Chapter 311: Expanse Hunter

The next morning, everyone got up early and continued their journey toward the Dome.

Mahir and Sara remained reserved, though they occasionally asked the humans a few questions. As they climbed down a slope, Leon looked around and asked, "How advanced was your world before it got recognized?"

Mahir tilted his head, confused.

From behind Leon, Selene explained to him. "He meant your technology. How advanced was it?"

"Oh," Mahir blinked. "I don’t know your standards so I can’t really say. But we already had light bulbs, electric power, and tricycles. Though, only the rich people can afford one."

Leon and Selene nodded, gauging this in their minds. It definitely wasn’t as advanced as Earth, but not too far behind either.

"Looks like you have a target in mind. You’re used to this route, right?"

Turning to the adult Vaelari, Leon asked.

Mahir gently kicked the unicorn and nodded. "Yes. There’s a small city up ahead. There are no parasites there so we can stay for the night."

"Oh? How far is it?" Leon asked, kicking his unicorn to match Mahir’s speed.

"At least ten hours—"

He suddenly paused, his gaze turning to the left. A cloud of dust could be seen in the distance, and something was rushing at them with incredible speed.

Mahir’s expression changed.

"Move fast! Hya!"

He warned Leon then kicked the unicorn. It immediately sped up, running faster and faster.

Leon only lagged behind a little. Seeing Mahir flee instead of fight, Leon knew it definitely wasn’t an ordinary enemy.

Even though he was curious, he didn’t linger behind to see. He kicked the beast, making it go faster and forcing Selene to cling to him again.

Soon, they caught up to Mahir as the unicorns slowed down.

"What was that?" Selene asked, pulling herself away from Leon.

They both stared at the Vaelari family, curious.

"The Expanse Hunter," Sara answered while occasionally glancing behind them to ensure the creature wasn’t following.

Leon frowned a little. "Is it a parasite too?"

Mahir shook his head. "No, but it’s a Tier Three beast. You definitely don’t want to cross paths with it."

Leon nodded and fell silent.

Mahir and Sara were Tier One Evolvers so it was obvious that they were afraid of the beast.

Leon wasn’t afraid, though. With Selene by his side, he believed they could kill it. There was no need to fight it for now.

If they could avoid the fight, he would be glad.

Mahir glanced back a few times too, then sighed in relief.

"Looks like it wasn’t coming after us. Let’s hurry."

They continued for three hours when Selene suddenly glanced back out of curiosity.

Seeing the dust again, her expression changed. "It’s coming!"

She shouted to the Vaelari couple, making them tense. Sara quickly glanced back and confirmed her suspicions, then turned to her husband. "It’s closer than before. I don’t think we can outrun it."

The man’s expression soured. He turned to Selene and said, "You’re Tier Two, right?"

She nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Mahir pulled the unicorn to a stop. Leon did the same, and they turned around to face the incoming enemy.

Everyone except Merlin and the cat dismounted from the beasts, already equipping themselves with their weapons.

Sara unsheathed two daggers from her waist, while Mahir summoned a bow from nowhere.

Leon glanced at him, then took out his spear too. Thankfully, he had put on his armor beforehand—for two reasons. One was in case they needed to fight an enemy, and the other was to make Selene unable to bite him as she wished.

Shaking his head to clear off those thoughts, he focused on the cloud of dust that was coming closer to them. In just a few seconds, the figure of the beast could be seen before them.

It looked like a wild buffalo with long silver horns that curved outward like deadly spears.

Steam poured from its nose, mixing with the dust kicked up by every step.

"I’ll try to stop its charge."

Mahir said, then raised his bow. As he pulled the string, an ethereal arrow manifested in his hand, nocked on the bow.

His eyes narrowed, and he released the arrow.

Thwip~!

It shot forward, slicing through the air and reaching the Tier Three beast before it could reach them.

Sensing the attack, it stopped in place and activated a defensive ability. A transparent shield appeared before it, and the arrow slammed into the shield.

Boom!

The shield cracked, but was nowhere close to shattering.

Mahir’s expression darkened, but Leon was already on the move. He teleported directly behind the beast, stabbing his spear towards its ass.

On instinct, its tail curled inward, protecting its precious hole. The spear struck its tail, almost slicing it off completely.

It cried out in pain, then immediately kicked at him.

Leon barely managed to escape as he teleported, feeling the hoof brush the breastplate of his armor.

While he pulled away, Selene attacked the beast with several massive ice spikes, forcing it to activate the defensive ability.

Seeing their coordination, Mahir and Sara were stunned. Even Merlin was awed. Only the cat reacted indifferently, sitting on the back of the unicorn and licking its paws.

Seeing that her ice spears had no effect on it, Selene stopped and unsheathed her sword.

Sara’s eyes narrowed. "Isn’t she a mage?"

Dashing at the beast, she activated Glacial Edge and coated her sword in ice. Then, she sliced at the transparent shield.

Crack!

It cracked, then shattered, leaving the mutated buffalo exposed. Its eyes flashed with shock, but it reacted immediately.

It immediately lowered its head and stabbed its horns towards her.

Swiftly, she activated Frozen Steps and dodged, shifting to its side without losing the momentum of her attack.

As she raised her sword to slash at its neck, the beast also prepared to activate the defensive ability again. After all, the woman’s attack had proved to be more dangerous than it had expected.

Suddenly, Leon appeared beside it in a flash of light, then stabbed his spear into its shadow.

The mutated buffalo stiffened, its red eyes wide in shock and agony. Because of the unexpected attack, it failed to activate its ability and Selene’s ice-coated sword landed on its neck without encountering any obstruction.

The blade sliced through the flesh without much resistance until it reached the bone and stopped. Knowing that she couldn’t cut deeper, Selene pulled away as Leon emerged from her shadow.

Although the fight wasn’t over, the beast was already gravely injured.