Chapter 69: Hunting

“Fight!” he growled deeply, taking a step forward. The two women were protected behind him—under no circumstances could they be hurt. Though he didn’t feel any goodwill toward them at the moment, since he had accepted the captain’s order, he must complete this mission and deliver them safely to the capital.
He quickly drew out Dark Dragon. With a clear sound, the pitch-black dragon appeared in his hand, reflecting dark light under the sunlight, giving off an eerie aura.
Behind him, the two mages, Aida and Chelly, were also busy, forming complex hand seals and murmuring those awkward spells as they began to cast magic.
Bitt stayed firmly by their side, watching the group of Toothsword Beasts across from them without letting his guard down. His main duty was clearly to protect the two mages—after all, mages were the most vulnerable during spellcasting. In terms of strength, Rod had just reached the rank of Bronze Warrior, so he was far inferior. Perhaps this was the only role suited to him.
“Roar… roar…” Sensing the humans’ movements, the Toothsword Beasts let out uneasy roars, wandering slowly in front of them as if searching for weaknesses.
A loud roar came from one of the Toothsword Beasts, which was slightly larger in size. After its roar, the rest of the beasts also began to growl.
Suddenly, the larger beast surged forward, arching its body like an arrow and charging straight at Rod. Behind it, the other beasts also rushed toward him.
“Damn beasts, seeking death!” he growled, swinging his sword and charging at the lead Toothsword Beast. His mind remained calm, even tinged with excitement. He had just reached the rank of Bronze Warrior—wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to hone his skills and adapt to his new strength?
Twelve advanced magical beasts… Well, the number was a bit high, but with the help of the two mages, it should be manageable. After all, a Grand Mage or an Advanced Mage could be quite threatening once they cast their spells.
He rushed forward swiftly, disappearing into the swarm of Toothsword Beasts. Tilting his body, he dodged the first beast’s attack. With a cold glint in his eyes, he swung Dark Dragon downward.

Seeming to sense the threat in Rod’s sword strike, the Toothsword Beast dodged nimbly. At that very moment, the other Toothsword Beasts launched a fierce attack on Rod. A battle among the beasts ensued! Rod raised his combat energy to its peak, and a faint blue-gray glow appeared around his body, enveloping him in a protective barrier. Meanwhile, the elements around him became violently active, especially fire and water. Rod, who was highly sensitive to such elements, immediately sensed it. A smile appeared on his lips as he realized that Aida and Cheri’s magic was ready. Acting quickly, he swung his sword with great force, pushing back the attacking Toothsword Beasts before leaping out of their encirclement. Rod’s escape enraged the Toothsword Beasts, which let out furious roars and rushed at him in unison. Seeing Rod escape, Aida and Cheri’s eyes lit up. Their magic was ready, but they were still deciding how to cast it when Rod, as if reading their minds, gave them the perfect opportunity. “Fire Meteors!” A loud shout echoed, and instantly the sky turned fiery red. Countless fireballs appeared out of nowhere, raining down on the Toothsword Beasts below like a spectacular firestorm. “Water Shield!” Another cry rang out, and a water barrier appeared in front of Rod, protecting him from the fire meteors like a shield. Fire for offense, water for defense—perhaps this was the best combination possible. Roars and screams filled the air; the fire meteors cast by the great mage caused significant damage. The fire meteors seemed to lock onto their targets, keeping the Toothsword Beasts under attack no matter how they tried to escape or struggle. It took nearly a minute before the fire meteors finally stopped. The approximately twenty-square-meter area attacked was in complete chaos, with the beasts clearly suffering greatly, as if telling of the torment they had endured—yes, they had been “raped” by the fire. “Roar!” After the smoke cleared, low growls could be heard, and the shapes of the Toothsword Beasts reappeared. Straining his eyes, Rod could see the situation clearly: twelve Toothsword Beasts, four of which lay dead on the ground, while the remaining eight were all injured to varying degrees, some of them in horrific condition.

The scene left Rod in silent awe—great mage! Once an attack was launched and the target was locked, its power was truly terrifying.
Now was the moment! With his eyes narrowed and a roar in his heart, he instantly activated Shadow Sword. Holding the sword in one hand, he pushed its speed to its limit, coordinating his hands and feet. In an instant, aside from the whistling sound of the sword and the cool breeze, eight of Rod’s figures appeared in the arena.
Eight this time! Even Rod was secretly pleased. According to Shadow Sword, if this technique was mastered to its fullest, thirty-six figures could be created—that would be true perfection. Though only eight figures appeared now, it still showed his progress, moving from the beginner stage to a level of partial mastery, with these eight figures being the best proof!
True mastery would involve sixteen figures, at which point Shadow Sword would be almost perfect, while perfection itself was the highest level with thirty-six figures.
Rod’s moves seemed to stun those Tooth Sword Beasts for a moment. Taking advantage of this brief pause, he dashed forward with a flash, his eight figures scattering in all directions to attack the beasts. Several eerie black lights shot out under the refracted light.
Pfft… A series of muffled sounds followed, along with a bright red glow that stood out sharply under the sunlight.
The next moment, Rod’s figure appeared behind the herd of beasts. Holding the sword in one hand, he stood there proudly, his figure appearing especially majestic at that moment. The Dark Dragon remained pitch black, still dazzling under the sunlight!
“Boom…” Several muffled sounds came from behind. Six Tooth Sword Beasts collapsed heavily, kicking up dust as they hit the ground. The remaining two beasts grew silent. Upon closer inspection, two terrifying wounds appeared on their bodies, oozing blood.
“Flame Arrows!”
“Water Arrows!” Two more commands were given, and Aida and Cheri unleashed their spells again. This time, the targets were clear: the remaining two Tooth Sword Beasts, the two largest ones.
“Roar…” Perhaps truly intimidated by Rod’s sword techniques and unable to react in time, the two beasts were hit head-on. Cries of pain echoed, muffled by the sounds, as cold blood sprayed like arrows across the ground.
Looking back at the two beasts, they struggled desperately in place for a while, staggering a few steps forward. More and more blood flowed, until finally, with weak growls, they slowly collapsed to the ground and closed their eyes after a few convulsions.

They just couldn’t figure it out. They had thought they would encounter a group of prey as soon as they left in the morning and could hunt them one by one, but in the end, it was they who were hunted and died in such a horrible way.
“It’s over!” Reining in his Dark Dragon, Rod slowly walked over to the group, a faint smile on his face as he said indifferently.
“So fast, hehe. This was way too easy!” Bit also put away his weapon and said with a wry smile. He had thought it would be a tough fight, but it was resolved so easily.
At this moment, Rod’s name was firmly etched in Bit’s mind. This guy’s performance was utterly unexpected, and his killing power was terrifyingly fierce. Although there were two magicians assisting him, it was clear that most of the kills were done by him alone. Especially that sword technique—though he had seen it several times, thinking about it now still filled him with fear. It seemed he had even improved quite a bit today! Bit had a premonition that this guy would become extremely famous in the near future.
“Let’s go, leave this place!” After quickly cleaning up the scene and cutting off a large piece of the slain Toothsword Beast’s carcass, Rod said to the others over there.
It was a shame. More than a dozen Toothsword Beasts—though not valuable—could have been sold for over a gold coin if sold all together. But given the current situation, they couldn’t carry away such a large amount of carcass. They could only cut off a piece of meat as food, leaving the rest for the creatures in this forest.
“Yeah, we must leave this place!” Bit was unusually serious. He hadn’t expected entering the Magical Beast Forest to result in them being exhausted and injured, forcing them to spend the night here. He felt a deep sense of fear.
Although this forest wasn’t as terrifying as the two great forbidden lands or the Desolate Collins Forest, it was still quite dangerous. There were countless powerful magical beasts in this forest. Only saints could venture deep into its interior; anyone else would surely die.
Fortunately, the Toothsword Beasts they encountered so far were in the outer areas, so the danger shouldn’t be too great.
“Don’t go!” Just as everyone was preparing to leave, the lady who had remained silent since yesterday finally spoke, saying something that left everyone utterly confused.