Chapter 65 (1/2)

Chapter 65 Ominous Sign

There had already been several instances before when the horn was blown. Each time, several dozens of demonic beasts had attacked, mostly one after another, but every time the skilled militia had been able to push them back.

So when Roland heard the sound of the horn once more, he did not panic. He calmly suspended the training and sent Wendy and Lightning back to the castle to rest. He also ordered Anna to protect Nana who would go to the medical center to wait for the arrival of wounded soldiers. Roland himself rushed to the walls with Nightingale.

Unexpectedly, when Lightning heard Roland’s orders, she began to protest, “Though I’m already such an experienced explorer of the western border of the continent, I have yet to witness a large-scale attack by demonic beasts! If I don’t grasp this chance, I’m not worthy to call myself an explorer any longer. So, I plead you, Your Highness, let me travel together with you!”

Roland did not hesitate for the slightest moment to reject the young witch’s plea and told Wendy to make sure that Lightning would behave. After all, they weren’t allowed to lose any time when a horde of demonic beasts attacked.

Then, he looked at Nightingale and asked her if she was ready to go. She nodded, took hold of Roland’s hand, and took him into the fog with herself, moving straight in the direction of the wall – once he knew that Nightingale could bring any other object she was in contact with along with her into the fog, Roland immediately became hooked to this kind of travel. In the fog, they could travel straight through obstacles and ignore terrain. They were able to cross several meters with one step, so this kind of traveling was very enjoyable.

When they arrived at the foot of the wall, Roland found a corner where no one could see him and stepped out of the fog to walk to the outlook alone. Looking into the distant wilderness, he could only see a world of white instead of the expected grand demonic beast invasion. Was this a false alarm? He could also feel the confusion coming from the direction of the militia, who had already taken their defense positions.

When the Prince finally found Iron Axe, Roland saw that he had a serious expression while staring into the distance with his hands tightly grasping the horn.

When Roland arrived next to him, Roland immediately asked: “Did you sound the alarm?”

“Yes, Your Highness, you see …” Iron Axe voice was much drier than usual, “That guy came.”

That guy? Roland looked carefully in the direction Iron Axe pointed at. There in the far distance, he could make out a faint black spot that was nearly invisible even in front of a pure white background, very difficult to be spotted. The rule was that only if it was determined that the patrol couldn’t resolve the problem, they were allowed to sound the horn. Knowing this, Iron Axe as a seasoned hunter must have had his reasons.

“That is a hybrid species,” Iron Axe had to swallow and calm himself before continuing, “The last time I encountered this bird was six years ago.”

Is it really a hybrid species? Roland frowned. Theoretically, evil beasts would attack Longsong Stronghold until the point that all of them had died – possessing no intelligence, the beasts had no concept of retreat in their minds. The defense of the Longsong Stronghold had never been broken, but this hybrid beast not only survived, but was even able to live after six years? Thinking about what this could mean, Roland could detect a faint feeling of foreboding within his heart.

However, the demonic beast was so far away that Roland could only vaguely see a black spot while Iron Axe was able to clearly distinguish the type of demonic beast. Iron Axe’s vision had to be really amazing. Perhaps he had misinterpreted it, the Prince thought hopefully.

The demonic beast didn’t make Roland wait too long, it soon began to move closer to the walls, allowing everyone to notice its unique body.

It didn’t have the large body like the previous hybrid beasts had, but instead, it looked like an enlarged version of a cat at first glance. However, on its back, it had a pair of wings that covered its body on both sides when they weren’t spread out.

Its head looked like that of a lion, but with an extra pair of eyes – if the extra eyes it had weren’t for decoration, then it wouldn’t need to turn its head to see every movement made in the area at its rear.

Carter and several hunters had loaded their flintlocks and were prepared to take the challenge.

However, the Lion Hybrid didn’t attack straightaway, but instead stopped outside of the crossbow firing range, carefully taking in everything.