In the darkness of night, Tyler, who lit the magic stone, drew the attention of all the rat demons. The curses he uttered in the evilkind language only served to enrage the Poison Blade Rat King.
“Squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!!”
The rat demons screeched in anger, and under the command of the Poison Blade Rat King, most of them charged at Tyler from all directions! 𝐎𝑽ℯ𝒍xt.𝔠𝑂𝗆
“Charge!”
Tyler swung his handguard sword and iron shield to fend off the rat demons, while his warhorse, Moto-chan, neighed and exerted its full strength, breaking free from the swarm, thanks to the protection of its armor.
At this moment, Tyler was free from enemies. He looked back and saw countless rat demons chasing him like a tide. This terrifying scene would stay with him forever… if he survived this crisis.
Using the light from the magic stone, Tyler glimpsed the situation behind the swarm.
The most numerous were the weakest, the Carrion Rats, with levels ranging from 10 to 20;
Next were the Giant Carrion Rats, about a dozen of them, with levels around 30;
Then came the first-ever seen Raging Carrion Rats, with three in total, at levels 45, 46, and 48. These three powerful rats followed the Rat King;
Lastly was the Poison Blade Rat King, with the size of an elephant but surprisingly fast. Each of its strides caused the ground to tremble!
━━━━━━━━━
Poison Blade Rat King – Grey, male, 121 years old
Poison Blade Rat King – Lv69
Skill Slots: 3/3
Life Energy: 7558/7561
Endurance: 4037/4517
Magic Energy: 1568/1568
━━━━━━━━━
After checking the status information of the Poison Blade Rat King, Tyler felt oddly “happy.”
His arrow had struck the Rat King’s forehead earlier and had been deflected, but it had dealt a “massive” 3 points of damage… When he faced the 59-level “Rogue Shadow Demon – Swarerock” previously, his arrow could only deal 1 point of damage.
Based on the current damage calculation, Tyler only needed to shoot the Rat King with 2,520 more arrows to defeat it! Yeah!
(At times like this, I really wish I had a Gatling gun…)
The unrealistic thoughts in his mind reflected how difficult Tyler’s situation was.
The usually talkative, stupid loli had also fallen silent.
Tyler looked towards the distant blazing light, where the Crimson Serpent King and Oleg, the branch chief, were.
Taking the Rat King there to disrupt the battlefield seemed like a good choice—Tyler believed his enemy didn’t possess the ability to control the Poison Blade Rat King, and their only power was to lure it.
“Charge, Moto-chan!”
Tyler tugged on the reins and darted towards the Crimson Serpent King!
He had made up his mind to let Moto-chan go once he had led the rat swarm far enough away. This brave warhorse deserved to live on.
However, as Moto-chan was running, it suddenly turned its head, snatched the luminous magic stone from Tyler’s hand, and clamped it tightly in its teeth!
Immediately after, before Tyler could react, Moto-chan turned sharply, tossing Tyler off its back, then raced away without looking back!
The pursuing rat swarm only saw the luminous magic stone and didn’t notice Tyler, who had fallen to the ground. They continued chasing Moto-chan.
Everything happened so suddenly that Tyler only understood what had happened when he got back on his feet.
(Moto-chan…!)
Tyler dared not make a sound, as doing so would draw the rat swarm’s attention and waste Moto-chan’s sacrifice.
With no other choice, Tyler silently acknowledged Moto-chan’s loyal and hurried towards the direction of the bounty hunters.
.
Upon Tyler’s arrival, bounty hunters had just cooperated to eliminate the remaining few rat demons that were entwined with them.
To Tyler’s surprise, there was a level 41 Raging Carrion Rat among the demon corpses. These bounty hunters are indeed elites!
Seizing the momentary absence of enemies, Tyler urged everyone to retreat swiftly.
Subsequently, within the group, Tyler found Emilia.
He initially intended to borrow a horse from Emilia to assist Branch Chief Oleg, but upon seeing her, he noticed something amiss with her condition.
(What’s going on? Why is Emilia’s life energy continuously decreasing?)
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Emilia
Life Energy 77↓ / 158
Endurance 32 / 96
Magic Energy 16 / 561
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Emilia’s life energy was diminishing at a rate of about one point per second.
Tyler immediately inquired about her injuries, and Emilia replied that she had been struck several times by the carrion rats but was now fine.
—(Fine? If she’s fine, why is her life energy still decreasing?)
Noticing Emilia’s cyanotic lips, Tyler surmised she had likely been poisoned.
Hence, he promptly activated his “Deceiver” skill, and only after persistent questioning did Emilia admit that she had been bitten by a snake during the recent “Snake Rain.”
“You really…! Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
Tyler, rarely irritated, quickly located the bite wound on Emilia’s lower leg, thankfully a fair distance from an artery.
“Quick! Drink this!”
Tyler handed his selfmade antidote to Emilia and tore his own clothing into strips, binding her upper and lower leg to constrict blood flow.
He then crouched down to suction the venom from Emilia’s wound, visibly worried and perspiring.
·
Witnessing Tyler’s concern for her, Emilia felt a long-lost warmth in her ice-cold heart.
Tonight, she saw Tyler assume the branch chief’s responsibility, shouldering the burden of commanding the team;
Tonight, she saw Tyler, in an effort to save the team, single-handedly lure away the rat horde led by the Rat King;
The young man, who initially repulsed Emilia, had unknowingly become the most reliable person in her eyes.
“How are you feeling? Any better?”
Moments later, a sweat-drenched Tyler inquired about Emilia’s condition. It was then that she remembered she was still poisoned, yet the dizziness and vertigo she had experienced earlier had vanished.
“I feel much better, thank you, Lord Banning.”
·
Tyler’s inquiry to Emilia was merely a supplementary confirmation. Through his identification ability, he had already observed Emilia’s life energy ceasing to diminish.
Now, Tyler and Emilia had fallen far behind the group. He decided to catch up with the team on horseback together with Emilia before proceeding alone to aid Branch Chief Oleg.
However, Tyler had underestimated the enemy’s strength.
As the two began catching up to the team, a streak of flame cut through the night sky.
It was the fiery figure of Branch Chief Oleg, who had been sent flying into the sky before plummeting, without any cushion, into the midst of the bounty hunters.