Chapter 232: Deadly Fight

The monster in front of Cortez Campbell was the Flesh-Tearing Dragon, known as the killer of forest Adventurers. As a close relative of the raptor, the Flesh-Tearing Dragon was also a clever carnivore.

For the most part, they dug burrows to live in dense thickets and lush forests. They usually hunted in packs, preying on unprepared creatures that passed by.

Although they preferred to attack lone targets, if they were very hungry or if their numbers far exceeded a single group, the Flesh-Tearing Dragon was also very likely to launch an attack.

In his previous adventure experiences, Cortez Campbell had met these giants, which stood an average of 7 feet tall and weighed about 300 pounds. Of course, that was not a good memory.

At that time, he was in a confused period and joined a regular small Caravan heading to the Swamp Naga Tribe. In the thickets at the edge of the swamp, they were attacked by a pack of flesh-tearing dragons that were starving madly.

That battle not only caused heavy casualties for the entire Caravan, but even Cortez Campbell, who had already reached the Red Iron Rank, was left with a permanent mark on his body. Now, seeing this creature in front of him, the wound on Cortez Campbell’s chest seemed to ache faintly.

As the Flesh-Tearing Dragon took steps with its thick and powerful legs, it cleverly avoided obstacles like rocks and wooden stakes on the plain through its reversed-joint transmission. Its sharp claws sliced quickly along the ground, cutting tough reeds in half. The smooth cut surfaces looked as if they were made by a skilled warrior.

Facing the Flesh-Tearing Dragon’s charge, Cortez Campbell could easily dodge, but he could not do so now. Because behind him was the formation of soldiers he commanded. If this big troublemaker charged in, the existing defensive formation would be smashed into pieces in an instant. After all, due to the limitation in numbers, the current defense line was quite thin.

But just as the two were about to make contact, Cortez Campbell turned slightly to his side to avoid the direct collision. This also rendered the creature’s flexible forelimbs useless. The 6-inch long hook-like claws it waved sliced past Cortez Campbell’s shoulder armor.

After the previous contact, Cortez Campbell had a very deep impression of these creatures. Later, he specifically asked a Druid with some connection and fully understood the animal’s habits—the Flesh-Tearing Dragon liked to start every fight with a pounce. It would try to jump onto its target, pin it to the ground, and then furiously tear the prey apart as quickly as possible.

If the target was not killed in one pounce, the Flesh-Tearing Dragon would likely flee immediately. This allowed its weakening poison time to take effect, so it could return later when the prey was too weak to fight. Between its forelimbs and hindlimbs, the two pairs of sharp claws contained a special neurotoxin. This would cause the poisoned creature to gradually become paralyzed, making its reactions and movements slower than before.

Just as the front claws had brushed past, the Flesh-Tearing Dragon kicked Cortez Campbell repeatedly with its hind legs.

Those long claws sliced the air like a rake, launching a pincer attack on Cortez Campbell from both sides.

Cortez Campbell was almost only able to defend against this series of rapid movements. His longsword drew an arc, clashing twice against the creature’s solid keratin claws.

Immediately after, he sharply noticed a rice-grain-sized chip on his high-carbon steel longsword. Feeling that something was wrong, Cortez Campbell paid special attention to the Flesh-Tearing Dragon’s claws and found that they were glowing with a faint blue light.

“Damn it! It’s the Magic Fang spell. What a pity that damn Druid is still mixed in the rear column,” Cortez Campbell cursed in his heart.

It can be said that the Flesh-Tearing Dragon’s series of attacks was quite sharp. Although Cortez Campbell, who could not retreat, was already a bit flustered, he successfully achieved his tactical goal.

The speed of this Flesh-Tearing Dragon had clearly slowed down. Without the impact force generated by distance acceleration, its threat to the entire defense line was much smaller.

But at this moment, something unexpected happened to Cortez Campbell. The Flesh-Tearing Dragon twisted its body, turned around, and knocked a soldier beside it to the ground.

Using its short and thick forelimbs to limit the soldier’s movement, it seemed to be preparing to trample that soldier with its powerful hind legs.

This was also one of the common tactics of the Flesh-Tearing Dragon. If it successfully hit and hurt a creature of the same size or smaller during a charge, it would usually immediately perform a takedown or similar move.

If the Flesh-Tearing Dragon successfully knocked its opponent to the ground, the situation seen now would follow. It used its forelimbs to restrict the opponent’s movement, which could be said to be a kind of alternative grappling move.

If the grappling opponent could not fight back or break free from the Flesh-Tearing Dragon, the scene Cortez Campbell saw now would appear—the soldier was pinned to the ground while being grappled by the Flesh-Tearing Dragon.

If no one came to rescue next, the Flesh-Tearing Dragon could quickly claw and trample the creature pinned to the ground until it broke free or died.

In the previous encounter, quite a few of Cortez Campbell’s temporary teammates had died in this combination of moves by the Flesh-Tearing Dragon. The reason the Flesh-Tearing Dragon dared to engage in such close-quarters grappling was its swift movements and sensitive reactions. Even if the takedown or grapple failed, it was not easily counter-attacked by its main target.

However, Cortez Campbell would not let the opponent act so recklessly in front of him. Last time, because there were too many of them, he could not save many people. This time, there was only one. Even if it was more powerful, it was within the range he could handle.

But just as Cortez Campbell was preparing to draw his blade and rush forward to rescue his soldier.

“Loose arrows!” A shout came from the enemy camp opposite. Immediately, the sound of “puff, puff” was heard, and several arrows shot over.

However, Cortez Campbell merely snorted coldly. Without turning his head, he blocked them with his iron gauntlets. Just by the sound of the arrows breaking the air, Cortez Campbell could judge that those attacks were not enough to pose a threat to him.

Knowing that the enemy troops were about to make contact with his own, Cortez Campbell immediately ordered: “Spear group prepare to charge, Greatsword group prepare to break the attack.”

Actually, Campbell did not need to shout specifically. When the current troops were harassed by the enemy’s arrows, all the members had already restored the situation that had become somewhat chaotic due to the Eagle Horse’s charge.

The contact between the two sides began quickly, but it could only be said that this was a fight with no suspense.

The side that started the fight first was a band of Goblins, mainly composed of Goblins. They only possessed roughly made weapons, and the bows they used seemed to have been obtained occasionally from elsewhere.

Having not received special training, they clearly did not use them skillfully. After shooting a few arrows wildly, they abandoned their bows when fighting with the soldiers. Instead, they used weapons they were used to, such as maces, Flails, and wooden clubs, and ferociously attacked the Humans in front of them.

This group of Bear Goblins, with long sharp tusks on their lower jaws, gray fur, and bear-like faces, let out a sharp shriek, raised their Flails high, and pounced fiercely at the soldiers. Behind them were those short Goblins holding maces. Their screaming was really annoying.

These fierce-looking Bear Goblins had decent combat power, but compared to what George and they had seen before, it seemed they had not received special training. They fought with almost no combat skills, just using brute force.

The soldiers they faced were originally the most elite troops among the soldiers of the Western Continent. Moreover, there were several capable squad leaders backing them up.

So although a few members were injured during the fight, in the end, all the Goblins were killed by the soldiers.

One brave warrior wore chainmail woven from iron rings. Every time he waved the sword in his hand, he eliminated a Goblin. His combat skills were truly extraordinary. At the same time, he could actually also give orders with a serious face. As a non-commissioned officer, he was quite qualified.

Cortez Campbell’s rescue action seemed to be half a beat late because of the enemy’s arrow obstruction. Although he successfully used a slash to make the Flesh-Tearing Dragon temporarily avoid his sharp edge, the soldier under its feet had already been hit by a heavy trample.

Fortunately, due to the protection of the armor and the attacker’s failure to find the correct position and angle in a hurry, although there was a serious gash in the leather armor on his chest, no blood gushed out. It looked like that person had temporarily saved his life. But judging from his painful expression, he must have broken several ribs. It seemed he would not be able to help for a short time.

The Flesh-Tearing Dragon, which had created a short distance, kicked off with its right foot and jumped forward. At this moment, lightning flashed toward Cortez Campbell. Its sharp claws grabbed forward, missed, and then quickly withdrew.

Immediately after, it twisted its body, and its tail, like a steel whip, immediately whipped toward Cortez Campbell’s calf. But just as Cortez Campbell was preparing to retreat and avoid it, he found that his legs suddenly could not move.

“Entangle!” The opposing Druid took the right moment to cast this spell immediately. Grass quickly grew on the ground and tightly entangled Cortez Campbell’s feet.

“Damn it!” Cortez Campbell could only adjust his leg posture in a small range. He let the opponent’s tail hit the thick steel plate of his metal horse boots, forcing him to take this hit.

However, since he could not dodge, Cortez Campbell, who had years of Knight training, naturally instinctively chose to trade injury for injury. He launched an upward slash at the middle of the tail whipping at him. This was not just a normal attack; it was also a Knight Technique that used his own Spiritual Qi—the Tortoise Flip.

This was a Knight Technique he learned from his former mentor before the accident in his early years. The Tortoise Flip was improved upon the common sword blade thrusts and entanglements, so it could be said to be the opponent’s trump card.

Originally, it was aimed at the opponent’s legs, using a series of wild moves to stab and entangle the opponent’s moves. After this change, it became a killing move specifically attacking the enemy’s lower body.

Due to its uniqueness and rarity, it could be said to be the most precious Knight Technique Cortez Campbell had learned so far. So in the nearly ten years that followed, he spent a considerable part of his energy on using this move. Because at that time, he had no way to obtain new Knight Techniques.

Whether it was the timing and angle of the move’s external execution, or the internal muscle control and the flow of Spiritual Qi, he had his own insights and formed a unique style.

With a frowning face, he slashed with his longsword. With the opponent’s severed limb, green blood splashed. Some of it splashed on his exposed skin. Clearly, he frowned sharply.

Poison was expected. This amount of poison was not serious. So he did not even take a deep breath. Immediately, he slashed his longsword down to his feet and easily cut off those plants entangling him.

Then, he did not even look at the half of the tail that was constantly wriggling on the side. Dragging his injured leg that seemed to have a bone fracture, he launched a thrust toward the Flesh-Tearing Dragon whose tail was still bleeding.

On the other side, facing the fierce, wave-like attacks of several summoned creatures without stopping, Bart Knight was really forced to retreat step by step during the few seconds when he was entangled by the vines.

At the same time, it seemed that because the strong enemies had all been attracted by Sir Bart, the remaining cavalry charged continuously. The distance of hundreds of meters passed in the blink of an eye. Accompanied by the whooshing sound of the wind, the longswords in the cavalrymen’s hands were immediately drawn.

Those weapons drew dazzling cold light in the air. The powerful momentum combined with the advantage of being above, and the beasts that were cut were immediately split in half. Some did not even have time to resist and were trampled down by the charging horses in their screams. The moment of impact was a continuous dull sound mixed with the crisp sound of bones breaking.

The cavalry that had pierced through the beast herd immediately launched an attack on the Druids behind. Accompanied by the galloping horses, heads occasionally flew in the air with the sword light. The gushing blood mist fell like stars on the grass, dyeing the originally tender green lawn into a bloody color.

For a moment, Bart Knight, who was at a disadvantage, had to launch his killing move. Immediately, he could clearly feel that some mysterious part inside his body was cheering and gradually becoming clear. At the same time, such ripples were spreading through all parts of his body.

The pain in his arms and legs was clearly decreasing gradually. Moreover, there was a slight itch at the wound. Bart Knight had previously treated his wounds with healing potions after being injured, so he knew this feeling was a sign that the wounds were about to heal.

Then the strength that came was becoming stronger and stronger. When the first wave of energy entered his chest and flowed through his heart to his whole body, while healing his wounds, the next wave of power erupted.

A moment ago, his chest was still in a comfortable warmth. The next moment, his chest was like a fire suddenly ignited. With the burning of this flame, his whole body seemed to be filled with power.

Under this surging force, he swung one sword. Under the pulling and cutting force of this power, the ferocious lion was torn open with a very deep wound. Although it did not become a mess of flesh and blood, it was not like before, where it could heal very quickly.

As the power continued to spread, Bart Knight’s injuries were constantly repairing themselves. His strength was also increasing minute by minute.

“Killing Hurricane,” this Knight Technique suddenly struck. Its target was not the monster in front of him, but the vines that were constantly entangling him. Sir Bart immediately turned into a whirlwind of death, dancing his weapon to hit branch after branch on the vines, cutting them off one by one. At the same time, he did not forget to take care of the beasts surrounding him.

Very quickly, the plants withered away. After that, they turned into a woman who was about twenty-something years old.

Her death was very tragic. Her body was slashed diagonally from the right shoulder by a sword, and she was cut into two pieces in one go. When she fell to the ground, Sir Bart seemed to see that this woman, who had always turned into a plant to entangle him and had just made him almost unable to move, struggled painfully. Her fingers twitched, her mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

That blood instantly became a long river on the ground. But Sir Bart did not even look at it and joined the next battle situation.

The rising sun shone. The gentle breeze brought a trace of the fragrance of grass and trees. But this fragrance on this land made the thick air even more nauseating.

The grassland had already been dyed a striking red by blood. The battle had ended, but the killing had not ended.

There were faint moans everywhere and continuous screams. And the footsteps back and forth were occasionally accompanied by the sound of blades piercing flesh. That was the sound of the army finishing off the wounded.

Taking a deep breath, Cortez Campbell, full of disgust, closed his eyes. This behavior made him disgusted, but he could not oppose it, so he could only close his eyes.

At this time, the injured cavalry and horses further away on the land were being cared for. The temporary camp after the battle was placed on the other side of a nearby hill. This distance was short, convenient for the injured who could not move easily. More importantly, there were no unpleasant corpses and blood.

Cortez Campbell soon moved there, while Sir Bart was already wearing heavy armor waiting for his report there—that was the privilege of Knights and their Squires and Retainers.

The resting warriors soon began to eat. Although no cooking smoke rose, the smell of wheat and Salted Fish was already spreading in the air.

The battlefield rations just developed by George, the leather bags filled with sweet clear water, and the dried meat were the breakfast of the warriors after the great victory.

The cool breeze of the morning blew gently. Because their resting place was not far from the former battlefield, the smell of blood drifted over directly with the autumn wind.

However, these warriors were people with combat experience, not rookies on the battlefield for the first time. So eating in this environment, they did not feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, after a great victory, they were all very happy, so they ate the food with extra sweetness.