Mercenary Wars

Chapter 263 Demonization
Gaucano followed the orc, swiftly traversing the mountains and forests.

About two hours later, he noticed another level seven creature. Upon closer inspection, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a Clefthoof Bull.

The scimitar-hoofed rhinoceros is a type of rhinoceros known for its large size and tenacious temperament.

The scimitar bull before him was nearly ten meters long, and with its gray skin, it looked like a small mountain or a boulder when it lay down, making it quite camouflage in the forest. If it weren't for his superhuman eyesight, Gaucano might have misjudged it from a distance.

Its skin is covered with a thick layer of keratin, like a natural armor. A huge horn extends from the top of its head, more than a meter tall, its tip gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Four thick legs support its massive body like stone pillars.

At this moment, the scimitar bull was lying on the ground, silently feeding. Its millstone-like mouth swept up all the wild grass, shrubs, and even some small trees in front of it, leaving behind a few wood chips as it chewed. The crunching sounds were particularly clear in the silent mountain forest, and occasionally the snapping sound of branches being bitten off could be heard.

Its enormous size and rock-hard skin, even in its normal state, make it virtually immune to natural enemies.

At least this tidal zone clearly has no natural enemies.

Therefore, it looked very relaxed, intently chewing on the grass and trees, its big, round eyes filled with nothing but food, showing absolutely no vigilance.

Gaucano looked at the Clefthoof Bull, then at the Orc.

The two are about one kilometer apart.

And the orcs are gradually approaching the Clefthoof while searching.

It's estimated that the two sides will meet soon.

After a moment's thought, Gao Jiano immediately took out several arrows and sent them to several hidden corners by a swift breeze, in preparation for an ambush.

He then hid in the bushes, continuing to observe and wait silently.

As expected, the orc quickly spotted the Clefthoof Bull, and a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Oh hoof!"

The Clefthoof also discovered the Orcs.

However, it only raised its head for a glance before continuing to graze, completely unaware of the impending danger.

The orcs were overjoyed at the sight and immediately took out several short axes.

The short axe is entirely black, and its material should be black steel—orc black steel.

The dwarves have always believed that the orcish blacksteel is a product of plagiarism of dwarven wisdom. It is not hard to see that the orcish blacksteel is no less sturdy and sharp than the dwarven blacksteel, otherwise the dwarves probably would not care about whether it was plagiarism or not.

The orc gripped a short axe, and magical runes immediately lit up his bare arms, his veins and muscles bulging, exuding a sense of power poised to be unleashed.

Then he swung his arm in a wide arc, the short axe spinning rapidly.

"Whoosh—" The rapidly spinning short axe emitted a whistling sound.

Only then did the Clefthoof show some alertness, stopping its eating and looking up at the orc. Its nostrils flared, exhaling two puffs of white vapor, and a hint of confusion flashed in its enormous eyes.

Almost at the same time, the short axe flew out of the orc's hand and headed straight for the Clefthoof Bull!

"boom!"

With a loud crash, even the tough hide of a Clefthoof Bull was cleaved open, leaving a bloody wound, and the black axe blade was deeply embedded in it!
"Roar!" The Clefthoof howled and immediately stood up from the ground, its huge horn, as tall as a man, pointing directly at the orc. At the same time, it angrily pawed at the ground, leaving deep marks on the hard rock with its front hooves.

The orc threw another short axe.

However, to his surprise, accompanied by a faint ripple, the short axe that shot out did not hit the Clefthoof, but instead cleaved into the ground in front of it.

"boom!"

The jet-black short axe was almost completely embedded in the ground. A deep crater appeared in the ground, and soil and rocks flew everywhere.

The orc's expression changed, and he mumbled something in orc language, clearly realizing that something was wrong.

Gaucano, hiding in the shadows, also frowned.

After all, he had clearly seen that the short axe thrown by the orc was aimed directly at the Clefthoof, and the Clefthoof did not move its body, yet the short axe missed the Clefthoof.

It was as if the short axe had come to an abrupt halt midway through its journey.

Gaucano quickly realized what had happened.

The Clefthoof Bull remained standing, its massive horn pointing at the orc.

Then, just as the orc swung his arm to throw the axe again, that faint, mysterious fluctuation appeared once more.

Immediately, the orc stumbled, nearly falling over, and his axe flew out of his hand, striking a tree not far away.

Enhance gravity!

Seeing the orc's reaction, Gaucano understood—this Clefthoof Bull possessed the ability to amplify gravity.

This ability is not surprising for earth-type magical beasts.

However, it is clear that this Clefthoof bull has a very high degree of gravity amplification, and both the flying axes and the strong orcs will be visibly slowed down.

The orc quickly regained his balance, his face showing a hint of panic.

"Roar!" At the same time, the Clefthoof let out a roar and charged forward.

"Boom!" Its mountain-like body moved with astonishing speed, each step leaving deep hoofprints on the ground, causing the nearby ground to tremble and the nearby pebbles to bounce.

The orc, of course, dared not fight head-on. He quickly leaped to a high ground more than ten meters away, then swung his arm again and threw his axe.

For an offensive from a superior position, the enhanced gravity can actually be an advantage.

"Boom!" The short axe struck with great force, cleaving into the body of the split-hoofed bull once more.

"Roar—" The Clefthoof Bull was both shocked and enraged. It stomped its giant hoof, and the ground immediately cracked open, the fissures rushing towards the orcs and splitting open the high ground.

The orc hurriedly jumped away, found another spot, and continued throwing his axe.

The clefthoof could only continue its rampage.

At the same level, magical beasts are ultimately no match for intelligent creatures. Therefore, it didn't take long for the Clefthoof Bull to be hacked and bruised all over by the flying axes, with more than a dozen short axes stuck in its huge body, and its roars were becoming increasingly weak.

However, the orcs were not in a good position either. They had to dodge and weave under the greatly enhanced gravity, and the amount of stamina they expended was considerable.

"Huff—huff—" The orc was panting heavily, sweat covering his skin, making him look as if he had been caught in a rainstorm, and his hand holding the axe was trembling.

Fortunately, victory is within reach.

The wounded Clefthoof won't last long. Even if he stops attacking, as long as he can stall for a while, the Clefthoof will collapse on its own and become prey for him to slaughter.

With this in mind, the orc immediately perked up and continued to tame the Clefthoof bull despite the enhanced gravity.

Gaucano continued to observe from the shadows.

Half a minute later, when the orc ran to a certain spot, he immediately had an idea.

A swift breeze stirred, and two long-buried black steel piercing arrows flew up simultaneously, hurtling towards the orc! "Whoosh!"

The orc noticed something and his expression changed drastically.

The two arrows were propelled only by a swift breeze, so their speed was actually not very fast; in fact, it could be said that they were somewhat sluggish.

Normally, he would be absolutely certain he could dodge it.

But right now, not only is his physical strength severely depleted, the greatly increased gravity also makes it difficult for him to react in time, and the appearance of the two cold arrows is really deadly.

If the arrow was also poisoned, the consequences would be even more dire.

Left with no other choice, the orc used a spell similar to Earth Skin, instantly making his body incredibly strong and allowing him to withstand two arrows.

The two arrows struck his skin, but he was unharmed.

However, such spells almost invariably hinder movement, and as the price for successfully blocking two cold arrows, he had no choice but to face the charge of the Clefthoof Bull.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the orc was slammed into the ground by the Clefthoof Bull, coughing up blood. He tumbled several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Gao Jiano immediately entered a demonic state, his skin instantly turning black and covered with fine spikes, emanating a strong demonic aura, making the surrounding air seem cold and gloomy.

The orc had just staggered to his feet, his face still showing a hint of hesitation, but upon seeing Gaogano's demonized appearance, his expression changed drastically, fear flashed in his eyes, and without hesitation, he turned and ran!
Gao Jiano opened his eyes wide.

Injury-causing rays!

Crimson rays shot out from his eyes, arriving in an instant.

"Boom!" The ray left a blood-red trail in the air, as if it had dyed the air red.

Kill a level 7 orc, gain 350 experience.

……

The wounding ray killed the orc, and Gaugano immediately leaped up, wielding the Blood-Summoning Sword, and stabbed at the Clefthoof Bull.

Although the skin of the Clefthoof Bull was tough, it was still difficult to withstand the dark green blade of the Blood-Summoning Sword.

Immediately, the Blood-Summoning Sword began to greedily draw out the blood belonging to the Clefthoof Bull.

Because the Clefthoof Bull's level was lower than the Blood-Summoning Sword's level, its blood was not sent into the sword's blade. Instead, it was transformed into blood crystals, which fell out of the sword's round hole and soon scattered all over the ground.

"Roar—howl—roar!" The Clefthoof roared and struggled desperately, but it could not stop the Blood-Summoning Sword from absorbing its blood.

It tried to attack Gaucano, but couldn't catch up with Gaucano's speed.

Before long, the massive body of the scimitar bull collapsed to the ground, barely alive.

Just then, with a whooshing sound, a throwing knife shot through the air, heading straight for the Clefthoof Bull on the ground. The knife gleamed silver in the sunlight, its blade engraved with intricate patterns.

Gao Jiano's expression changed.

If the bull's head is stolen, losing experience is a minor issue, but failing to complete the divine oracle would be a huge loss!

However, the throwing knife was extremely fast, and he had no time to react, so he had to activate Earth Skin and reach out to grab it.

The throwing knife is made of mithril.

Therefore, even with the protection of the Earth Skin, he still cut his palm, and blood gushed out immediately.

Gaucano gripped the Blood Summoning Sword, activated Blood Regeneration, and his hand wounds healed rapidly, while his eyes scanned his surroundings.

Soon, he spotted a figure hiding in an invisibility spell in a corner not far away.

After throwing the throwing knife, the figure immediately adjusted its position, attempting to continue hiding in this way.

Unfortunately, they encountered the demonized Gaucano.

In its demonic state, the Eye Demon's ability to detect things is further enhanced, rendering ordinary invisibility spells completely ineffective.

Looking at the invisible figure who thought he had successfully hidden himself, Gao Jiano couldn't help but sneer, revealing the sharp teeth that came with his demonic transformation.

His eyes lit up again.

However, this time it lit up with a purple light.

Crazy Ray!

A purple ray shot out and hit the invisible person precisely.

The invisibility was immediately broken, and a lean figure dressed in dark clothes, clearly a thief, appeared.

Under the influence of the mad ray, he immediately went into a frenzy, collapsed to the ground, clutched his head, and howled incessantly: "Mosa—humph humph ahhhhh—"

In fact, it was precisely because he went mad that his invisibility was instantly dispelled.

If Gao Jiano were to use other methods, he might not be able to directly break through the opponent's invisibility.

The thief rolled on the ground, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, muttering meaningless words.

After letting the thieves run wild for a while, Gaucano stabbed the Clefthoof Ox with his sword, ending the giant beast's life.

A few lines of information appeared in my mind as expected.

Killing a level 7 Clefthoof Bull grants +185 experience.

[Completed: The Oracle of Sunderland]

……

Gao Jiano couldn't help but exhale.

The wind prince's divine decree has finally been fulfilled.

"It feels so good to have another trump card up my sleeve." He couldn't help but think this as he recalled the power of Thunder Fury.

Then he approached the thief.

"Ugh, Bab..." The thief was still in a frenzy, his eyes were crooked, his mouth was distorted, his features were twisted, and he was making unintelligible sobs.

But they don't seem to be completely insane yet.

Therefore, when he saw Gaucano approaching, he trembled and prepared to run away.

In his semi-mad state, he couldn't even maintain his balance and fell to the ground again after only a few steps.

(End of this chapter)