“Is this the so-called Sunny Forest?”
Garvit halted his horse, refraining from rashly venturing forth. This unexpected prudence surprised Tyler. The man was coarse yet discerning.
“Indeed, it extends as far as the eye can see.” Tyler nodded, proceeding onwards.
However, Garvit halted him with his long-handled battle hammer.
“This is far enough. You should return. I don’t need additional complications.”
Tyler was momentarily taken aback.
This was unexpected.
The man was not just discerning, but perceptive beyond his rough exterior.
Garvit didn’t make it explicit, but Tyler understood.
The man didn’t want him embroiled in the ensuing battle, hence the suggestion to retreat.
It was precisely because of this that Tyler decided to assist him, albeit surreptitiously.
“Ah, well. Good luck, then.”
Tyler cast a final glance at the weapon in Garvit’s hand before turning to leave.
(Wielding that, I fear you may not be a match for the Poison Blade Rat King.)
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“Heavy Iron Long-Handled Battle Hammer”:
1 Strength +30, Dexterity -5;
2 When the wielder’s Strength attribute exceeds the target’s by over 100 points, there’s a 10% chance of inflicting stun with each attack, lasting 3 seconds;
3 Ignore the damage reduction effect of enemy armor when dealing damage.
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Garvit’s war hammer is well-suited to combat against heavily armored foes. However, against agile adversaries, he would struggle to land a hit.
The Poison Blade Rat King is no slowpoke, as Tyler had witnessed before. The earth-shaking sensation was still vivid in his memory.
Yet, this was not Garvit’s biggest issue.
The most significant challenge Garvit faced was that the Poison Blade Rat King never operated alone. If it appeared, it would inevitably be accompanied by the entire rat pack…
The mere thought of a heavily armored knight like Garvit being swarmed by rats in the forest gave Tyler the creeps… especially if the carrion rats whelps could squeeze through the gaps in the armor.
·
“Haha! You just wait and hear of my feats in Sunny Town!”
Garvit declared confidently, mounting his horse to venture into the forest.
Tyler pretended to leave at first, but after a while, he utilized his hunter’s stealth skills to trace the horse’s tracks from a distance.
Although Tyler couldn’t see Garvit within his line of sight, he could hear his booming voice continuously shouting, “Poison Blade Rat King, come out!” “Poison Blade Rat King! Someone’s here to slay you!”
Given Garvit’s crude and chaotic battle strategy, it was challenging for Tyler to associate him with the title of “Captain of the First Cavalry Unit of Emerald City.” It was also hard to believe that such behavior was befitting of a 32-year-old “Level 50 Heavy Cavalry Knight.”
However, a few minutes later, Tyler’s perception of Garvit changed.
.
Deep within the forest, Garvit ventured, dismounting his steed and leading it gently forward, whispering occasional words of encouragement into its ear, prepared at any moment for the onset of battle.
His eyes took in every detail, including the rat whelps in the near distance, their shrill squeaks not escaping his notice.
After Garvit called out once more, he sensed a faint tremor beneath his feet. Instantly, he mounted his horse, bellowing a command that spurred it into a gallop!
Without needing to see his adversary, he knew from the intensity of the vibrations that it was the Poison Blade Rat King charging towards him.
Sure enough, after a short while, a creature of elephantine proportions, a giant rat, burst from the depths of the forest.
Its charging speed surprisingly matched that of Garvit’s steed, each stride causing the ground to shudder.
— (Damn it! Was the information wrong?! Wasn’t it supposed to be about the size of a rhino? This thing could swallow a rhino whole!)
“Onward!! Onward! Onward! Onward!”
Garvit, atop his steed, made a hasty retreat, breaking free from the forest’s confines. 𝒪𝗏𝒍xt.𝐜𝒐𝓶
However, the enraged Poison Blade Rat King showed no signs of letting him off easily, leading a horde of rats to continue the pursuit across the barren outskirts.
Meanwhile, at a distance about fifty to sixty meters away, Tyler was watching the spectacle unfold.
·
Tyler initially thought that Garvit would engage in battle within the forest. However, to his surprise, the audacious man fled before even catching sight of the Poison Blade Rat King.
Watching them in the wilderness chase, Tyler grew concerned that this man might lead the rat swarm towards Sunny Town, potentially causing severe disaster.
Just when Tyler had lost all hope for Garvit, the man finally made a move.
Garvit first fed a red potion to his galloping steed, then threw a green spherical device towards the horde of rats trailing behind.
Upon hitting the ground, the device released a mass of green liquid that quickly turned into a mist.
The lower-level carrion rats, upon inhaling the green mist, gradually slowed until they could no longer move.
On Garvit’s end, after the steed consumed the red potion, its speed visibly increased within a few seconds.
Half a minute later, they had pulled a significant distance from the rat swarm.
However, Garvit didn’t simply escape. Instead, he expertly maneuvered his steed to circle around and charge bravely towards the oncoming rat swarm.
“Protection of the divine shield—!”
With Garvit’s battle cry, a silvery holy light emerged from his shield, enveloping both him and his steed.
Just as they were about to collide with the horde led by the Poison Blade Rat King, Garvit suddenly changed his direction, striking at the flank of the swarm, sending a majority of the Carrion Rats flying in the process.
Following this, Garvit once again altered his direction, using the same tactic to heavily damage the other flank of the Carrion Rats.
Tyler watched with bated breath from a distance, now realizing he had misjudged Garvit.
This man was not foolish or inexperienced.
He knew that his cavalry would be less effective in the forest, hence he risked leading the Poison Blade Rat King to the open wilderness.
Furthermore, his preparations were thorough, whether it was the mysterious potion fed to his steed or the poison cloud that exterminated the rat swarm, it was evident that he had planned meticulously.
(But… after dealing with those weaker rats, how do you plan to go head-to-head with the Poison Blade Rat King?)
In Tyler’s opinion, even in a one-on-one face-off, Garvit seemed to stand no chance.
〔The image above depicts the current status of the Poison Blade Rat King〕
·
After its last brawl with the Crimson Serpent King, the Poison Blade Rat King had mostly healed, save for its broken venomous fangs which hadn’t regrown yet.
This ironclad human riding a horse reminded the Poison Blade Rat King of the last human who had lured the scale serpent into the forest, which made it seethe with rage, determined to kill this intruder.
As it watched the ironclad human topple its kin wave after wave, the Poison Blade Rat King remained patient.
It waited, biding its time for the moment when the ironclad human would aim his lance at it.
True enough, when most of its kin had fallen, the ironclad human finally charged at the Poison Blade Rat King.
Seizing the opportunity, it leapt into the air, curled into a ball, and with a move known as “Hell’s Roll”, it sent the ironclad human and his horse flying without a doubt.
Compete in a charge? That’s like a rat trying to teach a cat to hunt!