124 – A Dead End for the King of the Thorns Ridge
The Violent Dog was the king of the Thorns Ridge, a formidable low-ranked magic beast.
It was quite probably a blood relative of Tremblingwoods. Although Tremblingwoods mother was dead, but its father was quite likely the one facing them now.
Although it was possibly its relative, yet it didn"t prevent Tremblingwoods from launching an attack under Liszt"s command.
Magic power gushed from its mouth, crossed the s.p.a.ce, and accurately gathered at the location of the target to form the earth-attributed magic – Rockthorns.
Whoosh!
Rockthorns shot from the ground underneath the Violent Dog"s abdomen, nearly impaling it. The Violent Dog quickly dodged, avoiding Rockthorns. With its nimble movements, it persistently avoided the four arrows. After adjusting its posture, it rushed at the retainer knight again.
After getting a break, the retainer knight put a shield in front of him, ready to defend.
However, he suddenly heard the sir lord bark at him: “Zakkary, roll to the side!” His body involuntarily followed the command of the voice, as he fell to the side and rolled twice on the muddy ground.
During the knight training, Marcus repeatedly brainwashed them, instilling them with the idea that "the lord was supreme", that the sir lord"s commands were to be obeyed unconditionally. Therefore, Zakkary didn"t need to think it over. His body had developed a conditioned reflex and acted in accordance with Liszt"s order.
This time, obeying orders saved his life.
In his former position, a large Rockthorn pierced out of the ground. If Zakkary hadn"t dodged to the side, then the Rockthorn would have pierced into his body, probably into a critical place.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Zakkary swallowed with difficulty. He was grateful for the sir lord"s warning. However, there was not much time to express his grat.i.tude. After missing, the Violent Dog rushed at him once more. It seemed like it wouldn"t stop before killing that retainer knight.
“Sir, continue shooting while I"ll charge at it!”
Marcus couldn"t help but yell out when he saw that he couldn"t hit the Violent Dog with bow and arrows.
Liszt had no objection to this instruction. At this moment, he was the embodiment of a qualified archer. Staying at the rear was the overriding principle.
Moreover, he also had to command Tremblingwoods to release his magic and was responsible for warning the retainer knights to dodge Rockthorns.
His task was heavy.
There was order in the chaotic battle scene. The Violent Dog was admittedly fierce and its Rockthorns were unpredictable, but under the scrutiny of Liszt"s Magic Eyes, its every move was laid bare. Apart from scratching a retainer knight that didn"t dodge on time, its several other Rockthorns didn"t achieve any results.
The bout took roughly ten minutes.
The Violent Dog"s magic power had fallen to the bottom. According to the experience from Tremblingwoods" every day release of magic, Liszt knew that this Violent Dog would find it very difficult to release Rockthorns within a short period of time.
He suddenly drew the Redblood Sword: “Charge, kill it!”
Blackdragon raised its head high and rushed at the Violent Dog, which was surrounded and had nowhere to escape. Tremblingwoods charged as well. It had no notion of its kind. Liszt"s command was its code of conduct.
Two Earth Knights, ten Apprentice Knights, plus two handymen, a total of fourteen people besieged the magic power exhausted Violent Dog. It was doomed. The retainer knights had practiced joint attack routines; they firmly stood in their positions, as Marcus made up the frontal resistance and Liszt struck from time to time.
“Heart of Fire Dragon Drill!”
With unparalleled momentum, the Redblood Sword combined with the [Fire Dragon Drill]"s ultimate meaning severed the Violent Dog"s line of retreat, thoroughly locking it inside. Flames burned all over, which was the product of Liszt erupting with his qi.
Whimper!
The Violent Dog whined repeatedly.
The king of the Thorns Ridge, while being hunted by humans, could only begrudgingly accept its end.
“It didn"t take much effort for it to go down.” Liszt calmly put the Redblood Sword away and waited for the flames to go out to take a look at the tragic end of the magic beast that he personally killed.
But just as everyone relaxed a little, a black shadow burst out from amid the flames and rushed out of the lax encirclement. Surprisingly, it was the Violent Dog that should have been killed by Liszt"s special move. Bruised all over and even exuding a faint charred smell, it still had the ability to run.
“Give chase!”
Liszt couldn"t bear to have this fat piece of meat escape from under his nose.
Without bothering about tidying up the barbecue setup, the entire knight squad gave chase. As a dog in the first place, Tremblingwoods closely chased after the scorched Violent Dog.
“Sir, be careful, you may encounter other magic beasts.” Marcus was in a gloomy mood, “I didn"t expect the Violent Dog to be so difficult to deal with, it even feigned death in order to escape. I was negligent! I won"t be able to relax before making sure that the magic beast is dead! Magic beasts are so cunning!”
“Magic beasts are indeed cunning! However, it won"t live, it"s body is nearly burned!” Liszt"s vigor was still surging, not having suffered much of an impact.
On the battlefield, he was indeed cowardly, always hiding in the rear. However, once he focused on something, he would give his all to accomplish his goal. Take the Violent Dog as an example, he wasn"t going to give it any break.
With Magic Eyes, he could clearly see through magic released by magic beasts, which meant that any magic beast he faced would have no way of taking his life with its magic.
A magic beast without magic was no different from a beast!
Liszt could go anywhere in the Thorns Ridge!
After a while, the fleeing Violent Dog finally stopped running away, stopping in front of a plant. It panted heavily and bled from the burn wounds all over its body. Turning its head, it looked at Tremblingwoods and the large number of knights behind it rushing over. It seemed to have made a decision, and ts gaze moved towards the fist-seized golden fruit hanging from a branch of the plant.
It leaped at the golden fruit with the intention to eat it.
However, a sharp swishing sound came from behind and in the next moment, the Violent Dog could only feel a force propelling it forwards by half a meter as it jumped. The Violent Dog"s mouth pa.s.sed by the golden fruit and it bit at empty s.p.a.ce. After landing, pain spread throughout its entire body. It could no longer hold on and died.
Not far behind it, Liszt lowered his bow and heaved a sigh.
“What a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, it really can run… Fortunately, I was not late.”
Via Magic Eyes, he discovered that the fruit was gathering magic power. Evidently, the Bloodline Fruit was not ripe yet. It would be a real waste if it was eaten by the Violent Dog just now.
Tremblingwoods squatted down next to the Violent Dog body and started drooling as it stared at the golden fruit.
It also perceived the Bloodline Fruit"s attraction force.
“Tremblingwoods, don"t!” Liszt scolded Tremblingwoods, which had approached the Bloodline Fruit, and called it back.
“Woof woof!” Tremblingwoods immediately started to wag its tail at Liszt, while looking at the golden fruit. Obviously, it was fawning on Liszt, hoping that it could eat the Bloodline Fruit.
“Don"t be impatient, it"s not ripe yet.” Liszt dismounted his mount and then scanned the surroundings. Only after making sure that there were no other magic beasts nearby, did he shift his gaze to the Bloodline Fruit.
He didn"t know what the plant was called, but it was probably some kind of fern.
With its single golden Bloodline Fruit, it looked a bit odd.
The fruit was very beautiful, round and plump, and in addition to the brilliant golden color, the peel still looked a bit translucent. There was no fragrance or any sign of magic power spreading out of it, yet via Magic Eyes, he could see the ma.s.sive amount of magic power stored inside.
The magic power had nearly solidified into substance.
“This is… a Bloodline Fruit?” Marcus, who had already taken care of the Violent Dog body and checked the surrounding terrain, arrived beside Liszt, and then exclaimed in a low voice.