As expected.
As soon as Søren finished his words, a strange noise was heard nearby. They immediately jumped on their horses and fled in the opposite direction, not even bothering about the loot. In less than two minutes, a huge chunk of grass rose from the side of the road, and an ankheg emerged from the ground. That was not the end of it, as another ankheg emerged from the ground, followed by a third.
It was a small group of four ankhegs.
The others turned around and looked behind them. Immediately, they broke out in cold sweat.
If not for Søren reminding them to leave immediately, one or two of them would have died there!
One ankheg was already so difficult to deal with, and now there were three of them. Even with the strength of a Tier 3 Northern Barbarian, the captain of the escort team had little chance of surviving. The three ankhegs only needed one round of acid to wipe out half of them, and the rest would not even last a single round of attack.
This was also why ankhegs had a higher challenge rating than snake demons!
The ankhegs were aware of their dead companions, and they had a certain level of animal instincts. They let out a sharp shriek in the direction of Søren and the others, and immediately burrowed into the ground to chase after them. However, their speed was obviously slower than horses, and they soon emerged from the ground not far away, staring in the direction where they left.
Even wolves knew how to take revenge, let alone supernatural creatures like ankhegs.
"Thank you for your help."
The guard captain reached out and patted Soran's shoulder. He then held his injured companion tightly and urged his horse to rush in the direction of the caravan.
Søren's injuries were slightly better, and he was only affected by the acidic blood.
The caravan guard who blocked the acid spray from the front was not in a good condition. Even though his shield blocked most of the acid spray, a lot of it still landed on his body. Now, many parts of his skin were burned and rotted. This was the horror of the ankhegs' acid spray. Not only was it corrosive, but it was also poisonous due to the fact that ankhegs were creatures. Fortunately, this was only an ankheg. If it was a wyvern with a Challenge Rating of 15, its acid spray could even melt armor!
That was the real deal.
The corrosiveness and toxicity of the Wyvern's spray attack was one of the best below the Legend rank! (Wyverns also live in groups!)
Soon, the caravan appeared before them.
The guards reacted very quickly. Immediately, someone came over to support them. At the same time, nearly a third of them pulled out their weapons and automatically surrounded the others. The merchants commanded their workers to gather the carts together and form a simple caravan formation.
This was a method used by experienced merchants to defend against the attacks of bandits.
"Take me to Master."
The guard captain took a deep breath and carried his companion down from the horse. In just a short while, the merchant guard's face was as pale as a sheet of paper. It was not only because of the corrosive acid, but also because of the poison that had seeped into his body and the severe loss of blood. Adventuring in the wild not only took away the lives of enemies, but also many further deteriorated injuries, even though their bodies were far stronger than those of the previous Earthlings.
The caravan guards quickly gathered together.
The archers stood on top of the carts, and the warriors in leather armor held up their shields. For a moment, they actually looked like an army.
The Northern Merchants.
They were the strongest among the merchants because most of the guards they hired were retired warriors.
Many players who became bandits in the past called them hard bones to chew!
The curtains of the large carriage, which was protected by the caravan, were lifted and a beautiful woman wearing a veil appeared. She glanced at the injured guard and said in a serious voice, "Clean his wounds immediately and send him to the carriage."
After that.
She turned to look at Søren and said, "You too."
"I have a special ointment here. Let them apply it on your wounds."
The others sent the warrior to clean his wounds, and the guard captain reported the situation to her. Everything seemed to be in order, and there was no trace of panic.
And the center of all this order was this mysterious woman!
The descendant of the Northern Witches.
Under her orders, everyone followed them strictly. The merchants who were panicking at the beginning also calmed down and took out some healing potions that they had prepared in advance. The Northern Witches were mysterious and powerful existences. In some ways, they were even more dangerous than the Southern Witches. Not only did they have mysterious spells, but they also inherited some of the Witch Doctor's innate abilities.
This was one of the most difficult professions to level up!
(Advancement Requirement: Grade 3, Spellcasting Level 5, Prophecy Ability.)
The heavily injured man was quickly carried over, and the guard captain personally applied medicine on his wounds before pouring a bottle of healing potion down his throat.
Søren's injuries were not serious, but Vivian still applied the healing potion all over his body as if he was facing a great enemy. She also carefully bandaged the wound on his thigh, not caring about wasting the precious medicine.
She even personally fed Søren another bottle of healing potion!
The little girl rarely cried when she grew up.
Most of the time, when she saw Søren injured, she would silently help him treat his wounds. She would never cry like other little girls. The tacit understanding between the two of them when they were young made her the one who would help Søren whenever he needed to kill someone.
Even though she was very kind!
"Ankhegs?"
The mysterious woman frowned. She glanced at Søren and asked the guard captain, "What do we do now?"
"Do we continue forward?"
The guard captain showed a troubled expression and said, "I'm not too sure about the habits of these creatures."
"Maybe he will know more!"
Everyone looked at Søren. Søren was trying to cheer up the little girl whose eyes were slightly red with tears. When the little girl pulled on his sleeve, he realized that everyone was looking at him. He quickly said, "Ankhegs are very stubborn creatures. They rarely leave their territory!"
"There must be a reason why they are here."
"But."
"Since they are here, they won't leave anytime soon."
"So there are only two ways."
"One is to kill them. Otherwise, they will attack the caravan when it passes by."
"The other is to avoid them and take another route."
"These creatures won't track us."
Detour.
The mysterious woman frowned and immediately ordered, "Norrod!"
"Take some people and kill them."
Her tone was unquestionable, and the guard captain named Norrod did not hesitate at all. He immediately said in a deep voice, "As you wish."
"Mistress."
"I will take some people to deal with these problems."
After he finished speaking, he began to prepare his men. He ordered some people to take out some shields and left half of them to protect the caravan while the other half followed him to deal with the ankhegs. Most of the people in the caravan called the mysterious woman their mistress. This meant that she was very noble. Even if the others were not her slaves, they were still her servants.
As for the identity of this mysterious woman, Sauron could not help but feel a little curious!
The Northern Witches.
These women could have their own territory in the kingdom of the Frost Goddess. They were definitely not simple characters!
Not to mention, they were also a group of dangerous wizards.
Søren thought for a while and stood up. "I will go with you."
"I have some experience in dealing with these things."
"I want to."
"It will be much easier to kill them."
After he finished speaking, he comforted Vivian and told her that he would be fine. He then mounted his horse and followed the caravan.
Since Soran was only a follower, the mistress of the caravan did not ask him to come along. This was a basic form of respect, but the captain of the guards still looked at Soran when he gathered his men. It was obvious that he wanted Soran to come along.
The mysterious woman nodded slightly.
The guard captain rode to Søren's side and said in a deep voice, "Don't do anything later."
"Just tell us the weakness of these worms."
Søren touched his curved sword and moved his body a little. He felt the effects of his injuries and said, "I know."
"Get people to prepare more shields."
"These worms can release a lethal acid spray. Normal leather armor is useless against them."
"I will think of a way to lure them out later."
After killing the ankheg, Søren received more than 900 Slaughter EXP. After leveling up to Grade 2, Søren needed 3000 Slaughter EXP to level up to Grade 6 Rogue. Now, he could not just rely on picking locks and disarming traps. He needed to kill the monsters himself.
This time, with so many people, it was a safe and reliable way to earn Slaughter EXP!
It would be best if he could get another 900 Slaughter EXP.
After all, he would not have many chances to encounter these monsters in the future. He also did not have much confidence in killing them alone.
It was a normal adventure.
Even if he single-handedly cleared out a small group of Kobolds (15-30) and an awakened Kobold Sorcerer, the Slaughter EXP he gained was only about 800.
He would not let go of this opportunity to increase his strength!
… … …
(PS: Regarding the exhaustion of stamina after using Burst Mode, you can watch the heavyweight boxing matches. These are all professional fighters with [15 Constitution]. Their stamina will drop after a few rounds.)
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