After some intense work, the half-elf professional left the forest belt and walked into a large open space next to him, dragging a pile of newly collected resources.
This forest glade is roughly shaped like a teardrop. The forest belt on the north side is the sparsest, with some unknown dwarf trees growing there. Like a fragile fence, it is easy to rush through and enter the forest glade next door; the forest on the southwest side It is relatively dense, mainly composed of some tall and straight hemlock trees, suitable for hiding traces.
There is no doubt that the group of jackals are hiding in the woods on the southwest side, quietly monitoring every move of the half-elf professionals.
From the moment they entered the glade, Wiltok and his party were completely exposed to the sight of the gnolls.
This is also something that cannot be done. Only a fool would fight against a jackal with developed senses and keen intuition in a forest with a complex environment.
On the other hand, open spaces with wide views are more suitable for archers to display their superb bow shooting skills. The claws of the jackals are not good at using crossbows and javelins, and they have no means of long-range strikes. Close combat is the jackal's best attack method.
The biggest trouble now is the goblins.
There is no impression of the Claw Goblin in the memory of the hobgoblin Wowo. Wiltok knew that most goblins had very flexible fingers. They could use bows and throw stone projectiles, and they had considerable lethality within a range of 30 meters. Three archers might be outnumbered by the goblins.
There are two low hills in the forest clearing. The terrain in the middle is sunken, and the ice and snow melted and gathered into a small pool. By late spring and early summer, the flowers and plants here will surely be lush and beautiful. However, this kind of terrain is not suitable for defense. Half-elf professionals can only choose a low hill as a foothold.
It is a short hill, only ten meters high. Fortunately, it is located close to the sparse woods on the north side. The archer has a wide field of vision. In addition, the ground is muddy and slippery, which is not conducive to the rapid movement of the goblins. As long as they enter the effective range of the crossbow, they can easily become a living target for the bow warriors.
The continued tracking of the gnolls has made the half-elves feel that the situation has changed, and they should prepare for the worst at this moment.
Most of the professionals in the team came from legions, and constructing positions according to local conditions is their basic quality. Everyone worked together to set up simple defenses. After a while, a camp surrounded by spikes, trip wires and small pits took shape.
The others started to light a fire to cook, while Vertok and Huck were still busy. Huck used the alloy shield blade as an ax to split a dozen tree trunks as thick as a bowl into long, well-proportioned wood pieces. Wiltok took ropes of twisted deerskin and bark and tied long pieces of wood together, turning them into wide planks.
This is a meticulous job. But it is not difficult for Huck, who has mastered the heart of the realm, and Wiltok, who has the talent of dexterous hands.
When the aroma of roasted rabbit on the fire began to rise, two sets of wooden raft baffles more than one meter high and four meters wide had been completed in Wiltok's hands. Harker erected them on both sides of the camp to help the half-elf professionals withstand intensive stone bullet attacks.
Vertok was covered in mud. He washed his hands, grabbed a roast rabbit and ate it.
A hare that has gone through a cold winter doesn't have much meat on its body. Vertok ate all the rabbits in his hands in three or two times, and asked: "Have any of you ever dealt with the orc bone collectors? Can you tell me about them?"
Orc bone collectors specifically refer to the orc bandit gangs of the Goblin Kingdom of Balu. Like half-elf adventurers and barbarian raiders, they open up territories and collect treasures for their respective forces. In fact, the three major forces in the Dragon Kingdom check and balance each other to avoid large-scale war conflicts. Orc bone collectors, half-elf adventurers, and barbarian raiders fight against each other, reflecting the strong hostility of the three major forces towards each other.
If half-elves and barbarians can still communicate through language, then the orc bone collectors are completely alien, unable to communicate or compromise.
What they have in common with adventurers is that they are both greedy for the wealth collected by the other party, and will snatch it whenever they have the opportunity.
The orc bone collectors have always been brutal, especially the orc gangs that go deep into the territory of the Disa Alliance. In order not to expose their whereabouts, they will even eat the half-elves they encounter. If it is really eaten, not even a single bone will be left behind, hence the term "bone collector".
The half-elf adventure group's fear and hatred of the orc bone collectors is much higher than their hostility to the barbarian raiders.
The professionals of the Iron Cross looked at each other. Archer Lisen shook his head and said cautiously: "We have been operating in Luoye City and have never encountered an orc bone collector."
Captain Rhodes, who was next to him, added: "Luoye City is located in the south, and Rapids City is located in the north. The triangle area formed by these two border city-states and Guangming City in the west is the territory of the Disa Alliance. Guangming City is closest to Dragon's Nest City , can be affected by the divine power of the Earth Mother Throne. Compared with other city-states, half-elves in the City of Light are more likely to be promoted to professionals. It is also known as the city of gods and is the well-deserved core city-state of the alliance."
"The line connecting Guangming City and Luoye City happens to be the southern line of the triangular territory, called the southern border line. It happens to border the sphere of influence of the Black Fire Tribe. The main threat to Luoye City is the Black Fire Tribe. There is almost no sight around Luoye City. To the orc bone collector.”
"The northern boundary connecting the City of Light and Rapids City borders the sphere of influence of the Balu Goblin Kingdom."
"The connection between Rapids City and Fallen Leaf City is the eastern border, which belongs to the border of the territory patrolled by Dragon King Philumat. If you go further east, you will reach the outer territory that even the Dragon King will not go to."
"We should be on the eastern border now. The situation here is the most complicated. We may encounter foreign monsters, orc bone collectors, and barbarian marauders."
After hearing Captain Rhodes' explanation, Wiltok had a better understanding of the Kingdom of Dragons.
The Kingdom of Dragon is the territory of Dragon King Philumat, a circular area with Dragon Nest City as the center. Disa Alliance, Balu Goblin Kingdom, and Blackfire Tribe each account for one-third. The races from outside the realm did not dare to invade the Dragon Kingdom on a large scale because they were afraid of the power of the Dragon King. But small-scale infiltrations happen from time to time. However, their opponents this time are not the wild gnolls from the outside world, but the orc bone collectors of the Balu Goblin Kingdom.
The Iron Cross, a fake adventure group, had never been to the East. This was also their first encounter with the Orc Bone Collector.
The orange firelight illuminated the thin face of the dark hunter Max. His expression looked cold and serious, and he said slowly: "The Black Fire Orcs and Balu Goblin Kingdom are bound by the Dragon King and do not dare to provoke war in the Dragon Kingdom. The Disa Alliance's legions usually don't fight. Apart from daily training, they occasionally go out and wipe out a few thieves' gangs. The Rock Giant Legion that Huck and I served in is considered one of the top legions in the alliance. But when it comes to actual combat experience, That's not much... We were waiting to retire and find a profitable job based on our own skills. Who knows, the legion suddenly received an order to go to the dark place to perform a secret mission. "
Max looked at the jumping bonfire, and after a while, he continued: "I still don't know what secret mission the Rock Giant Army went to the Dark Land to perform? Anyway, we fought for two months, and the opponent There are Blackfire Orcs, but the main enemy is the Orc Bone Collector of the Goblin Kingdom.”
The February War had a great influence on the Disa Alliance. Although the Disa Alliance kept the war that took place in the Dark Land secret, and the half-elf civilians hardly heard about it, the veterans who participated in the February War had good reputations. With a bright future, he will be invited by rich and famous families to become the backbone of their private soldiers. This is also because the Legion of Disa Alliance has not fought a decent war in recent hundreds of years.
The results of the February War are still kept secret, but regardless of whether the participating alliance legions won the war or not, they all had actual combat experience. This is an advantage that other legions cannot match, so that famous highland families are more willing to join the war legion to select talents.
Generally, veterans of legions will either join adventure groups after retirement, work for large or small armed caravans, or mix with civilian gangs. Let’s not mention how much money this type of retired veterans can earn. The risks they bear and the resources they enjoy are far from being comparable to those of well-known private soldiers.
Huck and Max were both witnesses of the February War. Together with Bottom, they run the town of Braun, which seems to be a prosperous place, but they can't even find a way to cultivate dragon veins.
If there is no channel to convert wealth into usable resources, no matter how much money you make, it is just a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered.
However, the practical experience Huck and Max have is their own wealth and no one can take it away.
Now, their knowledge of the orc bone collectors is precious.
Wiltok asked curiously: "The Rock Giant Legion is said to be the elite of the Alliance...How come its opponent at that time was the Orc Bone Collector? Didn't the Balu Goblin Kingdom send its main force to participate in the war?"
Huck scratched his beard and muttered: "I can't figure it out either... I heard the commander say that at that time, orcs? Goblins? What can you expect from them?"
"Maybe... the Balu Goblin Kingdom does not have any main force at all, and the Bone Collector is their main force." Max said: "Or it can be said that the Bone Collector is the most common fighting group in the Balu Goblin Kingdom."
"Because there may be wild monsters among the orc bone collectors. In front of such monsters, no elite legion or professional lord will be vulnerable. Can such an orc bone collector be considered the main force?"
When they heard about the wilderness troll, the professionals of the Iron Cross took a breath. After a while, a third-level swordsman cursed and said: "I don't know who determined the levels of monsters. Is something like a wilderness troll also a third-level alien beast?"
Vertok often heard half-elf adventurers talk about wild monsters. He was sure that he had seen them too, but he couldn't remember the specific experience for the time being. Fortunately, he learned cursive calligraphy from Mayor Mine and recalled the knowledge of monsters.
In memory, the wilderness monster has another name, called ogre, a legendary monster.
Ogres reach the third level when they reach adulthood. The average male is called an ogre barbarian, with an average height of 2.6 meters and a weight of more than 1,500 pounds. The tall and fat Orc Butcher looked slender in front of the Ogre Barbarians. They don't need any special abilities, but they are powerful enough to crush most creatures of the same size. Even the fifth-level Orc Butcher or the Barbarian Sky Spirit Fighter did not dare to resist the powerful attack of the Ogre Barbarian Soldier.
The ogre barbarians fully demonstrate what absolute strength advantage is, not to mention their bloodline talents that also make other races despair.
Savage Skin Technique: The ogre barbarians use Savage Skin Technique to gain extra strength bonus; gain super defense; gain higher elemental resistance; gain super toughness.
Wild intuition: Ogre barbarians can foresee dangers in advance, and most death traps are ineffective against them.
Wild intuition also includes combat intuition: ogre barbarians can predict the enemy's offensive in advance during battle and carry out the most effective counterattack based on intuition.
If someone feels that ogres are slow to react, move slowly, and play all kinds of tricks in front of them, then this person will definitely have no chance to regret it.
On top of the ogre barbarians, there are fourth-level violent ogre leaders and fifth-level ogre warlords.
When the half-elf profession talked about "demon", their expressions changed, but Wiltok's reaction was relatively dull. He knew that ogres and goblins were related, but it was not that easy for a hobgoblin to raise an ogre bodyguard, at least there were not enough food resources nearby. If the hobgoblin cannot fill the bellies of the ogre bodyguards, it will itself be eaten by the ogres.
Vertok shrugged his shoulders and said: "Besides the wilderness troll, what other monsters does the Bone Collector have?"
“There are only a few bone collectors with wild monsters. Anyway, I have never encountered them in my later adventures.” Max continued: “The most common bone collector group includes a dozen third-level ferocious gnolls; Two or three hobgoblins plus a dozen bear-headed goblins; the rest are the clawed goblins, and they are the most numerous, with hundreds of them."
Vertok paid special attention to the largest group among the enemies, frowned and asked: "What are the Claw Goblins? They all have a pair of sharp claws?"
"No, no, no." Huck waved his hand and said: "The claw goblins are like the claws of the Balu Goblin Kingdom, and they are the main force raised by the goblin nobles. The claw goblins are taller and stronger than ordinary goblins. , the skin is earthy red, they can use bows, spear throwers, short knives, and are generally equipped with leather armor. The combat effectiveness of the clawed goblins... is not as good as that of unawakened half-elf guards. But they... what should I say? "
Huck held it in for a while, then scratched his head and said, "Braveness is definitely out of the question... The Claw Goblins are just a bit stupid, ferocious, crazy, and not afraid of death. We have fought against the Bone Collector for more than ten times before, and the Claw Goblins are a bit stupid." The goblins attack desperately, and will only flee after half of the death. They retreat at the call of the hobgoblins, otherwise they will really be annihilated."
"To be honest, because of the Orc Bone Collector, our adventure group really couldn't survive in the northern border of the alliance. That's why Bottom took us to Braun Town in the southern border to seek life."
Wiltok's expression changed. The clawed goblins could withstand half of the battle damage. They could no longer be described as elite. They were indeed crazy.
Facing a group of crazy clawed goblins, Vertok lost confidence in fighting the orc bone collector for the first time. But he quickly adjusted his mentality and asked: "Huck, how did you deal with the orc bone collectors?"
Huck sighed deeply, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "There is no other way except to fight hard... When we adventured in the north, there were seventy or eighty members in the group. It does not mean that we can always maintain a medium-sized adventure group. Instead, each adventure group often merged because of attrition after encountering the Bone Collector, and they had to return to their base to merge with other adventure groups."
Seeing that the atmosphere around him was not right, Max said, "Don't worry too much. There are at most a dozen professionals in the medium-sized adventure group, most of whom are first- and second-level professionals, and then there are half of the awakened ones, and the rest Half of them are ordinary half-elf civilians. They suffer the greatest losses in battle, followed by the awakened ones, and professionals always have the ability to protect themselves. There are eight of us here, all professionals above level three, and they are from half-orcs, barbarians, As well as escaping from the hands of shadow lurkers, there is no need to doubt everyone’s ability.”
"The Bone Collector's Gnolls are most afraid of death. They are calling for backup, preparing to let the Talon Goblins stand in front. If there is a chance to break through our defense line, the Gnolls will launch an attack. The Bone Collector Goblins have just caught up from behind, and their physical strength is definitely Not enough. If you all take the opportunity to break out, there will be no problem." He paused and then added: "You can leave me behind when you break out, and I will find a way myself..."
The hoo, hoo, cry of the jackals echoed through the woods. There were thin clouds in the sky, and a silver moon was dimly visible. Under the faint moonlight, the jackal's rickety figure flickered in and out, like a vicious ghost.
The half-elf professionals gathered around the campfire in silence. They chose to flee to the inaccessible northern border, and the current dangers they encountered were foreseeable. If you think about it carefully, it's actually nothing. If everyone hadn't fled north, the situation might have been worse than it is now.
Max, who has been cursed by the cold heart, must be a burden on the team. Since he himself proposed not to worry about him, the half-elves of the Iron Cross will not have any psychological burden. They were just trying their best to break out. There is no point in thinking about other things.
Huck's lips moved, but in the end he didn't speak.
Wiltok smiled slightly and said, "What can you do? Self-prediction?"
Max said calmly: "I can survive today only because of luck. Now that my luck has run out, I can just die... At least I can take poison and die painlessly. If the jackals eat my body again, I might I can still poison two monsters, so I’m lucky enough to die.”
Vertok shook his head and said: "It's not that far yet... I suddenly thought of something. Half of the Claw Goblins were reduced in battle, so why did the Hobgoblin call them back?"
Huck said excitedly: "I know this...if all the claw goblins are dead, there will be no goblins to carry things for the bone collectors. If they can't bring back all the treasures they collected, it will be in vain."
Victor nodded and said: "You are right. But there should be another reason...if too many claw goblins die, the hobgoblins are afraid that the jackals will rebel."
Captain Rhode's eyes lit up, and then he frowned and said, "If this situation is true, how can we take advantage of it? After all, we don't understand the language of the alien beasts, and it's hard to use our strategies."
Wiltok said with confidence: "It doesn't matter. I know the hobgoblins very well and I know what to do. Everyone, follow my arrangements. I am very confident that I can dismantle this group of orc bone collectors."
