Chapter 307: The Unit Leader

Chapter 307

The Unit Leader

After resting for nearly half an hour, it was time for them to continue their journey. The hall was enormous, like a labyrinth. After passing the first stage, which was filled with traps, and the second stage with magical weapons like the stone golems, everyone understood that the next stage would likely involve battling the beasts residing on the 7th floor. And that was indeed the case.

- Bubalus, Level 4: Attributes - A beast with slight intelligence, physically very strong, and also has strength in speed. It can use 2 types of spell: a charging spell that enhances its physical attacks, which can instantly kill even a level 5 beast if hit directly, and a fire domain spell that creates an area around it that benefits itself and continuously reduces the life force of enemies with weak defenses.

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- Naemorhedus, Level 4: Attributes - A beast with slight intelligence, extremely fast but not very physically strong. It can use 3 types of spell: first, a wind spell that increases its speed and allows it to stay airborne for 2 seconds. Second, a fire spell that shoots fire magic, and lastly, a botanic spell that can summon Drowsy plants.

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Luckily, Ellie’s botanic powers could still detect their abilities, allowing her to stay cautious of the beasts’ attacks. However...the power levels exceeding level 4 were alarming! Wasn’t this...too cruel?

Especially with enemies like the Naemorhedus, which resembled a goral. When seeing its powers, despite its clear weakness of a fragile body, like a little deer, its abilities were impressive. Ellie hadn’t expected to encounter an enemy capable of summoning bonded plants, just like her, but the Naemorhedus could do it!!

These two types of beasts were undoubtedly new forms. Typically, in such challenges, beasts from floors 5-6 would appear first for testing, right? That was everyone’s expectation. However, what they faced were unfamiliar beasts. How could they attack recklessly?

But if they didn’t attack, it wasn’t as if the beasts would stand idly by. The Naemorhedus was not a problem now, they just stared at them as if asking, "Do you want to die? If so, come closer." Meanwhile, the Bubalus, resembling a large buffalo, wasn’t just posing. As soon as it saw the first enemy appear, it kicked its hind legs, leaving marks on the thick ground.

"Grunt!!!"

The Bubalus roared continuously and then charged forward swiftly. Ellie was quicker; she summoned her little rabbit to take her to higher ground. The sight of a buffalo charging below was something she hadn’t expected, but since the Bubalus was scarier than any buffalo she had seen, it gave her chills.

"Come back to me first. We don’t know what the enemies are capable of yet. I don’t want you getting hurt." Owen grabbed her waist, pulling the petite girl into his arms, letting the little rabbit fly away alone as its master was lifted away.

Ellie found herself suddenly in the arms of someone much larger. At first, she was startled, but hearing his words, she realized that even the eldest young lord...didn’t know everything. Suddenly, Ellie couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction; it seemed this was the first time she felt superior to the brilliant eldest young lord.

“If I understand correctly, this creature can use 2 types of spell. One is a charging spell that enhances its physical attacks, which is very dangerous, but it can only attack in a straight line. The other spell is more hazardous, which is a fire domain spell. Once it creates this domain, the surrounding area becomes immediately dangerous for us.”

Hearing Ellie’s explanation, Owen stared at the Bubalus as if to verify her words. Of course, the young man believed Ellie entirely. However, for the sake of the girl’s safety, and because of her small, pleasantly scented body, he felt that holding her a little longer would be more beneficial for him...

Owen’s men were astonished by the information. They didn’t understand how their lady could specify the creature’s abilities so clearly, but since their master instructed them to test it out, they had no choice but to trust the information.

A man in a cloak jumped into the fight with the enemy. Although the lady mentioned that they only used two types of spells, he remained cautious. As he got within a certain distance, the unique two-horned beast suddenly glowed and its speed increased dramatically. If not for the lady’s warning about its straight-line attack, he might have jumped back in panic, which would have been the wrong move.

The cloaked man only sidestepped slightly to avoid the attack, successfully dodging it. The other hunters of the Setter family cheered in victory for this first attack. However, the next wave of attack that the cloaked man awaited followed suit.

The horns of the buffalo-like beast glowed red, and a heat wave radiated within a 5-meter radius. The lady had mentioned this power, warning that staying within this heat wave for too long would weaken them and eventually lead to death. Instead of being complacent, he decided to take down the enemy immediately!

Thunk!

Unfortunately, the beast’s body was too tough. The cloaked man jumped back to prepare for a new attack, seeing only a small wound on the fierce beast from his previous strike.

“Tch!” When he realized everything was just as the lady had said, he couldn’t help but curse. Originally, he had always been the one to gather information, and this time, it should also be him who conducted tests and provided conclusions for the others in battle. But now, his role was easily usurped by the young lady of the house. If this continued...would he still be of any use?

With just one glance, she could identify the enemy’s skills, warn of dangers, and suggest attack strategies. The man in the cloak felt as though tears of frustration were welling up in his eyes.

It wasn’t that he resented the duchess for being more capable. He had always known that the person his master chose wouldn’t be ordinary. It was just that he felt disheartened. Fate had played a cruel joke on him. Despite his constant efforts, was he ultimately destined to fail like this?

If his master no longer valued him and instead relied on the lady for these tasks, would his life become meaningless? He had worked so hard all this time to prove to his master that he was capable and valuable. Yet, in the end, it all seemed in vain...

How laughable!!

Boom!!

A large black spear of magic, which didn’t resemble earth magic power at all, appeared above. In just 2 seconds, from the beginning of the incantation to the end, the black spear was released onto the beast’s head.

“Hooray!!”

“Amazing!! The Eldest Young Lord’s men are truly incredible.”

“That’s the magic aura of earth magic, but for him to condense earth magic to that level is extraordinary.”

“I’m an earth magic user too. Someday, I’ll be as strong as him.” The excited voices of the crowd could be heard, but the caster felt no joy. He dejectedly returned to his master.

“Master, the details the lady provided were entirely accurate. Their bodies are incredibly tough and highly resistant to physical attacks but less so to magic power. Her information about their attack methods and other details were also correct.” Hearing this acknowledgment, Owen’s men couldn’t help but swallow hard.

The lady’s abilities alone would make other families fear her! With someone who could discern an enemy’s fighting style, strengths, and weaknesses after just one encounter, anyone who considered opposing her would need to think twice!

“Then, do you have any information on the other beast?” Owen asked the girl again. The man in black, who had previously held this role, felt his tears was about to flow down. He prayed that the girl wouldn’t know anything about the other beast, giving him a chance to prove his worth. Though he didn’t have the skill to assess creatures at a glance, he relied on experience and numerous tests to understand different beasts.

Unfortunately for him...his prayers went unanswered.

“The other beast is quite dangerous. Its body isn’t as strong as the first one, but it has the advantage of extreme speed and can use 3 types of spells,” Ellie slowly explained the details of the second beast to everyone. Its capabilities were indeed frightening. The ability to use 3 types of spells was beyond that of ordinary humans, and its botanic magic was particularly alarming, just as Ellie had thought.

It turned out that the beasts on the 7th floor had multiple ways to deal with humans. The first one could steadily deplete life force, while the second could induce drowsiness, potentially rendering someone unconscious. If the two fought together, no one would survive.

Once someone fell unconscious in the fire domain, it was only a matter of time before they died, right?

“You go test the second beast, and let the Setter family hunters engage. Share the information we’ve gathered.”

“Understood.” 2 of Owen’s men moved immediately—one to verify Ellie’s information, and the other to inform the elders of the family. Upon hearing this information, the elders understood how to devise the next battle plan.

The family’s magicians, who had strong attack power and significant speed, became the key players in this fight. They were divided into two groups. The first group was to draw the enemy’s attention but consisted only of those who could move quickly. According to Owen’s information, there would be no direct clashes because that would be suicidal. Thus, all hunters needed to be more alert than usual. Nevertheless, evading the attacks wasn’t too difficult unless they were ambushed from behind.

With speed-enhancing potions, they were ready to fight. This time, Aman was assigned the same role, while Koross was tasked with delivering the final blow. Koross’s magic power was more precise than Aman’s, necessitating their separate duties.

Ellie wanted to join the fight but knew it would be useless. The beasts had to be attacked with magic power to be defeated, which wasn’t her strength. Additionally, she didn’t trust the Naemorhedus.

Although they hadn’t moved yet, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. Therefore, Ellie had to keep a close watch on them.

In this test, there were about 10 Bubalus and 15 or 16 Naemorhedus. If they all attacked simultaneously, it would be disastrous. Fortunately, the Naemorhedus remained arrogant and stood back, likely their nature. However, they might behave like the stone golems and only engage after a certain number of their ally was defeated.

One of Owen’s men quickly tested the Naemorhedus and returned, confirming Ellie’s information was accurate. This left...the information-gathering unit feeling ashamed.

Even though they felt somewhat useless, they now realized how powerful their lady was!

From now on...if anyone dared to criticize the young lady of the house within earshot...even if they were Owen’s men, they wouldn’t tolerate it. Disparaging the lady was like belittling the information-gathering unit.

At this point, the young lady of the house was akin to their “unit leader,” and they were just members with much to learn.

“Grunt!!!”

While they were on guard for the fight, suddenly, the roar of one of the Bubalus echoed through the grand hall. The hunters’ faces filled with shock, as the unexpected attack caught them off guard, claiming the life of one of their own.

"Run quickly. T-That...that beast is going into a frenzy!!" The closest hunter shouted in alarm. But even without the warning, all the hunters had survival instincts.