Mercenary Wars

Chapter 174 The Gaze of Saint Yves
Gao Jiano sped through the mountains and forests in his Blood Rush vehicle, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him. This was his only way to escape, and as a price, he needed to absorb blood crystals every moment to replenish his blood.

However, time in the Tidal Lands is limited and precious, so this approach isn't a bad one. Only with this speed of travel can Gaugano complete the exploration of most of the Tidal Lands within four days.

As he traveled at full speed, the scenery on both sides rushed past. Several low-level magical beasts tried to attack him, but they couldn't keep up with his pace and were simply ignored.

Before long, Gao Jiano had run six kilometers of mountain road and arrived at a location about 100 meters away from two level-six plants.

He then stopped his Blood Rush and, while adjusting his breathing, continued to approach his target, carefully traversing the forest.

He must remain vigilant.

The reason is simple: high-level magical beasts often inhabit the vicinity of plants that have been forgotten for a long time.

No one knows the exact cause of this phenomenon; there are only some unconfirmed speculations.

For example, intuitively speaking, the behavior of monsters lurking near the Forget-Me-Not plants is very much like protection—any intruder who tries to touch the Forget-Me-Not plants will be retaliated against, so many people naturally assume that these monsters are the guardians of the Forget-Me-Not plants.

But upon closer examination, this is actually quite unreasonable.

After all, it's common knowledge that Warcraft isn't interested in plants that grant eternal forgetfulness. At the very least, no animal has the habit of consuming such plants.

Intelligent beings regard the Forget-Me-Not Plant as a treasure, but as soon as an intelligent being looks at it, the Forget-Me-Not Plant will disappear within a day.

Low-intelligence animals can keep company with forget-me-not plants for a long time, but they are indifferent to forget-me-not plants. Even lowly weeds attract their attention more than forget-me-not plants.

Many people have verified that if you throw an Forget-Me-Not plant into a livestock pen, pigs won't eat it, and dogs won't even sniff it, treating it like air. The more enthusiastic intelligent beings are about Forget-Me-Not plants, the more indifferent animals are.

There's no reason for Warcraft to protect something that holds no appeal for them.

Therefore, the claim that "Warcraft protects the eternal forgetting plant" is just a popular rumor, and anyone with a modicum of knowledge would not believe its authenticity.

For pharmacists and alchemists, another explanation is undoubtedly closer to the truth: it is not that the plants of eternal forgetfulness attract magical beasts, but rather that the magical beasts give birth to the plants of eternal forgetfulness, and the attributes of the magical beasts determine the attributes of the plants of eternal forgetfulness they give birth to.

Therefore, the monsters are not protecting the Forget-Me-Not plants, but rather their own habitat. Protecting the Forget-Me-Not plants is just a side effect, since the Forget-Me-Not plants usually grow in the very center of the monsters' habitat, and getting close would inevitably mean intrusion.

This argument is clearly more reasonable, but it is very difficult to verify its authenticity—verifying it is almost tantamount to trying to grow plants that never forget.

Some mages have proposed even more interesting hypotheses, believing that the growth of the Forgetfulness Plants is completely random and has an absolutely uniform distribution in space and time.

But just as the Forget-Me-Not plants that grow in busy urban areas will soon disappear, the Forget-Me-Not plants that grow in areas without monster protection will also be picked quickly, and most of the people who pick them will not make a fuss.

Only the Forgetfulness Plant, which grows in the habitat of high-level magical beasts, will spread and become a topic of conversation, thus creating the misconception that "high-level magical beasts are likely to be near Forgetfulness Plants".

Regardless, at least in the minds of most people, there is a high probability that high-level magical beasts exist near plants of the Forgetfulness type.

Gaucano quickly proved this point.

As he walked through several bushes and around a large tree, a brownish-yellow figure, about the size of an elephant, came into view.

A giant antlered deer.

As its name suggests, the deer has a pair of huge antlers that are several meters wide, making it very eye-catching and even somewhat spectacular.

So the first thing Gaucano saw was the pair of astonishing antlers that the Hunter's Guild used as a symbol, and he immediately determined that it belonged to a giant antlered deer.

The giant antler deer also discovered Gaucano.

"Roar!" It seemed to be in a very bad mood, and immediately got up from the ground and let out an angry roar.

Before the roar had even faded, its skin subtly changed, revealing a rock-like luster and texture.

Skin of the earth!

Gaucano believed that the giant antler deer used the Skin of the Earth, or some very similar blessing ability.

This did not surprise him, after all, all indications suggested that the leveling system of Warcraft and intelligent beings had many similarities, and there was also the concept of blessing.

Furthermore, it is generally believed that monsters, or rather all animals, have "faith." However, unlike the diverse and varied beliefs of intelligent beings, animals almost exclusively believe in primitive and simple concepts such as nature and elements. This means that the blessings monsters receive almost entirely originate from the elements. And land creatures like the giant antler deer, known for their large size, are most likely "believers" of Mother Earth.

Gao Gano originally intended to fight head-on in his Earth Skin state, but after seeing this scene, he immediately adjusted his tactics—competing in strength with a monster in the same Earth Skin state was obviously a foolish choice.

He attached a swift breeze to his limbs, making himself as light as a swallow.

At that moment, the giant stag roared and charged, its pair of dark brown antlers, several meters wide, resembling two enormous battle blades, pointing directly at Gaugano.

"Boom—" Its charge was incredibly powerful, the ground along the way cracked and made a loud noise, and the huge antlers cut all the bushes and small trees in half, and the broken branches and leaves flew up in an instant.

The speed is, of course, extremely fast.

But it's not quite as good as Gaugano, and it's noticeably clumsy, unable to make agile turns.

After reaching level six, Gaucano can control up to twelve swift breezes.

With the help of these swift breezes, he felt that he might be lighter than Dariss, and with a few leaps he landed directly on a large tree not far away.

The giant stag missed its target immediately, its heavy hooves leaving four deep tracks as it rapidly slowed down, sending earth and rocks flying with a rumbling sound.

But it was not discouraged. It immediately changed direction, its huge antlers aimed at the tree where Gaugano was, and swung its hooves to gather strength, while letting out a series of low growls: "Roar—"

Gaucano, wearing heavy-duty gloves, quickly drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

A black steel piercing arrow is nocked on the bow, and ten swift breezes cling to it.

The reason why the Swift Breeze only attached ten clusters was mainly because he found that more Swift Breeze would hardly have any practical effect.

Ten Swift Breezes is roughly the limit for an arrow—no matter how much the fletching is improved. This reminded Gaugano that perhaps a different ranged weapon, better suited to Swift Breezes, should be chosen in the future.

Blood-red arrow, fully drawn bow, aim and fire!

"Whoosh—" The bowstring twanged sharply, and with a whooshing sound, the black steel piercing arrow shot out and arrived in an instant.

With a splatter of blood, a wound immediately appeared on the giant antler deer's body!
The wound was about ten centimeters long; if it were on a person, it would most likely result in a serious injury.

But for giant deer, whose size is comparable to that of an elephant, such a wound is considered a minor injury.

It seems I'll have to shoot a few more arrows.

Gaucano estimated that it would take at least seven or eight arrows to kill the giant antler deer.

Or he could use the Bloodthirsty Sword; three strikes should be enough. But he didn't intend to do that. After all, the Giant Horned Deer lacked the intelligence and agility to dodge arrows, so using arrows was safer. Most magical beasts were like this, which is why hunters became synonymous with archers.

Half a second after Gaucano completed his aim and firing, the giant stag charged again.

"Boom!" A loud crash resounded, and the massive tree, so thick it would take several people to encircle it, swayed precariously under the force of the impact. The giant antler deer was also badly shaken, staggering a few steps before regaining its footing.

With the help of the swift breeze, Gaogano adjusted himself and stood firm on the tree first. He then drew his bow again, and the sharp black steel piercing arrow was aimed at the giant antler deer.

Just then, several lines of information suddenly appeared in Gao Jiano's perception.

[Achieved Status: Hunter's Mark (Level 3)]

Countermeasure: Hunter's Mark (Level 3)

【Successful countermeasure】

Gaucano's brow twitched slightly.

He hadn't expected that there was a level 3 hunter hiding a little further away. This guy was obviously planning to make sure he and the giant antler deer were both injured so he could reap the benefits.

It's not easy for a level 3 Hunter's Mark to hit you; it's most likely a Blessing skill.

After thinking for a moment, Gao Jiano remained calm and decided to finish shooting the arrow first.

Another black steel piercing arrow was fired, tearing another wound in the giant antler deer.

At the same time, Gao Jiano lightly jumped away from the tree that could collapse at any moment.

"Roar—" The giant antler deer moved its huge antlers and aimed at him again, swinging its hooves to gather strength.

Instead of drawing his bow and arrow, Gao Jiano ran to the side.

The giant stag naturally turned around and launched another charge.

"Boom!"

The ground cracked again, and the roaring figure of the giant antlered deer rushed straight towards Gaugano.

Then Gaucano suddenly activated Blood Rush and quickly dodged away.

Level 3 enemies couldn't provide him with experience, so he chose to use a deer to kill.

The giant stag charged forward with overwhelming force, unable to adjust its course in time, and immediately charged straight toward the hunter hiding in the bushes behind Gaugano!

The level 3 hunters hiding in the bushes had already noticed them, but their speed couldn't keep up with their eyes, and besides, the giant antler deer was huge; a pair of antlers could sweep away a large area.

"Ah!" A scream rang out, and the hunter, along with the bushes he was hiding in, was instantly smashed to pieces. Blood splattered among the fragments, staining the large deer antlers bright red.

At the same time, a hunter appeared from nearby with a scream. He seemed to be a teammate of a level three hunter. He was scrambling out of the bushes, his face full of terror—he was less than half a meter away from the antlers, and the slightest mistake would have meant certain death.

"Two no more than level four named beings dare to attack a level six magical beast and even me!" Looking at the terrified hunter, Gao Gano said in a cold tone.

“My esteemed sir… he was blinded by greed. I was hiding nearby because I knew I couldn’t defeat this monster. I never intended to ambush you!” the hunter quickly said. “I am a devout Mosaic, absolutely devout!”

"What grade are you in?" Gao Jiano asked.

"Level 4."

Clearly, these two were low-level adventurers who had entered earlier. Adhering to the belief that fortune favors the bold, they chose to stay in the Tidelands, hoping to take a gamble.

Gaucano nodded, said nothing for a moment, and once again drew his bow and aimed at the giant antler deer.

"Whoosh—whoosh—" In the next few seconds, as he moved around, several black steel piercing arrows were fired in succession.

After a brief hesitation, the level 4 hunter also chose to shoot at the giant stag.

However, it was clear that he had no ability to harm the Giant Horned Deer. The Level 6 Giant Horned Deer had thick hide and moved extremely fast; most of his arrows didn't even hit the deer, and probably didn't even serve to harass it.

In the end, it was entirely thanks to Gaucano's individual damage output that the giant antler deer was shot to death.

"Awooo..." The giant stag, riddled with more than a dozen black steel piercing arrows, finally lost the strength to continue fighting. It howled and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Gao Jiano drew his Blood-Summoning Sword and stepped forward to finish off the enemy.

Kill a level 6 monster, experience +150

He then walked to the location of the two level-six plants, took a closer look, and immediately smiled.

Indeed, it is the eternal moss!

In the nest where the giant antler deer originally lived, two patches of moss were growing, one blue and one yellow. What else could they be but the Forget-Me-Not moss?
Of course, there is one more problem to deal with before picking the Forget-Me-Not Moss.

Thinking of this, Gao Jiano immediately turned to look at the level four hunter.

The level four hunter's face paled with fear, and he instinctively took a few steps back: "My lord, I swear I have never had any ill will towards you! And as you saw, in the battle just now, I assisted you according to the teachings of the Mosa! Mosa followers should help each other, shouldn't they?"

Gao Jiano stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.

He was a little unsure how to handle the other person.

After all, it was another guy who just put the hunter's mark on him, and that guy hasn't done anything to harm him, at least not yet.

Killing the other party in this situation does not align with one's values.

But he found it hard to believe that the other party really meant no harm.

How to do?
Gaucano had a headache.

He has killed many people in his life, but almost all of them were clearly enemies. He had no psychological burden when killing them, only the pleasure of gaining experience and spoils.

But this one is different, and it's the first time it's put him in a difficult position.

Gaucano is currently struggling with this dilemma.

The level 4 hunter was in a panic.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, took out a golden scroll, glanced at it with a pained expression, and then decisively tore it open.

With the sound of the scroll tearing, a faint holy light flashed and disappeared, along with the fear on his face.

Then he said, “Now I am under the gaze of Saint Yves. You should know what that means. As a follower of Mosa, you cannot harm me at will, otherwise Saint Yves may make a holy judgment according to the doctrine! The more Mosa names you possess, the greater the chance of judgment coming!”

(End of this chapter)