In the Miracle Continent, there is a clear distinction between beasts and magical beasts. No matter how fierce a beast is, it can only reach the first-tier level, while even the weakest magical beast is at the second-tier level.
The difference between beasts and magical beasts is indescribable. The most basic difference is that any magical beast possesses a stronger physique and combat ability than a beast and has the ability to control magic.
It can be said that any magical beast can be treated as a magical warrior.
The Wind Marked Black Wolf is a type of wolf-like magical beast that can only be found in the Forest of Falling Stars.
However, this magical beast is different from the others. In this world, the majority of magical beasts act alone. Even other wolf-like magical beasts do the same.
After all, magical beasts, unlike beasts, don't need to rely on group hunting to capture food due to their strong bodies and special magical abilities.
But the Wind Marked Black Wolf is an exception. It retains the habit of living in packs, and its group combat ability and the unique physique and abilities of magical beasts make it an extremely formidable enemy in the Forest of Falling Stars.
Durun and the others were unaware of what a Wind Marked Black Wolf was, but they all understood Sean's words to prepare for battle.
Almost the moment Sean finished speaking, the four guards had already assumed their positions facing the Wind Marked Black Wolf. Their curved blades were unsheathed, and they crouched with lowered centers of gravity.
The archer, realizing his insufficient melee capabilities, quickly retreated and stood beside Cecilia. On the other hand, Durun and Old Peter appeared calm. They showed no signs of surprise or panic.
Durun merely drew his longsword without even removing the round shield from his back. Old Peter, on the other hand, took off his longbow, quiver, and longsword, and strode forward with just a spear in hand.
It must be said that the reaction speed of third-tier professionals was quite apparent. Cecilia, almost after everyone had assumed their defensive positions, finally reacted and began chanting a short magic incantation.
However, despite their quick reactions, the lack of familiarity with the Wind Marked Black Wolf led the group to adopt a more cautious approach, causing them to miss a prime opportunity for an attack.
Almost simultaneously with the formation of the defensive positions, a wolf howl had already sounded. By the time the group had their defenses in place, the green stripes on the Wind Marked Black Wolf's body were fully illuminated, and in the next moment, it lunged toward them.
In the eyes of this Wind Marked Black Wolf, the group of people was utterly insignificant.
As Durun watched the arrogant magical beast, he coldly snorted and took a step forward.
An imposing aura instantly surged from his body, and a faint glow emanated from his sword.
It was clearly Durun's knight skill, and Sean could tell what it was with just a glance.
However, Sean's expression wasn't favorable because he saw Durun shift his body to the side and, with a flick of his wrist, slash his sword towards the Wind Marked Black Wolf's waist.
The faint glow of the sword brightened, causing a burst of turbulent air around the waist of the Wind Marked Black Wolf.
A howl resounded, and the wolf was sent flying by Durun's sword. After flipping mid-air, it landed steadily on the ground, without the anticipated splatter of blood.
Everyone was momentarily stunned.
Anyone with a little experience knew that the weakness of this wolf lay in its waist.
Even magical beasts generally inherited the weaknesses and flaws of beasts. However, in this world, not everything was absolute.
There was a small minority of magical beasts that never played by the rules. What many ordinary people believed to be weaknesses were not a problem for them.
With the intelligence of magical beasts, they could even use those so-called weaknesses as traps to deceive their enemies.
The Wind Marked Black Wolf before their eyes clearly belonged to this small group of magical beasts.
"The throat!" Sean thought for a moment, then explained in a way that everyone could understand, "This is the Wind Marked Black Wolf. When they attack, the magical patterns on their bodies light up, greatly increasing their speed and providing them with a protective airflow all over their bodies. Unless your strength is strong enough to break through the airflow surrounding them, their only weakness is in the throat, the only place not covered by the magical patterns."
The Wind Marked Black Wolf was one of the most common and dangerous creatures in the Forest of Falling Stars.
Typically, these magical beasts would only appear in the central region of the forest.
Based on Sean's past gaming experience, they would usually appear on the fourth day, but they had only entered the Forest of Falling Stars less than half a day ago.
In his gaming experience, only professions with a strength of over forty points could directly break through the airflow protection surrounding the Wind Marked Black Wolf.
Otherwise, apart from targeting the vulnerable throat, the Wind Marked Black Wolf could be considered a physically immune magical beast because all attacks would fail to penetrate its defenses.
Currently, there were no professions in the entire team with a strength of over forty points. So, the best way to deal with the Wind Marked Black Wolf was to directly attack its weak spot.
After listening to Sean's explanation, Old Peter shook his spear and charged towards the Wind Marked Black Wolf alone.
Initially, the wolf had some wariness towards Durun and the others, but after Durun's sword failed to inflict any damage, the Wind Marked Black Wolf no longer regarded them with any concern.
When it saw only Old Peter rushing towards it, the Wind Marked Black Wolf immediately became ferocious and charged back at Old Peter.
As the Wind Marked Black Wolf charged towards him with incredible speed, Old Peter's expression hardened.
He immediately halted his forward movement and steadied his stance. He knew that it was unlikely to defeat the beast in a single blow.
Gripping his spear tightly, he pointed the tip towards the ground and assumed a combat stance.
Just as the Wind Marked Black Wolf was a few meters away from him, ready to pounce, Old Peter swiftly changed his hand gesture and forcefully swung his spear, aiming for the wolf's neck.
A powerful gust of air burst forth once again.
The gust completely dissipated the impact generated by Old Peter's swing, and in the end, his spear barely brushed against the Wind Marked Black Wolf's neck.
It was like shooing away a small cat or dog—completely ineffective in terms of attack power and threat, even less effective than Durun's previous strike.
Of course, this wasn't to say that Old Peter was inferior to Durun. After all, Durun had clearly used a skill in his attack, while Old Peter did not.
As a result, the Wind Marked Black Wolf was merely knocked off balance and not completely deterred from its assault.
Fortunately, though Old Peter's attack seemed to lack threat, his reaction and movements were swift.
Realizing that his attack had failed, he swiftly maneuvered his feet and evaded the wolf's pounce by moving to the left, following the motion of his spear.
This alone revealed Old Peter's extensive combat experience, and the group truly experienced the difficulty posed by this magical beast.
Despite being only a second-tier Level 40 magical beast, it actually had Old Peter, a third-tier individual, somewhat at a loss.
This was the danger of the Forest of Falling Stars, and it was what Sean had been concerned about previously: a slight misstep could result in heavy casualties.
Seemingly aware that it wouldn't be easy for Old Peter alone to deal with the Wind Marked Black Wolf, Durun moved to support him with his sword.
"Hold on!" Sean immediately spoke up in an angry tone when he saw Durun's movement. "Your task is not to go over there."
"What do you mean?" Durun was taken aback, his face turning cold as his imposing aura burst forth.
However, faced with Durun's overwhelming aura, Sean remained completely unresponsive and said sternly, "I am the commander now. What you all need to do is follow my orders. If I didn't command you to attack, then you stand here and wait for my instructions."
Perhaps not expecting Sean to remain so calm and composed under his intimidating aura, Durun was momentarily lost in thought.
But at this moment, Sean didn't have time to entertain Durun's thoughts. He turned his head to look at Old Peter and spoke loudly, "Old Peter, can you hold on?"
"Hold on?" Old Peter didn't even turn his head, clearly his stubborn military spirit had been fully ignited. "It's just a beast. I'll slaughter it for you in a moment!"
Upon hearing Old Peter's words, Sean disregarded him and said, "All of you, form a defensive line!"
The four guards looked at each other, obviously unsure whether to obey Sean's command.
On the other hand, Harvey and the archer were stunned. They hadn't anticipated that Sean would assert his authority so forcefully, seizing command from Durun and giving orders without caring about others' opinions.
Only Cecilia, who seemed to understand Sean's personality well, remained quiet, preparing her magic without interfering.
"Are you all idiots? Don't you even know how to form a defensive line?" Sean, paying no attention to the others, began berating them as if he were a raid leader in a game. "Do I need to teach you how to form a defensive line? Step forward three meters, line up shoulder to shoulder, raise your shields, lower your center of gravity, and let the blades touch the ground! Don't you know even these basic things? How did you become guards?"
Seeing that Sean didn't even spare him a glance, Durun was genuinely furious, his face turning red. However, he had to restrain his inner anger and nodded at Harvey.
Understanding Durun's nod, Harvey immediately made the four guards follow Sean's orders, and once they confirmed the instructions, these four guards indeed displayed exceptional skills.
"Durun, you don't need to engage in the upcoming battle. Your only task is to stand here and protect Mr. Harvey, Cecilia, and our only archer." After finally seeing the four guards obeying his commands, Sean cast a sidelong glance at Durun. "And you better take off the shield on your back. It's not there for decoration. If you're not using it, why bring it along?"
Mocked by Sean, Durun clenched his fists in anger but reluctantly took off the round shield from his back and assumed a defensive stance.
At this moment, everyone, except for Old Peter and the four guards, stared at Sean, curious about his intentions. It was perplexing that despite there being only one Wind Marked Black Wolf, instead of joining forces to deal with it, he was setting up a seemingly inexplicable defensive formation here. After all, everyone present had experienced combat and knew how to engage a lone wolf. Moreover, even when facing a pack of wolves, a circular formation, not a defensive line, would be appropriate.
However, this basic concept that remained in everyone's minds was soon completely overturned.
A wolf howl echoed through the forest, and quickly, two more Windcrest Black Wolves emerged from the same spot where the initial one had appeared.
And the moment these two Windcrest Black Wolves appeared, Sean, who had been wearing a stern expression, burst into laughter.