Free Web Novel"It's over there."
Louis half-crouched behind a high rock, his gaze piercing through the thin mist, firmly fixed on the distant cliff plateau.
Behind him were dozens of Knights, all of them Formal Knights and Elite Knights, all looking in that direction.
Vines clung to the icy rocks like a spiderweb, their blue-green leaves shimmering with a faint cold light in the morning sun, and clusters of flower buds bloomed quietly, exuding a captivating beauty.
This was the Frostleaf Vine, and it was thriving to a rare extent.
"It's truly overly abundant," Louis muttered, but his eyes revealed an uncontrollable excitement.
Before he could say another word, a low, eerie snore suddenly echoed from among the vines.
"Hoo—hoo—thump."
"What the—what is that—" Weil exclaimed in surprise.
"Look closely," Lambert's voice was calm. "There are eight Snow River Mad Bulls, all nestled beneath those vines, sleeping." Everyone immediately held their breath.
The Snow River Mad Bull, known as the "Mobile Boulder" among cold-region magical beasts.
Its enormous size made one suspect it was a monster that had crawled out from the depths of the ice plain; its skin was as thick as ice rock, and its temperament was extremely violent.
Especially during spring, these behemoths would enter a so-called "berserk period" due to the accumulation of magma essence within their bodies and the recurrence of old injuries.
Even five Elite Knights couldn't withstand a single direct charge from one.
"Normal, it's too normal," Louis's eyes, however, never left that treasure land. "It would be strange if a treasure land like this wasn't occupied by magical beasts."
What was strange, however, was that even though this was precisely the Snow River Mad Bulls' berserk period, these mad bulls were currently motionless, as peaceful as if under a spell, only grunting slowly when they occasionally rolled over.
Vines coiled around the icy rocks beneath their hooves, and the flowers and leaves trembled gently with their breathing, a strange coolness permeating the air.
"This is the calming scent of the Frostleaf Vine," Louis whispered.
The Frostleaf Vine could slowly release a natural magic stability factor, specifically to soothe magical beasts with restless magma essence within their bodies.
This was also why, even though the mad bulls were in their most dangerous berserk period, they gathered here.
The Frostleaf Vine cluster here was a natural "sanctuary" they had found.
"Let's launch a frontal assault! Swarm them and take them down!" a Knight suggested in a low voice, battle intent burning in his eyes.
But before he finished speaking, Louis subtly shot him a glance, instantly quelling the restlessness of all the Knights. "Do you really think they're asleep?" Louis's gaze was fixed on the plateau where the Snow River Mad Bulls were. "Wrong! The mad bulls' instincts are actually always operating; they're just temporarily in a shallow sleep, their nerves numbed by the scent secreted by the vines.
As soon as we get closer, our body temperature and blood aura will disturb the magma essence fluctuations in the air. Once they sense it, they will go berserk, and it will cost us a huge price to defeat them then."
The air seemed to solidify.
Weil swallowed, subconsciously glancing at the group of monsters.
The Snow River Mad Bulls were covered in rock-hard hides, each weighing fifteen tons. Just their chests rising and falling made one feel the ground tremble. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Weil gritted his teeth: "Then what do we do? Are we really going to wait for them to leave on their own?"
"No," Louis slowly shook his head. "We must take the initiative. But we must attack intelligently."
Then he began to articulate his plan: "Place beast-attracting incense on the cliff top to force them to flee uphill. Set traps with grappling hooks to entangle their legs and slow them down.
Finally, use a cold iron net to create a blockade. Once they charge down, they won't be able to leave, and then they'll be at our mercy.
Remember, no one moves until they leave the vines. We are not going to challenge them, but to wait for them to jump into the trap themselves." "This—you're planning to take out both the bulls and the vines in one go," Weil exclaimed.
A cold smile touched Louis's lips: "This is the method with the least risk and the greatest reward. Don't forget, our goal is the Frostleaf Vine, not to fight to the death with the Snow River Mad Bulls."
With that, he waved his hand: "Go back and prepare your equipment. In six hours, everyone be in position, waiting for my command."
"Yes!"
The Knights responded in low voices, immediately dispersing and returning to the center of Red Tide Territory to prepare.
Louis took one last look at the plateau.
The vines still quietly coiled around the rocks, and the few behemoths seemed to be asleep, yet could awaken at any moment.
The snow wind howled, and a deep gray tinged the horizon.
Louis directed the Knights to set up traps.
"Over there, set up the beast-attracting incense," he commanded in a low voice. "We need to force them to take the bait themselves."
The Knights responded in low voices, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
At the cliff top, a thick wooden stake was firmly driven into the frozen ground, and several soldiers quickly tied a can of black beast-attracting incense to it.
On the other side, the Knights quietly buried deer bone grappling hooks under the snow, like lurking venomous snakes.
That was a natural charging path, steep and wide, the only escape route for the mad bulls, and also their death passage.
And at the bottom of the cliff, a cold steel chain net lay coiled like a giant python, silently opening its gaping maw.
Dozens of Knights lurking on both sides held their breath, their hands tightly gripping the chains, muscles tensed, as if ready to pull the chains taut into a deadly formation at any moment.
After most of the day, everything was ready.
"Light the fire," Louis's cold command broke the silence.
"Poof!"
Flames leaped up, and the beast-attracting incense suddenly flared.
Blue smoke instantly billowed, forming a pungent, thick fog, and the intense, unusual smell exploded in the air.
It danced wildly in the cold wind, like an invisible chain, directly pulling towards the monster group below.
The silence was abruptly broken.
The massive dark figures in the vine thicket began to stir restlessly.
The Snow River Mad Bulls slowly raised their heads, their bull eyes gleaming with crimson light, their entire bodies trembling slightly, like moving walls of steel.
"Hoo-hoo-ping—!"
The foremost mad bull suddenly pawed the ground, letting out a deep, muffled roar, immediately followed by...
"Whoosh!!!"
The valley echoed with a roar that tore through the air. Several giant beasts suddenly rose, their massive horns raised like halberds, and charged straight towards the cliff top!
The deafening sound of heavy hooves reverberated through the forest, as if a dozen tanks had started simultaneously, and the ground trembled violently.
"First step complete. Everyone proceed according to plan," Louis coldly issued the command.
The mad bull herd roared as they charged up the steep slope, snow splashing and rocks rolling.
"Crack!!"
The heavy hoof of the first mad bull suddenly stomped down, and the deer bone grappling hook hidden beneath the snow tightened abruptly, its claw sinking fiercely into its hind leg, which was as thick as a stone pillar!
The giant beast instantly lost its balance, its fifteen-ton body tumbling down the slope with a "boom," stirring up a deafening avalanche of snow. Immediately after, the second and third also fell victim, their ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) legs entangled by grappling hooks, struggling violently and roaring repeatedly!
"Move!!" Louis roared.
The Knights ambushed on both sides immediately struck. "Armor-piercing Blazing Spears" drew a scorching arc in the air, fiercely embedding themselves into the mad bulls' thick hides!
In an instant, the magma essence contained within the magic crystals activated!
"Boom!!"
With a muffled explosion, scorching flames and high-pressure shockwaves erupted, their light illuminating the entire snowy ground!
"Bang!! Bang!!"
Several Blazing Spears hit their targets consecutively. The mad bulls' chests and necks instantly were scorched with black cracks, and the air was filled with the smell of burning char.
If it were an ordinary magical beast, it would have already turned to ash in this hellfire.
However, these were not ordinary magical beasts; these were Snow River Mad Bulls.
Their rock-thick hides only slightly curled with a few charred wisps, and their massive bodies remained almost motionless.
Their only reaction was an even more furious roar!
"Whoosh!!!"
One giant bull violently shook its head, blood gushing from the wound made by the grappling hook, yet it still charged forward like mad.
The others also trembled all over, magma essence surging beneath their skin, their eyes gleaming with berserk, bloody light!
Weil gasped, muttering, "What... what are these monsters made of? Even Blazing Spears are useless?"
Louis stood on the high ground, his eyes as cold as knives, but a chilling curve played on his lips: "That's right, their defense is almost insurmountable. But our real goal isn't to kill them with this."
His gaze was fixed on the group of mad bulls consumed by rage, the light in his eyes extremely sharp.
"It's to force them into the trap."
The Knights on both sides had long known that every step of this hunt was a calculated death trap.
"Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!"
Armor-piercing Blazing Spears were continuously fired, explosions reverberating one after another, flashes of fire appearing and disappearing in the snowy night.
Carrying scorching heatwaves and splashing ice shards, they fiercely struck the mad bulls' heads and backs, blasting out charred cracks.
Others threw short spears and rocks, precisely targeting weak points like their eyes and nostrils, thoroughly enraging these giant beasts to the extreme.
Further ahead, several Knights suddenly appeared, quickly retreating while holding up a large red cloth, waving it in the wind and snow.
It was like the flag of Death, luring these out-of-control monsters to charge headlong into the death trap!
"!!!"
The Snow River Mad Bulls had completely lost their minds, their fifteen-ton bodies cracking the ground with every stomp!
Rage and excruciating pain intertwined in their nerves into a terrifying urge, causing them to unleash suffocating charging power. The entire valley trembled, as if a flood of wild beasts was raging!
There was no fear left in their eyes, only that red cloth flapping in the wind!
They had to tear it to shreds!
So they kept accelerating, faster! Faster!
Louis stood on the high ground, gazing at the impending battlefield, and laughed: "Keep going!! Make them run to their deaths!
!!"
Finally, the raging giant beasts roared as they charged towards the cliff bottom exit!
"Pull!!"
Dozens of long-ambushed Knights roared in unison, fiercely tugging on the already laid chains!
"Up!!"
In an instant, red battle qi exploded around their bodies like raging flames, furiously pouring into the cold iron chains along their arms!
Dozens of strongman Knights had bloodshot eyes, their muscles bulging, and the snow beneath their feet instantly evaporated into a white mist by the scorching battle qi, a heart-pounding low roar resonating in the air.
"Clank clank!!"
The cold iron chain nets on both sides of the cliff wall suddenly tightened, and the pulleys wrapped around the rock face began to spin rapidly, the clanging of metal deafening!
Those chains, as thick as giant pythons, unleashed terrifying power under the enhancement of battle qi, spreading out into a massive net.
"Bang!!"
The first mad bull crashed into it fiercely. The enormous impact made the entire net array tremble violently, shattering the rock wall, and a snow-like rain of debris poured down!
However, the chain net, forged from cold iron, merely vibrated slightly, remaining completely still!
The second, the third...
More mad bulls roared as they charged, dozens of tons of behemoths piling up and squeezing into the net array, emitting spine-chilling, distorted roars!
They struggled, roared, and frantically shook their bodies, trying to crush the obstacle in front of them.
But the chain net was firmly caught in the clasps on both sides, and the ground anchors embedded deep in the rock were like claws nailed into hell, giving these beasts no chance to break free!
Blood, snow, and roars intertwined, creating a scene as shocking as the gates of hell opening.
The trapped Snow River Mad Bulls plunged into utter madness!
But the cold iron chain net was like the hand of Death, tightly locking every inch of space.
One mad bull roared and furiously kicked its hoof, only to strike its own companion's side with immense force, tearing through flesh and spraying a mist of blood.
Another struggling bull suddenly swung its horn, actually piercing its companion's eye, blood splattering, and its roars contained heart-wrenching pain.
The scene completely spiraled out of control. Dozens of tons of giant beasts crashed into, trampled, and crushed each other, and in their struggle, they tore their own companions into bloody, mangled remains.
That originally fearsome group of beasts was actually consumed by its own ferocity, falling into a bloody vortex of hell!
Louis stood in the wind and snow, his eyes coldly fixed on this feast of slaughter.
"Netting complete," he said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the monsters now trapped like turtles in a jar. "Begin the harvest."
Hearing Louis's command, the Knights suddenly tensed all their muscles.
"Oh!!"
A deep roar echoed through the snow valley, battle qi instantly ignited, and the long spears in their hands gleamed with cold light.
Like a group of Grim Reapers about to pounce on their prey, they charged in unison into that bloody purgatory. freeweɓnøvel.com
The first row of Knights raised their spears high, fiercely thrusting them into the foremost mad bull!
"Poof!!"
The spearhead tore through the thick hide, deeply embedding itself into the muscle, bringing out a wave of hot blood.
The mad bull roared, its neck arching high, its massive hooves flailing in the snow, trying to break free, but only causing the iron chains to wail.
"Continue!!"
The long spears from the second and third rows successively plunged in!
Blades twisted, shredding muscles, and blood sprayed like red fountains.
"Moo!!"
The mad bulls struggled frantically in the net, crushing and trampling each other, roars rising and falling, the scene utterly chaotic.
But all they received was the next fatal spear blade. There was no escape, no power to resist.
Battle qi flowed through the cold iron into their bodies, tearing meridians and numbing nerves, and one after another, they fell heavily.
Half an hour later, the last mournful howl dissipated in the wind.
On the snowy ground, only cold corpses piled up like mountains in the net, and the heavy breathing of the Knights remained.
