A six-meter-long Ironhide Bull had just emerged from the mist when a boomerang struck it on the head.

  Thud!”


  A dull thump erupted, and the boomerang flew back at an even faster speed. However, the oncoming Ironhide Bull only decelerated minutely as it continued to charge toward Sivir.

  Five massive ice spears lined up in the air before crashing down onto the Ironhide Bull’s head.

  The Ironhide Bull let loose a ferocious moo and whipped its head to the side, easily shattering the ice spears. However, its speed further decelerated in the process, and it changed its target from Sivir to Evan. It could sense an aura that it detested even more coming from Evan’s body, so it began rushing toward him instead.

  “Look out!” Sivir cried as she wound her whip around the bull’s horns. She tied the other end of the whip around a large tree, but the whip only lasted a split second before it snapped in half. The Ironhide Bull slowed down slightly as a result, but it was even more furious now, and its eyes had turned crimson.

  Meanwhile, the other Ironhide Bull was being led by Dennis and Scott toward the traps that Sam had set up.

  “Let’s run in the opposite direction so they can take care of that one first!” Sivir immediately came to a decision as she hurled her boomerang through the air. At the same time, she began to run in the opposite direction.

  Evan nodded while unleashing a few more ice spears. Even though the ice spears couldn’t actually harm the Ironhide Bull, they still provided a disruptive effect.

  However, after the Ironhide Bull shattered the ice spears with its head, it refrained from chasing after Sivir and Evan. It took a glance at the other Ironhide Bull, which was about to completely disappear into the mist, and hesitated momentarily before pursuing that other bull.

  “Crap! It’s not being fooled. Sam and the others won’t be able to deal with two Ironhide Bulls at once!” Sivir’s expression changed drastically as she rushed toward the Ironhide Bull.

  Evan disappeared into the mist, taking a shortcut toward where the traps were being set. Following the events that had taken place earlier, Evan was no longer as trustworthy as he once was in the eyes of his comrades. As such, he had to put in some work and rectify the situation if he wanted to stay in the Rose Mercenary Squad.

  “Father, can you hear that? There seems to be something going on over there.” Within the mist, Amy pointed in a certain direction.

  “Spray-“


  Mag pressed down on his insecticide bottle, and a large scorpion on the ground below rolled over with froth gushing from its mouth. Mag nodded with a pleased expression as he also turned in the direction that Amy was pointing in.

  Sure enough, he could hear a loud commotion. It seemed that there was a large creature running in that direction, and he could feel the ground quaking slightly beneath his feet. At the same time, he could hear some urgent cries ringing out in the distance. It seemed like a mercenary squad was hunting over there.

  “I think I can hear Uncle Minotaur’s voice!” Amy’s eyes lit up.

  “Let’s go have a look. It sounds like they’re in trouble.” Mag picked up Amy with one arm while holding the insecticide bottle in his other hand as he quickly forged on ahead.

  He had purchased the insecticide from the system-it was capable of killing all venomous creatures. It was an extremely valuable treasure for people traveling in the wilderness, and most importantly, it was harmless to humans. Only the system could produce something like this.

  Furthermore, Mag had also purchased a compass. The magnetic field on the Norland Continent was completely different from Earth’s, so he didn’t know how the system had created this compass, and he didn’t pose any questions about that, either. After all, the system had already been enraged by his refusal to purchase its expensive GPS.

  The emergence of two Ironhide Bulls at the same time had completely caught the Rose Mercenary Squad off guard, and posed a threat that was too potent for them to deal with. There were barely any obstacles or hiding places in the Illusionary Mist Valley, so they were facing an extremely catastrophic crisis.

  Dennis and the others also quickly caught on that there was another Ironhide Bull coming after them. They didn’t know whether Sam’s traps would be able to ensnare both bulls at once. The most likely scenario was that neither of them would be caught.

  Of course, their main focus was no longer on capturing these two Ironhide Bulls. Instead, they had to think of a way to escape while making the smallest sacrifice possible.

  “They’re coming!” Sam could hear the approaching hoofbeats, and ushered for Scott to get out of the massive hole that he had dug. The hole was over three meters deep and five meters in diameter. Their prey was arriving a little earlier than expected; otherwise, he would’ve dug a hole six meters in diameter to make sure that the bull would be trapped in it.

  However, there was no time for that, so he could only pile some leaves and grass over the trap to camouflage it. With such dense mist clouding its vision, the Ironhide Bull shouldn’t be able to identify the trap for what it was.

  “Sam, take Eva and get out here! There are two of them coming; we’re no match for them!” Dennis roared as he sidestepped the oncoming Ironhide Bull, and swung his mace viciously into its head. As a result, it was knocked off its original course and headed straight for the pit.

  “Two?! That’s not good!” Sam’s expression changed upon hearing that, and he immediately grabbed Eva’s hand before rushing up the hill with her. Just one bull was already quite a handful; two was simply too many.

  Eva’s face paled with fright. She had been with this mercenary squad for over a year, so she had a thorough understanding of the power levels of magic beasts. As such, she was well aware what two 4th-tier magic beasts entailed.

  However, it was clearly too late for them to retreat now. The first Ironhide Bull came charging toward them before falling into the pit. The three meters’ depth was only slightly deeper than its height, and as it struggled violently, the walls of the pit began to cave in, making it appear as if the bull could jump out at any moment.

  What was even more distressing was that the second Ironhide Bull was also charging toward Sam and the others, completely ignoring Sivir and Evan’s attacks.

  “Run up the hill!” Sam shoved Eva up the hill before arching his back and hurling his steel trident toward the Ironhide Bull. At the same time, he drew the hatchet that was hanging from his waist and charged toward the bull. Scott also did the same as he hoisted his metal club.

  The iron trident struck the Ironhide Bull’s head with unerring accuracy, piercing through its skin, but was only able to scratch it. Sam and Scott were then both sent flying by the bull’s horns before tumbling to the ground. Both of them were wounded as a result, and threw up mouthfuls of blood.

  Meanwhile, Eva had been shoved up the hill by Sam, but only managed to run a few steps before her legs gave out under her. She looked at the oncoming Ironhide Bull and screamed as she closed her eyes.

  “No!” Sivir let loose a desperate cry.

  “Don’t fear, Eva, I’m coming!” Right at that moment, Evan descended onto the hill and landed in front of Eva. He raised his palms into the air and created a thick wall of ice.

  “Bam!”


  A muffled thump erupted as the oncoming Ironhide Bull crashed into the wall of ice, stopping its momentum cold as if it had crashed into an impregnable fortress. A pair of horn indentations were left in the wall, but it wasn’t shattered.

  “Master Evan, you saved me! You’re my hero!” Eva’s eyes widened with excitement and reverence as she stared at Evan.

  “He stopped it!” Sivir and the others were all overjoyed, but also rather surprised. They didn’t think that Evan’s magic would be so powerful.

  “I’m glad you’re safe. Don’t mention it.” Evan smiled as he supported the wall of ice, but his eyes were also shimmering with excitement. He could sense that this wall was far more resolute than what he could normally conjure up. Could it be that he had progressed to the 4th-tier in this perilous situation?

  Right at that moment, a mellow voice sounded from the other side of the hill. “Oi, Big Brother Elf, I fortified that wall of ice for you, so don’t try to make it sound like you did all the work.”