novelDon't come to the hunting contest in the forest (14)
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Chapter 52: Chapter 52 Don't come to the hunting contest in the forest (14)
"This is mint. Put it in your mouth and chew it well. It will help your digestion. It's good for a cold, so chew it."
Wendy chewed a few leaves in her mouth as if reassuring her. Melissa also began to chew several mint leaves carefully. She felt a bit relaxed because of the fresh scent of mint that spread in her mouth.
Fortunately, the rain stopped quickly. As Melissa was still in bad condition, they decided to rush back. Under this situation the prince would not be able to easily express unpleasant feelings even if his plan to help Wendy and Lard hit it off together went awry.
They headed back to the entrance of the forest. The spring forest, drenched in rain, was beautiful. As the sun through the clouds shone on the branches, the forest was full of life. In a forest like this, it would not be unreasonable to hope to see a cute fairy again. The fantastic scene created by the wet leaves and sunshine was dazzling.
"Whoa!"
But Wendy had no time to feel the mood of the forest because she had to hold the reins tightly many times when Snowyko would not be controlled.
As if she was discontented, Snowyko stopped moving and looked around continuously.
Surprised by Snowyko's strange behavior, Wendy had to keep struggling to appease her keen senses.
The situation became worse when other horses reacted strangely like Snowyko, which was hypersensitive at the moment. The other horses were also very nervous.
"Sir Simuan."
At that moment, Lard called Jean with a low voice. Jean also had a serious expression and nodded at him. Wendy realized the seriousness of the situation as the two carefully prepared bows and arrows.
Just as expected, she heard the branches of a tree broken a little later. The servant, whose face turned white, strung his bow.
The beast that appeared with a terrible sound was a giant, black Burgonu bear. It was a rare species that could only rarely be encountered deep in the forest.
The bear stood on two legs began to threaten them by moving his huge forefeet.
At the bear's violent actions, several thick branches broke. The atmosphere of the forest was filled with tension.
It was an unexpected encounter with the vicious owner of the forest.
Lard and Jean fired when the giant bear roared again. The arrows stuck in its shoulders and nape and made the bear even more angry. Thanks to its thick skin, the bear didn't seem to have been injured much, but the bear certainly looked in pain.
They now had to face more difficulties because the roaring bear was about to attack with full force.
"Move back!" Lard shouted at Wendy and Melissa.
Melissa was already far back, but Wendy was quite ahead. She thought that Lard's instruction was correct and urgently attempted to change the direction by pulling Snowyko's reins.
What was the reason? Snowyko, very excited at the moment, would not listen to her at all.
Wendy had to bend over backwards to appease the horse stomping her feet on the spot.
Facing the brutal beast, Snowyko's behavior was too abnormal.
"Snowyko!"
Calling her name, Wendy pulled the reins tightly. Only then did Snowyko begin to obey.
Lard turned to Wendy with an anxious look, while firing round after round at the bear in a row.
The hounds growled wildly at the giant bear but did not help much.
No matter how well-trained they were, they instinctively got scared at the bear and could not easily approach it. One of the hounds was brave enough to resist its instinct and charge at the bear. After it was bitterly sacrificed to the bear's paws, the rest of them were growling at a distance.
The giant bear, who had gradually narrowed the distance, suddenly smashed the arrow shot by the servant. Then, the bear charged at the servant ferociously, roaring wildly with anger.
As the surprised servant urgently ran away, the bear again swung around, breathing roughly.
When the bear's gaze turned toward Melissa, Wendy had to swallow with strange tension. Melissa met the eyes of the bear and moaned with an ominous feeling. Even though she was far behind the group, she was an easy target for the bear as the servant standing in front of her ran away.
Thud!
As soon as the bear stuck its massive paw on the ground, it began to approach at a ferocious speed. As its stride was large, it quickly narrowed the distance between them. Lard and Jean hurriedly shot arrows, but the arrows landed in its back and did little damage. Wendy knew there was no time to hesitate anymore.
She urgently took off the hunting glove on her right hand and put her index finger on the surface of the glove. Wendy pulled out an arrow as a green leaf began to grow through the glove. The lanceolate-shaped leaves grew densely between small streams and looked very sharp.
She didn't need to grow a large plant because its small size would be more than effective.
As soon as the plant grew as large as her thumb, Wendy quickly identified the root of the plant inside the glove.
She pressed the silver arrowhead over the root of the pink plant, which was the size of a fingernail. Then, she strung the arrow, drew the bow with all her strength, and released it.
It all happened in an instant.
The bear was already near Melissa. Melissa would have been sacrificed if the bear swung its feet and ran a few more steps. Lard and Jean Jacques hurriedly approached Melissa, shooting arrows at the bear. Now, they were ready to pull out their swords to engage the bear desperately, but the problem was that the bear was too close to Melissa.
There was obviously despair in Melissa's face. Threatened by the charging bear, her horse hurriedly moved back but seemed not to be able to escape. In fact, Melissa and her horse seemed to have given up escaping as if they were resigned in the face of the bear's ferocity.
"Oh no!" Melissa screamed in fear as an arrow pierced the bear's shoulder.
The arrow was shot by Wendy. It was not easy to hit the moving target, but fortunately, she hit the bear because of its large build. The arrow remained lodged in the bear's shoulders did not fall off as if it carried out its mission.
It took effect immediately. The bear slowed abruptly and staggered a couple of steps before falling on the ground with a big thump in the mud. The giant bear's black fur was quickly stuck into the mud.
Lard and Jean arrived and wandered around to check its condition, but they found no signs of life in the bear. Jean pulled out his sword and touched its body, but the bear didn't move at all. As if to kill it completely, he pierced the neck of the bear.
Wendy carefully approached them, driving Snowyko cautiously. Of course, she already threw away the gloves she had used to kill the bear.
The bulbous plant sprouting from the glove was a tropical poisonous grass called Cymoss. Normally, it would grow as high as an adult's knee, and colorful, dark purple flowers would bloom from its stems. Cymoss was well known for its poison. Even one drop of juice from its roots could instantly kill a huge cow on the spot.
The reason the bear could move several steps before dying after being hit by the arrow was partly because it was huge, but the main reason was Wendy had grown the plant on her glove, not in the ground. The toxicity of its poison was slightly reduced due to its improper growing environment.
Aghast for a while, they watched Wendy approaching them.
Lard and Jean already noticed that the bear had been killed by Wendy's arrow while Melissa was dumbfounded at the confusing situation, unable to understand what was going on.
Wendy deliberately shook her shoulder once in front of them, with a stunned look. She made the gesture to get a dramatic effect.
"Sir Simuan! How amazing! I was impressed with your courageous actions! The last arrow you shot at the bear was especially spectacular. Did you see the bear freezing as soon as your arrow was stuck? Nevertheless, you didn't let your hair down and killed the bear once and for all. The imperial knight was supposed to be vigilant to the end. Of course, it was a bit cruel, but because you saved Melissa's life, nobody would blame you!"
As Wendy was making a big fuss over it, Jean opened his eyes wide, at a loss for words.
Wendy noticed he was agonized over how to respond to her praise, but she turned her eyes at Lard with a bright smile.
"Don't you think so, Sir Schroder? You must be very proud as your deputy has made such a big contribution."
At her unexpected move, Lard was also very embarrassed without replying, but Wendy was very persistent.
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