Bear School Astartes-Chapter 739 - 722. Deer Head Spirit

At the tail position of the Molten Mountain Dragon, due to the buildup of the dragon’s secretions, it no longer resembled just ’a tail’.

It had become a volcanic rock platform trailing behind the feet of the Molten Mountain Dragon.

This was also one of the few large platforms on the dragon’s back where formations could be set up.

And Sword Master, Wende, Aiden, three high-level hunters, were gathered on this platform to battle a monster they had never encountered before.

"Aah!"

Aiden, startled, screamed while covering his head, shielding his face with the small shield of the {Sharp Spike Sword}.

Just as he got into this position, a dense noise came rushing in.

Following that, a continuous series of faint ’clang clang’ sounds emanated from the small shield.

Though the sound wasn’t loud, the sheer number and density of it caused an ache in the eardrums.

"Where do these Hate Dolly come from? Why are they being commanded by it?!"

Aiden shouted frantically under the shield’s protection.

Hate Dolly was a carrion bird species from the New World, not even considered a monster, just a small animal, akin to crows in the ecosystem.

But these normally timid black birds, quick to scatter at any commotion, had all gathered with red eyes on the back of an ancient dragon today.

Screeching madly, they launched an attack on the hunters.

And these birds seemed to have supernatural powers, often suddenly appearing in huge flocks from the void.

Their erratic, unpredictable movements couldn’t be tracked by the hunters, let alone prepare a defense in advance.

Aiden was quite troubled by this.

But logically, these birds couldn’t cause serious damage to a hunter’s armor, at most only annoy them a bit, certainly not drive an elite hunter like Aiden crazy.

The main reason was the atmosphere.

A mysterious, oppressive atmosphere, like shadows in a dense forest, emanating from the monster not far away.

Sword Master and Wende were jointly restraining the monster.

It appeared as an extremely emaciated humanoid figure, with limbs and torso composed of tree branches covered in moss.

Rudimentarily wrapped in a few pieces of leather with some seemingly ritualistic trinkets, the head was a decayed deer skull with flourishing antlers.

Inexplicably, as long as hunters were near this monster, they felt uncomfortable, mentally tense.

That was the magic power of the Deer-headed Spirit, automatically disturbing human minds.

This was a significant reason why this monster was revered as the ’Forest Guardian God’ in forest villages.

However, although this interference was formidable, it wasn’t that effective against strong and professional warriors.

At least for Sword Master and Wende, these two hunters wrestling with the Deer-headed Spirit enduring greater mental strain, they were much calmer than Aiden.

This also reflected the difference in power among the hunters.

"You’re out of sorts, Aiden! Stay away and just deal with those Hate Dolly!"

Wende calmly said.

At the same time, with a ’ding’ sound, he dodged the huge hand of the Deer-headed Spirit pressing down from above.

Then {Air Blade Grand Spin}! Accompanied by crackling thunder sounds, a crimson Qi Blade clung to the edge of his Pulse Scimitar.

The monster known as Deer-headed Spirit was indeed very difficult to handle.

A moment ago, Wende accidentally took a swipe, and the claws of this monster, composed of tree branches, seemed to instantaneously sprout more small, sharp wooden parts from the claw tips upon contact.

Infiltrating gaps in the hunter’s armor, tearing at the hunter’s flesh.

Just one contact left a bleeding wound under Wende’s armor.

Luckily, Gaffi jumped onto his back from the side and stuffed a {Star Jerky} into him, while he himself gulped a {Mega Potions}, finally stopping the bleeding.

This portable food developed by the Starbase had the secondary effect of quickly closing wounds.

Yet, staring at the Deer-headed Spirit he hit on the side waist, Wende’s expression was grim.

"Truly a wooden body... but wood doesn’t conduct electricity!"

Encountering the Extinct Dragon last time, he brought a water attribute Shield Axe. This time against the Deer-headed Spirit, he wielded a thunder attribute longsword...

As a hunter, he was completely restrained by the monster’s attributes.

Wende felt very frustrated now.

Thankfully, the primary attacker Sword Master’s longsword was made from Fire Dragon materials.

The Flame Bag within the longsword emitted blistering flames with every strike.

"Dodge!"

Sword Master grunted a reminder, and Wende smoothly jumped back while swinging his weapon.

The next moment, "boom!"

A large, sturdy mass of tree roots suddenly sprouted on the Molten Mountain Dragon’s back shell.

If Wende hadn’t retreated before, he might have been skewered from below.

Also, fortunately, the bottom of the Molten Mountain Dragon’s shell was full of flowing lava.

The tree roots emerging from the ground had semi-solid lava clinging to the branches, dripping orange-red.

So these roots, just as unexpectedly and abnormally as they appeared, were quickly reduced to ashes by the lava.

"Are there tree seeds on the Molten Mountain Dragon’s back shell? Where did this guy get these roots!"

Wende muttered with a frown.

Though he had seen monsters capable of rapid plant growth and using this as a combat technique in the Old World, none could do this on the back of an active volcano!

This is not scientific!?

Where did the seeds come from? How to handle the damage from high temperatures to plants?

"Incomprehensible. Whether it’s this pervasive eerie atmosphere or its ability to spontaneously create trees."

Sword Master’s serious voice emanated from inside his helmet.

"Perhaps this is what Lann refers to as... magic?"

"Really don’t understand at all."

Wende and Sword Master cautiously circled around the Deer-headed Spirit.

Against a monster they’ve never encountered before, there’s never too much caution.

And the Deer-headed Spirit truly resembled a plant-based life form, displaying no emotion or fluctuation... at least no fluctuation that could be observed by humans.

It merely continued swinging its claws, driving Hate Dolly, to attack the hunters.

At that moment, a huge explosion above their heads caught everyone’s attention.

Wende glanced up at the sky behind him and his face sank.

"One of the selected rock spires has been prematurely blown up! Another one is affected!"

"We can’t! We need to prioritize handling that side!"

But Sword Master darted in front of Wende, drawing his {Flying Dragon Sword} across the ground at his feet.

A piece of tree root about to break through the soil was burned by the flames on the sword.

"When to leave the battlefield depends on the monster’s status! Leave that side to others, trust your comrades!"

Sword Master spoke in a low voice.

He knew how formidable Wende was in the Old World, thus he understood that skilled individuals often had a common flaw.

That is the belief that nobody but them can accomplish certain tasks.

But on the battlefield, being spread too thin is a reality they must accept.

Under the decayed deer skull of the Deer-headed Spirit, a deep sound like wind sweeping through a hollow echoed.

It was relentless in wanting to kill all the humans in front of it.

Sword Master and Wende could only be forced to keep tangling with it.

Until, the Molten Mountain Dragon finally reached the predetermined spot.

Wende and Sword Master noticed the Deer-headed Spirit seemed to suddenly divert its attention, stopping its original attack motion, and slowly looking up.

The claw composed of intertwined tree branches also slowly extended upwards.

Then, on the cliff above the Molten Mountain Dragon’s head, from the already half-cracked rock spire, insane growth of tree roots like a swarm of entwining pythons began.

These roots frantically shoved into the crack.

The weathered rock structure, amid a series of ’crackling’ noises, was widened by the plants, with fragments of various sizes falling down.