Chapter 84: Team Combat
After a bitter fight, the Iron Cross mercenary group finally finished off the Snow Monsters.
Most of the Snow Monsters were killed, and a small number escaped.
Andrea was elated. On the one hand, Azure Longsword hadn’t made a move until the very end.
On the other hand, this also meant a large amount of transcendental materials, and this year’s team performance was looking promising.
Hermann, however, had some concerns. Snow Monsters were social creatures with family units. If you attacked a son, you had to kill the father as well, otherwise, the father would call the whole village of Snow Monsters to gang up on you.
Andrea said it didn’t matter, even optimistically stating that it would save them the trouble of searching for them one by one.
If they really had to search for them one by one, it would be a test of eyesight, meticulousness, and luck. Matters involving luck were hard to say. What if Azure Longsword had a burst of luck and found a large group of Snow Monsters? Wouldn’t that be equivalent to them taking all the transcendental materials?
Hermann felt that something was wrong with Andrea’s thinking. The Snow Monsters in these mountains were unclaimed. According to the rules they had agreed upon, whoever killed them first got them. How could Andrea preemptively claim all the Snow Monsters in the entire mountain, not intending to leave a single one for Azure Longsword?
If they killed one with their own strength, you think it’s stealing transcendental materials from you? That kind of thinking wasn’t right.
However, he and Andrea were childhood friends, so he guessed that Andrea had been badly outmaneuvered by Azure Longsword in the past and didn’t say much.
It was good to let him vent his frustrations.
However, would that Asker really let Andrea have his way so easily?
Hermann narrowed his eyes, staring at the seemingly unconcerned members of Azure Longsword, his expression growing increasingly gloomy.
After pondering for a moment, he decided to go over and test the waters.
“Captain Asker?” Hermann walked over and asked casually.
Asker was tapping Sidlipha on the head with the hilt of his sword. Without turning around, he replied, “Hmm?”
“What are you doing?” Hermann tried to keep his tone gentle.
“Training,” Asker said.
“Training what?” Hermann couldn’t imagine any training that mainly involved tapping someone on the head. “Uh… Training the hardness of your skulls?”
The girls around him giggled. Asker chuckled and explained:
“No, it’s to accelerate the digestion of transcendental power and the transformation of mental strength by rhythmically tapping on the head.”
So this could also promote the digestion of Transcendental power? Hermann was surprised and couldn’t help but observe the location and technique of Asker’s tapping.
“Does this really work?” he asked, thinking that although this captain didn’t look impressive, he seemed to know quite a bit.
“Probably not.” Asker stood up. “It’s just a mystical method, there’s no scientific basis.”
Hermann: …
“Hey!” Sidlipha complained. “If it doesn’t work, why did you keep tapping my head for so long!”
“A blockhead needs more tapping.” Asker said. “Maybe one day it’ll open up.”
“I’m going to tap you back!” Sidlipha pulled Asker over and started hammering his head.
This girl was tall and strong, so Asker was caught off guard and pulled into her arms. The girls were stunned for a moment and hurriedly tried to stop her.
“Sidlipha, you can’t do this!” Nuo scolded her, blushing. “You’re a lady! How can a lady be so intimate with a man?!”
“Huh, I can’t?” Sidlipha tilted her head.
“Of course not!” Nuo exclaimed.
Hermann looked at them speechlessly, feeling his IQ drop.
Is this… the legendary intelligence-reducing attack? Hermann decided not to probe any further, lest he suffer more negative effects.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Hermann suddenly noticed Eleanor, his gaze resting on her face.
“Excuse me, have we met before?” he asked, puzzled.
Eleanor looked at him in surprise, then paused.
Hermann? She suddenly recognized this guy. It was the eldest son of Bernard, the Count of Saxony in the north of the Holy Roman Empire. They had met before.
“That’s a rather old-fashioned pick-up line.” Eleanor said with a smile, trying to cover up her surprise.
Hermann shook his head and looked away from her face to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
Eleanor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After dealing with the Snow Monsters, the Iron Cross mercenary group began collecting the transcendental materials – the Snow Monsters’ abdominal fat – and then continued up the mountain.
During their advance, their formation had noticeably changed. Some of the Transcendental mercenaries deliberately lagged behind, separating Azure Longsword from Andrea, who was personally carrying the materials.
Their wariness and vigilance were unconcealed.
“What the hell,” Mia muttered. “Why are they acting like we’re thieves?!”
The other girls also looked indignant.
Asker remained indifferent, following them at a leisurely pace.
Seeing his calm demeanor, the girls, who were initially angry, gradually calmed down.
Hermann walked at the very edge of the group, keeping a close eye on Azure Longsword behind them.
Therefore, the changes in the girls’ expressions didn’t escape his notice.
As long as the captain didn’t speak, even if they were being treated coldly and with hostility, they could endure it temporarily?
It seemed that this Captain Asker had very high prestige within the team.
He was pondering these thoughts when he heard the mercenary in front shout a warning again:
“200 meters ahead! A large number of Snow Monsters!”
Here they come? Hermann drew his sword and axe, ready for battle, and sighed inwardly.
As expected, after letting those few Snow Monsters escape earlier, they had brought back more enemies.
But on the bright side, these Snow Monsters should be all the enemies in the vicinity. Once they were killed, it would be much easier to continue deeper into the mountains.
“Open fire!” Andrea’s command rang out.
In fact, there were at least fifty Snow Monsters charging towards them. On such a chaotic battlefield, even if they designated a specific Snow Monster to focus fire on, the gunmen might not be able to accurately understand his meaning.
It was better to let them fire freely.
Intense gunfire erupted, and the Snow Monsters at the front retreated, their roars becoming even more furious.
Although most of the bullets only embedded themselves in their muscles, unable to penetrate deeper and cause damage, the resulting rigidity still interrupted their charge.
The Transcendental mercenaries took the opportunity to charge forward, wielding weapons imbued with arcane powers like fire and lightning, slashing with the immense force granted by Strength and Agility, and their impenetrable swordsmanship, creating a bloody storm among the Snow Monsters.
Asker could even see several mercenaries who had clearly taken “Sharp Weapon” or “Blunt Weapon” potions. Although they looked only around twenty years old, they wielded their weapons like veteran warriors with decades of experience, skillfully dodging or parrying the Snow Monsters’ attacks, and accurately hitting their vital points with blades and warhammers.
However, this stalemate lasted only for a moment before gradually shifting in the mercenaries’ favor.
The reason was simple: the Snow Monsters had too much HP, and the mercenaries were starting to get exhausted.
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