Previously, the horn had been sounded several times, mostly when dozens of evil beasts sporadically attacked the border, which the militia could handle proficiently.
So, Roland didn't panic. He announced the suspension of training, let Wendy and Lightning return to the castle to rest, had Anna protect Nana Wawa and take her to the medical center to wait for the wounded, while he and Nightingale rushed to the city wall.
Unexpectedly, Lightning raised a kàngyi, "As an explorer, I've been in the Western Region of the continent for so long, and I haven't even seen a large-scale evil beast attack with my own eyes. I'd be ashamed of my identity if I said that. I demand to go together!"
Roland unhesitatingly rejected her kàngyi, and ordered Wendy to keep an eye on Lightning, strictly forbidding her from running around during the evil beast rampage.
Then he looked at Nightingale, who nodded, stepped forward to grab Roland's hand, and stepped into the mist, advancing straight towards the city wall—ever since he learned that Nightingale could bring objects she touched into the mist, Roland had immediately fallen in love with this way of traveling. Straight through obstacles, ignoring terrain, several meters in one step, quite a kuàigan of being able to go wherever I want.
Arriving at the foot of the city wall, Roland found a deserted corner to come out of the mist and walked onto the defense line alone. The distant wilderness was all white, and he didn't see a large-scale evil beast attack. Was it a false alarm? Not only did he think so, but there were also discussions among the militiamen who were arriving.
The prince found Iron Axe, but found him staring solemnly into the distance, still holding the horn tightly in his hand.
"Did you sound the alarm?"
"Yes, Your Highness, look..." His voice was much drier than usual, "That guy is coming."
That guy? Roland strained his eyes and looked into the distance, only to see a faint black spot at the end of his line of sight, which was difficult to spot even against the pure white background. According to regulations, the assembly horn would only be sounded if it was determined that the patrol team could not handle the situation. But Iron Axe, as an experienced hunter, must have had his reasons.
"It's a hybrid," he swallowed, "The one I encountered six years ago."
Is that so? Roland frowned. Theoretically, evil beasts would die when attacking Longsong Stronghold—they had no intelligence and no concept of retreat. The stronghold had never been breached, but it hadn't died and had survived for six years? He had a faint ominous premonition in his heart.
But from such a distance, he could only vaguely see a black spot, while Iron Axe could clearly identify the type of evil beast. His eyesight was too amazing. Perhaps, he had made a mistake, the prince thought.
The evil beast didn't make Roland wait too long. It began to approach the city wall, and soon everyone noticed this uniquely shaped target.
It wasn't as huge as the last hybrid. At first glance, it looked like an enlarged feline, but its back had a pair of fleshy wings, which covered the sides of its torso when not spread out. Its head was similar to a lion's, but it had two pairs of eyes—if the extra pair of eyes weren't just for decoration, it could capture the movements of most of the area behind it without turning its head.
Carter and several hunters had loaded their dànyào and were waiting in battle.
But the lion-type hybrid didn't charge straight up. It stopped outside the gongnu firing range and looked around.
This distance was within the effective range of a flintlock, but the chance of hitting it with the first shot was almost zero.
Before long, it suddenly leaped to the left, its wings spread, causing its huge body to take off. Just as Iron Axe said, it could fly or glide for short distances. After clearing the obstacle, the hybrid evil beast ran quickly towards the unguarded area at the western end of the city wall.
Roland's heart skipped a beat, and his ominous premonition came true. Being able to observe and judge the strength of an opponent, and choosing to attack the weakest point, was a complete proof of intelligence—which was exactly what beasts lacked. They would occasionally attack the weaknesses of their prey, but that was the hereditary instinct of millions of years. When faced with unknown opponents, they had no way of judging, let alone a comprehensive analysis of multiple targets.
What did having intelligence mean? Humans, with their outstanding brains and remarkable endurance, had risen from the raw and bloody prairie to the top of the food chain. Roland didn't dare to think any further. He waved his hand, told the chief knight to follow him, and told the other hunters to go with Iron Axe to snipe the evil beast.
It ran to the unguarded section, leaped up, easily climbed over the city wall, and then ran towards the residential area, completely ignoring the hunter team.
"Beast!" Roland cursed loudly, "Militiamen from the second wall section, come with me. Substitute members take over and temporarily guard the city wall!"
At this time, he didn't care that the militia had only received stationary stabbing training, and that moving would likely cause the team to break apart and be attacked by the evil beast separately. Carter also led the guards to follow the prince closely. Their individual combat power was the strongest, and they could fill any possible gaps at any time. At the end of the team was the musket team led by Iron Axe.
After entering the old district, the line of sight was blocked by rows of bungalows. Coupled with the narrow roads and snow cover, everyone's movements were greatly xiànzhi. Roland didn't dare to disperse the team to search. He could only move through the crisscrossing alleys, hoping to find the evil beast.
He regretted not bringing Lightning with him. If a witch was scouting in the air, a group of people wouldn't be running around like headless flies.
After searching for about half a quarter of an hour, screams suddenly came from the depths of the alley.
The team immediately adjusted its direction and advanced rapidly towards the source of the sound. Thanks to the fact that most of the militiamen were residents of the old district, they skillfully traversed the small roads after having a clear purpose, even wading through the backyards of other people's homes. When they arrived at the scene, Roland saw a person bitten in two, with internal organs scattered all over the ground. He was obviously dead.
"Oh my god... it's Tiecha, I know him!"
"Damn it, did it run away?"
"Watch out! Look to the right!" Someone suddenly shouted. Before the words could fall, a black shadow swept out of the wooden house on the right. Accompanied by flying wooden fragments, it crashed straight through the wall of the wooden house and pounced into the unprepared team, pressing down a militiaman with its front paws and biting down.
Iron Axe was the first to react. He wanted to raise his gun and shoot, but found that the scattered militiamen had blocked the alley, and he had no suitable opportunity to fire. He could only squeeze through the crowd and walk towards the target step by step. The other hunters also realized the same problem. They clamped their guns under their armpits, jumped up and grabbed the eaves, and climbed onto the roof in a few moves.
The hybrid didn't care about the spears thrust at it. It spread its wings and blocked the chaotic stabs of the crowd. When it picked up the blood-covered militiaman and prepared to leap away, the gun fired.
Several black flowers of blood suddenly appeared on the monster's body.
The hybrid hit by the lead pellets roared angrily. It threw away its prey, spread its wings and wanted to pounce on the hunters on the roof, but Iron Axe just squeezed out of the crowd. He quickly raised his gun in front of the evil beast and pulled the trigger.
There was no way the near point-blank shot could miss. The huoyào gas even sprayed on the monster's nose. The bullet's speed didn't decrease as it passed straight through the target's eyes and into its skull.
The hybrid evil beast stiffened and fell to the ground.
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