"Anyone can make suggestions if you think you have something better… Don't hold back…"
Wang Lin said to the members of his group.
This morning, the fifteen Hunters had decided to be divided into three groups.
Since Wang Lin was the only 2-Star Hunter, he took in the weakest or the new Hunters who accepted the mission.
That means that Diether was included in the group.
They were not taking lightly of his skills since he was licensed, but they were all aware that he still lacks experience. Putting Diether in a group together with Wang Lin would lessen their worries.
The other three hunters were also individual Hunters that are not part of the Eight Thunder Claws.
After he noticed that no one suggested another idea, Wang Lin took out a map and continued explaining the places they will cover and their plans to immobilize the low-grade beasts.
The immobilization of the beasts wouldn't take very long. It was only enough to buy time until the students arrived in that location.
One of them would be assigned to keep track of the student's actions to avoid meeting them.
This task was put on Diether, but this doesn't mean that he'll no longer need to fight the beasts… There would be several rotations in this position in the next three days.
As soon as everything was planned, they immediately left the village and entered the forest. There was still an hour before the students will enter but they have to scout the surroundings already…
"Diether… If you have any concerns, don't be too reserved. We're all hunters in the same village."
"I will, Uncle Mark..."
Mark is one of the old Hunters who grew up in this village. He was already in his forties and had no ambition to reach a higher rank. After all, becoming a 2-Star Hunter wouldn't just require a certain number of completed missions but a test that could normally kill the Hunters taking the test.
It was completely different from Hunter Examination where a 1-Star Hunter would be supervising the practical test.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The five hunters entered the Wailing Forest at a very fast pace but Diether noticed that several Wild Beasts had already entered their vicinity.
'We've only entered for a couple of minutes… It seems that leaving this forest unchecked for a few weeks was really effective…'
Diether realized after seeing a couple of Horned Bears and Armored Pythons… They were only considered as low-grade Wild Beasts so they just ignored them.
The last time that he entered to scout or familiarize himself in this Wailing Forest was in a different part of the forest.
It is where most of the Hunters commonly enter the forest… Unlike now where they still walked for a while in the eastern direction before entering the thick forest.
"Roaarr!!!"
They quickly halted their advance after hearing the threatening roar…
It was close to a lion's roar so they already have a guess what kind of beast was in front of them… It was the first mid-grade beast after entering the forest for about half an hour.
"We'll slowly advance now…"
Wang Lin squinted his eyes as he said to everyone.
A mid-grade beast was nothing to him if he was fighting alone, but he had to ensure that the enemy was indeed alone and not just a bait. It was to avoid unnecessary injuries or even casualties on his team…
His years of experience made him aware that there were a lot of intelligent evil beasts so they have to be cautious…
"Kaaah!!"
It was a Hawk's cry but it came from another direction.
"Hmmm… The other hunter group encountered a mid-grade Flying Beast… They have bad luck…"
Mark said as he glanced in the western direction of the forest. Flying Beast was the most annoying beast to fight, especially if it was an Evil Beast one…
"Now's not the time to worry about them… Noah and Lovel, make sure that no other beast will interrupt us."
"Yes!"
"Mark and Diether, support me…"
"Alright…"
Mark was also equipped with a Magic Weapon. It was a longbow made from a mysterious wood… His arrows were also crafted using special materials. They were extremely tough and very sharp, so there wasn't any problem in retrieving them after every fight…
After a few moments, they saw the source of the loud roar….
"It's really from a Black Lion… Tsk… This aura… It's already about to reach high-grade…"
Although they were tasked to eliminate all mid-grade and above beasts, no one truly expected that they will fight against a high-grade one…
After all, they will only normally appear in the deepest part of the forest… A place that they wouldn't reach even on a 5-day journey.
Aside from that, there was also no way for 1-Star Hunters to handle them.
"It's probably looking for a lot of nutritious food…"
Wang Lin muttered after seeing that the lion was feasting on its recently killed prey… It seems to be a giant ape. The roar a few moments ago must've been a warning for the other beasts who may be thinking of stealing its food.
No more words were needed in this situation. They have to take their chance while the Evil Beast was busy eating…
Since Wang Lin already gave instruction, he just needed to act to start the battle…
Diether noticed that their leader was silently accumulating his energy and sending it to his feet while he was holding his blade... He was preparing for a quick kill.
Boom!
As soon as Wang Lin had enough strength, he launched a strike and aim at the lion's body…
There was previously 30 meters distance between them but Wang Lin crossed the distance so quickly.
"Haa!"
Blood splattered everywhere as the Black Lion was heavily injured.
Wang Lin managed to cut a deep wound on the lion's body. He was satisfied with it as it will only be a matter of time to kill the evil beast. That injury wouldn't easily heal due to his Magic Weapon's attribute…
Soon, Mark and Diether joined the fight and quickly eliminated the first mid-grade beast on their mission.
***
"Aria, I will stay by your side and protect you from any harm…" A young man announced in front of Aria. It was obviously heard by everyone so the girl was already getting annoyed.
He seems to be serious so Aria felt so uncomfortable.
"I don't need your protection, Perrin…"
"Don't worry… You know that I'm from a prestigious Knight Family. I will protect whoever I wish to protect."
"Ugh…"
As Perrin announced with conviction, Aria can only grumble in annoyance. After she received a legendary rank Arcana, her status had elevated for a bit and she was now known by many…
Aria sighed as she couldn't do anything about it since she was unfortunately assigned to this clingy kid's team.
'Haah~ So I have to endure this for the next three days."