierced through the Black Iron Snake's lower jaw bone and out through its head.
Great Elder Stehlkai narrows his eyes and can't help but gasp!
Both the head and heart took fatal hits. In other words, who actually killed the Black Iron Snake is really hard to say.
Whoever it was, Great Elder Stehlkai is very happy about it.
First, they have a relatively safe campsite for tonight.
Second, their troll clan seems to have produced a remarkable young person.