NOVEL NEXT Chapter 90: Magic Beasts
The caravan had just rounded a bend in the rocky path when they heard screams from a distance.
There were people crying for help!
Hayden's head snapped up and his Ocularis Lens instantly activated, zooming in on the chaos or whatever was happening ahead of them.
The Lens' x-ray-like ability easily bypassed the other wagons blocking his vision.
Hayden immediately realized that someone's carriage lay overturned and its wheels had already splintered. It was dangerous!
After all, beside this crashed carriage were three large creatures and they seemed to have just eaten something, seeing how they had blood all over their mouths and their necks…
Hayden had very limited knowledge about the magic beasts but he knew about these ones since they were quite common.
They were One-Horned Man-Eating Apes.
They had muscle-bound bodies covered in coarse black fur. They had twisted horns like a drill showing how they had just recently obtained those horns.
Crash~
Suddenly, one of them started tearing into the wreckage, its massive hands easily crushed wood as it searched for prey. There were definitely some survivors and they were still inside the carriage.
"By the gods—" Silas, the caravan leader, paled. "Mercenaries! Take them down! Hurry!"
Although he was scared, he trusted the abilities of the Mercenaries behind him. Furthermore, he recognized the carriage, so he really wanted to save them.
Farah, the greatsword-wielding leader of the mercenary quartet, didn't hesitate.
"Palos, Nea, Rayleigh—on me. Everyone else, stay back."
Hayden moved to join them, but Farah shot him a sharp look. "You too, kid. These things aren't bandits—they'll rip you in half."
Hayden paused for a moment before he nodded.
He wouldn't interfere—yet.
'I guess assessing their strength is a good idea as well.' Hayden thought. He also realized that this was a good chance to gather information about the four Aura Users.
He decided to just use his Ocularis Lens to record everything that was about to happen and study it later.
'Let's see how these Aura Users fight… I should learn a thing or two from them.'
***
Because of the urgency, Farah moved first, using her greatsword she cleaved downward, aiming to bisect the nearest ape.
"Ha!"
The move was fast but the beast was faster than it looked.
Her target immediately noticed that attack and evaded it with a sidestep…
Then, it instinctively used its horn to stab her ribs in retaliation.
Clang!
Farah barely twisted her blade in time to block, but the impact sent her back a few meters away, creating a trail.
"Damn, they're quick…" She couldn't help but complain as magic beasts with human-like features were indeed more difficult to deal with than other magic beasts.
Then, from a distance, Rayleigh nocked three arrows at once…
Whoosh~
Soon, his longbow hummed as he loosed a volley.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The arrows then found their marks—hitting into the second ape's chest and shoulders.
But the beast roared, barely flinching as it snapped the shafts off like twigs.
Just like that, its crimson eyes were locked onto Rayleigh.
"Uh oh…" The archer muttered as he realized that the skin of these Man-Eating Apes was a lot tougher than some Two-Horned Magic Beasts.
Thankfully, he wasn't working alone.
Nea, with her twin dagger, moved like a ghost.
She already arrived behind the third ape and perhaps, aside from Hayden, no one else noticed how quickly she moved!
Soon, her blades slashed toward its hamstrings—
Unfortunately, these Apes weren't normal.
Snap!
The ape's tail lashed out like a whip, catching her across the ribs which sent her tumbling.
"Something's wrong with them… I think they've been drugged! Don't hesitate to use your Aura." Farah reminded them since everyone wasn't fighting at full strength.
After all, they didn't want to get too exhausted on this first battle.
However, with the magic beasts' special condition, they had to work harder…
"Got it!"
Palos, the axeman, and the slowest among the group, roared to get the Apes' attention.
They immediately ran toward him as if he was the tastiest food they had ever seen!
"Haha! Come!"
Soon, his weapon slashed downward toward the first ape's skull.
Thud!
However, the beast blocked with its forearm! The axe cut was deep and it almost chopped off its hand!
But as the Ape roared, it grabbed the axe with its other hand and tried to take it!
This sudden force pulled Palos off-balance—
"Guh—!"
Then, its massive fist slammed into Palos' chest!
If he wasn't prepared for it, he knew that he would be sent flying into a nearby boulder. However, as he had released his Aura, Palos just budged a little…
"Kid! Watch me! This is me when I get serious!" Palos said as everyone realized that he was still bothered about his loss against Hayden.
Now, it was his chance to prove his strength. After all, they believed that Hayden was incapable of hurting these Magic Beasts.
***
In the meantime, as the group of four started getting serious with their battle after assessing the strength of the magic beasts, Hayden's Ocularis Lens didn't stop processing the battle.
He didn't just gather information about the Aura Users but also the Magic Beast…
He confirmed that their hides were too thick for normal arrows. Their reflexes are nearly as fast as Farah's. But… their movements are predictable after an attack.
"They're not too intelligent… I guess that's a normal thing for one-horned Magic Beasts." Hayden muttered as he watched the battle.
The Man-Eating Apes actually fought with straightforward aggression. Their defensive movements were simply instinctive and their patterns could be easily predicted.
And then Hayden saw it.
The horn.
Every time an ape attacked, its horn pulsed faintly with mana—a brief surge of magical energy right before it struck.
'So it's like that… No wonder their horns are always the most precious item.' Hayden mused as he continued to observe them.
He may not have taken any lessons about Magic Beasts yet, since he had advanced too quickly, but he was at least aware of the most basic things about these creatures over the past three years.